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Biology

Western Washington University

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Evolution

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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Foreign Earth: An Exercise In Speculative Biology, Aidyn Ruf Apr 2023

The Foreign Earth: An Exercise In Speculative Biology, Aidyn Ruf

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Speculative Biology is the practice of examining hypothetical scenarios about the potential evolution of life. This project explores one such perspective timeline, utilizing scientific illustration, scientific information, and creative writing to estimate what the organisms of Earth might look like 250 million years into the future. Basic parameters were established, examining our current knowledge about geology and the environment to determine how the Earth itself might look. This included examining factors such as tectonic movement, adjusted ocean currents, and planetary heat cycles. Then, I studied mass extinctions and the animals which survived them, creating a baseline of ancestors the future …


White Lies Matter: The Evolution, Persistence, And Impact Of Scientific Racism, Kim Keay Apr 2022

White Lies Matter: The Evolution, Persistence, And Impact Of Scientific Racism, Kim Keay

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

A dissection of the origins, history, persistence, and impacts of various threads of scientific racism. This paper traces scientific racism from its roots in evolutionary biology through Social Darwinism and eugenics. By exploring the historical connection between scientific racism and white supremacy, this research aims to reveal some of the ways in which contemporary science, racism, and society at large have been shaped by the past. Tracing these threads will follow scientific racism from its origins to the beginnings of Social Darwinism and eugenics, through American cultivation of eugenics and its connections to Nazi Germany, to ongoing eugenicist policies and …