Old Weblog Archive - May 2002

Ofsted OK creationism in college #
David Bell, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, said today that OFSTED would not be following up its inquiry into the teaching of science at Emmanuel College, Gateshead.
Guardian: 24-May-02
Unbelievable.

The five pound question: Who is Elizabeth Fry? #
Prison reformer Elizabeth Fry is the new face of the English five pound note. Though undoubtedly a member of the great and good, is she a slightly obscure choice for this rare honour?
BBC: 21-May-02
And this after all the trouble we had getting Darwin on a tenner. I don't see any Friends of Elizabeth Fry websites out there on the net. Has the Bank of England opted for a token woman, I wonder?

Acclaimed science writer dies #
Stephen Jay Gould, one of the world's best-known palaeontologists and science writers, has died at the age of 60.
BBC: 21-May-02
A very sad day for the world of science.
See also: My personal tribute, Guardian Obituary, Collection of tributes on the Darwin Day website

Gallery for genetics genius #
An exhibition celebrating Gregor Mendel, the "father of genetics", opens in a monastery in the Czech city of Brno.
BBC: 17-May-02

Impact led to dino rule #
The impact of an extraterrestrial object may have led to the downfall of the dinosaurs, but now it seems another, much earlier collision, could have been the factor that allowed the great beasts to rise to prominence in the first place.
BBC: 16-May-02

Darwin's town seeks island link #
They may be worlds apart, but Shrewsbury wants to set up a twinning arrangement with the Galapagos Islands, a territory with more turtles than humans.
Daily Telegraph: 16-May-02

Twin Beaks #
Darwin's theory of evolution is widely accepted as valid, but it is usually difficult to see the process in action. A 30-year study of finches on a Galapagos island has changed all that.
Independent: 13-May-02

Last chapter as oldest publisher is bought out #
John Murray, the oldest independent book publisher in the world and the last of London's "gentlemen publishing houses", has been forced to sell out to an arriviste rival because it says it is too small to survive in a fiercely globalised industry.
Daily Telegraph: 11-May-02
A sad turn of events. John Murray was the original publisher of Origin of Species.

Darwinism in a flutter #
It was evolution in action, a perfect demonstration of the survival of the fittest. There was just one problem: no one had seen birds eating [peppered] moths from tree trunks. A review of Of Moths and Men: Intrigue, Tragedy & the Peppered Moth by Judith Hooper.
Guardian: 11-May-02
This article has a misleading title. The discrediting of Kettlewell's famous peppered moth study does not put Darwinism in a flutter. It was the Kettlewell's experimental methodology that was bad, not Darwinism.
Postscript: For comments about my comments, see A reader writes... in the July edition of this weblog.

Charles Darwin's marriage and heirs #
Two letters to the editor about the number and health of Darwin's descendents.
[London] Times: 11-May-02
One of the letters is from a person with the Darwin-related surname of Keynes

Intergalactic Jesus #
Despite the difficulties involved, reconciling science and faith remains a popular project, especially among academics nearing the end of their careers. Michael Ruse's latest book is an astonishing contribution to this literature. He maintains that at least one form of science (Darwinism) and one form of religion (Christianity) are mutually reinforcing. They are reconcilable, he asserts, because virtually every tenet of conservative Christianity, including original sin, the immortality of the soul and moral choice, is immanent within Darwinism and an inevitable result of the evolutionary process
London Review of Books: 23-May-02
Michael Ruse is a very silly philosopher, who should know better.

Creation scientists answer back #
A group of 27 creationist scientists has written to the education secretary arguing against any narrowing of England's school science curriculum to focus on Darwinian evolution. Their letter is in response to a previous letter from 36 academics, expressing alarm that creationism theory - the Biblical account of the origins of life - was being taught in schools.
BBC: 10-May-02
Shame on you, BBC - using oxymoronic terms like "creation scientists".

Oldest worm trail discovered #
Fossils in rocks thought to have been deposited 1.2 billion years ago could be the oldest evidence of animal life discovered so far. Australian researchers believe a worm-like creature left a trail in sandstone found off the western tip of Australia.
BBC: 09-May-02

How whales learned to swim #
The mighty blue whale owes its swimming ability to an anatomical quirk. Fossils show early whales became agile swimmers in a mere blink of evolution - about 10 million years. Primitive whales probably became fully aquatic about 5-10 million years after they took to the sea about 50 million years ago.
BBC: 08-May-02

'Oldest flower' found in China #
Scientists say they have found the fossilised remains of the earliest known flower. It was discovered in a slab of stone in north-east China and the plant is thought to have lived at least 125 million years ago.
BBC: 03-May-02