Olly Vaughan (1st year, reading group member!) thought you should all read this letter written by Richard Dawkins to his daughter when she turned 10. Thank you Olly! http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/12/28/richard-dawkins-letter-to-daughter/
Pete Boyd (PhD student), found this on Jerry Coyne’s blog. Pete describes is as “animals complaining about their evolved traits”, thank you Pete! http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/dear-evolution-letters-animals-bemoan-their-lot/
Alice Ball (3rd year) found this Nature Correspondence article about the conservation implications due to a shift from the biological to the phylogenetic species concept. Thank you Alice! http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v494/n7435/full/494035c.html
Brainsize of the hobbit – a new study shows that Homo floresiensis had a larger brain than previously thought
http://royalsociety.org/news/2013/homo-floresiensis/ – review
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22166736 – review
Agriculture and sustainability in the Amazon – special edition of Philosophical Transactions B http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/site/2013/Amazon.xhtml
Live fast, die young – red squirrel mothers prime their offspring in a high competition environment (prenatal maternal effect)
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/04/17/science.1235765 – article
Baby humans and mice are calmed when carried by their mother
http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(13)00343-6
MMR controversy – Wikipedia sums up the history quite well http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMR_vaccine_controversy, including a section on the influence of the press. You can also read more about the MMR vaccination on the NHS website http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/vaccinations/Pages/mmr-questions-answers.aspx .
You will be aware that there is a current outbreak of measles in Wales and a concerted effort to vaccinate against measles, mumps and rubella in schools in England. If you are not vaccinated you should talk to your GP.
The story of the double helix – a slide show on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/22270604
How will global temperatures be affected by climate change? This map shows you http://warmingworld.newscientistapps.com/
Posted By : Judith Lock