Science Is Constantly Evolving

Discover the latest in climate change and evolution education news.

Fossil Friday!
This week on the fossil Friday, I bring you a bone from the Hemphillian North American Stage (about 5-10 million years ago) found in what is now Nevada. If I was a gambling lady, I’d say that this animal was a lightweight runner, possibly even an herbivore prancing across the plains. But who…
Thank a Teacher Thursday: White House Edition
As Associate Director for Science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr. Jo Handelsman  “helps to advise President Obama on the implications of science for the Nation, ways in which science can inform U.S. policy, and on Federal efforts in support of scientific…
Fobbing Off Evolution
In 1995, the governor of Alabama, Fob James, spoke before the state board of education, which was then considering a proposal to insert a disclaimer about evolution in all biology textbooks used in the state. In The Creationists (2006), Ronald L. Numbers primly writes, “The Republican…
What, and Why, Is Science Literacy? Part 2
The issue of whether Sherlock Holmes is science literate led to some fascinating discussion in the comments section, though not, I fear, to a consensus. But let’s turn to a matter closer to my own heart and examine what we can learn about someone’s science literacy based on whether they reject…
Pope Dismisses Creationism with a Wave of the Wand
Religious News Service reports on comments Pope Francis made in unveiling a new bust of his predecessor: The pope was addressing the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which gathered at the Vatican to discuss “Evolving Concepts of Nature.” “When we read about Creation in…
Riled about Haeckel
I’ve been meaning to write about William Bell Riley (1861–1947), a Baptist preacher who was as responsible for the flourishing of the antievolution crusade of the 1920s as anyone. In some ways, Riley wasn’t a stereotypical creationist. He wasn’t in the Bible Belt, for example: he spent forty-…
A Wrinkle in (Change Over) Time, Part 2
When we last left off, a lab had accidentally mated two mice that had been exposed to harmful chemicals in the womb. (Quick note! In last week’s post, I incorrectly called these two mice siblings—they weren’t! Sorry! They were unrelated mice born to different parents that were part of this…
Misconception Monday: Oh No! Ozone Hole
Stephanie Keep, who normally leads Misconception Monday, is kindly allowing me to guest-spot while she's up to her eyeballs in epigenetics. I thought I’d take this opportunity to highight one of the most common mix-ups involving climate change: conflating the human-caused…
Poll data on evolution and climate change
The Chapman University Survey on American Fears included a pair of questions relevant to evolution and climate change. Asked "Which of the following statements comes closest to your views about the origin and development of man?" 39.9% of respondents preferred "God created man pretty much in…

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