Natural Science Forum / Biology / Evolution / January 2006

Note: This brief article only touches on the backdrop of the
evolution-ID debate. The main point is the lack of pharma corporate
sponsorship for the largest exhibit ever on Darwin and his work on
evolution.

A fascinating account of more than 80 insect "firsts."  Velcro, bungee
jumping, air conditioning, and chemical warfare are a few of the firsts
covered in this book authored by three professional entomologists.
Illustrations include humorous anthropomorphized insects as well as

<whitesickle@msn.com> wrote in message
news:dp6luk$1q6n$1@darwin.ediacara.org...

Dear PIP and SBE readers -
This is the first very-rough draft of my page on UV/Sun cycle
that I wanted to send to www.daviddarling.info
He said,

There is an interesting News and Views piece in Heredity
reviewing a paper that appeared in Science a few months
back.  Some excerpts:
http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v96/n2/full/6800765a.html#bib2

Nature Genetics 38, 168 - 174 (2006)
Published online: 15 January 2006; | doi:10.1038/ng1717
Evolution of new protein topologies through multistep gene rearrangements
Sergio G Peisajovich, Liat Rockah & Dan S Tawfik

I have a question for readers. This abstract suggest non-coding DNA may
be more important in the "complexity" of an organism than the number of
protein-coding genes. It states, "For example, using the protein-coding
gene number as a basis for evaluating biological complexity would ...

Someone said this to me today "it is known fact that modern civilisation
appeared virtuall overnight in  Mesopotamia 6000 years ago"....
I didn't know how to answer, cause franky I didn't know what he was talking
about.

In the course of preparing my next posting on my "Breadbox" thread,
I came to the conclusion that there should be a relationship between
the rate at which information 'about the environment' is accumulated
in the genome and the heritability of total fitness.  Since the

 The Origin of Sex: Cosmic Solution to Ancient Mystery
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
posted: 07:00 am ET

RARE ANT MAY HELP SOLVE SOME MYSTERIES OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Last fall, ecologists at Ohio State University
cracked open an acorn they had found in an Ohio park and discovered a
colony of extremely rare ants.

While some readers of sbe might not know of it, there once was an expedition
of a group of very bright men to the interior of the Australian outback
which resulted in the death, by dehydration, of the explorers.  Off hand I
do not recall whether they were, any of them, scientists ...

Here are some statements of my current views on esotericism among
specialists.  It is inspired by a private exchange between Guy Hoelzer and
me.  And let it be clear that I hold Guy, personally, in very high regard
because he not only speaks with much wisdom but, also, LISTENS ...

I initially looked on the internet for a connection between natural
selection/evolution and Freud's concept of the Death Instinct but of
course found nothing so I decided to just write my thoughts. Below are
several definitions of natural selection. One definition sums it up

The Unconscious Regained
An essay exploring issues discussed in Hidden Minds
Freud claimed the unconscious to be one of the most important ideas in
the history of science. Was this claim another example of his