This past December, science writer David Dobbs published an essay (2013) in the online magazine Aeon (aeon.co/magazine/) that purports to explain why the ‘selfish gene’ concept is outmoded and should be retired. It elicited a good deal of commentary, and in...
By Graham Rook Chronic inflammatory disorders (allergies, autoimmunity, IBD) have increased dramatically in developed countries. But depression is strongly associated with these disorders and should therefore be increasing in parallel. While there is no universal...
A minimal requirement for evolution via natural selection is heritable phenotypic variation that affects reproductive success, or more generally, genetic success. The concept of heritability is often used somewhat loosely in casual non-technical conversation, but...