Epigenetics!! (not brand new, but much more beginning to be learned)
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 > . >
