(Source: nevver, via invaderxan)

Feathered Dinosaurs were Diverse, Like Darwin’s Finches

by Megan Gannon

Flightless feathered dinosaurs with parrotlike beaks and long, skinny claws that scampered around North America may have been the Darwin’s finches of the Late Cretaceous era.

Fossils of at least five species of vegetarian birdlike dinosaurs known as caenagnathids have been found from West Texas to Canada with wide variation in their beak shapes and body size, giving scientists clues about how the small creatures could coexist by carving out different dietary niches.

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was famously inspired by the diversity of beak shapes among finches on the Galapagos Islands, which he took as a sign that the birds had somehow adapted to the specific environments where they lived. More recent research has shown that Darwin’s finches can evolve quite quickly. For instance, one species shrunk its beak size to better compete with another bird for small seeds in a mere two decades.

Millions of years ago, different species of caenagnathids may have similarly adjusted their beak size across western North America…

(read more: LiveScience)        

(illustration by  Nicholas R. Longrich/Yale - This new species, Leptorhynchos (“little jaw”) gaddisi, belongs to a broader group of bird-like dinosaurs characterized by toothless beaks and long, slender claws.)

(Source: rhamphotheca)

kidsneedscience:

On April 24, 1925, substitute science teacher and Rhea County High School football coach John T. Scopes was charged with violating Tennessee’s Butler Act which prohibited the teaching of evolution.  Nicknamed the ‘Monkey Trial’, the case was actually formed after the American Civil Liberties Union sought a defendant and citizens of the small town of Dayton, Tennessee convinced Scopes to stand trial to gain publicity for the town.  Both sides had superstar legal teams, led by Clarence Darrow for the defense and perennial presidential candidate William Jennings Bryant for the prosecution.  The case ended in July of 1925 with a guilty verdict-Scopes was fined $100.  The case went to the Tennessee Supreme Court but was overturned on a technicality and remained on the books until 1967 when it was finally repealed.  

The word evolution arrived in English in 1620 and comes from the Latin word evolutionem (nomnative form evolutio) meaning the unrolling of a book or revealing that which was rolled up. The word evolve arrived a bit later in the 1640s from the Latin wordevolvere meaning to unroll and could also pertain to other ‘hidden’ things (see also for example the etymology of vulva), but mostly meant books, when a ‘volume’ was a rolled up manuscript made from vellum. The modern meaning that scientists such ad Darwin meant for it began around 1832 and reached its first full expression in Darwin’s work. The word evolve had been used in a scientific sense specifically in biology for over a hundred years before Darwin wrote Origin of Species-which is one reason why he avoided it. By the mid 1850s, the word had connotations of perfectibility-something Darwin wanted to avoid. It was the last sentence of his book:

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

And while I am at it, let me add this:  Go Rhea County Golden Eagles!  I was briefly a student at that school and have some fond memories.  -kidsneedscience

What If Darwin Had Never Existed? | Imagining A World Without The Father Of Evolution (By Natural Selection)

Imagine a dark, stormy night in the South Atlantic at the end of December 1832. Aboard the Royal Navy survey vessel HMS Beagle a young naturalist, racked with seasickness, staggers on deck. A sudden wave makes the ship heel violently, and he is washed over the side. The lookout calls “Man overboard!” but it is too dark to see anything in the churning sea, and the storm is too fierce for the officer on watch to risk turning the ship about. Charles Darwin is gone, and Captain Fitzroy will have to face the task of writing to his family in England to break the news. He will certainly tell them that in addition to their personal tragedy, the scientific community has lost a promising young naturalist who might have achieved great things. But he has no idea that Darwin’s greatest achievement would have been to write one of the most controversial books of the century, a book that Fitzroy himself would have denounced in public: On the Origin of Species.

What would a world without Darwin look like? Many have argued that science would have developed much the same. His theory of evolution by natural selection was “in the air” at the time, an inevitable product of the way people were thinking about themselves and the world they lived in. If Darwin hadn’t proposed it, then someone else would have, most obviously the naturalist we know as the “co-discoverer” of natural selection, Alfred Russel Wallace. Events would have unfolded more or less as we know them, although without the iconic term “Darwinism” to denote the evolutionary paradigm. But Wallace’s version of the theory was not the same as Darwin’s, and he had very different ideas about its implications. And since Wallace conceived his theory in 1858, any equivalent to Darwin’s 1859 Origin of Species would have appeared years later. There probably would have been an evolutionary movement in the late nineteenth century, but it would have been based on different theoretical foundations—theories that were actually tried out in our own world and that for a time were thought to overshadow Darwin’s.

The impact of Darwin’s theory was not limited to science itself.
Darwinism was eventually rescued when the new science of genetics undermined the plausibility of the rival theories of evolution following the “rediscovery” of Mendel’s laws of heredity in 1900. I suspect that in a world without Darwin, it would have taken until the early twentieth century for the theory of natural selection to come to the attention of most biologists. Evolution would have emerged; science would be composed of roughly the same battery of theories we have today, but the complex would have been assembled in a different way. In our world, evolutionary developmental biology had to challenge the simpleminded gene-centered Darwinism of the 1960s to generate a more sophisticated paradigm. In the non-Darwinian world, the developmental model would have been dominant throughout and would have been modified to accommodate the idea of selection in the mid-twentieth century.

Why is this exercise of any interest at all? If biology ultimately develops toward the same end product, why should anyone care about the possibility that the major discoveries might have been made in an order different from the one we actually experienced? As far as science itself is concerned, the topic may well be academic (in the best sense of the term), but there are wider issues at stake. We might have ended up with similar theories, but we would think about them differently if they had emerged at different times, and this would affect public attitudes toward them.

Racism and various ideologies would have flourished just the same.The impact of Darwin’s theory was of course not limited to science itself—it has been seen as a major contributor to the rise of materialism and atheism. Evolutionism offends many religious believers, but of even greater concern is the idea that change is based on chance variations winnowed out by a ruthless struggle for existence. In the eyes of its critics, Darwin’s theory of natural selection inspired generations of social thinkers and ideologues to promote harsh policies known as “social Darwinism.” Creationists frequently claim that Darwin was directly responsible for generating the vision of Aryan racial superiority that inspired the Nazis to attempt the extermination of the Jews. Apparently it is not enough for critics to challenge Darwinism on allegedly scientific grounds—they contend that it is also immoral and hence dangerous. Even if the scientific evidence is tempting, one shouldn’t consider the theory because it would undermine morality and the social order. But should certain ideas in science be ruled out of court whatever the evidence suggests?

My interest in exploring what happens in a world without Darwin is driven by the hope of using history to undermine the claim that the theory of natural selection inspired the various forms of social Darwinism. The world in which Darwin did not write the Origin of Species would have experienced more or less all of our history’s social and cultural developments. Racism and various ideologies of individual and national struggle would have flourished just the same and would have drawn their scientific justification from the rival, non-Darwinian ideas of evolution. This is no mere conjecture, because the real-world opponents of Darwinism were active in lending support to the ideologies most of us now find so distasteful. Science simply cannot bear the burden imposed on it by those who think it can inspire whole social movements—on the contrary, science is shaped by the social matrix within which it is conducted. In the world without Darwin, the horrors would still exist, but the theory of natural selection would not have the bogeyman image associated with it by its critics because it would have been developed too late to play a significant role. We need to think harder about the wider tensions in our culture responsible for the ideologies that came to have the inoffensive Darwin as their figurehead.

via PopSci

5 Health Benefits Of … Beards | MNN [Mother Nature Network]

Charles Darwin first noted an evolutionary explanation of beards in The Descent of Man, where he hypothesized that the process of sexual selection may have led to beards. Yes, sexual selection; females find hirsute suitors sexy. And although detractors may deny it, modern biologists have reaffirmed Darwin’s theory with evidence that the ladies find mates with beards more attractive than their clean-shaven brethren.

(And to you beard-weary women out there who disagree, we apologize if you receive a link to this article courtesy of your beard-defending partners.)

But beyond the magical magnetic allure that beards are said to proffer, experts suggest that men with beards and mustaches enjoy additional benefits; specifically, those that provide positive health outcomes.

1. They protect against the sun
A study from the University of Southern Queensland, published in the Radiation Protection Dosimetry journal, found that beards block 90 to 95 percent of UV rays, thereby slowing the aging process and reducing the risk of skin cancer.

Generally hair offers good protection against the sun, says Dr Nick Lowe, a leading London-based dermatologist. ‘It’s similar to an SPF factor,” he adds. “The higher the hair density and thickness, the higher the SPF.

2. They reduce asthma and allergy symptoms
For men whose allergies or asthma are set off by pollen or dust, facial hair near the nose may act as a filter of sorts and stop the allergens before they settle in, suggests several experts.

3. They lessen signs of aging
Along with signs of aging from sun exposure, facial hair also lessens signs of aging to the face by keeping it moisturized. Beards protect the face from the wind and cold air that dries the skin.

Also, moisturizer applied to the face will be more effective than on exposed skin where it can be more easily rubbed off.

4. They stave off illness
Thick beards that have grown under the chin and neck will raise the temperature of the neck and may help battle colds, says Carol Walker, hair medical expert and owner of Birmingham Trichology Centre.

“Hair is an insulator that keeps you warm. Long, full beards that trap the cold air and raise the temperature of the neck are going to be an added bonus when you’re under the weather,” says Walker. Facial hair can act as a physical barrier to cold temperature, adds Dr Felix Chua, a consultant respiratory physician at the London Clinic, Harley Street. “Hair around the chin and neck adds another layer of protection.”

5. They reduce infections
Beards and mustaches mean no shaving, which is the main cause of bacterial infections in the beard area, says Dr Martin Wade, consultant dermatologist at the London Skin and Hair Clinic. Shaving leads “to razor rash, ingrown hairs and conditions such as folliculitis (infection of the hair follicles that causes spots), so men would benefit from growing a beard,” he says.

Watch: Beard Time-Lapse (and Amazing Visual Adventure Through China)

That settles it. I’m keeping the beard. Mine, that is. I’m not hiding someone else’s, I’m referring to the one on my face.

explore-blog:

A map of Charles Darwin’s voyage on the H. M. S. Beagle.

(Source: )

Darwin

(Source: explore-blog)

The Evolution of Evolution: Darwin’s Gemmule Theory Revisited

The advances in genetics have been absolutely amazing over the last few decades since the discovery that DNA was the hereditary material. For example, we’ve sequenced the genomes of many, many different organisms, including at this point, hundreds of plant genomes. And so we now can read the genetic code very easily.

In the last decade or couple of decades we’ve realized that there is an epigenetic code, a second code, if you like, that’s layered on top of this DNA sequence and can drastically influence both the normal development of a plant or an animal as well as the inheritance of these traits.

So for example, in the 19th century the famous botanist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck proposed the idea that is now called the Inheritance of Acquired Traits in which he suggested that maybe the experience of an organism in one generation could somehow lead to changes in the progeny that would benefit them in the next generation. He famously thought that the giraffe’s neck had been extended by reaching higher and higher into trees for nutrition.

While we don’t think that Lamarck’s ideas should be interpreted too literally, we’re beginning to find evidence that epigenetics can, in fact, influence the next generation in a way that’s at least partially Lamarckian. So one of the most important discoveries in the last decade has been a phenomenon called RNA Interference where small RNAs can very drastically influence the activity and the importance of genes.

One of the discoveries that my lab was part of was seeing how those small RNAs could actually make more permanent changes in the chromosome that could be inherited from cell to cell. So that actually provides a potential mechanism for Lamarckian Inheritance because the small RNAs can arise from anywhere in the body. They can move around and implant. We know that they move around a lot and potentially could influence the inheritance of chromosomes in the germ line.

It was actually Darwin who first realized this potential. He was a big fan of Lamarck. A lot of people don’t realize that, but in The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication he wrote that if Lamarckian Inheritance—the inheritance of acquired traits—was true then there must be some property arising in the body that could enter the germ line and change the germ line for the next generation. And Darwin called these gemmules—which is a wonderful name and we think small RNAs are very good candidates for those gemmules.

via BigThink

Science Branding

explore-blog:

The original letter in which Charles Darwin worked out his theory of evolution. 

Darwin was a prolific correspondent, with other letters covering everything from the pros and cons of marriage to his most dismal moods.

(Source: )

Darwin’s Notebook | The Life, Times, and Discoveries of Charles Robert Darwin | by Jonathan Clements

What can I say…this book is the definitive measure of Charles Darwin’s contribution to the human species and our current understanding of everything from entomology to cosmology. The illustrations speak for themselves, but the rich context in which his life is unveiled for all of us to see….it’s immersive. Whether you are passionate, curious or “passionately curious” about the workings of the natural world, you’ll be engrossed by the life of Charles Darwin as presented through Darwin’s own journal entries and letters to colleagues.

If you haven’t seen the movie ‘Creation’, do so after reading this book. Only then can you truly appreciate this man during the mere fraction of his life the movie portrays. When I first saw the film, of course, I was captivated. Stunning visuals, vibrant script, diverse characters and locations….but not an accurate portrayal of who this man was. I saw the film during my journey through reading Darwin’s intoxicating natural bible, Voyage of the Beagle. I then read through an amazing illustrated version of The Origin of Species, which serves as culmination of all other drafts by delivering the final, sixth edition of On The Origin of Species in exquisitely detailed arrangement.

After reading this current book about Darwin’s life in greater detail, I had a greater respect for the Creation film, along with bittersweet dissatisfaction as to why anyone hasn’t made a true, feature-film biopic on his entire life to provide a lush and complex history of a man - of many men, and women - hardly known to most, at a time when (currently) everyone needs to be informed of such historical events and achievements which have shaped all of our lives. Needless to say, without reading who Darwin truly was aside from the man behind the religiously-dreaded “E”-word, the film Creation, suffice to say, does not do this particular human being ‘justice’ whatsoever.

Looking for a better alternative for Darwinian insight? Try these (few program descriptions are my own, but the source indicates those which I’ve used for description):

The Genius of Charles Darwin
A three-part television documentary, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.

Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life
Presented by David Attenborough. Nothing more to say.

Origin of Species
Five-part documentary narrated by Donald Sutherland.

The Voyage of Charles Darwin
Complete series of the old BBC film depicts the life of Charles Darwin in the 1800s, as well as how Darwin came about formulating his theory of evolution and natural selection.

Darwin’s Struggle: The Evolution of ‘The Origin of Species’
Documentary telling the little-known story of how Darwin came to write his great masterpiece, On the Origin of Species, a book which explains the wonderful variety of the natural world as emerging out of death and the struggle of life.

What Darwin Never Knew
Offers answers to riddles that Darwin couldn’t explain. Breakthroughs in a brand-new science—nicknamed “evo devo”—are linking the enigmas of evolution to another of nature’s great mysteries, the development of the embryo. NOVA takes viewers on a journey from the Galapagos Islands to the Arctic, and from the explosion of animal forms half a billion years ago to the research labs of today. Scientists are finally beginning to crack nature’s biggest secrets at the genetic level. The results are confirming the brilliance of Darwin’s insights while revealing clues to life’s breathtaking diversity in ways the great naturalist could scarcely have imagined.

“Nevertheless the difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind.”

Charles Darwin, writing to his closest friend, botanist Joseph Hooker, detailing his feelings as the Theory of Natural Selection took shape.

This is an excerpt from a newly released collection of  over 1,000 letters from Charles Darwin to Hooker throughout the course of his life. They provide an unprecedented view of Darwin’s struggles and emotions, enriching the humanity of this great scientist.

Tour the letters at Cambridge University’s Darwin Correspondence Project, and read more at BBC News.

thephantomspank asked: I couldnt finish that video I was laughing too hard and was also in shock from what these well educated people were saying. What are your thoughts on people who when presented with facts still deny evolution?

You can’t educate the unwilling. Pushing on with it otherwise is like beating your head against the wall. It’s just something you kind of have to accept and let them either figure it out on their own, or, if they are actually committed to voicing that same opinion in conversation amongst others (assuming the “others” are NOT their peers), their error and confidence in the misinformation they’ve been indoctrinated with will be revealed naturally to them. But based on the person, they will greet this with humility and acceptance or resist the change and stand firm in their “blind faith.”

The only way to fix this problem is to keep educating, keep oneself informed on the understanding of evolution by natural selection, and of course, how it plays such a dominant role in our society regarding much more than biology, but geology, paleontology, microbiology, biodiversity, marine biology, astrobiology, zoology, neuroscience, anatomy and genetics. Phew…. that may just not be enough for these people to handle, haha. But honestly, the more broadly informed you are in terms of the far reaching implications of the discovery, the background of Charles Darwin’s life along with the accomplishments others have made on furthering the research…..it still holds and rings true today just as the Special/Theory of Relativity grafts the natural world as well.

And you have to be prepared to deal with such responses as “We didn’t come from monkeys” or “why are there still monkeys” or “how come we stopped evolving.” It’s a sad epoch for human “intelligence” in large numbers.

Hello! There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Sometimes certain topics slip under the education radar, and it’s wonderful you’d like to learn about it on your own!

To start, I feel everyone should own a copy of Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of Species. There are a lot of versions out there - short, long, revised, etc - so you’ll need to do some research on which version you would like to start off on.

I also really enjoy Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin. The way he writes is amazing, and easy to understand whether you’re new to the subject or not.

Some other books that may interest you are listed below:

Why Evolution Is True by Jerry. A Coyne.
There’s also Richard Dawkins books like The Greatest Show On Earth and The Ancestor’s Tale.
What Evolution Is by Ernst Mayr
Shadows Of Forgotten Ancestors by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan
Evolution: The Triumph Of And Idea by Carl Zimmer
Dinosaur In A Haystack by Stephen Jay Gould (plus his many others)
Evolution: What The Fossils Say And Why It Matters by Donald R. Prothero
TED talks on evolution (thanks goes to cicatrose for reminding me of the awesomeness)
*The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
*Illustrated Origin of Species, Abridged Edition by Charles Darwin
*Cheating Monkeys and Citizen Bees: The Nature of Cooperation in Animals and Humans by Lee Dugatkin
*Darwin’s Notebook: The Life, Times, and Discoveries of Charles Robert Darwin by Jonathan Clements

I know I’ve left a lot of books out (even many I own/have read), but these are a few that may be great introductions for you. There is a list on Good Reads you may also want to take a look at which lists their best books on evolution (based on reviews, it looks). As well, if you search “evolution” on places like Amazon or your local book store website, you’ll be able to get a good list of ones I’ve not listed here.

Again, there are just so many books out on evolution (way too many to list!), and I do want to stress that everyone has their own opinions on which books they feel are best, more accurate, etc. In the end, I definitely suggest reading a bit about each book on Amazon (or similar sites) to see if you feel these will be a good starting point for you. I’ve found the more books I read, the better I understand topics - like evolution - as a whole. You get different opinions from the authors, and I feel it helps when cross checking information once you become more acquainted to the topics you’re reading about. I do this a lot with palaeontology studies, for example.

When it comes to scientific papers, there are some in book format and many available online. A good place to start would be searching “evolution” on sites like Google Scholar, University websites, PLOS ONE, Nature, etc.

I hope this post is of help! - ikenbot

Hey, followers, got some awesome evolution books you have read that I totally forgot to list here? Send them over via ask and I’ll make a compiled list to put up on our blog!

The recent additions with the *asterisks* are mine, as I’m currently working through the last book I referenced, Darwin’s Notebook: The Life, Times, and Discoveries of Charles Robert Darwin - which is an absolutely fantastic and brilliantly illustrated/documented read for the lay-reader or evolutionary biology-inclined, as it explores C.D.’s entire life from childhood through post death. If I would have discovered this beforehand, I would’ve definitely completed it before reading Voyage of the Beagle and the Origin of Species.

Please, followers, friends & family…if you have any other titles or references to add to this post, please do so & continually update this post, distributing/reblogging it accordingly for all of us to build on such a great reference tool.

“Our ancestor was an animal which breathed water, had a swim bladder, a great swimming tail, an imperfect skull, and undoubtedly was an hermaphrodite! Here is a pleasant genealogy for mankind.”
- C.D.

jtotheizzoe:

Wonderful Darwin Day art by Kapil Bhaghat (Tumblr)

(via scientificillustration)