This article first appeared in The Conversation on 12 August 2011. So Penny Wong, our finance minister, is going to be a mum. Sophie Allouache, Wong’s long-term partner, announced on Tuesday that her IVF-conceived baby will arrive in December. While…
This article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and The National Times on 26 July 2011 under the title “Sad Amy’s legacy adds up to more than 27”. Head there to see the comments, which split more or less evenly between…
Many of you will have noticed that this website was recently hacked. Thanks to Gary Eckstein who sorted out my troubles super-quick. Please use him if you need a WordPress expert. Sorry if the problems with this site inconvenienced you…
This commentary on a Nature paper by Katharina Hamann and collaborators was first published in The Conversation on 21 July 2011. One glance at our species can give the impression that we’re conniving, selfish and pretty greedy. But look at…
This article was first published in The Conversation on 18 July 2011 under the title “From scraping by to pizza and pie: how protein price drives obesity”. It is based on part of the argument in Chapter 2 of Sex,…
This is the full text of an article I published in ABC Science Online on 15 June 2011 (Where it stimulated some discussion). The article builds on some of the ideas in Chapter 8 of Sex, Genes & Rock ‘n’ Roll. Pressure…
This is a piece that first appeared in The Conversation on 20 June 2011. It is based on the last three chapters of my book Sex, Genes & Rock ‘n’ Roll: How Evolution has Shaped the Modern World. Kurt Cobain…
This is the start of an article I published in ABC Science Online on 16 June, about the dangers of allowing couples (especially couples who can pay) to choose the sex of their children through IVF. It builds on Chapter…
Ignaz Semmelweis is today credited with the realization in the mid-1800’s that death rates at maternity clinics could be significantly decreased if doctors simply washed their hands with chlorine wash between handling cadavers and delivering babies. For his trouble he…
The eBook of Sex, Genes & Rock ‘n’ Roll is going to be sold in several different places. We will update this page as soon as each supplier has it. For now, you’d do best if you have a Kindle…