As most of you probably noticed last week this site was down due to “support/billing” issues. Here is what was going on: this website regularly taxes the contractual parameters of every hosting service I’ve signed up for over the past 3 years. We never cross the line in regards to bandwidth or abusive scripts, but […]

Two stories have been ironically juxtaposed in time on the front page of the NY Times web site:Hello, I’m Your Sister. Our Father Is Donor 150.The Problem With an Almost-Perfect Genetic World Most likely these stories got there because of the pictures of cute little kids. However, the coincidence makes for an opportunity to point […]

This article in the NY Times — Googling Literature: The Debate Goes Public — is an excellent example of the power of the media. If the publishers’ and authors’ guilds had a case to make to the public, they’ve failed here. If this the extent of the coverage, they’ve lost the PR campaign. It amazes […]

[Added: using some browsers you may see some odd symbols in the following. These should be single quote marks.] In a previous post on interracial marriage I suggested: It is conceivable…that the distinctive achievements of European culture have depended on the prevalence of certain combinations of intelligence and personality which in turn depended on gene-combinations […]

I was checking to see which “similar pages” google popped up for this weblog, and found this article from Harvard Magazine, “Roots” and Race. We’ve tacked this issue before, but I though I’d pass on the interesting statistics dug up on this topic. n = 170 Ethnic self-identification of Harvard black students Black American, 57.1%Afro-Caribbean, […]

I have noticed over the past few days that a lot of people are coming through Stumble Upon. I’ve used this in the past, and it is a neat service. And at this point, it is now the #1 source of new traffic to the site besides google and yahoo! I don’t know if this […]

Hat tip: Captain Capitalism and The EconomistMORE: The Natural History of Ashkenazi IntelligenceNatural History of Ashkenazi I.Q.The Scientific Impact of NationsAddendum: As requested, The Economist print edition article from which this chart originated.

The Superman Returns teaser trailer is online. They made an interesting choice to play up the Christ allegory in the trailer. I like the score — does anyone recognize it, or is it original?

Are religion and evolution at eternal enmity? Well, I think the answer is is not as clear as we might assume. Below are the answers to three questions: God: “I know God exists and I have no doubts about it“Bible: “The Bible is the actual word of God and it is to be taken literally, […]

John was mentioned in a Slate piece. Congratulations! Although recent forays into google finds Hawks invading much of the front page territory in relation to human evolution….

Carl’s new book, Smithsonian Intimate Guide to Human Origins, is out. In a post on the unveiling of the book, Carl concludes: There’s plenty of evidence that our species has continued to evolve in just the past few thousand years. At the same time, though, the rise of human culture, medicine, and genetic engineering may […]

An interesting paper is out in PNAS titled Genetic diversity and reproductive success in Mandrills. The money shot: We found that heterozygous individuals showed greater reproductive success, with both females and males producing more offspring. However, heterozygosity influenced reproductive success only in dominant males, not in subordinates. Neither the acquisition of alpha status in males, […]

We are shifting around bloghosts a lot this week. If you have problems accessing GNXP, don’t worry, everything will be stabilized by early next week. Since we use blogger now, you shouldn’t miss any posts, and I will be posting as if nothing is happening. But, expect another IP switch this weekend, which means some […]

My correspondent follows up: As a scientist, how can you refute the design hypothesis? I am assuming you don’t support the presence of this theory in public schools. I know it has virtually zero scientific backing, but isn’t it important to present as a belief, at least so our youth can reject it? It just […]

This question was raised in some recent comments, and I want to discuss it more fully than was appropriate to a comments box. In population genetics, fitness is usually defined by reference to reproductive success. The details vary – some authors define fitness by the absolute number of offspring, some by reference to the population […]

Short but interesting interview with Carel van Schaik (orangutan researcher) in the NYT: Q. So your discovery that the orangutans learned tool use from one another explains “the rise of human culture” part of your book’s subtitle? A. Well, yes. Orangutans split off from the African lineage some 14 million years ago. If both chimps […]

I received this email from a reader: First, I find your blog interesting at the very least. You seem to know your stuff, and I need a question answered regarding atheism, a quasi-religion (in my mind) that I am assuming you subscribe to follow. It is as follows: How can an atheist reject religion based […]

Giant ape lived alongside humans A gigantic ape, measuring about 10 feet tall and weighing up to 1,200 pounds, co-existed alongside humans, a geochronologist at McMaster University has discovered. Using a high-precision absolute-dating method (techniques involving electron spin resonance and uranium series), Jack Rink, associate professor of geography and earth sciences at McMaster, has determined […]

Profile of Sarah Silverman.

This an expansion on the post below. What is the problem when individuals like Alexandra pose their questions and critiques? You see the problem before you, I’m taking time out to talk about meta-science rather than real science. Time and resources are scarce. Alexandra threw out some contentions related to Fisher’s Fundamental Theorem of Natural […]