Conformity--defined here by the fact that an individual displays a particular behavior because it is the most frequent the individual witnessed in others--has long been recognized by social psychologists as one of the main categories of social influence. Surprisingly, it is only recently that conformity has become an active topic in animal and…

Cites five misconceptions related to the concept of belief which affect if and how evolution is taught. Suggests that the words 'believe' and 'accept' are used interchangeably by scientists. Discusses each of the misconceptions in detail. (Contains 33 references.) (DDR)

This bulletin features articles on real world evolutionary biology, revolutionary classroom science, a review of new curricula in evolutionary biology, and the use of case studies to illustrate points in evolutionary biology. The articles are: (1) "'Real World' Evolutionary Biology: A Pragmatic Quest. Interview with BioQUEST's John Jungck" (Harvey…

Introductory biology students can be overwhelmed by the diversity of life. By focusing on learning characteristics of individual taxa, they often lose and miss the larger perspective--that all taxa are connected through evolution, resulting in the Tree of Life. In this article, the authors present an exercise that helps students develop an…

Discusses the role of techniques of DNA analysis in assessing the genetic relationships between various species. Focuses on wolf-dog evolution using DNA evidence and historical data about human/wolf-dog relationships. (DDR)

In order for students to understand genetics and evolution, they must first understand the structure of the DNA molecule. The function of DNA proceeds from its unique structure, a structure beautifully adapted for information storage, transcription, translation into amino acid sequences, replication, and time travel. The activity described in this…