TEDBlog

« A Working Hundred Dollar Laptop Unveiled | Main | David Rockwell & Jerry Mitchell "choreograph" a JetBlue terminal »

29 May 2006

Olivia Judson: DNA is the new fossil record

Oliviajudson_1Are fossil records a thing of the past? Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson (TED2005) thinks they may be. In Sunday’s New York Times, she made a case (aimed at the general public) that DNA sequencing and analysis now provides more detailed proof of evolution than fossils ever could.

True to form, Judson — who is known for her spicy, off-beat musings on all manner of mating issues (Her book, Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice for all Creation, was adapted into a UK Channel 4 TV series, featuring unlikely musical numbers like the "Ladybug Promiscuity song") — takes the opportunity to present a few titillating facts: like the discovery, published recently in Nature, that humans and chimpanzees were kissing cousins far more recently than previously believed.

Posted by June Cohen | | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://blog.ted.com/cgi-bin/mte/mt-tb.cgi/2828

Discuss Blog Post


    Join us on Pangea Day, May 10, 2008

    The day the world comes together through film



    Quick links

    Read more about the TED Miro player >>
    Find TEDTalks that have been transcribed >>
    Subscribe to the TED Blog's RSS feed >>

    Tips? Comments? contact (at) ted (dot) com


    TED2008 and TED@Aspen bloggers >>

    TED2008 and TED@Aspen on Flickr >>

    www.flickr.com

    Blogs We Watch

    >> Thomas Dolby | TED Musical Director, blogging at ThomasDolby.com
    >> Bruno Giussani | TED European Director, blogging at LunchOverIP.com
    >> Emeka Okafor | TEDAfrica Director, blogging at Timbuktu Chronicles and Africa Unchained

    TED Bloggers

    Chris Anderson | Curator
    June Cohen | Director of TED Media
    Amy Novogratz | TED Prize Director
    Tom Rielly | Humorist
    Jason Wishnow | Director, Film + Video
    Emily McManus | Editor, TED.com

    by topic

    Archives

    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

    Powered by Movable Type

    Subscribe to the TED Blog's RSS feed.

    What we blog about