My research part 3: MicroRNA in plants
Since my research focuses on primates, I don’t exactly work with plant microRNAs. But they’re still fascinating enough that I wanted to touch on them. Plant and animal microRNAs are very similar –...
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My research part 4: How did microRNA convergently evolve?
How could microRNA have evolved to have such similar structure and function in plants and animals after evolving independently? You must be thinking, “What are the odds?!” If evolution boiled down to...
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Today in traumatizing wildlife videos…
Nature is often weird. But sometimes, it’s REALLY fucking weird. I give you the pearlfish: For those of you who can’t watch the video (though if you can, you really should)… Adult pearlfish are long...
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Microbiology haikus
Commenter VeritasKnight requested a post full of haikus; Joe McKen asked for them to be microbiology themed. Peptidoglycan damn you, I am positive You blue my cover It was chilling there Before genomes...
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Flickr helps scientists discover a new species
This story on NPR is great. An entomologist was browsing insect photos on Flickr when he saw one he didn’t recognize. After talking to his colleagues, they confirmed that this was probably a new...
View ArticleCome see me at Nerd Nite Seattle!
I am living the dream: I’ve been invited to give a talk of extreme geekiness this Monday: Pokébiology 101 There may not be a Pikachu Genome Project, but the unusual biology of the Pokémon Universe can...
View ArticleRepublican lawmaker wants to criminalize aborting your rape baby because it’s...
I’d say it’s a new low for Republicans, but really, it’s their usual low: A Republican lawmaker in New Mexico introduced a bill on Wednesday that would legally require victims of rape to carry their...
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Welcome to Pokébiology 101
Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Jen! People call me the Pokémon Grad Student! …Okay, I don’t think anyone has actually called me the Pokémon Grad Student. But I’m a PhD...
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Pokébiology 101: “Evolution” and the enigma of Eevee
(Click here for the introductory post to Pokébiology 101) You know I had to start my Pokébiology 101 series with the most famously scientifically inaccurate part of Pokémon: evolution. In the Pokémon...
View ArticlePaleofantasy: When people act like cavemen because they misunderstand evolution
I’ve been waiting so long for someone to write this book. Salon has a great interview with Marlene Zuk, evolutionary biologist who just wrote “Paleofantasy: What evolution really tells us about sex,...
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