* Your Biological Resource Discussion Area: The Evolution Echo by Wesley R. Elsberry 1:347

* Your Biological Resource Discussion Area: The Evolution Echo

by Wesley R. Elsberry
1:347/303, Central Neural System BBS, 509-627-6267


"Industrial melanism" can be just a bit of jargon until you ask a
knowledgeable zoologist to fill in the details.  Then, you can find out
why _Biston betularia_ provides an excellent example of what biologists
today call "evolution".  Along the way, the ecology of visually
oriented predators and color-camouflaged prey items gets explained.
Changes in environment become linked to changes in allele frequencies,
and the whole process starts making sense.  For those with a
mathematical bent, the Hardy-Castle-Weinberg equations for population
genetics may provide some fascinating calculator math in pursuit of
biological relevance.

Or if you are interested by fossils, discussions of taxonomy concerning
our favorite critters from the Burgess Shale will definitely prove
thought provoking.  Is _Hallucigenia_ really an onychophoran?  No, says
Marty Leipzig, despite Stephen Gould's apparent capitulation on the
matter.  And just how large was _Anomalocaris_, the extra-large model
predator of Burgess Shale fauna?  Is _Wiwaxia_ really just another
trilobite?  (Trilobites, BTW, have nothing to do with computer memory.)

Does the speed of light decay, as SciCre-ists Norman and Setterfield
have averred?  Various folk knowledgeable about the fields of physics
and statistics not only say no, but explain why not.

Or did Forrest M. Mims III get a fair deal or a raw deal when turned
down for a columnist slot at Scientific American?

How can you help preserve science instruction in secondary schools when
biology classes are threatened by SciCre-ist dogmatists or animal
rights activists?

Do simulations of natural selection "jam" computers, as asserted by
three-time doctorate SciCre-ist A.E. Wilder Smith?  Learn why "genetic
algorithms" are a hot topic in optimization problem solving, and why
Wilder Smith was wrong.

On all these topics and more, the Evolution Echo helps put you in touch
with folks who either have a handle on answers or who are willing to
help you locate the answers.

Already, the phylogeny of therapsid reptiles, bases of molecular
biology, definitions of abiogenesis, the extent of dendrochronological
timelines, and various other nifty topics have been discussed in the
Evolution Echo.

If you enjoy science and either have a clue or wish to obtain a clue
concerning biology, the Evolution Echo is a place that you should
frequent.

The Evolution Echo is a science echo, which means that flame-fests and
invalid argumentation are discouraged, while the posting of references
and proper arguments are encouraged.  Science also says nothing (and
can say nothing) concerning the validity of theological issues, so
either supporting or denigrating religions is off-topic in the
Evolution Echo.  Those who must make comments concerning religion when
discussions of biology come up are encouraged to continue frequenting
the OPEN_BIBLE or A_THEIST echoes according to their viewpoint.  Those
of you who believe that the tag for this echo should be
SATAN_INSPIRED_CONSPIRACY (Ken Ham, are you listening?) are welcome to
join in, but do remember that the level of respect you give is likely
to be the level of respect you get.  The echo rules are available for
F'Req from 1:347/303 as EVORULES.LZH.

The goal is to make the Evolution Echo accurate, useful, and fun.  The
topics can be both technical and important, but a little levity goes a
long way toward keeping things pleasant.

The Evolution Echo is now available on the Zone 1 backbone.  Areafix
your link today!


Wesley R. Elsberry, Evolution Echo Moderator