Category: Natural Selection

“Cystic Fibrosis: A Heterozygote Advantage” – The Title of the Next Hit Movie

~ keb203 ~ Leave a comment

By Kelly Bonnville If you’ve ever seen “Five Feet Apart”, a 2019 movie starring Cole Sprouse and Haley Lu Richardson, which tells the dramatic love story of two teenaged cystic fibrosis patients who can never be together due to their disease, you may be under the impression that cystic fibrosis mainly involves not being able … Continue reading “Cystic Fibrosis: A Heterozygote Advantage” – The Title of the Next Hit Movie

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Bring on the Heat: The Evolution of Spiciness in Chilies

~ Jordan Coscia ~ Leave a comment

As someone who likes to play with fire in my cooking, I always have a hearty stock of chili peppers in my kitchen.  Depending on the dish, I’ll use anything from canned chipotles, ground cayenne, and paprika to fresh jalapeños and habaneros.  All peppers, hot and sweet, are cultivars of five species from the genus … Continue reading Bring on the Heat: The Evolution of Spiciness in Chilies

Why the horned lizard has horns: More than a just-so story

~ Catherine Chen ~ 2 Comments

Shrikes are basically nature’s version of Vlad the Impaler. While less gory birds feed on nuts and others peck at insects, shrikes impale their prey onto sharp spikes. Once the unfortunate animal is firmly attached and appropriately subdued, shrikes then tear their prey apart. The result is an array of dismantled corpses of lizards, small … Continue reading Why the horned lizard has horns: More than a just-so story