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Welcome to The Thin End – Raymond Noble’s commentary on nature, science, society, and the human condition.
For informative articles and podcasts on biology, evolution, society, health, wellbeing, and politics.
- Adaptation across generationsThe traditional view holds that evolution occurs through natural selection acting on gradual, random mutations. For much of the last century, this gene-centred perspective dominated biology, giving agency little or no role. Evolution simply had to be blind, and agency implies some kind of anticipation. It became dogma. It also proposed barriers that would prevent
- The Collared Dove’s mysterious spread
The Eurasian collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) has undergone one of the greatest natural avian colonisations in history. The Collared Dove’s spread is remarkable for how rapidly the species expanded its range. For centuries, the species lived mainly in the warm regions of Asia, India, and the Middle East. By the 1600s, it had reached Turkey - The Interdependence of Species: How Ecosystems Function as a Whole
What is Species Interdependence? Ecosystems are webs of interdependent species. In our book, Understanding Living Systems, we discussed life on Earth as a ‘give and take’ cooperative. We emphasised the adaptable relationships between species, that is, their interdependence, even in predator-prey relationships. This contrasted with a view of nature as ‘red in tooth and claw’. - Climate change and Aquatic OsmoregulationClimate-Driven Disruptions of Water and Salt Balance Climate change is changing the water and salt balance of the world’s aquatic ecosystems. Because they are small and directly exposed to the surrounding water, protists face strong pressure to adapt. The link between climate change and aquatic osmoregulation is especially important, as protists must adjust their systems
- The Importance of Biodiversity for Ecosystem Resilience
What is Biodiversity? Biodiversity refers to the variety of organisms living in different habitats and ecosystems. For example, researchers commonly assess biodiversity using three key indicators: 1) genetic diversity within populations of a given species, 2) the number of species in a given habitat, and 3) the number or variety of habitats within an ecosystem
Professor Raymond Noble is a chartered biologist and Royal Society of Biology Fellow. He has written extensively on biological theory and philosophy and is an author with his brother, Denis Noble, of the acclaimed book Understanding Living Systems, published by Cambridge University Press (2023). He was Deputy Dean of Life Sciences at UCL, London, and the Graduate Tutor in Women’s Health, where he is now an Honorary Professor.
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