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The continuing saga of Mitochondrial Eve

The continuing saga of Mitochondrial Eve

Where do we place Mitochondrial Eve on the human family tree? How many mutations have occurred within the human mtDNA sequence? How much of that sequence is evolutionarily constrained? Are mtDNA mutations predictable? All this and more in this installment of Biblical...
Mendel’s Law of Exponential Trait Combination

Mendel’s Law of Exponential Trait Combination

Gregor Mendel was the father of modern genetics. He wrote his most important papers on the topic just a few years after Darwin published the Origin of Species. What people don’t realize is that Mendel’s papers did not only describe how traits are passed...
Seabird shennanigans

Seabird shennanigans

Dr Carter spent some time recently in New Zealand. While there, he stopped by a giant colony of gannets. These sea birds number in the millions but they create a bit of a taxonomic mystery. Are three living species of gannets and the eight living species of booby one...