It is Darwin day – 12th Feb

Today, 12th February is International Darwin day. Why today? Basically because it is the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin on 12 February 1809. It is of course not just to celebrate the contributions that Charles Darwin made to the understanding of our origins, but it is also an excuse to promote science in general. This is not a … Read more

TIL @ #WSF16 – Elephants that go underground and mine salt

The title might suggest that this is a satire piece, but it is not and is instead the literal description. It comes via a talk given by Ian Redmond at the Winchester Science festival last Sunday, and so the acronym TIL within the title means “Today I Learned”, but to be a tad more accurate perhaps … Read more

World’s greatest concentration of unique mammal species are all on 1 Island

An interesting little paper has popped up via Science Daily and concerns the publication of the results of a 15 year study of the biodiversity of one Island in the Philippines. In summary … Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, is home to the world’s greatest concentration of unique mammal species — 93 percent … Read more

Why is Today Darwin Day and what is happening?

You might, or perhaps might not, be aware, but today (12th February) is Darwin day. This is an officially recognised day that is celebrated worldwide every 12th February, the day that Charles Darwin was born, and the aim is not simply to celebrate his contribution to our understanding about Evolution and hence our origins, but to … Read more

The Anti-Evolution headteacher

The Guardian has an article all about Christina Wilkinson, a headteacher of St Andrew’s Church of England school in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, and it principally concerns her response to a tweet by teacher Tom Sherrington about an evolution assembly. She tweeted a reply on the 26th January that … Evolution is not a fact, That’s why it’s called … Read more

Evolution in Action: Greater than the sum of its parts

The Economist has a fascinating little article all about the emergence of a new species in North America, and what is good about it is that it not only lays out the facts quite well, but also gives you a good feel for the ongoing discussion about it all. What is this new species? As … Read more