University of Minnesota biologist to talk about how evolution impacts modern life – La Crosse Tribune

A University of Minnesota evolutionary biologist is hoping to poke some holes in our notions of our ancient ancestors.

Marlene Zuk is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota, where her research focuses on animal behavior and evolution. On Thursday and Friday, she will give two presentations as part of Warner Memorial Lecture series at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Zuk is interested in ways that people use animal behavior to think about human behavior, and vice versa, as well as in public understanding of evolution. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on many topics, including a seminar on Whats the Alternative to Alternative Medicine?

Her first presentation will be: Paleofantasy: what evolution tells us about modern life at 5:30 p.m. Thursday in 120 Student Union, 521 East Ave. N. The lecture will focus on modern cultural notions of how our ancient ancestors evolved to eat and live and what that means for our understanding of our modern lives.

We evolved to eat berries rather than bagels, to live in mud huts rather than condos, to sprint barefoot rather than play football or did we? the talks abstract said. Are our bodies and brains truly at odds with modern life?

Her second talk Rapid evolution in silence: adaptive signal loss in the Pacific field cricket, will focus on research into the evolution and sex selection of the insect. It will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday in 1309 Centennial Hall, 308 N. 16th St. Both talks are free and open to the public.

The Warner Memorial Lecture honors former Biology Professor James Jim Warner, who taught at UW-L from 1963 until retiring in 1996. Warner established the Terrestrial Field Ecology Course Fund in the Department of Biology to support outdoor laboratory equipment for field ecology courses.

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University of Minnesota biologist to talk about how evolution impacts modern life - La Crosse Tribune