As David Tyler writes over at Access Research Network: Introgressive hybridization and the Galapagos finches A branching pattern of variation was central to Darwin’s concept of speciation. As one population of organisms follows one trajectory, another population may spin off in a different direction. When they are sufficiently far apart, they are considered to be separate species. The Galapagos finches have been regarded as exemplars of Darwinian transformation, even leading to the claim that one newly developed population is “behaving as a separate species”. However, the most recent study, from one of the smaller islands (Floreana), concludes that the most likely cause of the disappearance of one of these species is hybridization. “The authors suggest that hybridization may have been Read More ›

Quantum Physicist 1:  Did you hear about the quantum cowboy? Quantum Physicist 2:  No, do tell. QP1:  There was this cowboy who was in a quantum superposition of states between reaching into his back pocket for a little round can of snuff or not reaching into his back pocket for a little round can of snuff, all the while waiting for an observer to collapse the wave function. QP2:  Yeah? QP1:  Yeah, it seems the cowboy subscribed to the “Copenhagen interpretation.”   Ha ha ha ha! QP2:  I don’t get it. QP1:  Don’t you see?  The joke plays on a pun between the “Copenhagen interpretation” of quantum mechanics and the brand of snuff called “Copenhagen.”  It also plays on the irony Read More ›