evolution

Some 8,000 years ago, our ancestors struck a Faustian bargain with a creature wandering about in the neighborhood; we feed you, you feed us – it seems, at the time, to be a good collaboration.

My wife and I left the city of Seattle and moved into a small suburb. Not too long ago, a family of trash pandas raccoons walked across our backyard deck, like they owned the place. (See photo.)

Biologists have long known that small animal species, if they migrate from the mainland to an island or other isolated habitat, will evolve over time to become larger.

Microbiologist Stanley Falkow is credited with saying, "The goal of every bacterium is to become bacteria." Similarly, the goal of every pathogen is to infect a new host.

Humans have a much longer and wider penis than the other great apes. Even the largest of gorillas, more than twice as heavy as a human, will have a penis just two and half inches long when erect.

As Kramer from Seinfeld demonstrated, sponging off of other people can be a successful life strategy. The same is true for many members of the Animal Kingdom.