Evolution in the News
Evolution may seem like something that happened a long time ago, and as such it can be difficult for students to see the relevance to their own lives. To make evolution current for students, we have developed this collection of stories about recent breakthroughs in evolutionary biology research and its applications in society.
NESCent and Understanding Evolution collaborate to develop monthly Evolution in the News text stories and podcasts. The stories, along with links to background literature and classroom resources are available on the Understanding Evolution site, and the podcasts are available here. NESCent also has a collection of Evolution in the News stories, both text and podcast, generated prior to our collaboration with Understanding Evolution which can be found here: Archived Evolution in the News.
These podcasts may be downloaded from iTunes U for free, or viewed on YouTube. Also, the small viewing window can be expanded to full screen using the control panel on the bottom of the viewing pane.
Do you use the Evo in the News program with your classes? Would you be interested in participating in the assessment of the program? To learn more about participating in the assessment, please contact Kristin Jenkins.
Evolution in the News stories
from Understanding Evolution and NESCent
Speciation in real time - February, 2010
Usually speciation occurs over long periods of time, but this month we look at two examples of evolution occuring in a few decades. Carlos Botero, a post-doctoral fellow at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, talks about his work on speciation in mockingbirds which occurs over longer time frames. Dr. Botero explains how scientists study historical evolutionary events by comparing traits in modern species with phylogenetic models. (12 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Oxygen as an evolutionary constraint - November, 2009
(2009 Year of Science themes- Celebrate Chemistry!)
Earth's chemistry is both influenced by and exerts influence on life on the planet. A group of researchers at NESCent have explored how body size has changed over the history of life on Earth and found an interesting correlation between increases in body size and changes in atmospheric oxygen. They talked with us about their research, what the group discovered and where their research will take them next. (16.5 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Where did all of Madagascar's species come from? - October 2009
(2009 Year of Science themes - Celebrate Geosciences and Planet Earth)
Madagascar is home to an incredible collection of unique and fascinating species. To understand this biodiversity, scientists use an interdisciplinary approach combining geology and biology to unravel the puzzle. Dr. Anne Yoder, Professor of Biology and Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University, is the Director of the Duke Lemur Center. She talked with us about the evolutionary history of Madagascar's species. (13 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
A species unwelcome inheritance: extinction risk - September 2009
(2009 Year of Science - Celebrate Biodiversity and Conservation)
With the species of the world facing the sixth mass extinction, conservation efforts are underway to protect and preserve as many species as possible. But on which species should conservation efforts focus? Dr. David Jablonski, Professor at the University of Chicago, explains how his research indicates that extinction risk is not distributed evenly across species, but instead clumped in evolutionarily related groups, which has profound implications for conservation efforts. (14 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Coping with climate change - May 2009
(2009 Year of Science - Celebrate Sustainability and the Environment )
Climate change is impacting species across the planet, and the pace of climate change is a major issue. One question people are asking iw wheterh or not species can adapt to the changes quickly enough to survive. Dr. George Gilchrist, Professor of Biology at the College of William and Mary, talks about how species adapt or acclimate to changing conditions. (13.5 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Better biofuels through evolution - April 2009
(2009 Year of Science - Celebrate Energy Resources)
Evolutionary biology has many applications in society and this month we learn how scientists use evolution in the search for more sustainable biofuels. Dr. Syd Withers of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center talks about how directed evolution is used in his work. (13 minutes)
Completel Evolution in the News story and resources
Sex, speciation and fishy physics - March 2009
(2009 Year of Science - Celebrate Physics and Technology)
Biology draws on other scientific fields to understand the physical, chemical and environmental forces that constrain and drive evolution. This month, we look at a story about how optical physics influences speciation in fish. Sönke Johnsen, Associate Professor of Biology at Duke, talks about the effects of light and color on fish speciation. (12 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Happy 200th, Darwin! - February 2009
(2009 Year of Science - Celebrate Evolution)
Darwin's remarkable theory of evolution was a product not only of Darwin's scientific reasoning, but also of his culture. Dr. Elliott Sober, a philosopher of science at the University of Wisconsin, talks about how culture shaped Darwin's ideas. (14 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Tough conservation choices? Ask evolution! December 2008
Conservation of an entire ecosystem is not always possible, but how can we decide which members of the ecosystem are most important in maintaining a healthy ecosystem? Nick Haddad, Associate Professor of Biology at North Carolina State University, talks about a paper that provides an effective guideline for conservation of plants based on their evolutionary relationships. (14 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
HIV's not-so-ancient history - November 2008
Understanding when and how pathogens such as HIV become human pathogens can help us control the diseases they cause and prevent future pathogen transfers. Dr. Katia Koelle, Assistant Professor of Biology at Duke University, talks about what we can learn from reconstructing viral histories, including some unexpected applications. (14 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Evolution's dating and mating game - May 2008
As in most animals, octopus love life is full of interesting behavoirs. Dr. Roy Caldwell, Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California, Berkeley, talks about research he and colleagues did that sheds light on two particularly interesting behaviors: mate guarding and sneaking. Both are evolutionary adaptations to increase the number of a male's offspring. (10.5 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
Superbug, super-fast evolution - April 2008
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is an increasingly common medical problem. MRSA is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus has evolved multiple drug resistance. Infections caused by normal S. aureus are fairly easy to treat with antibiotics, but an infection casused by MRSA is very difficult to treat and can be life threatening. Dr. Christina Burch, Associate Professor of Biology at the Univeristy of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, talks about the evolution of drug resistance in commensal bacteria like S. aureus. (10 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
The new shrew that's not... - March 2008
The discovery of a new mammal is always exciting, but the grey faced sengi, or giant elephant shre, is particularly interesting because of it's evolutionary history. Dr. Kathleen Smith, Professor of Biology at Duke University, and Dr. Samantha Price, Post-doctoral Fellow at the Unversity of California, Davis, talk about how biogeography helps us place the sengi with the afrotheria - a group that includes elephants, dugongs, tenrecs and aardvarks! (14 minutes)
Complete Evolution in the News story and resources
This collection of podcasts includes some earlier podcasts without text stories, longer interviews with scientists, and student generated podcasts.
Podcasts for NESCent Evolution in the News stories
- Ant Highway Repair (Download from iTunes U)
- Monkey Business (Download from iTunes U)
- Speedy Evolution in Galapagos Finches (Download from iTunes U)
Podcast Interviews with Scientists
Elizabeth Derryberry was a graduate student in Steve Nowicki's lab at the time this interview was conducted. She talked about her publication on bird song and speciation. She has since graduated and Dr. Derryberry is currently a post-doctoral fellow at Louisiana State University. (Download from iTunes U)
Scientists and visitors at NESCent took a few minutes to have "Tea with Darwin," an opportunity for modern scientists to share their thoughts with Darwin or ask him questions.
Student Generated
University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
Fall 2007 Bio213: Evolution and Life
- Why Men Matter: Mating Patterns Drive Evolution of Human Lifespan
- Orb Spiders are a Unique Product of Evolutionary History
- Primates on the Brink of Exinction Warning: This podcast contains graphic images.
