Photo by thehumofbees.

• This week, at the Molecular Ecologist: I talk to Yannick Wurm about his research on the genetics of social structure in ants, and Molecular Ecology Resources discontinues “primer notes.”
• And at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! Deceptive daisy is less deceptive to experienced bee flies.
• And can you explain why in under thirty seconds? Should you be working on an elevator pitch for your research?
• “Misguided nostalgia” for Bedrock. The myth of our perfectly adapted ancestors.
• Sadly, they don’t spell out “Feed me!” Carnivorous pitcher plants advertise for prey with neon-looking highlights.
• Ick. Tackling sexism on the ecolog-l listserv.
• Double ick. PLOS Genetics cuts some ethical corners to publish a paper using crowdsourced human genome data.

◼

What’s living in your nectar supply? Photo by J.G. in S.F..

• This week at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! For Valentine’s Day, a post on the population genetics of winemaking yeast.
• And at the Molecular Ecologist: How to start—and end—mentoring relationships, and a call for cool photos and images of molecular ecology and ecologists.
• Not that it’ll do any good. An excellent, clear summing-up of biologists’ complaints about evolutionary psychology, and an explanation of a more fundamental problem.
• Not for the faint of heart. A comprehensive report of emergency room visits occasioned by pubic hair grooming accidents.
• “Active postponing” for the win. Time management tips for the busy biologist.
• Small things considered. The microbes living in a monkeyflower’s nectar can interfere with pollinator efficacy.
• Uh-oh. That cushy private-sector job you’re planning on if the tenure track doesn’t work out? Might not work out, either.
• More than there used to be, but less than it looks like. How many people are applying for NIH funding, anyway?
• The bayonet vs. the hypodermic. How war gets in the way of public health.
• Called De Novo, for some reason. Dodgy researcher looking to publish dodgy alleged sasquatch DNA data (apparently) sets up dodgy new journal.
• Cool. Or, actually, cozy. Proposed energy efficiency changes to New York City housing that could reduce the city’s carbon emmissions 90% by 2050.
• Called, heh, DEBrief. The U.S. National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology (NSF-DEB) has launched a blog.

◼

Fish, schooling. Photo by otolithe (oliver roux).

• This week, at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! A demonstration of herd immunity with a twist, an explanation for why creationism can never be scientific, and an invitation to submit to the March 2013 Carnival of Evolution.
• In other carnivalian news: Kate Clancy is hosting the next Diversity in Science Carnival, y’all.
• And at The Molecular Ecologist: A new study goes looking for missing heritability, and finds a lot of it. Plus, Molecular Ecology recognizes its top peer reviewers.
• #Scio13 catch-up. Scicurious and Doctor Zen talk blogging for the long-haul; in a not unrelated topic, Doctor Zen talks when to quit. Then, Sci and Kate Clancy lead an in-depth discussion of managing identity online.
• Insert joke about social networks here. Schooling fish find their way out of shadows even when individual members have no clue where to go.
• An experiment that’ll stick with you. The developmental origins of the remora’s suction disc.
• “Why is someone like me interested in ecology?” On the minority experience in ecology.
• Based on a sample of literally almost a dozen African-American profs. New study concludes that there’s no racial bias in NIH funding.
• How you evaluate them will depend on what you already know, of course. Some interesting sort-of point and counterpoint on Bayesian inference.
• But well worth a read-through. Yet more advice about preparation for grad school.
• At least, they did in the last several millennia. A comparison of folk tales to genetic differentiation across Europe suggests that genes mix more easily than culture.
• A living wage, but not much more. What to expect when you’re expecting a grad school stipend.
• Null expectations don’t lie. Testing for sexism, with statistics.
• Oy. The chemophobia of the New York Times Magazine.
• Because even when it makes sense, it may not make a lot of sense. WTF, Evolution?

◼

Slow for snow. Photo by Andrew Ciscel.

• This week, at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! A proposed unified theory of pathogen specficity.
• Next stop, NSF? Fixing NIH science funding. First, a vexed conversation, then a righteous rant, then some specific proposals.
• Congrats! But also: boo. Blogging science leads to Miriam Goldstein through a successful transition to policy work, which necessitates a blogging hiatus.
• Maybe! Could whales evolve to be even bigger?
• Ones that sound familiar, I might add. Some complaints about Sex at Dawn.
• “To break the close-barred gates of Nature down.” Philosophy of science from ancient Roman poetry.
• “I heard the same claims when evo-devo surfaced …” Why epigenetics isn’t going to revolutionize evolution.
• By the numbers. How winter weather reduces road capacity.
• With some interesting reasoning, and one hellaciously unconvincing graphic. Treating violence like an infectious disease.
• Congrats to Miriam Goldstein! But also: boo. Blogging science leads to successful transition to policy work, which necessitates a blogging hiatus.
• For future reference. Shopping for a biological statistics textbook.
• Billions and billions. … of small mammals and birds killed by domestic cats, according to a new study.
• And have a few (small) quibbles. Academic statisticians read Nate Silver’s book.

◼

I’m back from Bard, but still getting my [stuff] together. Photo by jby.

• This week at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! Adaptive radiation in salty Bahamian ponds.
• Not represented: the complete and utter non-response. A typology of academic job rejection letters.
• Herpes, that is. Even Anne of Green Gables had it.

◼

Photo by puuikibeach.

• This week at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! Guest poster Levi Moran explains one way we might avert the coming apocalypse of antibiotic resistance.
• And at The Molecular Ecologist. Mark Christie explains the software package STACKS.
• Warm feelings. The joys of discovering how queer-friendly a scientific society can be.
• Get jabbed. It’s turning out to be a bad flu season, but it’s also not too late for a vaccination.
• A dangerous thing. If you think college professors have it easy, you may be suffering from half-knowledge of balance between stress and autonomy in academia.
• No shit. For better fecal microbial transplants, there is now synthetic feces.
• From the editors at Nature. Why analyzing Adam Lanza’s DNA is silly.
• Worst milkshake ever? Evidence that the Maasai have undergone adaptive differentiation as a result of a diet heavy in blood, milk, and red meat.
• Maybe. Is there a link between delivery complications and vaginal microbial diversity?
• But you can finish that cheescake anyway. No, that new study of BMI and mortality doesn’t say it’s healthier to be overweight.

◼

Joshua trees! Photo by jby.

• This week at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! Sarah Hird does not believe that, in science, womens’ underconfidence is their weakness.
• Brilliant. Want to survey a bunch of elusive mammals? Just sample the insects that have already collected DNA samples for you.
• With a headline about tentacle sex, natch. The latest study on Joshua trees and their pollinators, discussed at Pharyngula.
• Depends. Do 70-hour weeks sound “stressful?” Is being a professor the least stressful job?

◼

Quack. Photo by blmiers2.

• The first Carnival of Evolution for 2013! Now online at Genome Engineering
• Sure, why the hell not? Did “restless genes” help humans conquer the planet? (Seriously, this is a good piece.)
• If it quacks like a quack … The science-free advice of Dr. Oz.
• Diversity of sampling for the win. How hormonal birth control might mess with mate choice—for both straight and gay women.
• I mean, really, who doesn’t know to smell their tea for bitter almonds? Thank the gods for dumb poisoners.
• Very, very, effective cows. Are leafcutter ants farmers, or cows?
• Don’t be the third reviewer. Unless you have to. Advice on how to peer-review a paper.
• Smarter isn’t always better. Selecting guppies for bigger brains demonstrates that big brains are expensive.
• Yow. Pioneering anti-GMO activist apologizes, says genetic engineering can be environmentally beneficial.

◼

Romance novels are totally evidence of sexual conflict in humans, you guys. Photo by Stewf.

• Empathy matters. What the “Christmas Truce” of 1914 can tell us about trust and cooperation.
• Happy new year! Worldwide crop yields are stagnating or declining. (Original article here)
• Eek. The funding rate for the new NSF granting process is about five percent.
• Reductio ad absurdam. Evolutionary psychologists go looking for evidence in romance novel titles.
• Fire, or spaghetti? Physicists get hot and bothered about how, exactly, a black hole would kill you.
• Oy. Why a proposed genetic analysis of the Newtown gunman is probably futile and not helpful.
• Membranes! A new hypothesis for the origins of life on Earth.

◼

Photo by Dan W Conway.

• This week at Nothing in Biology Makes Sense! A new paper on the developmental origins of sexual orientation doesn’t break much new ground. See also Jon Wilkins’s in-depth dissection of said paper.
• And at The Molecular Ecologist. I talk pronghorn, sexual selection, and marker choice with Stacey Dunn.
• Westerward leading? Following a star isn’t exactly a good way to navigate in a straight line.
• A mere 12 lightyears away! There might be an earth-like world orbiting Tau Ceti.
• Add’em to the list. Is Antarctica under threat from invasive insects?
• Depression and dopamine. A discussion in two parts.
• The shape of things to come. Next-gen sequencing used to generate informative markers for a previously unsequenced endangered elephant.
• But with a somewhat less bloodshed. Why the academic job market is like the Hunger Games.
• Nooope. Does college make students more liberal?

◼