Questions

1. Eminent space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Udupi Ramachandra Rao passed away due to age related ailments. He was 85.

2. He was currently serving as the chairman of the governing council of the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. Rao served as the chairman of ISRO for 10 years from 1984-1994.

EPA - Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA estimates that 85% - 90% of the waste is recyclable, but we only recycle about 30% - 40% of it.

Edward Thorndike (1874 - 1949) is famous in psychology for his work on learning theory that lead to the development of operant conditioning within behaviorism.

Thorndike (1898) studied learning in animals (usually cats). He devised a classic experiment in which he used a puzzle box to empirically test the laws of learning.

Heritable variation is one of the four most important factors that affect whether natural selection can occur. These factors include

1) Heritable variation

2) Descent with modification

3) Struggle for survival, and necessarily if the others are satisfied

4) Survival of the fittest.

Heritable variation allows for possibly beneficial, negative, or even neutral mutations to get filtered during each generation by natural selection--weeding out negative mutations, passing on positive and neutral ones. Without heritable variation, species would quickly fall victim to parasites who take advantage of identical genetic material in a population and evolution would not occur.

Variation is the raw material of evolution.