Evolution

Two Splits Between Human and Chimp Lines Suggested - New York Times

2006-05-19T05:18:00.001-07:00

Two Splits Between Human and Chimp Lines Suggested - New York Times: "The split between the human and chimpanzee lineages, a pivotal event in human evolution, may have occurred millions of years later than fossil bones suggest, and the break may not have been as clean as humans might like."

Debate on Little Human Fossil Enters Major Scientific Forum - New York Times

2006-05-19T05:18:00.000-07:00

Debate on Little Human Fossil Enters Major Scientific Forum - New York Times: "Not all scientists agree that the 18,000-year-old 'little people' fossils found on the Indonesian island of Flores should be designated an extinct human-related species. "

Fossil Find Improves Knowledge of Human Origins - Yahoo! News

2006-04-15T12:04:00.000-07:00

Fossil Find Improves Knowledge of Human Origins - Yahoo! News: "Newfound fossils from Ethiopia are giving scientists a clearer glimpse into the murky origins of a hominid species that was an important link in the evolution of ape to man."

A Missing Evolutionary Link - New York Times

2006-04-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

A Missing Evolutionary Link - New York Times: "A fossil find in the frigid wastes of Arctic Canada is being hailed as a missing link documenting the transition from fish to land animals eons ago, and in some respects it is. But the gap it fills was already shrinking rapidly thanks to previous fossil discoveries by paleontologists seeking to determine how ancient fish developed the ability to leave the waters and adopt a terrestrial lifestyle."

Ancient fossils fill gap in early human evolution - Yahoo! News

2006-04-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ancient fossils fill gap in early human evolution - Yahoo! News: "LONDON (Reuters) - An international team of scientists have discovered 4.1 million year old fossils in eastern Ethiopia that fill a missing gap in human evolution."

CNN.com - Study: Plants helped ants evolve - Apr 7, 2006

2006-04-08T06:37:00.000-07:00

CNN.com - Study: Plants helped ants evolve - Apr 7, 2006: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Ants evolved far earlier than previously believed, as far back as 140 million to 168 million years ago -- and they have plants to thank for their diversity, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday."

Study, in a First, Explains Evolution's Molecular Advance - New York Times

2006-04-07T06:09:00.000-07:00

Study, in a First, Explains Evolution's Molecular Advance - New York Times: "By reconstructing ancient genes from long-extinct animals, scientists have for the first time demonstrated the step-by-step progression of how evolution created a new piece of molecular machinery by reusing and modifying existing parts."

A Fish with Fingers?

2006-04-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

TIME.com: A Fish with Fingers? -- Page 1: "People who doubt the truth of Darwinian evolution love to claim that there are no transitional fossils—no remains of ancient creatures that have the characteristics of two different kinds of organism, mixed together. If evolution were true, you'd expect to see them."

Fossil Called Missing Link From Sea to Land Animals - New York Times

2006-04-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

Fossil Called Missing Link From Sea to Land Animals - New York Times: "Scientists have discovered fossils of a 375-million-year-old fish, a large scaly creature not seen before, that they say is a long-sought missing link in the evolution of some fishes from water to a life walking on four limbs on land."

Wingless Gliders May Reveal the Origins of Insect Flight - New York Times

2006-04-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

Wingless Gliders May Reveal the Origins of Insect Flight - New York Times: "When Stephen Yanoviak visited the jungles of Panama in 1998 to study how ants forage, he found himself with some unexpected downtime. 'Out of boredom, I started flicking some ants off of a tree,' he said."

Silent Struggle: A New Theory of Pregnancy - New York Times

2006-03-14T05:58:00.000-08:00

Silent Struggle: A New Theory of Pregnancy - New York Times: "In the 1970's, Dr. Trivers argued that families create an evolutionary conflict. Natural selection should favor parents who can successfully raise the most offspring. For that strategy to work, they can't put too many resources into any one child. But the child's chances for reproductive success will increase as its care and feeding increase. Theoretically, Dr. Trivers argued, natural selection could favor genes that help children get more resources from their parents than the parents want to give."

The Belief Trap - The evolutionary explanation of religion gets stuck. By Judith Shulevitz

2006-03-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

The Belief Trap - The evolutionary explanation of religion gets stuck. By Judith Shulevitz: "On the face of it, there's no reason not to dissect religion with the same tools used to pick apart animal behavior. Why can't we ask how religion evolved? What's wrong with trying to figure out whether cleaving unto God enhanced our ancestors' chances of survival, or whether, on the contrary, religious belief occupied them like a parasite, sickening healthy minds with delusional notions?"

Someday the Sun Will Go Out and the World Will End (but Don't Tell Anyone) - New York Times

2006-02-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

Someday the Sun Will Go Out and the World Will End (but Don't Tell Anyone) - New York Times: "Dreading the prospect that they too may be dragged into the culture wars, astronomers have watched from the sidelines in recent years as creationists in Kansas and Pennsylvania challenged the teaching of evolution in classrooms. Never mind that the Big Bang has been officially accepted by the Roman Catholic Church for half a century. The notion of a 14-billion-year-old cosmos doesn't fit if you believe the Bible says the world is 6,000 years old.

And indeed there have been sporadic outbreaks, as evidenced by the bumper stickers and signs you see in some parts of the country: 'Big Bang? You've got to be kidding — God.'

When the Kansas school board removed evolution from the science curriculum back in 1999, they also removed the Big Bang."

At Churches Nationwide, Good Words for Evolution - New York Times

2006-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

At Churches Nationwide, Good Words for Evolution - New York Times: "On the 197th birthday of Charles Darwin, ministers at several hundred churches around the country preached yesterday against recent efforts to undermine the theory of evolution, asserting that the opposition many Christians say exists between science and faith is false."

Eden and Evolution

2006-02-05T06:16:00.000-08:00

Eden and Evolution: "Religious critics of evolution are wrong about its flaws. But are they right that it threatens belief in a loving God?"

Evolution | The story of man | Economist.com

2006-01-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

Evolution | The story of man | Economist.com: "IN THOSE parts of the planet that might once have been described as “Christendom”, this week marks the season of peace on Earth and goodwill towards men. A nice idea in a world more usually thought of as seasoned by the survival of the fittest. But goodwill and collaboration are as much part of the human condition as ill-will and competition. And that was a puzzle to 19th-century disciples of Charles Darwin, such as Herbert Spencer."

DNA Offers New Insight Concerning Cat Evolution - New York Times

2006-01-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

DNA Offers New Insight Concerning Cat Evolution - New York Times: "Researchers have gained a major insight into the evolution of cats by showing how they migrated to new continents and developed new species as sea levels rose and fell."

Rocky Mountain News: News

2006-01-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

Rocky Mountain News: News: "DOVER, Pa. (AP) -- Dover's much-maligned school policy of presenting 'intelligent design' as an alternative to evolution was officially relegated to the history books Tuesday night.

On a voice vote, and with no discussion beforehand, the newly elected Dover Area School Board unanimously rescinded the policy. Two weeks earlier, a judge ruled the policy unconstitutional."

'Intelligent design' ruling may have ripples - Yahoo! News

2005-12-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

'Intelligent design' ruling may have ripples - Yahoo! News: "Backers of 'intelligent design' have been advising school boards to avoid lawsuits by encouraging criticism of evolution rather than mandating that students learn about intelligent design. But a judge's ruling this week has given ammunition to those fighting challenges to evolution in three states."

Evolution named 2005's top scientific breakthrough - Yahoo! News

2005-12-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

Evolution named 2005's top scientific breakthrough - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two days after a U.S. judge struck down the teaching of intelligent design theory in a Pennsylvania public school, the journal Science on Thursday proclaimed evolution the breakthrough of 2005.
ADVERTISEMENT

Wide-ranging research published this year, including a study that showed a mere 4 percent difference between human and chimpanzee DNA, built on Charles Darwin's landmark 1859 work 'The Origin of Species' and the idea of natural selection, the journal's editors wrote.

'Amid this outpouring of results, 2005 stands out as a banner year for uncovering the intricacies of how evolution actually proceeds,' they wrote. 'Ironically, also this year, some segments of American society fought to dilute the teaching of even the basic facts of evolution.'"

Senator to Cut Ties Over Evolution Lawsuit - New York Times

2005-12-23T05:05:00.000-08:00

Senator to Cut Ties Over Evolution Lawsuit - New York Times: "Senator Rick Santorum said Wednesday that he would withdraw his affiliation with the Thomas More Law Center, which had defended the Dover Area School District's policy mandating the teaching of intelligent design in science classes dealing with evolution.

Mr. Santorum, Republican of Pennsylvania, earlier praised the district for 'attempting to teach the controversy of evolution.'"

Schools Nationwide Study Impact of Evolution Ruling - New York Times

2005-12-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

Schools Nationwide Study Impact of Evolution Ruling - New York Times: "When the school board in Muscatine, Iowa, sits down next year for its twice-a-decade evaluation of the district's science curriculum, the matter of whether to teach intelligent design as a challenge to evolution is expected to come up for discussion."

Is Creationism Destructible? - Where to go from Dover. By William Saletan

2005-12-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

Is Creationism Destructible? - Where to go from Dover. By William Saletan: "n his 139-page ruling on the Dover, Pa., 'intelligent design' case, federal district Judge John E. Jones sets out to kill ID's scientific pretensions once and for all. 'After a six-week trial that spanned twenty-one days and included countless hours of detailed expert witness presentations, the Court is confident that no other tribunal in the United States is in a better position than are we to traipse into this controversial area,' he writes. Jones proceeds to tear ID limb from limb 'in the hope that it may prevent the obvious waste of judicial and other resources which would be occasioned by a subsequent trial' on the same question."

Judge Bars 'Intelligent Design' From Pa. Classes

2005-12-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

Judge Bars 'Intelligent Design' From Pa. Classes - New York Times: "HARRISBURG, PA., Dec. 20 - A federal judge ruled today that a Pennsylvania school board's policy of teaching intelligent design in high school biology class is unconstitutional because intelligent design is clearly a religious idea that advances 'a particular version of Christianity.'"

Judge Rules Against 'Intelligent Design'

2005-12-20T08:14:00.000-08:00

Judge Rules Against 'Intelligent Design': "'The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy,' Jones wrote. 'It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy.'"

Judge: Pa. Intelligent Design Mandate Unconstitutional

2005-12-20T08:11:00.000-08:00

FOXNews.com - U.S. & World - Judge: Pa. Intelligent Design Mandate Unconstitutional: "The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include 'intelligent design,' the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday.

Intelligent design is the theory that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause. The school board policy was believed to have been the first of its kind in the nation.

Click here to read the judge's ruling."

ID Ruling

2005-12-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Rocky Mountain News: Nation: "HARRISBURG, Pa. -- A federal judge ruled today that 'intelligent design' cannot be mentioned in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district.

The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include 'intelligent design,' the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled Tuesday. "

Evolution Trial in Hands of Willing Judge - New York Times

2005-12-20T04:32:00.000-08:00

Evolution Trial in Hands of Willing Judge - New York Times: "Driving home one day last December from the courthouse in Harrisburg, Pa., Judge John E. Jones III tuned in to a radio news report about 11 parents in the nearby town of Dover who had filed a lawsuit challenging their school board's decision to include intelligent design in the high school biology curriculum."

'Intelligent Design' Deja Vu

2005-12-17T00:43:00.000-08:00

'Intelligent Design' Deja Vu: "School boards across the country are facing pressure to teach 'intelligent design' in science classes, but what would such courses look like? Thankfully, we need not tax our imaginations. All we have to do is look inside some 19th-century textbooks."

CNN.com - Anti-creationism professor: Resignation was forced - Dec 11, 2005

2005-12-11T06:13:00.000-08:00

CNN.com - Anti-creationism professor: Resignation was forced - Dec 11, 2005: "LAWRENCE, Kansas (AP) -- A college professor who drew sharp criticism for comments deriding Christian fundamentalists over 'intelligent design' said he was forced out as chairman of the university's religious studies department."

Warning Label on Darwin Sows Division in Suburbia

2005-12-11T06:02:00.000-08:00

Warning Label on Darwin Sows Division in Suburbia: "MARIETTA, Ga. -- The evolution controversy in this comfortable Atlanta suburb began with one boy's fascination with dinosaurs."

Intelligent Design Might Be Meeting Its Maker - New York Times

2005-12-04T07:50:00.000-08:00

Intelligent Design Might Be Meeting Its Maker - New York Times: "TO read the headlines, intelligent design as a challenge to evolution seems to be building momentum.

In Kansas last month, the board of education voted that students should be exposed to critiques of evolution like intelligent design. At a trial of the Dover, Pa., school board that ended last month, two of the movement's leading academics presented their ideas to a courtroom filled with spectators and reporters from around the world. President Bush endorsed teaching 'both sides' of the debate - a position that polls show is popular. And Pope Benedict XVI weighed in recently, declaring the universe an 'intelligent project.'"

The Evolution of a Darwin Show

2005-11-27T06:18:00.000-08:00

The Evolution of a Darwin Show - New York Times: "When curators at the American Museum of Natural History began planning an exhibition on Darwin three years ago, they didn't anticipate a roiling national debate about evolution and intelligent design. 'We didn't think the issue would be as white-hot as it is right now,' said Michael Novacek, provost of science and a curator of paleontology at the museum. 'It kind of raised the ante for us. My sense was, let's make this show good, because people really want to see it. They need it.'"

Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design

2005-11-18T09:04:00.000-08:00

Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design - Yahoo! News: "VATICAN CITY - The
Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that 'intelligent design' isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States."

Philosophers Notwithstanding, Kansas School Board Redefines Science

2005-11-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

Philosophers Notwithstanding, Kansas School Board Redefines Science - New York Times: "Once it was the left who wanted to redefine science.

In the early 1990's, writers like the Czech playwright and former president Vaclav Havel and the French philosopher Bruno Latour proclaimed 'the end of objectivity.' The laws of science were constructed rather than discovered, some academics said; science was just another way of looking at the world, a servant of corporate and military interests. Everybody had a claim on truth."

The right defended the traditional notion of science back then. Now it is the right that is trying to change it.

'Intelligent design' vote has Robertson warning town

2005-11-12T05:27:00.000-08:00

HoustonChronicle.com - 'Intelligent design' vote has Robertson warning town: "WASHINGTON - Conservative Christian televangelist Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting 'intelligent design' and warned them Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck."

All 8 'intelligent design' backers lose their seats

2005-11-12T05:26:00.000-08:00

All 8 'intelligent design' backers lose their seats : The Morning Call Online: "DOVER | Voters in this rural school district Tuesday ousted eight school board members who backed a controversial policy to introduce high school students to ''intelligent design,'' which critics say is a form of creationism.

Voters replaced the GOP incumbents with a Democratic slate that called for removing intelligent design from Dover's science curriculum, returns from all six precincts showed."

The Pope on Creation

2005-11-12T05:23:00.000-08:00

The Pope on Creation - New York Times: "VATICAN CITY, Nov. 11 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI has waded into the evolution debate in the United States, saying the universe was made as an 'intelligent project' and criticizing those who say its creation was without direction."

Closing Arguments Made in Trial on Intelligent Design - New York Times

2005-11-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

Closing Arguments Made in Trial on Intelligent Design - New York Times: "HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 4 - The nation's first trial to test the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design as science ended Friday with a lawyer for the Dover school board pronouncing intelligent design 'the next great paradigm shift in science.'"

His opponent, a lawyer for the 11 parents suing the school board, dismissed intelligent design as dishonest, unscientific and based entirely on "a meager little analogy that collapses immediately upon inspection."

In Intelligent Design Case, a Cause in Search of a Lawsuit

2005-11-04T05:21:00.000-08:00

In Intelligent Design Case, a Cause in Search of a Lawsuit - New York Times: "HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 3 - For years, a lawyer for the Thomas More Law Center in Michigan visited school boards around the country searching for one willing to challenge evolution by teaching intelligent design, and to face a risky, high-profile trial."

Kansas evolution vote nears, scientists fight back - Yahoo! News

2005-11-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

Darwin's Natural Selection Still at Work in Humans - Yahoo! News: "The evolutionary process that Charles Darwin discovered almost 150 years ago, responsible for transforming dinosaurs into birds and allowing the walking ancestors of whales to take to the seas, is still quietly at work in humans today."

'Intelligent Design' Battle Goes to Polls - Yahoo! News

2005-11-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

'Intelligent Design' Battle Goes to Polls - Yahoo! News: "DOVER, Pa. - A battle over a policy requiring that ninth-graders in this rural community learn about 'intelligent design' in biology class is being fought on two fronts — one political, one legal."

2 Science Groups Say Kansas Can't Use Their Evolution Papers

2005-10-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

2 Science Groups Say Kansas Can't Use Their Evolution Papers - New York Times: "Two leading science organizations have denied the Kansas board of education permission to use their copyrighted materials in the state's proposed new science standards because of the standards' critical approach to evolution."

The Brontosaurus - Monty Python's flying creationism

2005-10-27T05:43:00.000-07:00

The Brontosaurus - Monty Python's flying creationism. By William Saletan: "'There is an elephant in the roomful of scientists who are trying to explain the development of life,' wrote Michael Behe, a professor of biochemistry, in his 1996 book Darwin's Black Box. The elephant was ubiquitous evidence of 'intelligent design' (ID) in nature. Darwinian evolutionists, Behe argued, were unable to explain life's origins and its emerging complexity because they couldn't see the elephant.

Behe has the same problem, but worse. "

Long-Ago Rivals Are Dual Impresarios of Darwin's Oeuvre - New York Times

2005-10-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

Long-Ago Rivals Are Dual Impresarios of Darwin's Oeuvre - New York Times: "Two eminent biologists, James D. Watson and Edward O. Wilson, have been pitted by their respective publishers in an odd and inadvertent competition that recalls a bitter former rivalry. They are editors, for different publishers, of the same book."

The Intelligent Design Trial - Neo-creationists and their embarrassing ancestors. By Hanna Rosin

2005-10-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

The Intelligent Design Trial - Neo-creationists and their embarrassing ancestors. By Hanna Rosin: "This must be how a religious conversion happens: You sit still in a windowless room for hours and hours, listening to the voice of a single higher authority. There is no one to contradict him, nothing else to do. Over and over, Michael Behe, the main expert witness, repeats the same mantra: Intelligent Design is science, not religion. By the end of the second morning of his testimony, I am beginning to see my way through to some of the central scientific claims of ID. The attorney asks a series of questions that elicit the same answer—'Creationism is a theological, religious concept; Intelligent Design points to observable physical empirical facts'—and I experience the repetition like a ritual prayer."

Intelligent design won’t vanish

2005-10-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Intelligent design won’t vanish - York Daily Record: "Supporters on each side of Dover’s federal court case over intelligent design considered the ramifications of the judge’s decision long before arguments began in court."

CBS News Poll: Majority Reject Evolution

2005-10-23T13:42:00.000-07:00

CBS News | Poll: Majority Reject Evolution | October 23, 2005 14:30:06: "Most Americans do not accept the theory of evolution. Instead, 51 percent of Americans say God created humans in their present form, and another three in 10 say that while humans evolved, God guided the process. Just 15 percent say humans evolved, and that God was not involved. "

Witness Defends Broad Definition of Science - New York Times

2005-10-19T05:46:00.000-07:00

Witness Defends Broad Definition of Science - New York Times: "A leading architect of the intelligent-design movement defended his ideas in a federal courtroom on Tuesday and acknowledged that under his definition of a scientific theory, astrology would fit as neatly as intelligent design."

Darwin and God

2005-10-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Darwin and God: "In the late nineteenth century, Charles Darwin's discoveries about evolution were described as a theory. That may have been accurate at the time, but since then many scientists have argued that they constitute fact. The difference is in part due to subsequent discoveries in the fields of biology and genetics. The discovery of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick and the recent elucidation of genomes (including human) have revealed the map and sequence by which life conveys its essential instructions.

This road map that dictates how life is to develop and evolve does not require God's intervention and guidance at every step. But it does not argue--nor has it ever--against the existence of a grand creator."

Witness: 'Design' Replaced 'Creation'

2005-10-06T06:27:00.000-07:00

ABC News: Witness: 'Design' Replaced 'Creation': "HARRISBURG, Pa. Oct 5, 2005 — References to creationism in drafts of a student biology book were replaced with the term 'intelligent design' by the time it was published, a witness testified Wednesday in a landmark trial over a school board's decision to include the concept in its curriculum.

Drafts of the textbook, 'Of Pandas and People,' written in 1987 were revised after the Supreme Court ruled in June of that year that states could not require schools to balance evolution with creationism in the classroom, said Barbara Forrest, a philosophy professor at Southeastern Louisiana University."

Seeing Creation and Evolution in Grand Canyon

2005-10-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

Seeing Creation and Evolution in Grand Canyon - New York Times: "GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - Tom Vail, who has been leading rafting trips down the Colorado River here for 23 years, corralled his charges under a rocky outcrop at Carbon Creek and pointed out the remarkable 90-degree folds in the cliff overhead."

In Pennsylvania, It Was Religion vs. Science, Pastor vs. Ph.D., Evolution vs. the Half-Fish - New York Times

2005-10-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

In Pennsylvania, It Was Religion vs. Science, Pastor vs. Ph.D., Evolution vs. the Half-Fish - New York Times: "HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 30 - When Casey Brown testified this week, she embodied the pain and division the intelligent design controversy has wrought in Dover. Mrs. Brown sat stiffly on the witness stand, her mouth as tight as her gray ponytail, recounting how she had run for school board on the same ticket as the board members now facing her from the defense table."

Mind the Gaps - Intelligent design as an answer to all life's great conundrums. By Dahlia Lithwick

2005-09-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Mind the Gaps - Intelligent design as an answer to all life's great conundrums. By Dahlia Lithwick: "The good people of Dover, Penn., are in court this week fighting for their right to tell high-school students that evolution is an elective, not a requirement. Intelligent design isn't just your great-grandpa's creationism, they contend. Instead, it fills in the myriad 'gaps' and 'problems' in Darwin's theory of evolution with an unnamed, omnipotent 'designer.' (Hint: His name rhymes with 'Todd.') For this exceedingly pluralistic and tolerant worldview, Dover School Board members have gotten themselves into a world of trouble with parents, the ACLU, and pundits across the land."

Grow Some Testables - Intelligent design ducks the rigors of science. By William Saletan

2005-09-30T06:28:00.000-07:00

Grow Some Testables - Intelligent design ducks the rigors of science. By William Saletan: "Four months ago, when evolution and 'intelligent design' (ID) squared off in Kansas, I defended ID as a more evolved version of creationism. ID posits that complex systems in nature must have been designed by an intelligent agent. The crucial step forward is ID's concession that 'observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory building'—not scriptural authority—define science. Having acknowledged that standard, advocates of ID must now demonstrate how hypotheses based on it can be tested by experiment or observation. Otherwise, ID isn't science."

Intimidation Alleged On 'Intelligent Design'

2005-09-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

Intimidation Alleged On 'Intelligent Design': "HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 27 -- Parents in federal court Tuesday described an atmosphere of intimidation and anger when school board members in Dover, Pa., last year decided to require high school biology teachers to read a statement that casts doubt on the theory of evolution.

Bryan Rehm, a parent who also taught physics at Dover High School, testified of continual pressure from board members not to 'teach monkeys-to-man evolution.' He said that the board required teachers to watch a film critical of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and that board members talked openly of teaching creationism alongside evolution."

A Web of Faith, Law and Science in Evolution Suit

2005-09-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

A Web of Faith, Law and Science in Evolution Suit - New York Times: "DOVER, Pa., Sept. 23 - Sheree Hied, a mother of five who believes that God created the earth and its creatures, was grateful when her school board here voted last year to require high school biology classes to hear about 'alternatives' to evolution, including the theory known as intelligent design."

Biblical tour masquerades as science

2005-09-25T06:20:00.000-07:00

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS: "The Earth is 6,000 years old. Noah took dinosaurs on the ark. God 'spoke fish into existence.' And, by the way, 'evolution gives the platform for racism,' 'Hitler was an evolutionist,' and so were Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

You might refer to Saturday's 'biblically correct' tour of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science as Colorado's scientific conundrum:

How much shall we monkey with this state's future?"

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS

2005-09-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS: "God made dinosaurs on the sixth day of Creation, the same day he made people, according to Rusty Carter's interpretation of the Bible.

'The word 'dinosaur' was not invented back then, but in Job 38, there's two large creatures, behemoth and leviathan,' said Carter, director of the Littleton-based Biblically Correct Tours, as he prepared to give his first tour of the school year."

New evolution spat in U.S. schools goes to court - Yahoo! News

2005-09-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

New evolution spat in U.S. schools goes to court - Yahoo! News: "PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A new battle over teaching about man's origins in U.S. schools goes to court for the first time next week, pitting Christian conservatives against educators and scientists in a trial viewed as the biggest test of the issue since the late 1980s."

Court Case Threatens to 'Drag Science into the Supernatural' - Yahoo! News

2005-09-23T05:43:00.000-07:00

WSJ.com - Scopes, 2005: 'Design' Theory Faces Legal Test: "Debates about the boundaries of science and religion that marked the famous Scopes trial in 1925 are likely to unfold next week at a Harrisburg, Pa., federal courthouse in the first legal test of an anti-evolution doctrine known as 'intelligent design.'

Aided by the American Civil Liberties Union, 11 parents of Dover, Pa., schoolchildren have filed a federal lawsuit against that town's school board, accusing it of violating the principle of separation of church and state. The school board requires that at the beginning of the 9th grade unit on evolution, teachers are supposed to read a statement to a biology class: 'Because Darwin's theory is a theory, it continues to be tested as new evidence is discovered. The theory is not a fact...Intelligent Design is an explanation of the origin of life that differs from Darwin's view.'"

Challenged by Creationists, Museums Answer Back - New York Times

2005-09-19T18:11:00.000-07:00

Challenged by Creationists, Museums Answer Back - New York Times: "ITHACA, N.Y. - Lenore Durkee, a retired biology professor, was volunteering as a docent at the Museum of the Earth here when she was confronted by a group of seven or eight people, creationists eager to challenge the museum exhibitions on evolution."

Nobel Winners Defend Evolution

2005-09-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

CBS News | Nobel Winners Defend Evolution | September 16, 2005 15:00:05: "Thirty-eight Nobel Prize laureates asked state educators to reject proposed science standards that treat evolution as a seriously questionable theory, calling it instead the 'indispensable' foundation of biology.

The group, led by the writer Elie Wiesel, said it wanted to defend science and combat 'efforts by the proponents of so-called intelligent design to politicize scientific inquiry.' "

'The Universe in a Single Atom': Reason and Faith - New York Times

2005-09-18T05:30:00.000-07:00

'The Universe in a Single Atom': Reason and Faith - New York Times: "It's been a brutal season in the culture wars with both the White House and a prominent Catholic cardinal speaking out in favor of creationist superstition, while public schools and even natural history museums shy away from teaching evolutionary science."

Political Science

2005-09-04T06:21:00.000-07:00

Political Science - New York Times: "Yet what remains most divisive, according to Kennedy, is not the Bush administration's specific policies, but a more general sense that ''scientific conclusions, reached either within agencies or by people outside of government, are being changed for political reasons by people who have not done the scientific work.'' It is this sense that science is being ''misused'' that has given rise to two Congressional bills."

In Chimpanzee DNA, Signs of Y Chromosome's Evolution - New York Times

2005-09-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

In Chimpanzee DNA, Signs of Y Chromosome's Evolution - New York Times: "Scientists have decoded the chimp genome and compared it with that of humans, a major step toward defining what makes people human and developing a deep insight into the evolution of human sexual behavior."

Scientists Complete Genetic Map of the Chimpanzee

2005-09-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

Scientists Complete Genetic Map of the Chimpanzee: "The fresh unraveling of chimpanzee DNA allows an unprecedented gene-to-gene comparison with the human genome, mapped in 2001, and makes plain the evolutionary processes through which chimps and humans arose from a common ancestor about 6 million years ago."

Wired News: 'Swift Boating' Science

2005-08-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

Wired News: 'Swift Boating' Science: "It's not news that the reign of Bush fils has been marked by an antagonism toward science and scientists unlike any since 1954, when Robert Oppenheimer had his security clearance revoked and Linus Pauling had his passport pulled. The many times this administration and its supporters have fudged or even lied about scientists and scientific research are well-known. Global warming, stem cells, cloning, sex, land use, pollution and missile defense come to mind."

Teaching of Creationism Is Endorsed in New Survey - New York Times

2005-08-31T06:01:00.000-07:00

Teaching of Creationism Is Endorsed in New Survey - New York Times: "In a finding that is likely to intensify the debate over what to teach students about the origins of life, a poll released yesterday found that nearly two-thirds of Americans say that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in public schools."

Intelligent design? Show me the science - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune

2005-08-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

Intelligent design? Show me the science - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune: "Is 'intelligent design' a legitimate school of scientific thought? Is there something to it, or have these people been taken in by one of the most ingenious hoaxes in the history of science? Wouldn't such a hoax be impossible?"

New school year, new battle over evolution

2005-08-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

USATODAY.com - New school year, new battle over evolution: "Is intelligent design science or religion? That's the question a U.S. district court judge in Harrisburg will consider starting Sept. 26, and Dover voters will weigh Nov. 4."

25 CREATIONISTS' ARGUMENTS & 25 EVOLUTIONISTS' answers.

2005-08-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

25 CREATIONISTS' ARGUMENTS & 25 EVOLUTIONISTS' answers.

BBC NEWS | Magazine | The struggle over science

2005-08-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

BBC NEWS | Magazine | The struggle over science: "I used to get mad at the way it was left to America to bring to full fruition fine achievements by Britain's scientists, inventors and engineers. Take Alexander Fleming's penicillin, Frank Whittle's jet engine, Alan Turing's computer and Robert Watson Watt's radar.

All these breakthroughs found their fullest exploitation in the United States. Indeed, they all contributed to America's pre-eminence in science-based manufacturing and services."

Grasping the Depth of Time as a First Step in Understanding Evolution - New York Times

2005-08-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

Grasping the Depth of Time as a First Step in Understanding Evolution - New York Times: "Last month a team of paleontologists announced that it had found several fossilized dinosaur embryos that were 190 million years old - some 90 million years older than any dinosaur embryos found so far. Those kinds of numbers are always a little daunting. Ever since I was a boy in a public elementary school in Iowa, I've been learning to face the eons and eons that are embedded in the universe around us."

Neo-Creo - New York Times

2005-08-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

Neo-Creo - New York Times: "The word creationism, coined in 1868 in opposition to what was then called Darwinism or evolutionism, had fallen on hard times. The proponents of a theory faithfully attributing the origin of matter to God, ''the creator,'' were seemingly overwhelmed by the theory put forward by Charles Darwin and bolstered with much evidence by 20th century scientists. As a result, the noun creationism (like its predecessor, teleology, the study of purposeful design in nature) gained a musty connotation while evolutionism modishly lost its -ism."

Design for Confusion - New York Times

2005-08-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

Design for Confusion - New York Times: "Which brings us, finally, to intelligent design. Some of America's most powerful politicians have a deep hatred for Darwinism. Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, blamed the theory of evolution for the Columbine school shootings. But sheer political power hasn't been enough to get creationism into the school curriculum. The theory of evolution has overwhelming scientific support, and the country isn't ready - yet - to teach religious doctrine in public schools."

Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science - New York Times

2005-08-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science - New York Times: "At a recent scientific conference at City College of New York, a student in the audience rose to ask the panelists an unexpected question: 'Can you be a good scientist and believe in God?'"

In Explaining Life's Complexity, Darwinists and Doubters Clash

2005-08-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

In Explaining Life's Complexity, Darwinists and Doubters Clash - New York Times: "At the heart of the debate over intelligent design is this question: Can a scientific explanation of the history of life include the actions of an unseen higher being?"

Intelligent design lacks intelligence

2005-08-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

DenverPost.com - LOCAL NEWS: "Quick: Define miosis and mitosis. Explain mitochondrion and chloroplast. Now briefly, what's RNA?

The biology teachers assembled at the University of Colorado last week for a seminar on teaching evolution know most Americans are clueless about basic science.

They find our ignorance exasperating.

But it also explains a lot."

Politicized Scholars Put Evolution on the Defensive - New York Times

2005-08-20T17:20:00.000-07:00

Politicized Scholars Put Evolution on the Defensive - New York Times: "When President Bush plunged into the debate over the teaching of evolution this month, saying, 'both sides ought to be properly taught,' he seemed to be reading from the playbook of the Discovery Institute, the conservative think tank here that is at the helm of this newly volatile frontier in the nation's culture wars."

Frist Urges 2 Teachings on Life Origin - New York Times

2005-08-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Frist Urges 2 Teachings on Life Origin - New York Times: "WASHINGTON, Aug. 19 - Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican leader, aligned himself with President Bush on Friday when he said that the theory of intelligent design as well as evolution should be taught in public schools."

Wired News

2005-08-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

Wired News: "Echoing similar comments from President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said 'intelligent design' should be taught in public schools alongside evolution.

Frist, R-Tenn., spoke to a Rotary Club meeting Friday and told reporters afterward that students need to be exposed to different ideas, including intelligent design."

What Do You Know?

2005-08-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

What Do You Know?: "The quarrel over intelligent design is about this: whether we should discount the scientific method on which modern society rests."

A Life With No Purpose

2005-08-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

A Life With No Purpose: "Darwinism implies that the only eternal life we have is in the recycling of our atoms. I find that comforting"

'Intelligent design' debate stirs lawmakers

2005-08-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Rocky Mountain News: State: "wo state House members who are ordained ministers have sharply differing views on whether the concept of intelligent design should share time with evolution in public school science classes."

Harvard to Investigate Origins of Life

2005-08-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

Harvard to Investigate Origins of Life - Yahoo! News: "The 'Origins of Life in the Universe Initiative' is still in its early stages, scientists told the Boston Sunday Globe. Harvard has told the research team to make plans for adding faculty members and a collection of multimillion-dollar facilities.

Evolution is a fundamental scientific theory that species evolved over millions of years. It has been standard in most public school science texts for decades but recently re-emerged in the spotlight as communities and some states debated whether school children should also be taught about creationism or intelligent design."

Science Friday Podcast: Evolution and the Church

2005-08-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

August 12, 2005, Hour One: Evolution and the Church / Forensic Science: "where does the Catholic Church stand on evolution?"

Intelligent design is not a theory

2005-08-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

DenverPost.com - OPINION: "Contrary to the claims of some of our political leaders, intelligent design is not an alternative theory to evolution. It's a belief, and maybe - on a really good day - a hypothesis. But it is not a theory."

Colorado evolution curriculum could be evolving

2005-08-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

9news.com | News | Colorado evolution curriculum could be evolving: "DENVER - Colorado high school students may soon find their biology curriculum at the center of a debate at the State Capitol.

A State Representative says when lawmakers return to work this winter, she will introduce a measure to allow teachers to teach about intelligent design in addition to evolution in any class discussing the origin of the species."

U.S. Science Research

2005-08-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

WSJ.com - Science Journal: "Politicians' attacks on the science of evolution continue, even though 'intelligent design' may make a fascinating lesson for a philosophy class, but is not biology."

Evolution vs. Religion - Quit pretending they're compatible. By Jacob Weisberg

2005-08-11T16:37:00.000-07:00

Evolution vs. Religion - Quit pretending they're compatible. By Jacob Weisberg: "Quit pretending they're compatible."

Kansas moves to stem role of evolution in teaching

2005-08-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Kansas moves to stem role of evolution in teaching - Yahoo! News: "Critics say the moves are part of a continuing national effort by conservative Christians to push their secular views into the public education process.

'This is neo-creationism, trying to avoid the legal morass of trying to teach creationism overtly and slip it in through the backdoor,' said Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education."

CBS News | Kansas Board OKs Evolution Knock |

2005-08-10T09:17:00.000-07:00

CBS News | Kansas Board OKs Evolution Knock | August 10, 2005 09:13:06: "The Kansas Board of Education voted 6-4 to include greater criticism of evolution in its school science standards, but it decided to send the standards to an outside academic for review before taking a final vote."

Kansas Board Advances a Draft Critical of Evolution - New York Times

2005-08-10T05:15:00.000-07:00

Kansas Board Advances a Draft Critical of Evolution - New York Times: "TOPEKA, Kan., Aug. 9 (AP) - The State Board of Education has approved the latest draft of science standards that include greater criticism of evolution.

The board approved the draft on Tuesday by a vote to 6 to 4. It then voted to send it to be reviewed by outside academics. The board is expected to give its final approval in October."

Reason: God vs. Darwin: No Contest: Natural selection debate gets even dumber

2005-08-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

Reason: God vs. Darwin: No Contest: Natural selection debate gets even dumber: "The God vs. Darwin debate went to the White House last week when President Bush weighed in, stating in a roundtable interview with reporters that 'intelligent design' should be taught along with evolution in public schools. It's a move that has undoubtedly pleased the president's conservative religious base. However, it has also caused much unhappiness among those conservatives who want the Republican Party to be something other than a political arm of the religious right, including such strong Bush supporters as columnist Charles Krauthammer and University of Tennessee law professor/blogger Glenn Reynolds."

The Cincinnati Post - Toward a dumber nation

2005-08-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

The Cincinnati Post - Toward a dumber nation: "The ranch at Crawford hardly compares with the Forbidden City, but George W. Bush has something in common with the Ming emperors of China: He seems determined to make his great nation less ambitious and more ignorant."

A Tower of Turtles

2005-08-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

ZNet |U.S. | A Tower of Turtles: "We’ve probably all heard past “scientific theories” of what the world rests on. There’s Atlas’s shoulder, begging the question, “What’s Atlas standing on?” There’s the comforting children’s song “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” And there’s the turtle theory: The world is sitting on the back of a turtle, and it’s turtles all the way down – but to what?"

'Intelligent design' smacks of creationism by another name

2005-08-09T05:52:00.000-07:00

'Intelligent design' smacks of creationism by another name - Yahoo! News: "For more than a century, scientists have overwhelmingly accepted the theory of evolution. As recently as the 1960s, however, teaching about the theory in schools was a crime in several states."