Biological Costs

Biological Costs

In several posts the question of biological costs is invariably mentioned in discussing evolution.  These costs are normally of the metabolic or fitness type.  Metabolic costs are…
'Spiritual But Not Religous'? Don't Trust Them

'Spiritual But Not Religous'? Don't Trust Them

In the last two generations, the designation 'spiritual but not religious' has become popular. It's hard to know what it means - atheists and religious people are at least taking some sort of stand…
Parasites Get No Respect In Food Web Theory?

Parasites Get No Respect In Food Web Theory?

Parasites comprise a large proportion of the diversity of species in every ecosystem but they are rarely included in analyses or models of food webs.  Would it make a difference? A new paper…
METI: Should We Be Shouting At The Cosmos?

METI: Should We Be Shouting At The Cosmos?

David Brin first wrote this in 2006, summarizing a controversy that was then emerging among members of the community engaged in SETI, the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligent civilizations. Since…
Preparing For The Next Megathrust Earthquake

Preparing For The Next Megathrust Earthquake

In the past 11,00 years, there have been 22 large and megathrust earthquake shaking events along the Pacific coast of North America, an average recurrence interval of about 500 years, though the time…
'Dinobird' Plumage Patterns Revealed By X-Rays

'Dinobird' Plumage Patterns Revealed By X-Rays

X-ray experiments have found chemical traces of the original 'dinobird' Archaeopteryx and dilute traces of plumage pigments in a 150 million-year-old fossil. Only 11 specimens of Archaeopteryx have…