Genetic variance in fitness indicates rapid contemporary adaptive evolution in wild animals

The rate of adaptive evolution, the contribution of selection to genetic changes that increase mean fitness, is determined by the additive genetic variance in individual relative fitness. To date, there are few robust estimates of this parameter for natural populations, and it is therefore unclear whether adaptive evolution can play a meaningful role in short-term population dynamics. We developed and applied quantitative genetic methods to long-term datasets from 19 wild bird and mammal populations and found that, while estimates vary between populations, additive genetic variance in relative fitness is often substantial and, on average, twice that of previous estimates. We show that these rates of contemporary adaptive evolution can affect population dynamics and hence that natural selection has the potential to partly mitigate effects of current environmental change

Ras signalling linked to the cell-cycle machinery by the retinoblastoma protein

The Ras proto-oncogene is a central component of mitogenic signal-transduction pathways, and is essential for cells both to leave a quiescent state (GO) and to pass through the GI/S transition of the cell cycle. The mechanism by which Ras signalling regulates cell-cycle progression is unclear, however. Here we report that the retinoblastoma tumour-suppressor protein (Rb), a regulator of GI exit, functionally links Ras to passage through the Gl phase. Inactivation of Ras in cycling cells caused a decline in cyclin D1 protein levels, accumulation of the hypophosphorylated, growth-suppressive form of Rb, and Gl arrest. When Rb was disrupted either genetically or biochemically, cells failed to arrest in Gl following Ras inactivation. In contrast, inactivation of Ras in quiescent cells prevented growth-factor induction of both immediate-early gene transcription and exit from GO in an Rb-independent manner. These data suggest that Rb is an essential GI-specific mediator that links Ras-dependent mitogenic signalling to cell-cycle regulation

Do We Need to Weight Item Satisfaction by Item Importance? A Perspective from Locke’s Range-Of-Affect Hypothesis

importance, quality of life, satisfaction, weighting,

Do We Need to Weight Satisfaction Scores with Importance Ratings in Measuring Quality of Life?

importance, quality of life, satisfaction, weighting,

Football: Spectacularly Insignificant or Unspectacularly Significant?

Football supporters are often projected as being obsessed, emotionally saturated and intensely involved with their club. This may be true for some but much of the time the consumption of football is mundanely incorporated with other routine behaviours and actions. Drawing on previous research on football and everyday life this paper explores how it is both significant and insignificant through the relationship between spectacular and unspectacular consumption. The ‘everyday’ is used both descriptively and conceptually. The former is illustrated through examples of the ordinary ways in which football becomes entwined with other elements of everyday life. The latter, rooted in the works of everyday life theorists, provides the philosophical tools for contextualising the meaning of the ‘everyday’. This is then put into perspective with contemporary understandings of living in a fragmented and fluid world which raise further questions about the ordinariness of football culture as part of people’s everyday lives