Tag Archives: Biological Evolution

BEACON Researchers at Work: Walk This Way

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by University of Idaho postdoc Anne Gutmann. In the classic Monty Python skit “Ministry of Silly Walks”,  the comedian John Cleese demonstrates a series of hilariously weird and wacky walks while … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Understanding spatial genetic structure of martens and their prey

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by Michigan State University graduate student Paige Howell. Understanding the processes that influence the spatial distribution of diversity is a long-standing goal in ecology and evolutionary biology. It has also always … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: The social lives of bacteria

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work post is by MSU graduate student Eric Bruger. Why play well with others when you can get away with just looking out for your own self-interest? This is a sentiment not only left to … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Tadpole sibling rivalry

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU graduate student Sara Garnett.  If you’ve grown up with siblings, you’re probably familiar with the potential for conflict. Deep down, you love each other and want the other to … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: What Makes an Attenuated Virus?

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU graduate student Evin Hildebrandt. While people are often all too familiar with those nasty virulent viruses that cause disease, attenuated viruses do not seem to be as well known … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Investigating the dynamics of diversification in chipmunks

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work post is by University of Idaho graduate student Brice Sarver. Speciation, the set of processes through which new species arise, is one of the central areas of biological study.  It is easy, relatively speaking, … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Nutrition limitation's role in phytoplankton evolution

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU graduate student Megan Larsen. We all know that the world is more complex than the simplified systems and questions we use in laboratories. And yet, as scientists we have … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: If Sticklebacks Could Talk…

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU postdoc Liliana Lettieri. “My what a red throat you have, and such a blue belly!  You’ve got some impressive dance moves, and you’ve built a nice nest.” If stickleback … Continue reading

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BEACON scientists show how new viruses can evolve and become deadly

In the current issue of Science, researchers at Michigan State University demonstrate how a new virus evolves, which sheds light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. The scientists showed for the first time how … Continue reading

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BEACON Researchers at Work: Studying the evolution of sociality with real and digital hyenas

This week’s BEACON Researchers at Work blog post is by MSU postdoc Aaron Wagner. The evolution of sociality is one of the most fascinating and productive topics in evolutionary biology. Though it is often very useful to look to social … Continue reading

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