Going to Comic Con? Come say hi!
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
9M ago
This is just a quick note to say that I will be on a panel at San Diego Comic Con again this year and would like to invite you all to come say hi! Once again, the panel is organized by the visionary Steve Broback, head of Dent the Future, an organization committed to advancing new and creative ideas throughout society, especially in technology. Given my frequent participation in Dent events, they also seem to be keenly interested in genetics and its future. Our panel is about the science of Avatar: The Way of Water. Joining me will be Michelle Courtney, a team member on NASA’s mission to Mars ..read more
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Is Nocturnal Eye Shine an Adaptation for the Backwards Retina?
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
9M ago
Last year, my lab published an article in Bioessays about the evolution of the Tapetum Lucidum, the structure in nocturnal animals that causes reflective “eye shine.” This is a theoretical paper, outlining our argument that this structure evolved in vertebrates to compensate for the backwards orientation of our retinas. Implicit in this argument is the claim that the vertebrate retina is a sub-optimal design compared to the front-facing design of the retina of Cephalopods (octopuses, squids, and nautiloids). Below is a short and non-technical summary of our argument, but I also wrote a longer ..read more
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Another Impressive Year for the Creationist Journal BIO-Complexity [sic]
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
1y ago
Warning – this post is pretty snarky, originally posted at Panda’s Thumb (which, if you don’t follow, you should!) A new article has been published in the illustrious journal BIO-Complexity [sic]: Burgess, S. (2022). Why the Ankle-Foot Complex Is a Masterpiece of Engineering and a Rebuttal of “Bad Design” Arguments. BIO-Complexity, 2022. The foot and ankle of the chimpanzee (A) and human (B). T: axis of transverse tarsal joint; U: axis of upper ankle joint; L: axis of lower ankle joint. Note: All bones are conserved and homologous. Credit: Elftman, H., & Manter, J. (1935). The evoluti ..read more
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Written in the Scars: The Annual Westbrook Lecture
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
1y ago
Hello friends. This is just a quick post to let you know that I will be delivering the annual Westbrook Lecture at the Wagner Free Institute of Science in Philadelphia on March 4th. The lecture still start at 3:00P.M. and here is a link to the EventBright: Register on Eventbrite Established in 1912, The Westbrook Lectureship has been running for over 100 years and past speakers include Margaret Mead and Michael Mann, but initials of M.M. appear not to be a strict requirement. I’m very honored to have been invited to deliver this lecture, which will be on the beauty, meaning, and evolution of ..read more
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Behe, Bias, and Bears (Oh my!)
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
1y ago
Dear readers: I have been very neglectful of this blog for more than two years, but I have resolved to get back in the swing of things in 2023 as I prepare more public engagement in anticipation of the release of my next book in early 2024. Before I start putting out new stuff, however, I will get caught up with announcements of stuff that’s already out there. So here goes. In September of 2020, I gave a presentation on the latest nonsense from Intelligent Design proponents in the Skeptical Inquirer Presents lecture series run by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. This presentation was one p ..read more
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ICYMI: My Presentation on Intelligent Design and Darwin Devolves at the CFI
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
3y ago
Hello friends! Last night I gave a webinar for the Center for Inquiry on the Intelligent Design (ID) movement and its latest attempt to sow doubt about the validity of evolutionary theory and its ability to account for the origin and diversity of life. To wit, the book Darwin Devolves, written by Michael Behe, was published last year and championed by ID proponents as a substantial challenge for modern evolutionary theory. (It isn’t.) In case you missed the presentation, here it is: I would like to also provide links to some of the things I mentioned in the webinar, as well as give more credi ..read more
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The Women Behind the Discovery of Richard III
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
3y ago
The same week that Tim Hunt made his sexist remarks about the presence of women in research laboratories, I happen to be in the midlands of England teaching a course on forensic DNA analysis at the University of Lincoln. Because I got my PhD studying the cyclins and CDKs, I had long admired Dr. Hunt. I was depressed. As luck would have it, my spirits would soon be raised. I took a weekend holiday to Leicester and had the wonderful opportunity to visit the remains of Richard III, now interred at the Leicester Cathedral, as well as the museum that tells the story o ..read more
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5 MORE Ways that COVID-19 is nothing like the flu (part 2 of 2)
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
4y ago
This post continues from my previous post, which discusses the clinical differences between COVID-19 and the seasonal flu. These two diseases progress so differently because the viruses that cause them, SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza, respectively, have very little in common. Here I discuss the fine molecular details of these two viruses and how they attack us. 1. The Virus Particles Viral particles come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and compositions. While this may sound like an esoteric detail, the composition of viral particle ..read more
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6 Reasons Why COVID-19 Is Nothing Like the Flu (Part 1 of 2)
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
4y ago
By now, you’ve probably encountered commentary likening the COVID-19 pandemic to the seasonal flu. Sometimes it’s about the numbers affected by the two diseases, and sometimes it’s about the actual illness, symptoms, and outcomes. On a post about my own COVID-19 recovery, an acquaintance wrote, “Sounds like you had a bad case of the flu.” Um, no. Not at all. On another post, someone wrote simply, “Flu kills more.” Also no. COVID-19 and the flu are very different conditions and the two viruses that cause them, SARS-CoV-2 and influenza a or b, respectively, have little in common ..read more
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I’m 41, Healthy, and Fit. And COVID-19 Still Got Me.
The Human Evolution Blog | Professor Nathan H. Lents
by NathanHLents
4y ago
In far too many articles, you will read that COVID-19 preys mostly on the elderly and those with pre-existing medical vulnerabilities. This is both true and misleading. Almost every illness, and certainly every infectious disease, is worse for those who already have other medical conditions, including the condition of being of advanced age. But COVID-19, like basically all other medical conditions, can strike anyone, no matter how young and no matter how healthy. I know because it came for me, and it didn’t care at all that I was in the best shape of my life. Me, in an article of clothing whos ..read more
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