A mutant shrimp is being claimed as “a landmark in evolutionary biology” that proves Darwin’s critics wrong. But its nothing of the sort, says biologist Jonathan Wells. A research team headed by William McGinnis at the University of California at San Diego has reported discovering a DNA mutation that produces shrimp without hind legs. Their report is being published in Read More ›
SEATTLE — There’s an unusual coalition of train lovers here determined to ensure at least some passenger rail survives along the American West Coast even if Amtrak dies. What is interesting for British Columbians is that some of the strongest proponents of passenger rail on the U.S. West Coast are trying to “internationalize” the rail corridor. They want fast, efficient Read More ›
I’ve never been able to fathom evolution OR the Genesis story of creation, so I am amused by the controversies that still erupt over how schools teach the origin of life on planet Earth.At the moment, attention — most of it mocking — is on Cobb County, Georgia, where the School Board wants to expose students to alternative theories of Read More ›
Congressional Conferees Language on Controversies Such as Evolution (Revised Santorum Amendment): 2001-107th Congress-1st Session-House of Representatives Report-107 334 NoChild Left Behind Act of 2001 Conference Report to accompany H.R. 1 The Conferees recognize that a quality science education should prepare students to distinguish the data and testable theories of science from religious or philosophical claims that are made in the Read More ›
After months of rock ’em, sock ’em public debate followed by a quiet summer, the vote on new science standards for Ohio public schools is coming down to the wire. The fight — as in several other states — centers on what students will learn about the origins of life. On Monday, the standards committee of the Ohio Board of Read More ›
This article is written in response to Matt Young’s “How to Evolve Specified Complexity by Natural Means” which appeared in Metanexus. The mathematician George Polya used to quip that if you can’t solve a problem, find an easier problem and solve it. Matt Young seems to have taken Polya’s advice to heart. Young has taken Shannon’s tried-and-true theory of information Read More ›
Cynical lawyers have a maxim: When you have the facts on your side, argue the facts. When you have the law on your side, argue the law. When neither is on your side, question the motives of the opposition. The latter seems to be the strategy of die-hard defenders of Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, now that the State Board Read More ›
LAST WEEK the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) made headlines when it issued a broadside that would, if followed by Congress, grant an open-ended license for biotech researchers to clone human life. True, the NAS recommended that Congress ban “reproductive” cloning, that is, the use of a cloned embryo to produce a born baby. But it also urged that human Read More ›
Discussion of economic policy matters among politicians has sunk almost to the level of a frat house food fight. There are several reasons for this sorry state of affairs. First, there is an appalling level of ignorance among many political leaders about economic fundamentals. For instance, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle recently blamed the recession, in part, on the president’s Read More ›