What's New in the EvoS ConsortiumWe now have links to the new streaming videos of the Fall 2009 EvoS Seminar series at Binghamton University. (February 2010) Thanks to Benjamin Bush, Binghamton University, for sharing the first in our Evos rotating logo feature (above). In Ben's words, "the logo is a circular phylogenetic tree in which each letter represents a different species. 'E' is the common ancestor." Learn more about our new logo project and submit yours today! (January 2010) Congratulations to Palomar College for receiving an EvoS Consortium Grant, made possible by the Expanding Evolutionary Studies in American Higher Education grant from the National Science Foundation (#0817337). (Fall 2009) Please see the first issue of EvoS Illuminate, the twice yearly newsletter keeping you up to date on the consortium news. Check out the first video introducing an Evolutionary Studies Program! |
EvoS Consortium Overview
The Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) Consortium is designed to facilitate the development and implementation of Evolutionary Studies Programs at colleges and universities across the United States. An Evolutionary Studies Program introduces students from all majors to evolutionary theory early in their academic careers, emphasizes human-related subjects in addition to biological, promotes the continuation of evolutionary training throughout the undergraduate education, and promotes faculty training and collaborative research related to evolution.
The EvoS Consortium is a website that provides the tools and a community space for evolutionary training in institutions of higher education. The Consortium website (affiliated with EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium) is a space for both faculty and undergraduate members of Evolutionary Studies Programs, as well as those interested in starting a program.
A major goal of the Consortium is growth – we hope to expand the consortium such that EvoS programs replicate widely. As such, we openly welcome other institutions to join. Steps associated with starting an EvoS program and joining the Consortium are described in the pages included in the Membership navigation button to the left.
Evolutionary Tidbit of the Month Everyone knows that Darwinian selection occurs in cells containing DNA and RNA. But how about prions, infectious proteins that contain neither DNA or RNA? Scientists have found that when prion populations raised in cell culture are transferred from brain to cultured cells, they out-compete their "brain-adapted" cohorts, and when reintroduced to brain, the were out-competed by the "brain-adapted" cohorts. Check out more in the December 31, 2009 issue of Science. [Darwinian Evolution of Prions in Cell Culture by J. Li, S. Browning, S. P. Mahal, A. M. Oelschlegel, & C. Weissmann]. |