Describes evolutionary developmental psychology as the study of the genetic and ecological mechanisms that govern the development of social and cognitive competencies common to all human beings and the epigenetic (gene-environment interactions) processes that adapt these competencies to local conditions. Outlines basic assumptions and domains of…

A bioinformatics laboratory exercise based on inherited human morphological traits is presented. It teaches how morphological characters can be used to study the evolutionary history of humans using parsimony. The exercise can easily be used in a pen-and-paper laboratory, but if computers are available, a more versatile analysis can be carried…

Life as people know it here on Earth exchanges energy and materials with the environment. Life forms grow, develop, produce waste products, and reproduce, storing genetic information in DNA and RNA and passing it from one generation to the next. Life evolves, adapting to changes in the environment and changing the environment in return. The basic…

In this article, the author responds to M. J. Zyphur's comments on the original article by A. Smedley and B. D. Smedley. Race, as people live and understand it, inhabits a dimension of reality that transcends biology and cannot be reduced to genes, chromosomes, or even phenotypes. A biological or genetic view of race cannot encompass the lived…

Cladistics is one of the most commonly used methods for reconstructing evolutionary ancestries. Developed by Willi Hennig in 1966, cladistics use patterns of shared derived characters called synapomorphies to infer the order of lineage divergences within a group of organisms. Unfortunately, while this methodology forms the foundation of many…

Modularity has been the subject of intense debate in the cognitive sciences for more than 2 decades. In some cases, misunderstandings have impeded conceptual progress. Here the authors identify arguments about modularity that either have been abandoned or were never held by proponents of modular views of the mind. The authors review arguments that…

Gilbert Gottlieb's formative role in establishing a science of experimental behavioral embryology is described. His experimental program on the development of species identification served as a model for developmental psychobiologists seeking alternatives to the nature-nurture dichotomies prevalent in the 20th century. Two of the major concepts…

Presents a list of articles published from January to December, 1974, on genetics, cells, nutrition, respiration, excretion, general physiology, conservation, ecology, reproduction, locomotion, disease, growth, response, behavior, and classification. (GS)

Nine questions are presented for student discussions relating to genetics, evolution, and racial characteristics. A brief introductory discussion of these topics are presented, as well. (BB)

The excitement of sociobiology comes from the promise of the role it will play in humanistic investigation. Its potential importance beyond zoology lies in its logical position as the bridging discipline between the natural sciences on the one hand and social sciences and humanities on the other. (Author/AM)

Discusses the relation between amino acids and ribonucleic acid (RNA) in a copolymer. (HM)

Presents pro and con comments with regards to 1975 APA presidential address under the heading of biological versus social evolution. Other comments are subsumed under the headings of the genetic basis of behavior-especially of altruism, and the value of tradition. (Author/AM)

Presents pro and con comments with regards to 1975 APA presidential address under the heading of the value of traditions. Other comments are subsumed under the headings of biological versus social evolution, and the genetic basis of behavior especially of altruism. (Author/AM)

Notes that most of those who criticized the authors' 1975 APA presidential address seem to explicitly or implicitly share the belief that issues discussed are important areas of study on which divergent perspectives should be developed and discussed even where the best available evidence falls far short of dependable scientific fact. (Author/AM)

Theory of evolution is not fact but is a scientific theory based on numerous pieces of concrete evidence. The only way to disprove this theory is to show evidence against it. The creationist view cannot be accepted in the light of new knowledge in molecular biology and other fields. (PS)