biology

Simon Southerton

Simon Southerton is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Simon Southerton rather than just read about it. In short: Simon G. Southerton is an Australian plant geneticist and co-founder of Gondwana Genomics, an Australian technology firm specialising in Marker-assisted selection for tree breeding.

Key takeaways

Simon Southerton belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Simon Southerton to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Simon Southerton from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Simon G. Southerton is an Australian plant geneticist and co-founder of Gondwana Genomics, an Australian technology firm specialising in Marker-assisted selection for tree breeding. Southerton published the book Losing a Lost Tribe: Native Americans, DNA, and the Mormon Church. The book uses genetic evidence to examine the historical accuracy of the Book of Mormon and related claims about the Lamanite people. Southerton was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), having converted to the church at age 10; as an adult, he was a Mormon missionary in Melbourne and a bishop in Australia. Because of his inability to reconcile church teachings with science, Southerton resigned as a bishop in 1998 and left the church. However, after Southerton's book was published, the church formally charged him with apostasy. In an email sent to the Associated Press following his excommunication from the LDS Church, Southerton stated he was excommunicated for being too vocal regarding the results of the Genomics Project DNA. However, those who attended Southerton's church disciplinary council contended that the excommunication had nothing to do with the book. In an interview with Mormon podcast host John Dehlin, Southerton explained that he was prevented from talking about his position regarding the DNA evidence in connection with the Book of Mormon and clarified that the excommunication was not for adultery, but rather for "inappropriate relations with a woman" during a period of time he was separated from his wife in 2003. He also felt that the 2005 disciplinary action was taken after he had already been inactive in the church for seven years and maintains that the disciplinary actions were a direct result of the publishing of his book but done in such a way to prevent further spread of his position regarding genetics and the Book of Mormon. In 2014, Southerton co-founded Gondwana Genomics with DNA marker technology licensed from the CSIRO. In early 2018, Gondwana Genomics became the first to deploy marker-assisted selection on a commercial scale in tree breeding, screening over 11,000 trees and seedlings for Eucalyptus breeding programs.

See also Criticism of Mormonism Thomas W. Murphy (anthropologist)

References

External links Simon Southerton blog Southerton's rebuttal to apologist's criticism of his book The FARMS Review of Southerton's book Apologist criticism of book

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Simon Southerton

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Simon Southerton claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Simon Southerton before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Simon Southerton ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Simon Southerton

In research: Simon Southerton appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Simon Southerton in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Simon Southerton is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 20th-century Mormon missionaries, Australian Mormon missionaries, Australian biologists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Simon Southerton outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Simon Southerton in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Simon Southerton means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Simon Southerton out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Simon Southerton in simple terms?

Simon G. Southerton is an Australian plant geneticist and co-founder of Gondwana Genomics, an Australian technology firm specialising in Marker-assisted selection for tree breeding.

Why does Simon Southerton matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Simon Southerton?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Simon Southerton.