Posting may be light, and/or I may skip link dumps, etc., around the Labor Day weekend. Mostly notifying you so you don’t ask if I’m still alive!
Immunity under natural selection. Focusing on three of the genes which showed signatures of selection in the HapMap 3 paper. It’s interesting to note that only a generation ago many scholars were spending time debating about the adaptive value of blood group antigens and the like because so little was known about the impact of natural selection on the genome (since genomics as such didn’t really exist). Now the swell of results requires labor hours to filter.
Y Chromosomal Variation Tracks the Evolution of Mating Systems in Chimpanzee and Bonobo. Basically, common chimpanzees exhibit more “sperm competition” than bonobos. I think this is a case where common chimpanzees are the outgroup to bonobos and humans. It also puts the spotlight on the necessary nuance in traits like “polyandry.” Imported from human mating systems, they don’t necessarily inform very well for our primate cousins.
The Crystal Ball’s Labor Day Predictions. High probability of Republicans winning the House, modest probability of them winning the Senate. Notes that the two are not independent probabilities. Assuming that the Republicans win the House, the probability of them winning the Senate goes up. 100% probability that the “pundits” are going to discuss the “Death of the Democratic Party” for a few months.
Quants merge with humans. There’s a lot of money to be made in the business of money, so where there’s a will, there’s always a way. The Cowles’ Commission’s finding that stock market newsletters 1) are not effective 2) but will continue to be produced, illustrates the power of human psychology within the context of the rational market.
Burger King Has Suitors From Brazil. Another indication of Brazil’s “ascension graphic.” I still don’t get why Russia is in the list of BRICs. Its demographics look like Japan.