Biology in general is so important. I guess I'm kind of bitter about how often it's dismissed in academia, specifically STEM and how neglected it is in early education.
Because people lack understanding in evolutionary biology fundamentals, you get quacks pushing pseudo-scientific theories to take advantage of this deficit.
These pseudo-scientific theories are often spouted to peddle very racist and sexist rhetoric. It also affects the understanding of dietetics among the public, and they often fall for niche diets or are taken advantage of by nutritionists with a certification they found on the internet.
I just wish high school science classes taught evolutionary biology beyond "common ancestors and the origin of species" there are so many basic fundamental understandings that can EASILY be taught by high school teachers and to students.
I also wish students were taught how to conduct literature reviews. Something that is arguably super easy to do. That way they know the very first step in what "research" actually looks like.
Every single lit review I've done to advance my degree or apply for a research grant has significantly improved my understanding of the general topic I'm researching. I wish this was a requirement to graduate high school since a narrative based literature review is so easy to do.
I'm coming from a US perspective as that's where I did most of my early education. Maybe it's different in other countries.
If people heard the very simple statement "Evolution does what works, not what works best" we'd have a lot less problems I believe.
Is there any legitimacy to the claim that scientists critical of evolution and those who believe in intelligent design face active persecution by other scientists and academic institutions? And that they can lose their jobs for merely holding such beliefs or voicing criticism against evolution?
Almost two decades ago an article was published on NCSE: Evolution is a Winner -- for Breakthroughs and Prizes
It's written by a former CEO of a biotech firm and discusses, at high level, the contribution evolutionary biology has in the biotech industry:
>Applied techniques based on evolution play central roles in the biotechnology industry, and in recent advances in genomics and drug discovery. Bioinformatics, the application of computers to biology and one of the hottest career opportunities in science, is full of evolution-based computer code. Tens of thousands of researchers in the multibillion-dollar field of biomedical research and development use evolution-based discoveries and concepts as a routine part of their important work.
Unlike academia, it's more challenging to directly find out what happens behind the doors of industry firms. But one way the application of evolutionary biology and other sciences can be deduced is by way of patent filings by companies.
Searching through patent archives via Google Patents finding patents based on evolutionary biology is quite trivial. There are thousands based on directed evolution, phylogenetics, comparative genomics, etc. These patents often reference evolutionary biology and/or the academic literature thereof.
In contrast, I find no patents filed by any creationist or intelligent design organizations. In fact, searching the database I found one single reference to intelligent design, a reference to Darwin's Black Box (Behe). And even that reference was merely in relation to the term irreducible complexity in a question posed by the patent authors. IOW, there doesn't seem to be anyone trying to use anything from the creationist or intelligent design world to do, well, anything. This is further reinforced by examining financial statements of creationist and ID organizations which generate revenues primarily from donations, publishing/seminars, and tourism.
In my decades in the C/E debate, I've found very little engagement when raising the issue of patents to creationist or intelligent design proponents. Usually it's either ignored, dismissed or on occasion said proponents try to take credit for it. I don't think I've seen a general acknowledgement from creationists that evolutionary biology and other sciences opposed by creationists have practical value in real-world industry.
I'm curious if anyone has seen the subject of patents come
... keep reading on reddit ➡I applied to UCI last November with EEB as my first choice major, but now I am struggling about whether to switch to public health science should I be accepted since there doesn't seem to be much info on this major online. If anyone here is currently majoring in EEB I would greatly appreciate your insight on what you like/dislike about the program!
I'm just gonna preface this by saying this opinion is mostly motivated by insecurities and overthinking and I'm really just expecting advice on how to deal with this idea.
When I say cruel I mean that I believe biology pushes men to seek out sex to the point where they make unethical decisions. I'm lead to believe this because of the effects that hormones like testosterone have on humans and how the vast majority of violent acts are committed by males. It's even worse when you look at the amount of women on the internet who complain about the prevalence of men just looking for hookups and being insensitive to women's feelings. It's as if our motivations are so different that we can barely get along. I just want to know how to deal with this belief since its been on my mind too much to the point where it's causing me a lot of stress.
Joe misprouncing australopithecus as "austrailiopithecus" every single time he wants to drop some knowledge on someone is cringey and down right embarrassing. The specimens were found in Africa, not Australia. Australopithecus has nothing to do with Australia. If you're not sure on how to pronounce something look it up on Google, they'll fucking say it for you. You can practice that shit, then bust it out in a podcast to sound smart. Walk before you run, bro. There's levels to this shit.
I dont know if he means vestigial structures or something else. But the thing he was talking about in the lecture was something like. " we have observed how a secondary reduction in body plan complexity can reflect the adaptation to different environments and life strategies" I dont understand what is specifically meant by the secondary reduction in body plan. is this implying animals losing a trait? im confused. In the assignment question, he wants me to give an example of a secondary reduction in body plan and how it helped the organism to adapt to a new environment. But i have no clue what secondary reduction means. i looked it up but found nothing
Would someone please clarify. Thanks in advance
I had the teacher that teaches the class before but don’t know what to expect of the class. Would you consider it an easy bioelective for a senior on their last semester?
Please reply here with your results for EEB programs or other related ecology/conservation/biodiversity/etc programs. At minimum, please reply with the school, program, and term you applied to along with whether you were accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.
If you're comfortable, it would be appreciated if you could share any extra info that may be helpful for other/future applicants. Thank you and good luck to everyone this season!
- University applied to:
- Program (MS, MPH, PhD, etc.):
- Term applied for:
- Date of application submission:
- Whether you were invited for an interview:
- Date notified of result:
- Result:
- Undergrad stats:
- Type of institution (country, size, public/private, rank):
- GPA:
- Major and minor/concentration:
- Test scores:
- GRE (V/Q/A):
- TOEFL/IELTS:
- Relevant experiences (research, publications, work, TA, internships, awards, etc.):
- General remarks (factors unique to your application, funding, connections/contact with department, how you feel you “fit” with your PI, tips for future applicants, personal statement, fee waivers, info sessions, etc.):
I'm looking to join an evolutionary biology lab that leverages the power of experimental (co)evolution to understand long term responses to unpredictability.
I want the focus of this question to be centered around ecological responses to climate change and the contribution of species interactions under long term experimental evolution.
I feel like there's a giant chasm between evolving/modelling individual species in the lab and actual evolution in the wild. I would like to focus on bridging this gap and to make evolutionary biology a more applied science.
I am aware of assisted evolution labs that work with marine microbial populations (M. von Oppen), labs that work with marine primary producers to look at how they evolve in response to anthropogenic stressors (E. Schaum, S. Collins) and many labs that work directly with microbial species interactions and coevolution.
I'm looking to find something at the intersection of these three areas. Any help/leads are greatly appreciated!
Thanks :)
Also posted on r/biology
Repost:https://twitter.com/nickmhaddad/status/1475465150215995394
https://careers.msu.edu/en-us/job/509046/hannah-distinguished-professor
Job no: 754178
Work type: Faculty/Academic Staff
Major Administrative Unit / College: College Of Natural Science
Department: Kellogg Biological Station Nat. Sci. 10032500
Sub Area: FAS- Fac./Acad Staff
Salary: Salary Commensurate with Experience
Location: Hickory Corners
Categories: Research/Scientific, Tenure System Faculty, Full Time (90-100%), Non-Union
Position Summary
Hannah Distinguished Professor of Ecology and/or Evolutionary Biology
Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University
The W.K. Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) at Michigan State University (MSU) seeks a leading ecologist and/or evolutionary biologist to fill a prestigious Hannah Distinguished Professorship. The successful candidate will have a national and/or international reputation as a leader in the field. The ideal candidate will be interactive with research interests that complement a diverse group of ecological and evolutionary scientists working at a world-renowned field station (http://kbs.msu.edu/). This position comes with a research endowment.
The Hannah Distinguished Professor is a tenure-stream faculty appointment at the Full Professor rank. It will be based at KBS, with a joint appointment and tenure home in one or more campus departments that best match the candidate’s interests. In addition to KBS-based faculty, there are opportunities to collaborate with campus-based colleagues in many departments including Earth and Environmental Sciences; Entomology; Fisheries and Wildlife; Forestry; Geography, Environment, and Spatial Sciences; Integrative Biology; Microbiology and Molecular Genetics; Plant Biology; and Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences; and broadly through the Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior (EEB) interdepartmental graduate program.
Teaching may include an undergraduate or graduate course as well as graduate and postdoctoral training and participation in KBS academic programs. Service will include participation in KBS, campus, national, and international programs, as appropriate.
Review of applications will begin January 31, 2022 and will continue until a suitable candidate is identified. Questions regarding this position
... keep reading on reddit ➡Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, and the Three Stooges
The science behind why morons are funny.
