Science Is Constantly Evolving

Discover the latest in climate change and evolution education news.

Discovery of Homo naledi: A Q&A with the Teacher Who Had the Inside Scoop, Part 1
It should be pretty obvious by now that I’m pretty excited about the discovery of Homo naledi announced on September 10. Sure, there are some known unknowns, but it’s just such a cool story! From the cavers (not, I learned, spelunkers [but I maintain that “spelunkers” is way more…
Teachers Voting With Their Feet
Every year, as August slouches toward September, public schools around the country resume classes—and bemoan the difficulty of finding enough teachers: The New York Times proclaimed “Teacher Shortages Spur a Nationwide Hiring Scramble,” reporting that one North Carolina district was…
The Power of Teachers
You might think that an official science teacher meeting would be the last place you’d run into climate change deniers. Sadly, that’s exactly what I found three years ago when I attended my first California Science Teachers Association (CSTA) meeting in San Jose. What happened that day was…
Answer Monday!
Last week, I shared a zoomed-in photo of an unnamed organism’s little “boxing glove” and told you nothing else except that I’m terrified of it. What is “it”? It’s a eurypterid, specifically Eurypterus lacustris from the Williamsville Waterlime formation in upstate New York. Eurypterids…
Polling scientists on climate change
"Using responses from nearly 700 biophysical scientists," a new survey "finds that approximately 92 percent of them believe that human-caused climate change is really happening," according to the Washington Post (September 25, 2015), reporting on J. S. Carlton, Rebecca Perry-Hill,…
Fossil Friday!
I both love and loathe this week’s fossil. I love it because every time I look at it, I think of what Jessica (the MCZ’s invertebrate collections guru) said: It looks like it’s wearing adorable little boxing gloves. But I loathe it because… well. These things are terrifying. Who wants to get…
Chew On This: A Story For Your Ears Only, Part 2
In part 1, I told you that the three bones of the modern mammalian’s ear are actually modified jawbones. I also mentioned that today, we have an extensive fossil record that documents this amazing transition from jaw-to-ear, but despite how good the record is, it can’t tell us how the…
Dixon, Not Darwin
Back in 2014, there was a controversy in Arizona surrounding John Huppenthal, then the state’s Superintendent of Public Instruction. It was alleged, and subsequently confirmed, that Huppenthal pseudonymously posted a bunch of comments—variously characterized in the media as harsh, inflammatory,…
When Is a Denier not a Denier?
Good advice to the AP, from the War Production Board, circa 1942. Image public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. One of these is a real addition to the AP Stylebook. Which do you think it is? To describe those who don’t accept climate science or dispute the world is warming from man-…

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