getting older

[Bill Shear]

Ever feel like your field is finally getting away from you?  If, like me,
you're over 50, read this:

Pagel, Mark.  1999.  Inferring the historical patterns of biological
evolution. Nature 401:877-884 (Oct 28 1999).

Very interesting comments on the Cambrian explosion, thermophile origin of
life (please, Ken, no more rants about Woese), punctuated equilibrium and
more, but all from a statistical base much beyond my understanding.

The article is of interest to taxonomists because it shows how these
statistical techniques can wring surprising information from phylogenetic
trees.

Bill Shear
Department of Biology
Hampden-Sydney College
Hampden-Sydney VA 23943
(804)223-6172
FAX (804)223-6374
email<bills at hsc.edu>