Archives: Family

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Identity evolves

“Everyone is special.” The paradoxical refrain of baby boomer parents to their millenial offspring is true, so long as you’re a rodent living in a large, stable group of good communicators. I recently wrote about the phenomenon of identity signals in animals, where variable colours and patchy-looking patterns can provide signatures of... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

How to raise a science major

The newspapers have been abuzz lately about a controversial book: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua, is a memoir on the rewards and perils of stereotypically strict Asian-American parenting. This week I asked students in my 4th-year biology class to tell me about their earliest memory of being fascinated with something biological,... More

Tuesday, July 5, 2022

Shark Lady and the convict fish

Who’s weirder: the shark lady or the convict fish? It may seem a strange way to get this blog started again, but it turns out to be quite fitting this time of year when we find ourselves cooped up with relatives of all stripes. My first encounter with the convict fish was this summer.... More

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