Glenn Branch is deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization that defends the integrity of American science education against ideological interference. He is the author of numerous articles on evolution education and climate education, and obstacles to them, in such publications as Scientific American, American Educator, The American Biology Teacher, and the Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, and the co-editor, with Eugenie C. Scott, of Not in Our Classrooms: Why Intelligent Design is Wrong for Our Schools (2006). He received the Evolution ..read more

Toxicodendron sp., judging by a range map here, probably T. rydbergii – poison ivy. As I was taking the picture, someone came by and announced, "Berries white, run in fright," which is pretty good advice. For a picture of poison ivy leaves with their characteristic mitten shape, see here. The leaves may be red in the fall; but they are not always red. To see comments on this post click below ..read more

Joel Eissenberg is Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. He is the author of the recent PT article, How humans lost their tails. As a college junior, I took a course in microbial genetics. The text was Gunter Stent’s Molecular Genetics. I map the beginning of my career as a geneticist to that course. Stent’s book is a history of the origins of molecular biology, and in retrospect, I believe it was the combination of the history and the science that beguiled me. This potent combination is on offer in Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Song of the ..read more

Nannopterum auritum – double-crested cormorant, Wally Toevs Pond, Boulder, Colorado, March, 2024. The photographer writes: "Not my best picture ever, but it shows the double crests exceedingly well. According to All about Birds, the crests are seen on adults only during the breeding season, by which they presumably mean both sexes." He thanks Photonix, the god of photography, for enabling digital image processing. To see comments on this post click below ..read more

Photograph by Ken Phelps, a.k.a. Capt. Stormfield. Photography Contest, Honorable Mention. Morning dew on an unidentified leaf, Ganges, Saltspring Island, B.C. Canon 40D, 100 mm macro. Mr. Phelps writes: "Vancouver Island is temperate rainforest. Our property is mostly a sharp, rocky ridge with a couple micro-climates. Standard issue fir trees, ferns, etc. on the north side, and a bit more of a Southern Oregon feel on the top of the ridge, with some pines and lots of Arbutus. Very hot in summer with all the rock." He adds that since taking the photo some years ago, he has learned that the ..read more

Bishop Wilberforce, in 1860, was a skeptic, praised by Darwin for the skill of his questioning. Today’s creationists, not least the Discovery Institute, are denialists, endlessly asking the same questions as he did, although they have long since been answered. Yes, Bishop Wilberforce really did ask T.H. Huxley, “Darwin’s bulldog,” whether he would prefer an ape for his grandfather, and a woman for his grandmother, or a man for his grandfather, and an ape for his grandmother. And Huxley really did say that he would prefer this to descent from a man conspicuous for his talents and eloquence, bu ..read more

"Replica" of the Ark on opening day. Credit: Dan Phelps. It appears that, in Kentucky, at least, “inclusive” means “Christian.” At least, that is what you might deduce from an article by Jolene Almendarez and Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez in the Cincinnati Enquirer late last year. The article announces the launch of the Kentucky Faith Trail, which is a self-guided road trip that will take you to 11 important faith-based sites, all of them Christian.* The program has received a $305,000 grant from the state. Its purpose, according to a press release of the northern Kentucky tourism organization ..read more

Anas platyrhynchos – mallard duck, Boulder, Colorado, March, 2024. I am no great fan of mallard ducks (we have almost as many as we have Canada geese, but at least they seem to be housebroken). This one, a male, must have had especially clean, new feathers, because he clearly shows the green, iridescent coloring on his head. That is, the coloring is not due to pigment, but rather interference colors owing to layering in the feathers. You can tell because the color faces you, but is absent elsewhere. Mallards also show bluish iridescence farther back, but that is not visible in this picture. Li ..read more

Photograph by John Trawick. Photography Contest, Honorable Mention. Spider web – made visible by early morning dew at Lake Murray Reservoir, San Diego, California. Nikon D7100. To see comments on this post click below ..read more

Photograph by Mark Sturtevant. Photography Contest, Honorable Mention. Dolomedes triton – fishing spider under water. The six-spotted fishing spider hunts on water for insects and even fish. They can also hide under water to escape danger, as is shown in this staged picture, which was taken from the under-side of an aquarium. To see comments on this post click below ..read more