Concepts

Centromeric DNA repeats can be thought of as selfish elements that constantly compete to beat the odds and make it into the egg at meiosis.

Despite the ubiquity of astrophysical jets, there is no generally accepted theory for the mechanism of their formation.

The molecular motors on which life depends are driven by brownian motion.

Stable isotopes are natural labels on all processes in the environment, allowing us to see a dynamic universe normally hidden from view.

Natural selection has created many species in which individual survival rests on computations performed by the organism's own physiology.

Success in the synthesis of natural products often requires the ability to react a single part of a molecule to the exclusion of others.

Toxicology research should urgently appraise its performance and join mainstream biomedical science.

The conceptual review should take its place as an essential component of scientific research.

Plant–herbivore interactions are frequently described as an ongoing biochemical warfare that occurs on an evolutionary timescale.

It is useful to consider the concept of grammar as primary and that of language as derived.

To predict the future impact of mankind on living organisms, we need to know how organisms become adapted to a rapidly changing world and determine the limitations of adaptive processes.

The vulnerability of the Y chromosome will be a key factor in shaping the evolutionary future of our species.

Traditional definitions of intelligence use movement as a criterion. But are the adaptive behaviours shown by individual plants also 'intelligent'?

The relationship between genes that originated through speciation is one of the most widely misunderstood — and misused — concepts of evolutionary biology.

The term 'receptor' is generally reserved for a molecule that acts as a biological signal transducer, usually for hormones or neurotransmitters.

Is the mind's balance, and hence its functioning, derived from that of the body?