Why does inbreeding reduce male paternity? Effects on sexually selected traits.

Mating with relatives has often been shown to negatively affect offspring fitness (inbreeding depression). There is considerable evidence for inbreeding depression due to effects on naturally selected traits, particularly those expressed early in life, but there is less evidence of it for sexually selected traits. This is surprising because sexually selected traits are expected to exhibit strong inbreeding depression.

Sexual selection expedites the evolution of pesticide resistance.

The evolution of insecticide resistance by crop pests and disease vectors causes serious problems for agriculture and health. Sexual selection can accelerate or hinder adaptation to abiotic challenges in a variety of ways, but the effect of sexual selection on resistance evolution is little studied. Here, we examine this question using experimental evolution in the pest insect Tribolium castaneum.

N-terminus oligomerization is conserved in intracellular calcium release channels.

Oligomerization of all three mammalian ryanodine receptor isoforms, a structural requirement for normal intracellular Ca2+ release channel function, is displayed by the discrete N-terminal domain which assembles into homo- and hetero-tetramers. This is demonstrated in yeast, mammalian cells and native tissue by complementary yeast two-hybrid, chemical cross-linking and co-immunoprecipitation assays. The IP3 (inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate) receptor N-terminus (residues 1-667) similarly exhibits tetrameric association as indicated by chemical cross-linking and co-immunoprecipitation assays.

Conscientious refusals and reason-giving.

Some philosophers have argued for what I call the reason-giving requirement for conscientious refusal in reproductive healthcare. According to this requirement, healthcare practitioners who conscientiously object to administering standard forms of treatment must have arguments to back up their conscience, arguments that are purely public in character. I argue that such a requirement, though attractive in some ways, faces an overlooked epistemic problem: it is either too easy or too difficult to satisfy in standard cases.