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NEWS ABOUT: Charles Darwin

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'Extinct' Galapagos Tortoise Still Alive

DNA shows that species thought wiped out in 1840s is on different island

(Newser) - Scientists have located survivors of a giant Galapagos tortoise species thought to have gone extinct back in the 1840s. Researchers testing the DNA of 1,600 tortoises on Isabela Island in the Galapagos discovered that at least 84 were offspring of a species that originally lived on nearby Floreana Island,... More »

Sleuths Unravel Darwin's Illnesses

One factor: He picked up a bug on his Beagle voyage

(Newser) - Charles Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle brought him evolutionary insights, fame, and a nasty parasite that probably contributed to his death. Medical sleuths examining his symptoms say he likely contracted Chagas disease from a bug bite in 1835, reports the Wall Street Journal . The illness can lie dormant... More »

'Darwin Day' Celebrated in Rural US, Quietly

Biologists take the opportunity to show kids science is 'cool'

(Newser) - How to celebrate "Darwin Day" in rural America? Very carefully, the New York Times reports: When evolutionary biologists set out on a road trip this weekend to Virginia, Nebraska, Montana, and Iowa to promote science in honor of Charles Darwin's 202nd birthday, one high school principal made sure to... More »

How Darwin's Island Might Help Colonize Mars

Little-known experiment provides a lesson

(Newser) - When Charles Darwin came to Ascension Island—an insanely remote volcanic rock in the middle of the Atlantic—it was utterly barren and desolate, bedeviled by dry trade winds from southern Africa. So the legendary scientist embarked on one of his most remarkable, and least heralded experiments. With the help... More »

Darwin's 'Survival of the Fittest' Disputed

Living space, not competition, spurs evolution: study

(Newser) - Room for expansion, not survival of the fittest, is the driving force behind evolution, according to a new study. The researchers—who say their findings cast doubt on one of the cornerstones of Charles Darwin's theories—studied evolutionary patterns over 400 million years and determined that biodiversity soared not when... More »

Cross Burned in Boy's Arm Sparks School Religious War

Townies support creationist teacher's 'religious rights'

(Newser) - A cross burned into the arm of an Ohio schoolboy by his creationist science teacher has sparked a three-year battle pitting neighbor against neighbor over the role of religion in public schools. An army of supporters is backing the teacher, who is still fighting his firing from the Mount Vernon... More »

Creation Has Potential, Doesn't Evolve

Critics agree Paul Bettany shines, but premise falls mostly flat

(Newser) - Critics agree that on paper, Creation has a lot going for it. But they don't think the flick delivers the thrill of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking work:
  • "Director Jon Amiel has reduced a crucial moment in science to a Lifetime weepie about a workaholic who needs personal tragedy to wake
... More »

Students School Kirk Cameron on Darwin

Child actor-turned-creationist gets schooled by UCLA students

(Newser) - Kirk Cameron embarked on his Darwin-is-like-Hitler tour, visiting UCLA last week to pass out copies of a "revised" edition of On the Origin of the Species that tries to compare the two historical figures—and video has surfaced of the former Growing Pains actor getting taken down by a... More »

Brits Hunt Stolen Darwin Notes

Missing Galapagos notebook sought

(Newser) - Amid a celebration, a mystery: A fresh appeal has been launched to find a missing notebook that Charles Darwin may have used to write On the Origin of Species, which was published 150 years ago today. The journal records Darwin's observations in the Galapagos Island and Peru. Authorities believe it... More »

Scientists Unearth Fossils of 'Missing Link' Flying Reptiles

Researchers believe Darwinopterus is proof of modular evolution

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered the remains of a flying reptile in China that they believe represents the "missing link" in a controversial theory of evolution. The reptile—named Darwinopterus in honor of Charles Darwin—lived some 160 million years ago and has features from both early, short-tailed pterodactyls and their... More »

Religious America Snubs Darwin Film: Producer

Brits 'can't imagine religion in America': Jeremy Thomas

(Newser) - The producer of a new film about Charles Darwin says he hasn't landed a US distribution deal because Americans can't stand the theory of evolution, the Daily Mail reports. Creation, the story of Darwin's struggle between reason and faith as he wrote The Origin of Species, has opened the Toronto... More »

Image Rehab: Appendix Is Good for Something After All

Long-neglected organ is far from useless, researchers say

(Newser) - The human appendix has been assumed to be useless since Charles Darwin first suggested it was a vestigial organ—an evolutionary remnant from the time when our predecessors ate leaves and other now-indigestible foods. But new research suggests the organ had a much more vital function, LiveScience reports. It stored... More »

Mosquito Invasion Threatens Galapagos Wildlife

(Newser) - Scientists fear that winged invaders could wipe out native species on the islands where Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution, the Times of London reports. Mosquitoes have been hitching rides to the Galapagos on incoming aircraft, and now Galapagos species—including iguanas, tortoises, and Darwin's finches—are in serious... More »

Climate Change Already Causing Evolution

(Newser) - Global warming is changing the face of the planet, and a key panel estimates that a quarter of the world's species will die out—but a few organisms are already evolving to survive in a hotter world. In the past few years Scottish sheep have become smaller, while species of... More »

Fossil of 'Missing Link' Walking Seal Found

Arctic creature's existence was predicted by Charles Darwin

(Newser) - The fossil of a semi-aquatic creature unearthed in northern Canada may hold the key to how seals and walruses evolved, the BBC reports. The carnivore—which resembles a cross between an otter and a seal—had feet that were webbed but weren't flippers. Scientists believe the animals walked on land... More »

Egg From Darwin Voyage Comes to Light

Naturalist signed—and cracked—relic from Beagle excursion

(Newser) - The only egg known to have survived from Charles Darwin's round-the-world voyage on the Beagle has surfaced in Cambridge University's zoology museum, the BBC reports. A volunteer sorting through the museum's vast egg collection found the egg—from an ostrich-like bird in Uruguay—and realized it bore the naturalist's signature.... More »

Usefulness Keeps Left-Handed Trait Alive: Study

(Newser) - Left-handedness seems to have avoided the fate of similarly rare genetic traits—that is, extinction—because it’s so useful, a study finds. For instance, left-handers in earlier times had the advantage of surprise in fights with right-handers, AFP reports; they often used both hands well, while righties were overly... More »

Darwin Skeptics Separate Mind From Gray Matter

Debate focuses on whether the brain and mind function in tandem

(Newser) - To undermine Darwinian theories about the emergence of life, skeptics have a new weapon in mind: the brain, NPR reports. They’re challenging the notion that a cluster of cells could produce such high-level mental processes as consciousness and free will. “It doesn’t hang together,” says one... More »

Child's Death Pushed Darwin to Share Work

Biographers think Annie's passing emboldened naturalist

(Newser) - In honor of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, NPR takes a look at a lingering mystery: Why did the naturalist, who most likely came up with the idea of evolution around the age of 30, not publish his theory for another 21 years? Some say he was trying to gather... More »

Vatican Makes Peace With Darwin

Church officials now say evolution theory fits with beliefs

(Newser) - The Vatican is clarifying that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with its doctrine after all, the Times of London reports. The Church never officially condemned Darwin, but his views have been controversial with some because they present a radically different image of the origins of species than what's... More »

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