NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview (PDF) of the second edition of Carl Zimmer and Douglas J. Emlen's Evolution: Making Sense of Life (Roberts and Company, 2015). The preview consists of a part of chapter 14, "Macroevolution." "The history of biodiversity — the processes and…
The best thing about NCSE’s Grand Canyon trip is the rafters. Also, the Canyon itself. And the food. And the amazing guides who run the boats and cook the meals and lead the hikes and know every bit of river lore you could desire. Among the best things about NCSE’s Grand Canyon trip are…
We laughed, we cried, we felt a thousand emotions. And when the dust finally settled, we were left with the usual pile of dead anti-science copycat bills, often from the usual players. We're looking at you, Missouri and Oklahoma. The tally was nearly identical to 2014's. Four bills targeted…
Last Friday we examined a very geometric view of an unusual fossil. Here it is in full, complete with scale. I think it still looks pretty intimidating, but as you can probably tell it is a plant. Specifically, a fossil of Cycadeoidea. There’s a significant amount of…
This week on Fossil Friday we have a specimen that I think looks super-metal. Check it out. Extremely spiky and dangerous. Also, no scale bars in the picture, but I will tell you that this fossil is not small. Frankly, it is big enough that lifting it was a bad idea on my part.…
A new poll on public attitudes toward Pope Francis's encyclical on climate change included questions on the occurrence of climate change itself. Asked "Do you think that global warming is happening, or do you think global warming is not happening?" 69% of respondents said yes, 16% said no, 15%…
As you no doubt know by now, I don’t shy away from offering up personal information for the sake of science, or at least blogging about science. I’m the kind of person who thinks that you delight in knowing that I fear dead invertebrates, adore axolotls, and scream, “He’s an ape, not a…
A few months ago, I received a call from someone who wanted to know about Alfred Watterson McCann’s God—or Gorilla, a creationist book from 1922 with, as it happens, my favorite creationist subtitle ever: How the Monkey Theory of Evolution Exposes Its Own Methods, Refutes Its Own…
A new poll of Latinos in the United States finds that a large majority — more than four fifths — accept that climate change is real, and that a majority — almost two thirds — accept that climate change is mostly due to human activity. Asked "Do you think global warming and climate change are…