Let there be light

Article Abstract:

The sudden invention of colour vision was the driving force behind the great diversification of life on Earth during the Cambrian period, according to Andrew Parker, a researcher at the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia. His assertion is based on the discovery of microscopic grooves on fossils from this period. He believes that these grooves caused light shining on them to become diffracted, making the surface shine with bright, iridescent colours. The sudden introduction of bright coloration gave animals a new stimulus to which they had to react, and led to chaos, which in turn prompted an explosion in evolution.

Evolution (Biology), Evolution, Paleontology, Cambrian period

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Evolving the human condition

Article Abstract:

American biologist Edward O. Wilson has attracted considerable controversy with his views on how the social behaviour of animals can be determined by evolution. His critics state that he places genetic determination above free will. In fact, his books show a deep love of creatures to which most people do not wish to give much attention. It can be argued that he is the greatest living natural history writer, putting both his emotions and his intellect into his writing. His main point is that art, just as any other sphere of human activity, can be traced back to our biological roots.

Analysis, Influence, Wilson, Edward O., Behavior evolution, Behavioral evolution

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Rethink begins into how the virus originated

Article Abstract:

There have been many theories put forward over recent years about the origins of the HIV virus. For some time, it was thought that the first victim was a Manchester man who died in 1959, but this has now been disproved, and researchers are no nearer finding the answer. Latest research indicates that HIV must have developed relatively recently to have caused the rapid expansion of Aids into a worldwide epidemic.

AIDS (Disease), AIDS research

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