Part of an occasional, ridiculous series from Occam’s Razor: Now that Darlene’s finally headed off to the ScienceOnline2010 conference (thought she’d never leave), let me fill you in on some REAL science you can use. Science yesterday announced something that half the population of the world has suspected for a long time – men are evolving faster than women.  I won’t bore you with the mumbo-jumbo, nor that scientists are distancing themselves from controversy by saying, “this does not mean that men are evolving faster than women.”  The proof is in the research…and the research is so irrefutable, even a woman is reporting it!  The study was headed up by one Jennifer Hughes, who, according to the internet (invented by a jolly green giant of a MAN – Al Gore), is most definitely a woman, and a bit of a babe, at that.  Lucky for her, she is an outlier among her sex and was able to figure out the challenging laboratory environment.

But has evolution started to bite back at we perfectly-formed males?  A few months ago new research came out to challenge some understandings about natural selection. It has long been simple, common knowledge that the hunkier the guy, the more muscular and “ripped,” the more athletic and strong, then the more attractive he is to females.  It’s something the nerds of the world just had to accept.  But…the nerds have struck back.  The research in question suggests that weak, pasty, scrawny scientists, having holed themselves up in some dingy, drab, musty, Chanel-free lab at the University of Pittsburgh for years and years, have finally gotten the angle needed to extract at least some small piece of revenge.   Muscular men get more sex, but also die at a younger age.   The testosterone that makes them hunky also apparently compromises their immune systems!   Women take the genes from these men in their prime, and then as widows settle down to comfortable-if-boring lives with tenured professors.

Lacking an Adonis-like physique, this doesn’t concern me so much and I’m left to comfortably focus on my rapid evolution.  In fact, I have been inspired to form my New Year’s resolutions around this new discovery.  By the end of the year I plan to 1. evolve to the point that I can simultaneously and with equal facility do one-handed pushups while building a car engine and 2. bear an offspring with wings.  Or at least wing-like nubs that he can then turn into larger nubs on his offspring, etc. etc. and with our rapid evolving I have no doubt that a flying Occam Jr. will be here by 2100…just in time to give scenic rides over the mostly-submerged coastal cities of the United States.

I eagerly shared this fast-evolution story with my wife, turning away briefly from the professional wrestling match I was watching and belching loudly before announcing man’s collective superiority, mildly annoying her that I interrupted the debate she was having with a girlfriend about the works of Hypatia of Alexandria.  I then insisted that she’d been naturally selected to get me another beer, at which time she very tersely pointed out that were one to line up photos in chronological order of the women I’ve dated, one would observe that they gradually look less and less like an ape, until finally reaching her picture, refreshingly free of low, sloping forehead and prehensile tail.  I’m not sure if that said more about the evolution of me or of the fairer sex, but I’m pretty sure the verbal beat down directed toward me that followed not only somewhere made Charles Darwin cry (he’s either in heaven or hell, depending on the fish logo on your car), but also confirmed that I would not be given the opportunity to pass on my superior traits at any time over the next several days.

Humans evolved. Shouldn’t our websites? That’s the idea behind NOVA’s new Beta Evolution website, an experimental effort to transform the way NOVA delivers its award-winning science and technology programming.

Since 1996, NOVA has pioneered new forms of web-original content with more than 30,000 pages covering anything from string theory to aviation to how the Pyrimids were built. The Beta Evolution website serves as one-stop shop for all matters evolution, including the recent three-part NOVA series, Becoming Human, which explores the latest scientific research on human origins. Over time, NOVA will rely on user feedback to help inspire new ways of designing, organizing, and presenting this content to make it more useful for viewers.

Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with Lauren Aguirre, executive director of NOVA’s Web team, about goals of the new project, the challenges of organizing 13 years of content, and her experiences at the forefront of science communications. You can listen to each individual question and answer by clicking on the audio player below. Enjoy!

Recently, I helped Discover Magazine put together a panel discussion sponsored by the Templeton Foundation at Yale. The topic: Does evolution explain human nature? This was part of the Templeton Foundation’s Big Questions Series.

Big shout out to Yale’s public affairs and broadcast media teams! Thanks for inviting me to sign the celebrity wall in the green room (sorry it’s much larger than Ted Kennedy, Jr’s autograph but, ya know).

Here are highlights from the discussion featuring Ken Miller, David Sloan-Wilson and Laurie Santos chatting with Discover’s Editor, Corey Powell. Check out this civil, thought-provoking discussion. So, does evolution explain human nature?

Lesson #17 of 18 in the Brain Makeover collaboration with Professor James Trefil/George Mason University, the 76ers Cheerleaders and the Science Cheerleader. See Brain Makeover Series.
17. All forms of life evolved by natural selection.

Scientists divide the development of life on Earth into two segments: chemical evolution, which involves the development of life from inorganic materials, and evolution by natural selection, which describes the process by which that early life form produced the diversity of modern life. The latter is what people associate with Charles Darwin and usually mean by the term ‘evolution’.

Evolution by natural selection depends on two things: first, that there are variations within populations (so that, for example, some rabbits can run faster than others) and, second, competition between individuals (so that fast rabbits are more likely to survive and reproduce). Over time, this selection process produces new species.

Evidence for evolution by natural selection comes from the fossil record and from the examination of genes in the DNA of modern life forms.

My brother-in-law sent this to me. He lives with my sister and niece in England, very close to Darwin’s birth place:

Darwin was born in Shrewsbury the county town of Shropshire (the county where we live) about 20 miles from Bridgnorth. Here’s a great site about his Shrewsbury roots. The county is very proud of their notable son. There is a large statue of Darwin outside Shrewsbury Library and one at the top of the grand staircase in the Natural History Museum in London. Charlotte had her picture taken next to this statue as she was also born in Shrewsbury (all be it in the hospital!)

Here is sketch your readers might enjoy…any excuse to do a drawing!

(And, here’s more information on Darwin events and celebrations scheduled to take place this month as well as discussions on why this hot topic is important albeit controversial.)

Thanks, Neil, for sending in the following comment re: McCain’s VP choice. Hmmm. You make some excellent (and courageous) points. What do the rest of you think about science in this election?

Darlene,