I'm planning to end my ecology/evolution courses this semester with a
section on what we have learned as recently as this year, which might
cause the course to be taught differently next year. Some examples
I've thought of already:
- increased recognition of the problem of antibiotic resistance, and
some efforts to address it (e.g., large meat producers announcing
they will stop prophylactic use of antibiotics)
- discovery of new human (and other) fossils that will probably
result in changes in how we understand the history of our species
- new results from genomic analysis of hominids such as Homo
neanderthalensis, and the discovery of 20% of their genome in our species.
- increased information about the consequences of climate change;
e.g., the report yesterday of the National Climate Assessment
- A greater understanding of the significance of gut microbiomes
What other examples should I include that will help document how
rapidly and significantly ecological science and evolution are changing?
David Inouye
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