Category Archives: Uncategorized

Misnomers and Mixed Intentions: Communicating Science is Hard

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

Reposted from the Teaching Evolution in Action blog By Chris Symons The route of information between the raw data of scientific experimentation to the public’s understanding is convoluted. The murky water of scientific communication is problematic at best, if anyone … Continue reading →

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Passing of Prof. John Holland, father of genetic algorithms and pioneer in complex systems

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

August 10, 2015 Dear BEACONites, It is with great sadness that I report the death yesterday of Prof. John H. Holland, Professor of Psychology and of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan. John, 86, succumbed to an … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: The Original Social Gaming

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Texas at Austin postdoc Tessa Solomon-Lane. I can trace the beginning of my fascination with social behavior to the summer I was ten. That summer, I started volunteering … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Can't we all get along? Overcoming evolutionary conflict

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Washington postdoc Sylvie Estrela. Conflict is widespread in nature and that is no exception in the microbial world. Examples of competitive interactions between microbes include competition for shared … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Mating System and Molecular Evolution

Posted on April 28, 2014 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Texas at Austin graduate student Rayna Harris. Research in Hans Hofmann’s lab at UT Austin is best known for its studies of the neurogenomic basis of male social … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: The Evolution of Regeneration in the Deuterostomes

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Washington graduate student Shawn Luttrell. Regeneration has captured the interest and imagination of people for centuries. Popularized in myths, science fiction, and even horror movies, regeneration of missing … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: BEACON on the Beach

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work post is by University of Washington graduate student Bryan Bartley. Like some kind of planktonic larva, I drifted through my formative years, until I finally settled in Seattle 14 years ago. Seattle belongs to … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: What's a Genetic Algorithm?

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU graduate student Matt Ryerkerk. A genetic algorithm is a method often used for optimization, or finding the best solution to a particular problem. When I first heard of genetic … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Electrical Life

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Texas at Austin graduate student Ben Liebeskind.  All life stores energy in the form of electrochemical gradients. These gradients drive nutrient uptake in bacteria, water uptake in plants, … Continue reading →

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BEACON Researchers at Work: The Networked Brain

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Danielle Whittaker

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Texas at Austin graduate student Sean Maguire. The Networked Brain The brain has long been viewed as being composed of isolated regions controlling specific functions. Modern neuroscience has … Continue reading →

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