Carnival of Evolution #27

Carnival of Evolution #27 – Feed Your Head Edition

As your server for this evening’s Carnival of Evolution, allow me to introduce the offerings from a line-up of over two dozen chefs!

For your pleasure we have these specials . . . .

1. Chicken’s teeth, whale’s legs, and the tails of humans. Raithie at Teenage Atheist has cooked up some Fanged Chickens (… and atavisms).  May I recommend a nice white wine to go with it?

2. Yoder at Denim and Tweed presents a gourmet dinner for two featuring birds, ants, and Doublemint gum: Double the mutualists, double the fun?

3. At Chez Greg Laden’s (Blog), peruse a steam table stocked with pigeons, peregrine falcons, and goshawks.  His recommendation: Keep an eye on the prey: You’ll find the predator.  An alternative offering of BBC, Darwin, and tetrapods is also available.  The title is a bit of a mouthful – Natural Selection vs. Opportunity in Macroevolutionary Patterning of the Fossil Record – but so is a burrito.

4. If you like greens,  you’ll find plenty over at Science & Soul. Kazimierz Lebowski ventured into one wild kitchen, 7/6/10—77F—60%H—TFI, to bring you flycatchers, kudzu and millipedes.

5. I bet you’ve never seen these ingredients used together: robotics, soccer, and evolution.  Have a taste.  Wilfried Elmenreich at Self-Organizing Networked Systems is the mastermind behind this appetizer: Evolving a self-organizing soccer team.

– Excuse me, sir, m’am.  You can’t smoke in here.  You are welcome to use the side patio for that.  Yes, I realize it is an inconvenience for you.  But . . . you do realize that smoking indoors would wreck the aromas and scents other guests wish to enjoy?  You don’t care?  Why, you might as well shred your tobacco and sprinkle it over their plates.  Okay.  Good evening to you as well.  Bye.

Sorry for that interruption. Some patrons! –

6. Care for a glass of wine?  We have wine.  From where else but Down the Cellar. We’ve got a lovely vintage with hints of bacteria, phage and shared resources.  Mouton Rothschild?  Mais non. A tragedy averted.

7.  At Maison Dr. Carin Bondar we have a special treat: oxytocin, wasps, and humans of the Serengeti.  Shall I order you a Sacrifice on the Serengeti – A Guest Post by Eric M Johnson?

8. The Thoughtful Animal is hungry, so we’ve got a two-course feast featuring spotted hyenas, matrilines, and female preference. First, Silver Spoon Hyenas? Followed by Silver Spoon Hyenas: Maternal Social Status Affects Male Reproductive Success.  Bravo, Jason G. Goldman.

9. Over at Neuroanthropology, grill master Greg Downey has some fine cuts of wolfs, dogs, and domestication.  No, doesn’t taste like chicken.  What does it taste like? The dog-human connection in evolution.

10.DeLene at Wild Muse highlights the surprising, multi-layered flavor of this basic ingredient: necks, necks and more necks.  A new take on necking (in giraffes, that is) is no standard fare.

11. Imagine eastern fence lizards, White Sands, and display patches all in a classic, NeuroDojo sauce.  You’ve just got to try Zen Faulkes’: Dude looks like a lady? Male lizards courting males.  Not fond of lizards?  Try Please explain the end of kin selection.  In this stew you will find hearty bits of kin selection, E.O. Wilson and David Sloan Wilson.

– Are you sure you’d like me to bring you a third martini?  It is my experience that after a second, the, ah, sophistication of one’s palate tends to diminish.  I, myself, have devoured the corner of a paper napkin in such a state.  And quite enjoyed it, sadly. –

12. As  table-side treat by T. Ryan Gregory, can I recommend My talk on evolutionary imagery at the Centre For Inquiry?  No, it contains no peanuts nor peanut products.  But it does have a video, inquiry, and Toronto. You’ll find it at Genomicron.

13. For the chow mien this evening, we’ve got neither pork nor beef, but bacterial cooperation, relatedness, and Hamilton’s rule. Byte Size Biology truly goes delicious with When is it a good idea to cheat?

14. Vegan?  No problem.  How about some seeds, California, and pollen brought to you by Stephanie Suesan Smith at Information Central in Hybrid versus open pollinated plants.

15. You like Latin flavors?  Names and nomenclature in classification by John Wilkins at Evolving Thoughts brings all the spice of Linnaeus, nomenclature, and taxonomies.

– Pardon?  Did someone just make a special request for a well-done hamburger with American cheese and yellow mustard?  They did.  If you’ll excuse me a moment I’ve got a date with a double shot of whiskey in walk-in refrigerator. It’s going to be a long night. –

16. And now, something classic à la carte: Darwin, Wallace, and letters.  Michael D. Barton’s Darwin-Wallace papers published August 20, 1858 can be found at The Dispersal of Darwin.  Seems to be his specialty.

17.  Going nouvelle here, Byte Size Biology skirts the cutting edge with Predator MX: Jack the Rippler.  Feast on the bacteria, nutrients, and mutants if you dare.

18. Not upper-crust enough?  Do your tastes run in the direction of NPR, adaptationism, and tears?  You may want to sample some Twisted Tree of Life Award: NPR on the Evolution of Crying at The Tree of Life by Jonathan A. Eisen.  Moderately hot.

19.  Care for some fusion?  We’ve got Switzerland, salmonella, pseudogenes.  Jonathan A. Eisen prepared it at The Tree of Life. He calls it Lack of neutrality in bacteria and where pseudogenes go when they die.  As an alternative for those without lead bellies, he also offers Twisted tree of life award #6: Scientific American Origins piece for dissing microbes with Swiss Cheese, biodiversity, and sex. Sounds delectable, doesn’t it?

– Should you save room for dessert?  I don’t know.  Should one build a garage for their Ferrari?  Chocolate, fresh cream, pie crust that’s pure art.  We’re talking major sugar and fats of the heavenly kind just a tray away.  Yes, you’ll want to save room.  –

20. Can mimicry,  jumping spiders, and ants be sweet?  I guess it partly depends on your tastes.  Why not try?  Head on down to The Online Laboratory of Kevin Zelnio.  Tell ‘em you came for the Myrmecomorphy.

21. Almost forgot the seafood!  Talk about a special waiting to be netted and served.  We’ve got biodiversity, shrimp, and taxonomists by Dr. M. at Deep Sea News.  I bet there’s some pepper to this dish: Bull Patrol: NEW SPECIES DISCOVERED zOMG!

22. With a name like Bjørn Østman and a location called Pleiotropy you know you’re in for something unique. Combine some Denmark, fitness, and yeast, simmer lightly and you’ve got Report from Alife XII: life’s origin, and its evolution

23. Like sushi?  You might enjoy Eight Ways Elephant Seals Have Evolved at Kind of Curious. It’s not just rice and seaweed: there is elephant seals, blubber, and sleep apnea inside.

24. Into bizarre foods?  Is fear no factor for you?  It Takes 30 has a full plate of raw Mitochondrial proteins, phosphorylation, and mice.  Chew before swallowing Evolving Regulation.

25.  Now the finish.  We’ve got a chocolate cake in the form of  Sauropod dinosaurs, gizzard stones, and eggs.  Aren’t you glad you saved some room?  Yes, compliments to Cromercrox at The End Of The Pier Show. It’s called, There Were Giants On The Earth In Those Days.

– Was everything to your liking?  Great.  We accept MasterCard, Discover, Digg, Twitter and more.  Hope to see you again.

Speaking of which, the next feast of evolution blogging will be October 1st at Carnival of Evolution.  Submit your concoctions here.

Tags: blog carnivals