Category Archives: Books
BIZARRELY REASSURING OR DEEPLY DEPRESSING?
November 2007 This is the conclusion to a review in Nature by Chris Thomas (York) of a new book by paleontologist Michael Novacek, Terra, about the possibility of a new, human-driven, mass extinction event: “The geological perspective of Terra is … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Extinction
FROM GAY PENGUINS TO GAY FLAMINGOS
May 2007 Some of you may remember the Gay Penguin business in Berlin Zoo a while back. This is a piece about a pair of male flamingos who have adopted an egg. Ahhh. Anybody seriously interested in the wide variety of sexual behaviour … Continue reading
Filed under Baby animals, Birds, Books
SHAMELESS PLUG
April 2007 The paperback edition of my book about the 17th century discovery of “the secrets of sex, life and growth” is out (£7.99). It’s called The Egg and Sperm Race and you can get it at Blackwell’s or from Amazon. It’s … Continue reading
MORE ON THE DEVIL
February 2007 Last year ago, the Z-letter carried an item about the nasty virus which is threatening the Tasmanian Devil. A conference has taken place in Tasmania to pool ideas about how to fight the disease. BBC report here, Nature article on the … Continue reading
Filed under Books, Diseases, Marsupials
BIRD COLORATION
February 2007 This superb collection of articles on the origins and function of bird coloration is in two volumes and is now available for Manchester students in the John Rylands Library. To get an idea of what’s in the books, click here and … Continue reading
LIFE THROUGH TIME
January 2007 Stunning pictures illustrating the appearance and evolution of life on Earth, and the conditions involved, here.
Filed under Books, Evolution, Extinction, Images
THIRTY YEARS OF “THE SELFISH GENE”
October 2006 In March this year there was a debate at the LSE in London about Richard Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene (if you haven’t read it, you must!). Speakers included philosopher Daniel C Dennet, scientist Sir John Krebs, authors Matt Ridley and … Continue reading
Filed under Audio files, Behaviour, Books, Evolution
