Natural Science Forum / Biology / Evolution / June 2005

In the OOL scenarios we may be making a major mistake
in treating 'life' as a set of separate entities
or organisms, or even species.
Let's get back on the right track.

Evolution of Virulence: Lipopolysaccharide and Gram-negative organisms and DHEA
Copyright 2005; James Michael Howard, Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S.A.
I happened onto this topic while researching another area.  I am not a
microbiologist.  I discovered that lipopolysaccharide causes a ...

Here's a model for people to play with.
I haven't covered all the arguments about density dependence and
environmenal degradation.
By varying the r/K bias in the population you can see the effect on

Slow growth 'helped wipe out' moa
The extinction of New Zealand's giant, flightless moa birds may have been
hastened by the long time they took to reach maturity, experts believe.
UK and New Zealand scientists studied growth rings (similar to tree rings)

g said,
But getting back to that original cell that got a wall around itself that it
could pass on when it multiplied by dividing itself, I am interested in how
you may have established a clear step by step process whereby it occurred.

Hey, Tom, instead of jumping from one definition to another, making a
superficial remark about each, would you be willing to stipulate that
the definition I presented here is the best of them all, and then
sticking with that one best definition would ypu please tell us exactly

"Perplexed in Peoria" <jimmenegay@sbcglobal.net>

There is a favorite trick question among physics teachers that is some
variation on the following:
A vehicle's driver leaves Boston for a city 200 miles away and, due to heavy
traffic, averages 30 miles per hour, for the first 100 miles.  Seeing that

I've been lurking for a while - great stuff!
I don't have a background in science so please go easy on me.  I would
like to know if there is a set of criteria that have been generally accepted
as indicators that a given behavioral trait in humans is vestigial.  Are

Is it possible to evolve little colorful squares in a picture box over
time ?
I first create 3 or 4 small squares randomly put at sme positions in
teh box, and then after running around in tha box for 3 seconds, if

Biology Letters
ISSN: 1744-9561 (Paper) 1744-957X (Online)
Issue: Volume 1, Number 2 / June 22, 2005
Pages: 250 - 252

Network thinking in ecology and evolution
Stephen R. Proulx(a), Daniel E.L. Promislow(b) and Patrick C. Phillips(a)
(a)Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 5289 University of Oregon,
Eugene, OR 97403-5289, USA

Proceedings: Biological Sciences
ISSN: 0962-8452 (Paper) 1471-2954 (Online)
Issue: Volume 272, Number 1568 / June 07, 2005
Pages: 1185 - 1194

``Stem Cell Breakthrough Means Everybody Could Conceive''
 As if the world of stem cell research needed more controversy, a study
 to be presented in Copenhagen today by British scientists shows that
 the future could produce lab-created ova and sperm. It could even mean

     Biology Letters
     ISSN: 1744-9561 (Paper) 1744-957X (Online)
     Issue: Volume 1, Number 2 / June 22, 2005
     Pages: 196 - 199