The tension between generality and diversity: what makes biology so cool

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• Hanna Kokko (University of Zurich)
• Tuesday 06 November 2018, 13:00-14:00
• Part II Lecture Theatre, Department of Zoology , Downing Street, CB2 3EJ.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Gabriel A. Jamie.

All questions in biology in some sense take the same form: “why is life the way it is?” This question is multifaceted for the simple reason that there’s very many species (and also variation within a species, either in discrete categories — e.g. male, female; polymorphisms). The temptation to come up with idiosyncratic explanations has to be balanced against the temptation to study what is most convenient (hence the focus on model organisms) and/or what appears most appealing to us because it is more familiar to us (taxonomic biases). I will reflect on these issues, also presenting some current work on the evolution of sex, where it is good to be reminded that not all sexual reproduction follows rules most familiar to us.

This talk is part of the Behaviour, Ecology & Evolution Seminar Series series.

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