Alabama Lectures on Life’s Evolution - ALLELE

Burch’s research covers the morphology of genitalia, specifically the shape of male sexual organs and why they are shaped the way they are. She uses cross-species analysis to explain the evolution of genitalia and semen displacement. She says the seminal fluid composition is a result of intersexual evolution. Burch hopes to provide a better understanding of the molecular level of sex.

In this presentation, Dr. Martin shows how dinosaur trace fossils teach us about the evolution of behavior. The evolution of group behavior, nesting, and burrowing are just a few examples of critical evolutionary thresholds that can only be studied with reference to trace fossils.

In this presentation, Dr. Martin shows how dinosaur trace fossils teach us about the evolution of behavior. The evolution of group behavior, nesting, and burrowing are just a few examples of critical evolutionary thresholds that can only be studied with reference to trace fossils.

The final lecture in the 2013-2014 academic year for the ALLELE (Alabama Lectures on Life's Evolution) series. Dr. Lawrence Krauss, a world-renowned physicist and public intellectual discusses how to get something from nothing.

The final lecture in the 2013-2014 academic year for the ALLELE (Alabama Lectures on Life's Evolution) series. Dr. Lawrence Krauss, a world-renowned physicist and public intellectual discusses how to get something from nothing.

Tishkoff, who is a professor in the genetics and biology departments at Penn, discusses her research into variations in the genetics, as well as the physical characteristics, of ethnically diverse Africans. Her research combines fieldwork, laboratory research and computational methods to examine African population history. She examines how genetic variation can affect a wide range of practical issues – for example, why humans have different susceptibility to disease, how they metabolize drugs and how they adapt through evolution.

One of the lectures in the ALLELE series (Alabama Lectures on Life's Evolution. This lecture focuses on the importance of Wallace as a co-discoverer of natural selection.

Baba Brinkman is a Canadian rap artist, award-winning playwright, and recipient of the National Center for Science Education's "Friend of Darwin" for his efforts to improve public understanding of evolutionary biology. He has toured the world with this show "Rap Guide to Evolution" and released it as a CD and DVD on Lit Fuse Records. The show is equal parts hip hop, education, and comedy.

Dr. Gregory Retallack, an expert in fossil plants and soil and a professor of geological sciences at the University of Oregon, presented at The University of Alabama’s 2013-2014 ALLELE Lecture series discussing major innovations in the evolution of vegetation and how changes in organisms can affect world climate. The 2013-2014 ALLELE series is supported by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and the departments of anthropology, biological sciences, communicative disorders, geological sciences, philosophy and religious studies.

Dr. Joseph Carroll discusses Literary Darwinism, a school of thought that integrates literary study with evolutionary social science. According to Carroll, a series of scientific developments in the past two centuries, including Darwin’s theory of natural selection, have provided the foundation for literary Darwinism. Furthermore, three main developments in the last decade – the recognition that humans have evolved adaptations for cooperative social interaction, the idea of domain-specific cognitive modules within the idea of a flexible general intelligence, and the recognition of the significance of gene-culture co-evolution in human nature – provide a more adequate model of human nature. Dr. Joseph Carroll is Curators' Professor of English at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. In addition to monographs on Matthew Arnold and Wallace Stevens, his books include Evolution and Literary Theory (1995), Literary Darwinism (2004), Reading Human Nature (2011), and (co-authored) Graphing Jane Austen (2012). Edited and co-edited works include an edition of Darwin's Origin of Species (2003), Evolution, Literature, and Film: A Reader (2010),and the first two volumes of The Evolutionary Review (2010, 2011).

Dr. Myers’s research is focused on human genetics and genomics and has led to the identification of genes involved in inherited diseases. His lab uses genomics tools and genetics to understand how genes interacting with the environment contribute to human diseases and other traits.

Dr. John Hawks, who is known as an international advocate for open science, will talk about his research that has uncovered the rapid genetic changes in humans during the past 10,000 years and the unique contribution of the genomes of Neandertals and other ancient people to our origins and evolution.

Dr. Bruce MacFadden is Curator and Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. On the UF faculty since 1977, he teaches in both the biology and geology departments. He is the author of 165 peer-reviewed articles and a book titled Fossil Horses (Cambridge 1992). With funding from the NSF PIRE program, his current research interests include collecting fossil mammals along the Panama Canal. He is also interested in how evolution is communicated through museum exhibits. Bruce received his B.S. degree from Cornell University and his M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University.

Bingham and Souza speak on the development of the social coercion theory, which they developed together as part of a decade-long collaboration that resulted in the publication of their book “Death from a Distance and the Birth of a Humane Universe.” Their theory suggests that the ultimate origins of all cooperative organic units, such as human groups, ant colonies, or genomes, lies in the capacity for individual components making up those units to individually, adaptively project coercive threat.

E.O. Wilson, two-time recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction and alumnus of The University of Alabama, speaks about his newest book, "The Social Conquest of Earth," and the evolution of social behaviors.

This presentation explores, from an evolutionary perspective, the causes, treatment, and prevention of cancer.

Christopher diCarlo is a Philosopher of Science and Ethics whose interests in cognitive evolution have taken him into the natural and social sciences. His personal research focuses on how and why humans reason, think, and act the way they do. He is interested in how and why the human brain has evolved to its current state and what cross-cultural and cross-species behavior can provide insight into universally common modes of reasoning. He is also interested in the application of neuroscience (specifically fMRI work), in an effort to better understand.

Dr. Hopi Hoekstra is John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and the Curator of Mammals at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University. Concerning her research interests and this lecture, she states: “Our planet is teeming with a stunning display of biological diversity—from star-nose moles to the giant blue morpho butterflies to majestic redwoods and the toxic deathcap mushrooms. How did this diversity evolve? With the recent advent of new DNA sequencing technologies, we are now able to answer this question with unprecedented precision by studying the genetic code. In my lecture, I will present one of the most complete studies of adaptive change in nature—the evolution of camouflaging coloration in mice inhabiting the coastal dunes of Alabama and Florida. Examples such as this are of growing importance for education as we live in a country in which less than half our citizens accept evolution.”

Melvin Konner, a biological anthropologist, is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Program in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology at Emory University. He earned his PhD (1973) and MD (1985) from Harvard. Dr. Konner is a globally recognized expert on how evolution, biology, and culture together shape child development and human nature. He also was among the first to recognize the importance of evolution to contemporary health, and published The Paleolithic Prescription: A Guide to Diet and Exercise and a Design for Living (1988) with S. Boyd Eaton and Marjorie Shostak. Dr. Konner is an active public communicator and advocate, testifying twice before the US Senate on health care reform and end-of-life care, appearing in two public television series, and writing for (among others) Newsweek, The Sciences, The American Prospect, and The New York Times Magazine.