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Natural History, a Master Class

Author(s): Dobson, Andrew P.

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dc.contributor.authorDobson, Andrew P.-
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-19T18:34:33Z-
dc.date.available2019-04-19T18:34:33Z-
dc.date.issued2013-02-26en_US
dc.identifier.citationDobson, Andrew P. (2013). Natural History, a Master Class. PLoS Biology, 11 (2), e1001496 - e1001496. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001496en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/pr1v13z-
dc.description.abstractMany people think we’re entering a golden age of genomics, with technological breakthroughs yielding an explosion of data along with unprecedented insights into the genes and molecules that underlie life. Personally, I find it all a bit dull and uninspiring. Perhaps this cynicism stems from a conversation I once had with a fanatical, eye-popping cladist who proudly told me, ‘‘We don’t need to save those tropical forests, we’ve already got samples of most of their DNA in the museums!’’ This perspective is slowly giving rise to the significantly deranged belief that we don’t need to worry about the loss of biodiversity: we’ll simply recreate it from stored DNA. The current cult of genomics and its ominous trickle-down effects on high-school biology teaching means it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of the biology that surrounds us. Even so, there’s something about the natural world and its creatures that still sparks a deep fascination and likely inspired many of us to study biology in the first place. Field Notes on Science and Nature reminds us why we find nature so appealing and just how much fun getting into the field can be.en_US
dc.format.extente1001496 - e1001496en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.ispartofPLoS Biologyen_US
dc.rightsFinal published version. This is an open access article.en_US
dc.titleNatural History, a Master Classen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.identifier.doidoi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001496-
dc.date.eissued2013-02-26en_US
dc.identifier.eissn1545-7885-
pu.type.symplectichttp://www.symplectic.co.uk/publications/atom-terms/1.0/journal-articleen_US

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