#article
428 materials
Brief outline of the epigenetic theory of evolution, or ETE for busy people. Column for Kompyuterra #128
The more complex the organism, the more interconnections manifest in its ontogenesis, the more significant the preceding history of the species and the adaptive compromise it has achieved will direct its possible changes. This allows us to understand that life …
Shabanov, 2013. Epigenetic Theory of Evolution: State and Prospects
An expanded and optimized version of the presentation of the report delivered on November 29, 2013 at the meeting of the "Evolution" club in Kyiv. A textual account of the foundations of ETE that is close in content (but also …
On Friday in Kyiv at the "Evolution" Club...
BATRIMG<0>BATR Amphibians (Amphibia) are a class of vertebrates that combine features of aquatic and terrestrial animals. They are poikilothermic (cold-blooded) animals whose body temperature depends on environmental temperature. BATRIMG<1>BATR The skin of amphibians plays a crucial role in respiration (cutaneous …
How do adaptive traits emerge in the course of evolution, or Which evolutionary theory is supported by modern genetics data?
{ "title": "", "summary": "", "body": "Critics of ETÉ reproach her (alas, to a large extent justifiably) for excessive theoreticality. However, the situation in science is changing: currently, thanks to the successes of comparative genomics, a huge amount of data …
Euromaidan in Kharkiv, November 24, 2013. Together with Zakharov or together with Shvaika?
A photo report about a mass event, combined with sad reflections on the heterogeneity of the people encountered there. But hope still remains alive!
Once More on the Nature of Ethnos, and on the Diversity of Supersystems. Column for Kompyuterra No. 126
For describing the diversity of supersystems, two of their characteristics are very significant. First: is the supersystem constructed from similar components — or from functionally different ones? Second: are there specific control structures in the supersystem — or are all …
Does an Ethnos Possess Independent Being? Reflections on Disagreement with Lev Gumilyov. Column for Computerra #125
The central problem is as follows. Is an ethnos a system that must be studied by natural-scientific methods, or is it something about which one should simply ask its representatives (and yes — one must ask the representatives of ethnoses, …
How to bring our innate propensity to xenophobia under rational control? Column for Kompyuterra #124
But what is the path of the golden mean, of rational modification? The first and absolutely necessary step is not to cling to markers. Often it is necessary to distinguish among marker carriers those who are not a source of …
Three conclusions that can be drawn after discussing the reasons for differences between people in the color of their skin. Column for Kompyuterra #123
Two previous columns were devoted to the analysis of one, generally speaking, fairly simple human trait—skin color. Do not assume that I have exhausted the full range of factors influencing this trait. Nevertheless, in this column, I will no longer …
And More on Skin Color: Why We Are White and Why We Tan. Column for Компьютерры #122
Thus, in the establishment of relatively light skin, not only did a certain quantitative trait (melanin content in the skin) change. One consistently realized norm «split» into two, with the switch between them depending on environmental influences. However, to be …
Completely Random Photographs from Odessa. October 14, 2013
The road to Vylkove passes through Odessa. On the first day, when we were going to the herpetological congress, I was shooting my camera in all directions during a walk around the city. When we stopped in Odessa on the …
Vylkove, October 2013. Congress of the Ukrainian Herpetological Society
The next congress of the Ukrainian Herpetological Society was held this year in Vylkove, in the very southwestern corner of Ukraine
On Skin Color: A Discussion of a Human Adaptation with Justification of Far-Reaching Conclusions on the Specifics of the Action of Ecological Factors. Column for Kompyuterra #121
Why is the skin of indigenous Africans darker than the skin of indigenous Europeans? If this question seems too simplistic, one more detail can be added: why is the skin of indigenous inhabitants of Central America dark, but lighter than …
Anomalous Frogs and Environmental Health: Searching for New Approaches at the Europe-Asia Border. Column for Компьютерры #120
Let us hope that researchers of amphibian anomalies will navigate between Scylla of science that works on the principle of «What would you like?» and Charybdis of immersion in a problem which is interesting only to them.
Shabanov (2007) On Clonal Evolution of Genomes
Shabanov D.A. Hybrid frogs Rana esculenta that produce gametes of both parental forms: a result of independent clonal evolution of genomes? // Proceedings of the conference “Modern Problems of Biological Evolution. To the 100th Anniversary of the State Darwin Museum.” …
Olenyi Ruchyi. A Nature Park in the Middle Urals. September 26, 2013
The conference-school on amphibian and reptile anomalies ended with a truly wonderful excursion to the Middle Urals. The photographs shown here are a small fragment of that trip.
To Yekaterinburg and Back. September 2013.
A series of photographs documenting a flight from Moscow to Yekaterinburg and back (for a conference-school dedicated to amphibian and reptile anomalies), as well as interactions with colleagues and walks around the city and its surroundings.
Shabanov (2013) Conference Presentation on Developmental Anomalies in Yekaterinburg
From September 23 to 26, 2013, I had the honor of participating in the International School-Conference "Anomalies and Pathologies of Amphibians and Reptiles: Methodology, Evolutionary Significance, and the Possibility of Assessing Environmental Health," held in Yekaterinburg. The presentation that accompanied …
Shabanov (2013) Lecture on the Study of Green Frogs for Students in Yekaterinburg
As a condition of my stay in Yekaterinburg, I was required to deliver an open lecture to any students who wished to attend. The presentation from my talk is posted here.
Philosophical primer: what we know, what we will never know, and when we have to rely on presumptions. Column for Computerra #119
{ "title": "", "summary": "", "body": "We cannot prove that there is a whole world behind our perception. All we can do is establish that we adapt better if we model this world based on the assumption that it exists. …