laelaps | September 16, 2009Yesterday I questioned the path by which Simon Conway Morris and James Valentine, two evolutionary biologists, came to appear in the new creationist film Darwin's Dilemma. Created by Illustra Media, a film company that has worked closely with the Discovery Institute, the film claims that the "Cambrian Explosion" provides evidence for intelligent design. I now have more information.
Simon Conway Morris was interviewed for the film. In an e-mail by Lad Allen, the producer of Darwin's Dilemma, the filmmaker provided evidence that he had interviewed Conway Morris on November 14, 2006. The…
laelaps | September 16, 2009Considering the fossils of the Cambrian, the oldest fossil-bearing rocks known during his time, Charles Darwin wrote the following in the 6th edition of On the Origin of Species;
... it cannot be doubted that all the Cambrian and Silurian trilobites are descended from some on crustacean, which must have lived long before the Cambrian age, and which probably differed greatly from any known animal. ...
... if the theory be true, it is indisputable that before the lowest Cambrian stratum was deposited long periods elapsed, as long as, or probably far longer than, the whole interval from the…
laelaps | September 15, 2009Update: I have released important new information about this story here.
Creationists have made a habit out of tricking scientists and historians into appearing in pro-creationism films. Such "culture warriors" view their dishonest tactics as fully acceptable. They think their deceit is working for the greater good, and scientists must increasingly be aware of who they are being interviewed by. (For a relevant discussion of dishonesty among evangelicals see the chapters on conservative philanthropist Howard Ahmanson Jr. in Republican Gomorrah, particularly the portion about Ahmanson's…
laelaps | September 15, 2009
In 1916 the paleontologist H.F. Osborn published one of the strangest books on evolution I have ever read. Titled The Origin and Evolution of Life: On the theory of action, reaction and interaction of energy, the volume was an attempt to "take some of the initial steps toward an energy conception of Evolution and an energy conception of Heredity and away from the matter and form conceptions which have prevailed for over a century." Osborn hoped that by distilling the study of life to exchanges of energy the why of evolution would finally become apparent. (As I have mentioned before, Osborn…
laelaps | September 15, 2009
An osprey (Pandion haliaetus) flying above the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.
laelaps | September 14, 2009
An American pika (Ochotona princeps), photographed in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
laelaps | September 13, 2009
A warning to visitors about bison, or a request to the bison? Photographed at Antelope Island, Utah.
laelaps | September 12, 2009
A bee collecting pollen from a sunflower. Photographed at Antelope Island, Utah.
laelaps | September 11, 2009
Carl Buell's restoration of Aetiocetus weltoni. From Demere et al., 2008.
By now many of you have no doubt seen the abysmally bad story on evolution and creationism in yesterday's Telegraph. After referring to the reactions of fundamentalist Christians to the forthcoming Charles Darwin biopic Creation (based upon the book Annie's Box), the anonymous author of the piece presents the "Top 5" arguments for both evolution and creationism. The choices were baffling; it appeared that rather than do any actual research the writer extracted the selections from a bodily orifice that I will refrain…
laelaps | September 11, 2009
A close up of the thin layers of rock around one of the pools at the Norris Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.
laelaps | September 10, 2009
Why did this male pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) cross the road?
To chase away some other males on the other side! (Though he had no beef with the bison.) Photographed at Antelope Island.
laelaps | September 9, 2009
A Smilodon fends off vultures at what would later be called the Rancho La Brea tar pits, situated in Los Angeles, California. Painting by Charles R. Knight.
The feeding habits of saber-toothed cats have long perplexed scientists. How in the world did these cats kill prey with their almost comically-oversized teeth? Did Smilodon and its kin use their teeth like daggers to stab prey to death, or did they simply rip out a huge chunk of flesh from the side of a victim, leaving their prey to hemorrhage to death?
While the stabbing hypothesis has generally been abandoned it is still a mystery…
laelaps | September 9, 2009
An American avocet (Recurvirostra americana), photographed at Antelope Island, Utah.
laelaps | September 8, 2009
The skull of a brown bear (Ursus arctos), photographed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History.
The next time someone watches my apartment I will have to post a warning about the skulls. A few are in plain sight, like a badger skull on the bookshelf and a comparative set of small animal crania on the desk, but there are a few more hidden away in drawers and closets. The present disorganization of my osteological collection was very unsettling to the young woman who was taking care of the place while my wife and I were out west. She opened a drawer looking for a pen or some…
laelaps | September 8, 2009
A young bison (Bison bison) walking along the road during a bison jam in Yellowstone.
laelaps | September 7, 2009Science blogging is hard work. Everyone has their own style and motivations, but in general it can be said that it takes a lot of effort to write about science with the frequency and skill that many bloggers do. With this in mind, and given the positive response these two posts have received, I thought it would be fitting to take a moment to express my thanks to one of my favorite science bloggers.
I admire the work of many science bloggers, but if I tried to list them all I would no doubt leave someone out. Fortunately for me there is one that really stands out from the rest. Scicurious, who…
laelaps | September 7, 2009
A scorpion illuminated under a black light. Photographed at the Utah Museum of Natural History.
laelaps | September 6, 2009
A male elk (Cervus canadensis) grazing among a group of fallen trees. Photographed near the West Thumb Geyser Basin in Yellowstone.
laelaps | September 5, 2009
A family of North American river otters (Lontra canadensis) playing together, photographed at a pond in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley.