Big Picture Science - Surfeit of the Vitalest
In the century and a half since Charles Darwin wrote his seminal On the Origin of the Species, our understanding of evolution has changed quite a bit. For one, we have not only identified the inheritance molecule DNA, but have determined its sequence in many animals and planets.
Evolution has evolved, and we take a look at some of the recent developments.
A biologist describes the escalating horn-to-horn and tusk-to-tusk arms race between animals, and a paleoanthropologist explains why the lineage from chimp to human is no longer thought to be a straight line but, instead, a bush. Also, New York Times science writer Carl Zimmer on the diversity of bacteria living on you, and which evolutionary concepts he finds the trickiest to explain to the public.
Guests:
- Douglas Emlen – Biologist, University of Montana and author of Animal Weapons: The Evolution of Battle
- Bernard Wood – Paleoanthropologist, George Washington University
- Carl Zimmer – Columnist for the New York Times
Permalink: http://radio.seti.org/episodes/Surfeit_of_the_Vitalest
You can listen to this and other episodes at http://radio.seti.org/, and be sure to check out Blog Picture Science, the companion blog to the radio show.
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