Home

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.

  • Model of Pine Marten impact on Red Squirrel Niche.
    Pine Martens could help Red Squirrels
    Pine Martens as Red Squirrel Niche Protectors Pine Martens could help red squirrels. Grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis, introduced to the UK in 1876 by a wealthy landowner) now occupy nearly all of England and Wales. They are also found in large parts of Northern Ireland and central Scotland. Native red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), by contrast,
  • Diagram of the distinction between fundamental and realised niche.
    How Ecological Intelligence Can Solve Today’s Environmental Problems
    Understanding Ecological Intelligence In our book, Understanding Living Systems, and in previous posts, we discussed how organisms use ecological intelligence to solve problems. All organisms are motivated problem-solvers, working to maintain their integrity. Evolution shapes how they adapt across generations to better achieve this or to respond to habitat changes. They occupy niches for survival,
  • The Interconnectedness of Ecosystems
    Interconnectedness of Ecosystems We Rethink Nature: Moving Beyond Competition Ecology is the scientific study of how living organisms interact with one another and their physical environment. It considers the interconnectedness of ecosystems. Ecosystems are not simply the sum of the activities of the organisms within them; the totality of living things actively shapes these dynamic
  • The Role of Insects in Ecosystem Health
    Understanding the Role of Insects in Ecosystems They are all around us. They are pretty much everywhere. Yet, we still have so much more to discover about them. Over one million insect species have been discovered and described, but estimates suggest there may be as many as 10 million on Earth. There are approximately 1.4
  • Amazing Facts About Whale Communication
    How Do Whales Use Songs to Communicate? Whales talk, but what do we mean by that, and how do they do it? In our book, Understanding Living Systems, we speculated that whales had a language. Moreover, if we knew the context and syntax, we might be able to listen in on their conversations. More recently,
Ray Noble

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.

Learn more
Nature
Environment
Society

Subscribe

Join our Thin End community for updates on articles and features.

Name of subscriber
Email Address