Matthew Cobb

(Re)Reading The Origin

Charles Darwin’s 1859 book On the Origin of Species is much referenced, especially in this double anniversary year. But, does anyone still read it? And, if so, what is the book itself like as a text? We have asked biologists from a range of fields — evolutionary biologists, but also geneticists, ecologists, paleontologists and molecular biologists — to re-read (or read) The Origin for Current B...

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology Risk Moderates the Outcome of Relationship Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial

A Speculative History of DNA: What If Oswald Avery Had Died in 1934?

This speculative Essay explores the consequences of the imagined premature death of Oswald Avery, who in 1944 provided evidence that genes are made of DNA. Four imaginary alternate routes to the genetic function of DNA are outlined, each of which highlights different aspects of the actual process of discovery.

1953: When Genes Became “Information”

In 1953, Watson and Crick not only described the double-helix structure of DNA, but also embraced the idea that genes contained a code that expresses information and thereby changed our view of life. This article traces how these ideas entered biological thinking and highlights the connections between different branches of science at the time, exploring the power of metaphor in science.

The unclosed loop--ESF minibrains meeting report.

The ESF-EMBO conference 'Functional Neurobiology in Minibrains' was held in the sunny Spanish seaside resort of Sant Feliu de Guíxols in October 2010. The meeting brought together approximately 100 scientists to discuss the interactions between neurobiology and robotics.