Dinosaurs Teach Us About Evolution & Genetics

"Dr. Eric Jaffe joins the show and walks us through the dream so many of us have had - building a dinosaur! With his expertise in molecular biology, we learn if this is even possible, and how exactly it would work. Would we use mosquitoes for this project like Jurassic Park tells us is totally possible and sound? Actually, what even is a dinosaur anyway? Lots of fascinating dino-talk in this one from a great science communicator!

"Building a Dinosaur Is a project spearheaded by the Paleontologist Jack Horner. He has worked with the labs of numerous scientists including but not limited to: Hans Larsson, Dana Rashid, and Mary Schweitzer."

Click on this link for a podcast that presents an in-depth look into evolution and genetics:

Resurrecting Extinct Animals

"It sounds like science fiction, but a couple of groups of genetic researchers are actively working on bringing back extinct species like the wooly mammoth and the Dodo bird. It’s a complicated issue, filled with all kinds of ethical questions and scientific advancements but when all is said and done, it could be a boon to genetic research and serve as a springboard for technologies that could make our lives better."

Click on the link below for a 17-minute video presenting the details:

Why Resurrection Extinct Animals Is Actually A GREAT Idea

The Horrors Of A Scientist Doing Pseudoscience

"Few scientists have caused more death and suffering than Trofim Lysenko. He was a Soviet botanist whose ideas around genetics (i.e., he didn’t believe in it) led to massive famines across multiple decades when Josef Stalin promoted his ideas across the country. And yet… He’s becoming popular again. Why? Let’s look at it."

Click on the link below for a video presenting an example of the consequences of even scientists not understanding the scientific method, with horrible consequences:

The Absolute Worst Scientist Of All Time - And Why He’s Popular Again

Health Among The Amish

"Health among the Amish is characterized by higher incidences of particular genetic disorders, especially among the Old Order Amish. These disorders include dwarfism,[1] Angelman syndrome,[2] and various metabolic disorders, such as Tay-Sachs disease,[3] as well as an unusual distribution of blood types.[4]" (Wikipedia)

Any cult/closed community may have a high risk of genetic disorders but also may have some positive social traits.  Click on this link for more.

The Land Mines of Addressing The Role of Genes In Intelligence

"'I’m afraid that this will be a distraction for society,' he said. An obsession with slippery genetic predictions could turn people’s attention away from other things that influence how children do in school and beyond—things like their family’s wealth, the stress in their neighborhoods, the quality of the schools themselves."

Genetic Intelligence Tests Are Next to Worthless

Sam Harris VS Ezra Klein Regarding Genetics & IQ

One of my favorite podcasts is Sam Harris' Waking Up.  I have known for years that he is controversial for some of his conservative views. But, he really is difficult to pin down politically. That said, there is a major firestorm going on after *he and Ezra Klein debated recently. The topic of controversy was regarding the role of genetics in IQ: Harris supports the significant influence of genetics and Klein does not.  What is the truth?

Here are several links presenting research in this area: link; link; link; link; link.  In studying the topic, I have come to the conclusion that, if genetics do play a role, it is minor compared to the role of history and environment/culture in which humans evolved.  Thus, I do not accept Sam Harris' view of the importance of genetics and IQ.

(*The debate was over the writings of Charles Murray and Richard J. Herrnstein in their book The Bell Curve.  This article challenges the sources of its data, and this link to Wikipedia presents more criticism of the book and its findings.)

 

Cultural Anthropologists Can Be As Dogmatic As Religious Apologists

"As a biologist, I’ve learned that there are two related issues that are taboo for academics to discuss openly. The first is the issue of “races”—of genetic differences between human populations. Cultural anthropologists tell us that races are “social constructs.” Well, there’s a bit of truth in that, insofar as there is no finite number of races that can be unambiguously demarcated from each other. But there are genetic differences between groups, and clustering algorithms can divide populations into five or six fairly distinguishable groups corresponding to their geographic localities. Those genetic differences in marker genes undoubtedly evolved via either genetic drift or natural selection in early human populations that were geographically isolated."

The sociological religion of no biological differences between the sexes