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Moby Microbe

First clear view of a one-celled harpooner in action

Survival of the Friendliest

Kelly Clancy Nautilus
It’s time to give the violent metaphors of evolution a break. For those most invested in the old-school Darwinian view of the survival of the fittest and violence as virtue, then, the message is clear: Just relax.

Friday Nite Videos -- March 3, 2016

Portside
Bernie Sanders' Response to Trump's Speech to Congress. Movie | Get Out. Jeff Sessions, Trump and Russia. Obamacare | John Oliver. Can We Bring Back Lost Species?

Do Charles Darwin's Private Letters Contradict His Public Sexism?

Danuta Kean The Guardian
Today is Darwin Day (Charles Darwin was born February 12, 1809). A new book explores Darwin's public and private views on women. Apparently his views on women had not evolved as far as his views on the origin and development of life.

What Percent Virus Are You?

Hannah Moots FiveThirtyEight
With advances in genome sequencing and computational tools to analyze genomic information, researchers are able to estimate that about 8 percent of the human genome is made of sequences that originated as invasive retroviruses. To put that number in perspective, genes make up about 1 percent to 1.5 percent of your genome.

Friday Nite Videos -- December 16, 2016

Portside
Daryl Davis, Race & America | Movie Trailer. Everybody Knows | Leonard Cohen. ¡Cuba! Exhibition Now Open. The Brilliant Life of Ada Lovelace #OrdinaryWomen. My President Was Black.

¡Cuba! Exhibition Now Open

Its complex politics and vibrant music have attracted the attention of the world. But Cuba, the largest island nation in the Caribbean, is also home to the unexpected. It’s a place of stunning contrasts: mysterious caves and bright boulevards, sweltering fields and cool forests, hard challenges and high energy.

A Conductor of Evolution’s Subtle Symphony

Stephanie Bucklin Quanta Magazine
At first, the biologist Richard Lenski thought his long-term experiment on evolution might last for 2,000 generations. Nearly three decades and over 65,000 generations later, he’s still amazed by evolution’s “awesome inventiveness.”
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