Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science In a 1786 letter to a friend, Thomas Jefferson called for "the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness."1 Jefferson saw clearly what has become increasingly evident since then: the fortunes of a nation rest on the ability of its citizens to understand and use information about the world around them. We are about to enter a century in which the United States will be even more dependent on science and technology than it has been in the past. Such a future demands a citizenry able to use many of the same skills that scientists use in their work—close observation, careful reasoning, and creative thinking based on what is known about the world. The ability to use scientific knowledge and ways of thinking depends to a considerable extent on the education that people receive from kindergarten through high school. Nevertheless, religious faith and scientific knowledge, which are both useful and important,
The Immortal Life « Rebecca Skloot Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. Soon to be made into an HBO movie by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball, this New York Times bestseller takes readers on an extraordinary journey, from the “colored” ward of Johns Hopkins Hospital in the 1950s to stark white laboratories with freezers filled with HeLa cells, from Henrietta’s small, dying hometown of Clover, Virginia, to East Baltimore today, where her children and grandchildren live and struggle with the legacy of her cells.
12 Elegant Examples of Evolution - Wired Science In preparation for Charles Darwin’s upcoming 200th birthday, the editors of Nature compiled a selection of especially elegant and enlightening examples of evolution. They describe it as a resource "for those wishing to spread awareness of evidence for evolution by natural selection." Given the continuing battles over evolution in America’s public schools — and, for that matter, the Islamic world — such a resource is most welcome. However, I’d like to suggest another way of looking at the findings below, which range from the moray eel’s remarkable second jaw to the unexpected plumage of dinosaurs. After all, it’s hard to stir passion about the scientific validity of evolution without first captivating minds and imaginations. Almost, But Not Quite, a Whale. Image: Hans Thewissen / Nature Out of the Soup. Image: Ted Daeschler / Nature Dinosaurs of a Feather. A Toothy Finding. Image: Kathryn Kavanagh / Nature The Beginnings of Bones. Natural Selection in Speciation. Lizard Games. Making Do.
UPD8 - Antibiotic cockroaches - Type: Activity Learning Strategy: Data work Topic: Drugs Superbugs like MRSA are on the rampage, killing vulnerable hospital patients. What are scientists doing to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens? This activity teaches new content from the 2011 GCSE specification. At the same time it develops the assessed skill of explaining how strongly evidence supports a hypothesis. Antibiotic Cockroaches is a sample from our new Crucial pack, building skills for better GCSE results. Note: this is a beta version, before final testing, and not the finished publication Published: 4th July 2011Reviews & Comments: 2 Learning objectives • Find out how harmful bacteria form antibiotic-resistant strains. • Discover why resistant strains spread rapidly. • Draw conclusions from evidence about new ways of treating infections. Try the activity You will need Acrobat Reader installed to open the activity sheets. This lesson addresses in particular, new content from AQA A Core GCSE, statement: B1.1.2j Oct 28th, 2013
Hybrid SHEEP AND GOATS In "The Variation Of Animals And Plants Under Domestication" Charles Darwin wrote: "Captain Hutton, in India, crossed a tame goat with a wild one from the Himalaya, and he remarked to me how surprisingly wild the offspring were." Although sheep and goats seem similar and can be mated together, any offspring are generally stillborn due to chromosome mismatch (sheep have 54, goats have 60). At Botswana Ministry of Agriculture, a ram housed with a nanny goat impregnated the goat and a live offspring was produced with 57 chromosomes. It was called "The Toast of Batswana" and is intermediate in type: coarse outer, woolly inner coat, long goat-like legs and heavy sheep-like body. The longstanding belief in sheep/goat hybrids may be due to the resemblance to each other such that some primite sheep may be misidentified as goats.
How do paleontologists excavate fossils The number of fossils found compared to the actual number of plants and animals that are known to have lived on Earth is very small. That's because for something to fossilize, it must die in perfect conditions, and that doesn't happen too often. So excavating the fossils that do exist is a meticulous process. Typically, paleontologists will use delicate tools like paintbrushes and dental picks to slowly remove any rock material that surrounds the fossil. They may also use mist to soften the rock sediment. The process of locating fossils in the earth requires equal amounts of know-how and luck. The process of fossilization turns living things to stone.