Last week we got to see from the perspective of a dog exploring in the woods. This week I'm even more excited about the possibility of seeing the world from a beetle's perspective. We already know that at least some insects can see in the ultraviolet spectrum and some flowers have patterns we cannot see to attract pollinators who can them. We also know that the compound eyes of insects offer a very different view than our binocular vision. But with new miniature self-powered cameras, we can hook a camera up to beetles … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Size Matters Not
biological evolution
Science Corner: The Force of Cuteness
Large swaths of the Internet have fallen under the spell of Baby Yoda, and I guess I'm not immune to those charms either. (Yes, I recognize they're not actually young Yoda, but the character doesn't have an actual name and Baby Yoda has a satisfying lilt.) Actually, part of the charm is intrinsic to our biology and psychology as humans; certain features common to human babies, like big eyes and proportionately large heads, read as cute to nearly all of us across a variety of contexts. One might expect baby chimps and … [Read more...] about Science Corner: The Force of Cuteness
Science Reader Question: So you want to read more about evolutionary biology and theology
I've written a lot over the past two months on the topics of evolutionary biology and theology, perhaps more than some of you required. And yet I've also only scratched the surface of the relevant issues. Rather than continue ad nauseum, I thought I'd conclude this series with some suggestions for further reading. This won't be an exhaustive bibliography; if you want something more comprehensive, you might try the relevant sections of the American Scientific Affiliation's categorized resources or this reading list from … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: So you want to read more about evolutionary biology and theology
Science Reader Question: Putting the Biology in Evolutionary Biology
We've been taking a look at what an evolutionary natural history implies about God's nature, human nature, and other theological topics. Last week I addressed some of the benefits of an evolutionary perspective. I think affirming evolution doesn't mean settling for an otherwise undesirable position out of obligation to science; I believe looking at the world through an evolutionary lens is actually consistent with the narrative of scripture. At the same time, I am a biologist and this is a science column, so I'd like to … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: Putting the Biology in Evolutionary Biology
Science Reader Question: Life on the Edge
Throughout this ongoing series on evolution, inspired by some reader questions, we've looked at a lot of the challenges an evolutionary natural history presents for traditional Christian theology. Accounting for the modern biological understanding of life's origin and diversity is usually framed as a series of conundrums requiring either substantial effort to resolve, or an ultimate rejection of either science or scripture. If evolutionary natural history is so problematic, why bother? If there's any uncertainty, why … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: Life on the Edge