Biology

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Tyler Hampton

[short_description] If viruses have killed their millions, they have blessed their millions, too. Tyler Hampton reviews Discovering Retroviruses: Beacons in the Biosphere, by Anna Marie Skalka.

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A Quiet Revolutionary

Andrew Brower

[short_description] How do researchers determine evolutionary ancestry among species? The early twentieth-century German biologist Willi Hennig articulated revolutionary principles that remain entirely relevant today.

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A Life Far Less Ordinary

John Mathew

[short_description] Popularizing Science: The Life and Work of JBS Haldane is a new biography by Haldane’s mentee, Krishna Dronamraju. John Mathew casts an approving eye over its account of Haldane’s life and work.

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The Social Set

David Berlinski

[short_description] Nicholas Christakis’s Blueprint: The Evolutionary Origins of a Good Society argues it is our genetic destiny to build societies around generous and moral behavior. David Berlinski is less optimistic.

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Long Live Longevity

John Hewitt

[short_description] Controlling the life cycle of the body and avoiding cellular senescence, John Hewitt argues, will require controlling the nervous system and mitochondria distributed by it.

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Many Little Lives

J. Scott Turner

[short_description] Claude Bernard was the first to propose the concept of homeostasis. J. Scott Turner discusses the ongoing negotiation and mutual accommodation between parts of an organism—its many little lives.

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The Origins of Behavior

Ruichen Sun

[short_description] It is very natural, Ruichen Sun observes, to suppose that animal behavior is under some form of algorithmic control. Simple rules often offer a compelling account of complex behavior.

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Behavior

David Lahti

[short_description] David Lahti reviews a recent book on how and to what extent genes determine behavior by philosopher of science Kenneth Schaffner: Behaving–What’s Genetic, What’s Not, and Why Should We Care?

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Spin in Quantum Biology

Ron Naaman & David Waldeck

[short_description] A discussion of chiral induced spin selectivity and the importance of electron spin in biological systems: long-range electron transfer, reactions involving multiple electrons, and bio-recognition.

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The Obstetrical Dilemma

Chase Nelson

[short_description] Bipedalism requires a narrow pelvis, larger brains require wide birth canals. Chase Nelson analyzes a new theory about human neonate helplessness: helplessness itself exerts a selective force.

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The Difference It Makes

George Scialabba

[short_description] Agency, autonomy, and artificial intelligence. George Scialabba reviews The Restless Clock: A History of the Centuries-Long Argument over What Makes Living Things Tick by Jessica Riskin.

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The Excitable Mitochondria

John Hewitt

[short_description] Without a CAD model of the brain, we will never be able to develop advanced brain implants. Instead of scaling up neural nets, John Hewitt argues, we need to begin with mitochondrial networks.

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