tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10854032765990684862024-03-14T07:03:58.826+00:00Tree of LifeThe Wellcome Trust's animated fly-through of evolution on Earth.
Feedback and comment on http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org hereDaniel Glaserhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14331532964786337172noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-90821456192739797182009-12-14T10:00:00.002+00:002009-12-14T10:00:02.290+00:00Winter for the Tree of Life…Sadly, the time has come to suspend the Tree of Life blog. As noted last week, the end of 2009 brings to an end a year of <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/darwin200">Darwin200 celebrations</a> and our blog along with it.<br /><br />We’ve had the pleasure of launching some <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2009/News/WTX057621.htm">wonderful projects</a> in that time. It all kicked off in February with the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. This saw the airing of that wonderful BBC documentary (perhaps you’ve heard of it?) ‘Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life’ presented by Sir David Attenborough (if by any chance you have been living in a cave, <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/video/">click here </a>to see the animation at the heart of it).<br /><br />The documentary attracted some six and a half million viewers and the animation has been viewed over 150,000 times on YouTube. It has also been featured at museums and events around the world, including the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, the Boston Museum of Science, London Zoo, the Natural History Museum in London, the Darwin Evolution and the Movies festival in London, as well as educational establishments in India and South Africa.<br /><br />‘Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life’ also won Best Science Documentary at the <a href="http://www.griersontrust.org/sl_science.htm">2009 Gierson British Documentary Awards</a> and the animation was nominated for Best Graphic Design - Programme Content Sequences at the <a href="http://www.rts.org.uk/Info_page_two_pic_2_det.asp?art_id=8018&sec_id=3878">2009 Royal Television Society Craft and Design Awards</a>.<br /><br />But the end of Darwin year does not mean an end to our Darwin activities! 2010 will see some exciting new projects come to fruition.<br /><br />The Wellcome Trust will be launching a competition to win a trip to the Galapagos islands, allowing a lucky winner to follow in the footsteps of Darwin himself. Further details on this are coming soon so keep an eye on the <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/">Trust’s website</a> or follow <a href="http://www.twitter.com/wellcometrust">@wellcometrust</a> on Twitter.<br /><br />And if you haven’t had enough of the Tree of Life by now (and who hasn’t?), you’ll soon be able to experience it from the inside. The animation is being adapted into an interactive ‘augmented reality’ attraction, the ‘iFilm’, coming soon to the Natural History Museum’s Darwin Centre from early 2010.<br /><br />The Tree of Life animation/interactive itself is, of course, still available to <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/interactive/">download</a> and <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/video/">remix</a> from this very website. Do contact us at darwin200@wellcome.ac.uk if you would like to use it in any other way.<br /><br />I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the blog. As Darwin himself once said:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"doing what little one can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life, as one can in any likelihood pursue" </span><br /><br />I hope we’ve achieved that at least a bit. Until the next Darwin anniversary…..Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-43755926063251631212009-12-03T11:01:00.003+00:002009-12-03T11:09:19.833+00:00The Darwin/evolution round upWith the passing of the <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/blog/comments/?postID=tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-14837741478867734">On the Origin of the Species anniversary</a> last week, Darwin year is coming to a close.<br /><br />Sadly, this means that the Tree of Life Blog itself will shortly be put into a cryogenic sleep, waiting to be awakened sometime in the future for the next big Darwin anniversary, when humans will have evolved into cyborgs and hoverboards are the kids' toy of choice.<br /><br />The end is not quite here yet though, so for your delectation, here is a list of links that the Tree of Life Blog has collected over the last few months, but never got round to blogging about:<br /><br />More on the International Conference on Evolution and Society that took place in Egypt a few weeks ago. <a href="http://www.wfsj.org/blogs/category/darwin-conference/%20http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/blog/comments/?postID=tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-1604301698548074733">Blogs from the World Federation of Science Journalists</a>.<br /><br />Belief versus acceptance: Why do people not believe in evolution? <a href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/122613613/HTMLSTART">Open-access paper by James Williams at the University of Sussex School of Education</a>.<br /><br />“A unique experiment to answer the question "Does culture evolve by natural selection?". <a href="http://darwintunes.org/press-releases/the-experiment">The DarwinTunes Experiment</a>.<br /><br />A US project to more precisely chart geological time scales is launching a new initiative to educate students on deep time in order to challenge religious groups who argue life was divinely made about 10,000 years ago. <a href="http://blogs.nature.com/news/thegreatbeyond/2009/10/earthtime_project_to_take_on_c.html">Nature Great Beyond Blog</a>.<br /><br />Charles Darwin really did have advanced ideas about the origin of life. <a href="http://www.labspaces.net/100372/Charles_Darwin_really_did_have_advanced_ideas_about_the_origin_of_life">Labspaces blog</a>.<br /><br />Dinosaurs and Darwin. <a href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/PressRelease/pressReleaseId-62097.html">An Interview with Peter Dodson, anatomist and fossil expert</a>.<br /><br />Professor Richard Dawkins on the <a href="http://www.nyas.org/Publications/Media/PodcastDetail.aspx?cid=a7dcc98b-9a71-405b-a3fe-85c99414f43a">New York Academy of Sciences podcast</a>.<br /><br />A zoo of video and audio from the <a href="http://www.darwin2009.cam.ac.uk/downloads/">Cambridge Darwin Festival</a>.<br /><br />David Haines, composer, performs Mr Darwin and Taxonomy from his “science oratorio” Lifetime. <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/articlevideo/dn17935/44938124001-david-haines-performs-mr-darwin-and-taxonomy.html">New Scientist</a>.<br /><br />Darwin: the geologist. <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2009/091020/full/news.2009.1022.html">Nature News</a>.<br /><br />Podcasts from the excellent <a href="http://beagleproject.podbean.com/">Beagle Project blog</a>.<br /><br />Darwin images in the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/charlesdarwin/pool/">Charles Darwin Flickr group</a>. Add your own!<br />And if beard Darwin, isn’t your thing, there’s a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/youngdarwin">Young Darwin Flickr Group too</a>.<br />(Hat-tip to the <a href="http://thedispersalofdarwin.wordpress.com/">Dispersal of Darwin blog</a> for these two)Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-5183531142171162882009-11-24T11:05:00.002+00:002009-11-24T11:17:10.762+00:00New Scientist interviews DarwinHappy On Origin Day everyone! <div><br /></div><div>If you haven't already seen it, New Scientist is celebrating with an <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18180-charles-darwin-writing-origin-like-confessing-a-murder.html">interview with Charles Darwin</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, they have neither travelled through time or cloned Darwin from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park">blood of mosquitos trapped in amber</a>. However, they have pieced together answers from the excellent Wellcome Trust-funded <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2009/Features/WTX055299.htm">Darwin Correspondence Project</a>.</div>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com447tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-148377414788677342009-11-24T09:00:00.000+00:002009-11-24T09:00:02.586+00:00Celebrating 150 years of On the Origin of SpeciesToday marks the 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking book <span style="font-style: italic;">On the Origin of Species</span>.<br /><br />It brings to an end a <a href="http://www.darwin200.org/">year of celebrations</a> of Charles Darwin and his work, which began in February with the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.<br /><br />There's been a lot to celebrate and the Wellcome Trust has rolled out and supported a variety of different activities, many of which can be accessed online.<br /><br />This includes, of course, this very website. If you hadn't already noticed, click on the links above to view the spectacular Tree of Life animation that formed the centrepiece of Sir David Attenborough’s BBC1 documentary. You can then experience it again as an interactive and explore our other educational and scientific resources.<br /><br />Available elsewhere are the webisodes and minigames from the <a href="http://www.routesgame.com">Routes</a> series, developed in partnership with Channel 4 to engage young people in genetics and bioethics. This includes the ‘Sneeze’ minigame, which demonstrates how sneezing can spread colds and flu. It has been played over 14 million times.<br /><br />The Trust’s <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/Education-resources/Teaching-and-education/Darwin-200/Resources-for-schools/index.htm">free experiment kits for schools</a>, the Great Plant Hunt and Survival Rivals, are also still available. This aims to provide a free Darwin-inspired experiment to every child in the country and has given out 23 000 Great Plant Hunt and 8700 Survival Rivals kits so far.<br /><br />This year also saw the Trust provide £10 million to help build the Natural History Museum’s new <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/darwin-centre-visitors/index.html">Darwin Centre</a>. Opened in September, the Centre houses millions of insect and plant specimens and offers members of the public a glimpse into the working lives of 200 scientists, demonstrating how discovering and collecting new species can help understand climate change and diseases like malaria.<br /><br />For further details of the Wellcome Trust’s Darwin200 activities see <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/darwin200">www.wellcome.ac.uk/darwin200</a>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-88810760463497402009-11-20T15:30:00.000+00:002009-11-20T15:45:19.970+00:00The forgotten Wallace, Darwin photography and other exhibitionsA few Wellcome Trust-supported exhibitions that may be of interest to Tree of Life blog readers.<br /><br />The first, for a change, does not focus on Charles Darwin. <a href="http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/museum/events/">A R Wallace – The Forgotten Evolutionist</a> is part of a project to research and promote the contributions of Alfred Russel Wallace to the theories of Natural Selection and Evolution.<br /><br />At the first public reading of the Wallace and Darwin papers on Natural Selection on 1 July 1858 the two men were given equal status and recognition. However, whilst Darwin is celebrated, Wallace has faded from the popular history of scientific thought.<br /><br />Working with Dr George Beccaloni of the Natural History Museum, Fred Langford Edwards has explored many university and public collections of natural history, and made two extended research visits to the Amazon Basin and the Maly Archipelago. The resulting work explores the life, ideas, and surviving collections of Wallace, and the physical hardships he endured during his travels.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.zoo.cam.ac.uk/museum/events/">exhibition</a> is on at the University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology and open until 8 February 2010.<br /><br />Second is the <a href="http://www.horniman.ac.uk/exhibitions/current_exhibition.php?exhib_id=96">Darwin200 Photographic Exhibition</a> at the fabulous <a href="http://www.horniman.ac.uk/">Horniman Museum</a> in south London. The exhibition showcases the winners of a photography competition <a href="http://wellcometreeoflife.blogspot.com/2009/05/darwin-200-photographic-competition.html">launched earlier this year</a>.<br /><br />It's also worth keeping an eye out for more details of the Horniman's forthcoming <a href="http://www.horniman.ac.uk/evolution/index.html">Evolution 2010 project</a>, which "will tell the story of life on earth - how it evolved from simple one-cell organisms 4,000 million years ago to the huge variety of life-forms we see today. It will look at the critical importance of biodiversity to us all and the effects mankind could have on its future".<br /><br />And if you're in Dublin, check out the <a href="http://www.sciencegallery.com/darwin">Evolvaphone</a> "the one and only booth that generates a musical composition from your identity in accordance with the laws of natural selection". Evolvaphone goes live at the Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin from Friday 27th November. Check the <a href="http://www.sciencegallery.com/">website</a> for related events celebrating the big 150th anniversary of <span style="font-style: italic;">On the Origin of Species</span> next week.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-71065630806332231212009-11-19T09:30:00.000+00:002009-11-19T09:30:00.062+00:00In the Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Evolution<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJ18er8FNvxfF_ZZHcjvSMgGtAyjdR7BLDpiHbjUnefFFN3OtB0tZJIYN_XU-0LtsskBqDCn8BdLyIVf4kx8P7fsFZHO5b662bWAOxSiBO23CwEqUuq_7xE3u0s9ctiwCG5B2fG-QBHA/s1600/Schenk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJ18er8FNvxfF_ZZHcjvSMgGtAyjdR7BLDpiHbjUnefFFN3OtB0tZJIYN_XU-0LtsskBqDCn8BdLyIVf4kx8P7fsFZHO5b662bWAOxSiBO23CwEqUuq_7xE3u0s9ctiwCG5B2fG-QBHA/s400/Schenk.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405470490517809042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />In a special guest post, artist Franziska Schenk explains the inspiration for her exhibition <a href="http://www.bcu.ac.uk/events/234">‘In the Eye of the Beholder: The Art of Evolution</a>’, which opened at the BIAD School of Art in Birmingham this week. </span><br /><br />My solo exhibition ‘was specifically developed to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’.<br /><br />It responds to a seminal quote from the book where Darwin acknowledges that “to suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances … could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree”. Subsequently, the eye has been a contentious focus in evolutionary theory.<br /><br />Twenty years on Darwin applied the same line of reasoning to eyespot development – notably drawing comparisons between evolutionary and artistic processes. In the ‘The Descent of Man’ he states “that these ornaments should have formed through the selection of many successive variations, not one of which was originally intended, … seems as incredible, as that one of Raphael’s Madonnas should have been formed by the selection of chance daubs of paint …” Of course Darwin then continues to, once again, reinforce his argument for natural selection.<br /><br />With this in mind, and after careful consideration, I eventually pinpointed a rare and enigmatic moth (<span style="font-style: italic;">Erebus obscura</span>) as inspiration – the moths outstanding, distinguishing feature being its astonishingly realistic eyespots. Mirroring the process of evolution I have employed innovative reproduction techniques to create successively modified versions – simultaneously magnifying, yet focusing in on, the subject. In an attempt to mimic the ephemeral quality of the colour, I have adapted and adopted novel bio-inspired iridescent nanoparticles. Depending on the light and viewing angle, an apparently dull brown moth transforms into a glitteringly iridescent beauty – before our very eyes.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Franziska Schenk is <a href="http://www.biosciences.bham.ac.uk/artistsinresidence/Franziska_Schenk.htm">artist in residence at the Schools of Bioscience and Physics, University of Birmingham</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">She will be giving a presentation about the exhibition at a <a href="http://www.bcu.ac.uk/events/232">special event</a> at the BIAD School of Art on 24 November to coincide with the 150th anniversary. </span>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-16043016985480747332009-11-17T17:03:00.004+00:002009-12-03T11:08:20.547+00:00From the International Conference on Evolution and SocietyAcademic speakers from over 30 countries gathered in Alexandria, Egypt, this week for an <a href="http://darwin.britishcouncil.org/posts/darwin-s-living-legacy-an-international-conference-on-evolution-and-society-14-16-november">International Conference on Evolution and Society</a>, debating cutting edge research in evolutionary science, and the social and cultural impact of Darwinism and evolution globally.<br /><br />There's been a little coverage here and there on the web. The Guardian's Riazat Butt has written an excellent <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/series/darwin-s-living-legacy">series of articles</a> on the newspaper's Comment is Free website. Nadia El-Awady, Cairo-based science journalist and President of the World Federation of Science Journalists, has penned <a href="http://nadiaelawady.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/darwin-and-me/">an insightful blog post</a>. There was also a fair bit of <a href="http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23darwinnow">coverage on Twitter</a>.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com678tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-49159158331237458162009-11-12T11:00:00.000+00:002009-11-12T11:00:04.760+00:00Darwin at the moviesNo, not just <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/blog/comments/?postID=tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-355549871100650240">Creation</a>, but Jurassic Park, 2001: A Space Odyssey and, er, Alien.<br /><br />A curious selection of films, but all part of <a href="http://www.darwin200.org/events/ViewEvent.asp?param=41E70F64E71C445A470A90E71C443711BC34E71C4430BFF658E71C4430BFF658E71C442EF1BDD0E71C4431A7129CE71C44">Darwin, Evolution and the Movies</a>, a film festival celebrating <a href="http://www.darwin200.org">Darwin200</a> year. The films are on at the <a href="http://www.thelexicinema.co.uk/">Lexi</a> and the <a href="http://www.riocinema.ndirect.co.uk/index.htm">Rio</a> and <a href="http://www.shortwavefilms.co.uk/">Shortwave</a> cinemas in London between 20-28 November.<br /><br />Several short films will precede the main features, including some funded by the Wellcome Trust: <a href="http://www.darwinoriginals.co.uk/">Darwin originals</a>, <a href="http://www.evolvingwords.org/?p=793">Evolving Words</a> and <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/">the Tree of Life</a> among them.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-55031556338449466102009-11-10T16:00:00.002+00:002009-11-10T16:19:14.027+00:00Good news everyone! Evolution set for UK primary schoolsSome positive news this week: the UK government is set to approve the teaching of evolution in the primary school curriculum for the first time.<br /><br />According to the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/08/evolution-primary-school-curriculum-education">Guardian</a>, UK Minister for Schools Diana Johnson confirmed in a letter to the British Humanist Association (BHA) that evolution would be included in the final draft of the new primary curriculum. Pupils will start with simple concepts of change, adaptation and natural selection illustrated by the evolution of fish to amphibians to mammals, for example.<br /><br />It's certainly much needed following the depressing results of the <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/blog/comments/?postID=tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-5428730131164822658">British Council's survey</a> a few weeks ago, which found that 60 per cent of adults in Great Britain thought creationism and intelligent design should be taught alongside evolution.<br /><br />The BHA has been coordinating a campaign to get evolution on the curriculum. Its Head of Education, Andrew Copley, wrote an <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/09/evolution-primary-schools-science">interesting piece on the Guardian's Comment is Free</a> site, applauding attempts to engage children with the concept at an earlier age.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Evolution is arguably the most important concept underlying the life sciences, providing children with an understanding of it at the earliest possible age will surely help lay the foundations for a surer scientific understanding later on."</span>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-2757195153156683232009-11-04T13:30:00.003+00:002009-11-04T13:32:09.932+00:00Darwin's Inheritance at Wellcome CollectionJust a quick reminder that Wellcome Collection's <a href="http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/blog/comments/?postID=tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-2605842791763281526">Darwin Inheritance</a> event is on tomorrow afternoon.<br /><br />Event starts at 3pm. No need to book, but turn up a bit early to guarantee your place.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-58939995009875959882009-11-03T12:27:00.006+00:002009-11-03T12:58:53.945+00:00Communicating Darwin’s Ideas<span style="font-style: italic;">Posted on behalf of Derek Bell</span><br /><br />Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in the international symposium on Darwin's ideas and teaching. Communicating Darwin’s Ideas: Richness and Opportunity was held at the National Science Learning Centre (NSLC) in York. This unique event was jointly organised by the British Council, the Natural History Museum (NHM), NSLC and the Wellcome Trust (WT) as part of the Darwin celebrations programme.<br /><br />Participants in the symposium came from over 20 countries as far apart as Brazil and China, South Africa and Canada, and Slovenia and Morocco. This geographical diversity was matched only by the range of professional and cultural backgrounds of those attending: scientists, teachers, science communicators university lecturers and policymakers.<br /><br />The challenging programme of presentations and workshops put together by the symposium directors, Jeremy Airey (NSLC) and Honor Gay (NHM) with the support of Amy Sanders (WT), covered the science and history as well as the cultural and religious debates that surround the phenomena that are Darwin and evolution.<br /><br />Driving to York for the symposium – where I was to deliver the final address – I was not sure whether the programme would work. Attempting to pull together such a wide range of perspectives was somewhat of a risk but then I guess I hadn’t allowed for the enormous pulling power of Darwin as a person and his theory of evolution by natural selection. By the time I was driving home I wondered why I had had any doubts in the first place.<br /><br />In short, we had a week of stories, ideas, people and science.<br /><br />The stories were of many types relating to the people, ideas and the science that surround the history, understanding and acceptance of evolution. The key point was that in trying to communicate Darwin’s ideas we need to provide an overall picture of the concepts involved. Darwin himself talked of On the Origin of Species as ‘one long argument’ emphasising the need to look at the whole picture rather than just picking off individual bits of evidence.<br /><br />Ideas abounded during the week, from reclaiming science as culture to recreating Lake Malawi in a jam jar as a model of ecological niche development. Discussion, however, was never far from the central idea that in essence the concept of evolution is ‘simple’ but extremely subtle, providing great explanatory power or, as one participant put it, a “global approach to life sciences”.<br /><br />People were important to Darwin. Delegates agreed that if Darwin had been alive today he would have been using email and Facebook to share and debate his ideas with his extensive social network drawn from all over the world. The debates, both scientific and cultural that began during Darwin’s time and have continued ever since, have involved a variety of fascinating characters of all faiths and none. All this underlined the feeling that Darwin and his ideas can be made accessible to everyone.<br /><br />In the end, however, it is Darwin’s science that is at the heart of everything: the fascination, awe, wonder and controversy. During the week we were reminded of the importance of the traditional disciplines of biology such as taxonomy and systematics, as well as being entranced by the latest hi-tech analyses of genomics. More fundamentally, as one of the delegates said,<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Science does not have all the answers. It progresses by building on previous knowledge, is a process of gradually improving our understanding and scientists are human.”</span><br /><br />The challenge is how do we now improve the ways in which we communicate Darwin’s ideas. The richness and opportunity are almost unlimited as are the means of communication. Whatever the context, informal or formal, in which we work this Symposium provided a us all with a wealth of material around which we can use the ideas, the people and the science of Darwin to develop powerful explanatory stories which can help us all to better understand this amazing world in which we live.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Derek Bell is Head of Education at the Wellcome Trust</span>.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-64891697189796519562009-10-30T15:48:00.009+00:002009-10-30T16:14:14.150+00:00How the world saw Darwin's big ideaThis week, Nature has launched what looks like a fascinating series of Opinion articles looking at how different people around the world reacted to Darwin's theory of evolution in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.<br /><br />An accompanying <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7268/full/4611173b.html">editorial</a> in this week's issue set's out some of the interesting ideas:<br /><br />"In England... the Church reacted badly to Darwin's theory, going so far as to say that to believe it was to imperil your soul. But the notion that Darwin's ideas 'killed' God and were a threat to religion was by no means the universal response in the nineteenth century.<br /><br />Darwin's theory reached the world at a time when many people were looking for explanations for social, political and racial inequalities, and in many parts of the world were wondering how to improve their lot in the face of Europe's global imperialism.<br /><br />So from Egypt to India, China and Japan, many religious scholars embraced Darwin's ideas, often showing how their own schools of thought had anticipated the notion of evolution. Against the threat of Western imperialism and Western charges of 'backwardness', it was to their advantage to highlight the rationality of their creed."<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v461/n7268/full/4611200a.html">first article</a> by Marwa Elshakryis discusses how people from Egypt to Japan used Darwin's ideas to reinvent and reignite their core philosophies and religions.<br /><br />You can find all of <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/specials/darwin/index.html">Nature's Darwin200 coverage</a> here.<br /><br />(Not sure if all the articles are free -- I can't tell from where I'm typing this. Apologies if they are behind a paywall)Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-55857835146065004672009-10-28T15:39:00.004+00:002009-10-28T15:49:09.921+00:00Darwin: the comedyNo, this isn't another post about intelligent design.<br /><br />Comedy group The Missing Inc. brings you the nicely titled <a href="http://www.themissinginc.co.uk/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=5">The Beagle Has Landed</a>, "a raucous – and wildly inaccurate – account of Charles Darwin’s voyage upon HMS Beagle, some stuff about natural selection and his marriage to his cousin Emma."<br /><br />From the website:<br /><br />"After receiving a letter from a mysterious hooded figure, Darwin takes to the sea on HMS Beagle, commanded by the bizarre Captain Fitzroy. Following an unsuccessful attempt at entertaining his fellow seamen, Darwin encounters the ferocious and warlike Maoris of New Zealand . With time rapidly running out, the show culminates in a grossly exaggerated retelling of Darwin’s voyage as a 1950’s radio serial, aided by screams and sound effects from the audience."<br /><br />If that sounds like your cup of tea, there's a show on at the Manchester Museum this Friday (30th October) as part of the <a href="http://www.manchestersciencefestival.com/">Manchester Science Festival</a>. There's another on at the Natural History Museum in London on Friday 20th November.<br /><br />For further details and tickets visit the <a href="http://www.themissinginc.co.uk/2009/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9&Itemid=5">website</a>.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-54287301311648226582009-10-27T11:33:00.004+00:002009-10-27T13:58:57.194+00:00Teaching creationism: Just say noA rather depressing <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8322781.stm">news item</a> reached the Tree of Life blog this week: According to a survey, 60 per cent of adults in Great Britain think creationism and intelligent design should be taught in science lessons alongside evolution.<p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Overall, of 11,000 people in 10 countries surveyed, 53 per cent of respondents felt that other perspectives on evolution should also be taught. In China and South Africa, one in five thought that other perspectives – and not evolutionary theories – should be taught.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The results appear to be the latest released from the IPSOS–MORI poll commissioned by the British Council, the initial results of which I <a href="http://wellcometreeoflife.blogspot.com/2009/07/survey-shows-broad-acceptance-of.html">wrote about</a> a few months ago. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Obviously the results of any survey have to be taken with a pinch of salt. But it still makes for depressing reading, coming just a few days after <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/326/5952/510-b">similarly depressing news</a> from Hong Kong.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Hong Kong's Education Bureau came under fire in February when it issued new science<sup> </sup>curriculum guidelines that appeared to allow for the teaching of creationism<sup> </sup>and intelligent design in secondary schools.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While previous guidance suggested that teachers "guide students to review the<sup> </sup>differences between scientific theories and other nonscientific<sup> </sup>modes of explanation," the new wording read: "In addition to Darwin's theory, students are<sup> </sup>encouraged to explore other explanations for evolution and the<sup> </sup>origins of life, to help illustrate the dynamic nature of scientific<sup> </sup>knowledge."</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Following protests, the Bureau agreed last month to change the ambiguous language. However, Science report that they have not in fact revised the guidelines,<sup> </sup>choosing instead to issue its pro-evolution statement as an<sup> </sup>annex. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">"It<sup> </sup>appears that the bureau is unwilling to confront the Christian<sup> </sup>schools openly, and the schools will probably continue to teach<sup> </sup>creationism as part of the science classes," Sun Kwok, science dean at Hong Kong University, told Science.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Worrying, worrying, worrying. But better to know about it – and address it – than sleepwalk into ignorance. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">This week (25–30 October), the <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/">Wellcome Trust</a>, along with the <a href="http://www.britishcouncil.org/">British Council</a>, the <a href="https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/WebPortal.aspx?page=1">National Science Learning Centre</a> and the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> are holding an international symposium on teaching evolution in York.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Communicating Darwin’s Ideas: Richness and Opportunity Symposium will see policymakers, curriculum bodies, public engagement and education specialists and teachers examine policy issues relating to public engagement with evolution and Darwinism in four major themes; the teaching of evolution and Darwinism in formal education; the challenges of working in differing social and cultural contexts; wider implications of teaching about the use of scientific evidence; and new experimental work for teaching evolution.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Look out for a guest post on the Symposium by <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2009/Features/WTX054723.htm">Derek Bell</a>, Head of Education at the Wellcome Trust, on this blog next week.</p> <!--EndFragment-->Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-67842033526213161942009-10-20T10:53:00.002+01:002009-10-20T10:59:41.334+01:00Lecture in Birmingham: Is Human Evolution Over?If you're at a loose end in Birmingham this Thursday, the following event might be of interest:<br /><br />The British Science Association (West Midlands) Prestige Lecture: Is Human Evolution Over?<br />Speaker: Professor Steve Jones, Professor of genetics and head of the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London.<br /><br />"Many people are convinced that somehow the human race is in decline - an idea which can be traced to the Ancient Greeks. In its modern form the notion is seen in evolutionary terms as bad genes taking over. Professor Steve Jones will argue that everything we know about human evolution (which is a lot) argues for the opposite: that at least in developed countries, and at least for the time being, human evolution has slowed down or stopped."<br /><br />Date: Thursday 22 October<br />Time: Lecture - 7pm preceded by light refreshments and the AGM to which all are welcome<br />Cost: FREE but booking advisable - <a href="http://www.thinktank.ac/page.asp?section=514&sectionTitle=Adult+Event+and+Activities">www.thinktank.ac/adult</a> <http: ac="" adult=""> then scroll down to find us<br /></http:><http: ac="" adult="">Location: THINKTANK Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham, B4 7XG<br /> Theatre - Level 2<br /></http:><br /><http: ac="" adult=""><br /></http:>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-69185007635590953602009-10-16T16:23:00.004+01:002009-10-16T16:25:54.111+01:00New Scientist Origin Day competitionTree of Life blog readers might be interested in entering this <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/projects/forms/darwinnow09">New Scientist competition</a>, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the publication of On Origin of the Species on 24th November.<br /><br />The prize is entry for two persons to the Origin Day events (a morning debate at the Royal Institution and evening party at 50 Albemarle Street), including travel expenses to and from London, two nights stay (23rd and 24th November) at Rocco Forte's five-star Brown's Hotel and subsistence costs.<br /><br />Closing date for entries is 19 October.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-26058427917632815262009-10-15T10:00:00.000+01:002009-10-15T10:00:06.489+01:00Darwin events at Wellcome Collection<a href="http://www.wellcomecollection.org">Wellcome Collection</a> is running a free event that is sure to be of interest to Tree of Life blog readers.<br /><br />Darwin's Inheritance draws on Wellcome Collection's extensive range of objects, archives and illustrative materials to "contextualise the life and work of Charles Darwin and investigate the legacy of his discoveries in the 20th century."<br /><br />Each session gives you a tour of Wellcome Collection's permanent galleries followed by an illustrated talk in the Wellcome Library.<br /><br />There are two sessions in November, one on <a href="http://www.wellcomecollection.org/exhibitionsandevents/events/WTX056636.htm">Thursday 5 November</a> and another on <a href="http://www.wellcomecollection.org/exhibitionsandevents/events/WTX056637.htm">Thursday 19 November</a>, running for around 90 minutes from 3pm. Booking is not necessary (just turn up at the reception in good time for the start) and both events are free. For further details and more events, please see the <a href="http://www.wellcomecollection.org/exhibitionsandevents/events/index.htm">Wellcome Collection website</a>.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-78605960946712406792009-10-13T15:17:00.005+01:002009-10-13T15:31:10.002+01:00Life, with David Attenborough<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIhgSY8m9NDiouLBv890o9jPDniNuRjhHqDhv8pDonXd4lv8ASekPIozIeVGu25hp6ZYSRK4wHd3ttL4pqp8XSthfNP_swOcQNlwdNV-MqNQY4LbWIMV0hHvku3nvCsXr7Vpu6oHtrXg/s1600-h/main_iconic_image.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 387px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbIhgSY8m9NDiouLBv890o9jPDniNuRjhHqDhv8pDonXd4lv8ASekPIozIeVGu25hp6ZYSRK4wHd3ttL4pqp8XSthfNP_swOcQNlwdNV-MqNQY4LbWIMV0hHvku3nvCsXr7Vpu6oHtrXg/s400/main_iconic_image.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5392091868199015890" border="0" /></a><br />The BBC's new nature documentary series debuted last night.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/life">Life</a>, narrated by Tree of Life favourite Sir David Attenborough, looks at "the extraordinary ends to which animals and plants go in order to survive.... featuring epic spectacles, amazing TV firsts and examples of new wildlife behaviour."<br /><br />Like Planet Earth and Blue Planet before it, the programme features some stunning natural events and beautiful photography. I particularly enjoyed the clever 'fishing' tactics used by bottle-nosed dolphins and the rather brutal feeding of the leopard seal on vulnerable penguin chicks.<br /><br />You can find out more about <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/life">Life</a> and watch clips (and indeed the full programme if you are in the UK) on the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/life">BBC Life website</a>.<br /><span class="link"></span>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-51146720423677104462009-10-08T15:03:00.004+01:002009-10-08T15:13:55.651+01:00Beagle-inspired play at the RI and logbooks used for climate studiesTree of Life blog readers who live or can get to London on the evening of Thursday 29 October might be interested in a one-off performance of Juliet Aykroyd's play <span style="font-style: italic;">The Ostrich and the Dolphin</span> and the subsequent discussion at the <a href="http://www.rigb.org/contentControl?action=displayEvent&id=931">Royal Institution of Great Britain</a>.<br /><br />Blurb from the <a href="http://www.rigb.org/contentControl?action=displayEvent&id=931">RI website</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>The Dolphin is Robert FitzRoy, pioneer of weather forecasting and captain of HMS Beagle. Charles Darwin, his seasick passenger, is the Ostrich. The outcome of their adventurous sea voyage between 1831-6 was Darwin's momentous account of the Origin of Species: a Theory which subverted FitzRoy's beliefs and threatened his very being.<br /><br />In a 4-way dialogue between their younger and older selves, the play dramatises the FizRoy and Darwin's doomed friendship, and reveals one tragic aftermath of the great Beagle voyage.</blockquote><br /><br />After the play there will be a discussion of the play's themes and Darwin's ideas featuring Juliet Aykroyd, Lord Julian Hunt, former Chief Executive of the Met Office, and Professor Armand Leroi, an evolutionary developmental biologist. The discussion is chaired by Baroness Susan Greenfield, Director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain.<br /><br />Tickets cost £8 (£6 concessions, £4 for members of the RI) and can be <a href="http://www.rigb.org/contentControl?action=displayEvent&id=931">booked here</a>.<br /><br />In related Beagle news, earlier this week the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8291267.stm">BBC reported</a> that the logbooks of the HMS Beagle are to be used in retrospective climate studies, which may give researchers clues as to past climate. Hat-tip to the <a href="http://thebeagleproject.blogspot.com/2009/10/beagle-logbooks-to-provide-climate-data.html">Beagle Project blog</a> for this.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-80553657083558048582009-10-01T14:42:00.003+01:002009-10-01T15:45:30.403+01:00Darwin exhibition and talk in ManchesterA couple of events of interest coming up at the <a href="http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk">Manchester Museum</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/whatson/exhibitions/theevolutionist/">Charles Darwin: Evolution of a Scientist</a> is on now until 30 August 2010. The exhibit allows you to "Discover who Charles Darwin was and the impact of his work... showcasing fantastic objects - some collected by Darwin himself - and illustrated in a graphic novel style."<br /><br />It's all part of their Darwin extravaganza '<a href="http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/whatson/exhibitions/theevolutionist/">The Evolutionist</a>'. Visit the website for more details.<br /><br />The Manchester Museum is also the venue for a British Society for the History of Science public lecture by Thomas Dixon. '<a href="http://www.museum.manchester.ac.uk/whatson/october/">Darwinism vs creationism: a very American conflict</a>' will explain how the culture, law, and politics of the USA helped to create a confrontation between evolution and Christian creationism in the second half of the twentieth century.<br /><br />The lecture is on Monday 12 October 5.30-7pm and is free to attend, no booking required.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-30602787989621475932009-09-29T16:13:00.002+01:002009-09-29T16:54:47.619+01:00Classic David Attenborough available online<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbBklMJoAYRRpQs4XZhearHaD-wk2C4nsYeiJeGlKM8HEVPLQZsDONnnWzpI3Qu3u0E5O-jXo92g5KwMvnCrNI8erA-FTIaQB4yLGTOH9J3X6xNQMJqXa1OU307jlvQ8s-TkNRDfT4Wo/s1600-h/David.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbBklMJoAYRRpQs4XZhearHaD-wk2C4nsYeiJeGlKM8HEVPLQZsDONnnWzpI3Qu3u0E5O-jXo92g5KwMvnCrNI8erA-FTIaQB4yLGTOH9J3X6xNQMJqXa1OU307jlvQ8s-TkNRDfT4Wo/s400/David.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386918106511925010" border="0" /></a>The BBC has a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/wildlifefinder/">new site</a> collecting some of the best moments from its nature documentaries, showcasing some of the world's most amazing animals.<br /><br />The Wildlife Finder includes a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p0048522">collection of clips</a> picked out by the Tree of Life's very own Sir David Attenborough. Sir David and the gorillas, Sir David and the tortoise, Sir David and the frogs. It's enough to make one swoon....<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p> <!--EndFragment-->Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-3555498711006502402009-09-22T10:29:00.004+01:002009-09-22T10:41:21.265+01:00Creation: interactive map better than the film?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ-UCXH_pB_2Nc-z6GVl3D5kNmpOZ0eCINkGlvvN28sk9cOUSRXIQIJvvPxNeKLy3FkTxRspPP7_ocPWFHIY2N5ehPSO-9MHtY-6Q7d40lC9VPvhGYj61usEQACImcOtGz70uO8EOLnE/s1600-h/Creation.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZ-UCXH_pB_2Nc-z6GVl3D5kNmpOZ0eCINkGlvvN28sk9cOUSRXIQIJvvPxNeKLy3FkTxRspPP7_ocPWFHIY2N5ehPSO-9MHtY-6Q7d40lC9VPvhGYj61usEQACImcOtGz70uO8EOLnE/s400/Creation.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384224511358959570" border="0" /></a><br />The much-anticipated Darwin film <a href="http://www.creationthemovie.com/">Creation</a>, starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connolly, opens in the UK this Friday (25 September).<br /><br />The film’s<a href="http://www.creationthemovie.com/"> official website</a> features a nice <a href="http://www.creationthemovie.com/flash/#/interactive_map/">interactive map</a> with pins linking to a variety of Darwin facts and web resources related to Darwin’s life and work. You can also submit your own facts and links for inclusion on the map.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCVFD218fOfe-p97C0SRYaAt__KkzHZh9ns0Eiy42KYyJT6HBwDO1boDDeMaSZ9DNy2y-6QPaGSjWaQmRCz3cDTNwshJIjvF6dJmxmtP3BiqgRXXQ7TdjwoaWsNZ8S2gOL8_j53v7h8k/s1600-h/Creation+map+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoCVFD218fOfe-p97C0SRYaAt__KkzHZh9ns0Eiy42KYyJT6HBwDO1boDDeMaSZ9DNy2y-6QPaGSjWaQmRCz3cDTNwshJIjvF6dJmxmtP3BiqgRXXQ7TdjwoaWsNZ8S2gOL8_j53v7h8k/s400/Creation+map+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5384223793684175890" border="0" /></a><br />As for the film itself, <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17774-creation-being-made-to-feel-darwins-anguish.html">reviews</a> and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/sep/17/darwin-evolution-religion">opinions</a> have been mixed. I went to a preview screening at the Science Museum last week and while I wasn’t bored, I didn’t think it particularly good either.<br /><br />Creation seems to have problems marrying ‘Darwin the father/husband/human being’ with ‘Darwin the father of evolution’ (or, as the film put it, “the man who killed God”). The film tried very hard to be both and appeal to both the scientific audience who will flock to see this, and the more general audience that might be drawn to its more melodramatic elements.<br /><br />I’ve no problems with a bit of cheese in a period drama, but if that’s what they were going for, it was somewhat distracting to have the ‘grandeur of science’ intruding every few scenes. To me, the Science versus Religion aspect felt rather heavy-handed, particularly every time Hooker/Huxley arrived for a pep talk or someone felt like they had to explain yet again how controversial Darwin’s theory was and “how it can change the world”.<br /><br />The references to evolution and its ramifications would have been better voiced more subtly. In the course of the film, Darwin tells several of his classic case studies to his daughter Annie and more of this would perhaps have allowed the audience to absorb the evidence and reach their own conclusions. Instead, there’s rather a lot of spelling out and exposition that distracts from some of the more human elements of the film.<br /><br />Still, it’s decently shot, with some good moments and intriguing story elements. I was interested to learn of Darwin’s belief in hydrotherapy, particularly with a doctor pointing out how “illogical” the theory behind it was (although this was at a time when mercury was still a commonly prescribed treatment…). And while not everyone will agree with the portrayal of Darwin as a man driven mad by grief, it did allow for some of the more entertaining and stylish parts of the film. It was good to see Darwin depicted pre-beard for once too.<br /><br />If you’re reading this blog, chances are you’re enough of a Darwin/evolution nerd to want to see the film anyway. Am I being harsh? Did you actually really enjoy it? Did Annie Darwin irritate you as much as she did me? Please share your opinions in the comments.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-40865107690101775772009-09-18T10:05:00.000+01:002009-09-18T10:05:00.732+01:00Darwin: the balletFor something completely different you might like to attend what sounds like a very ambitious, but intriguing, dance interpretation of Darwin's theories.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.rambert.org.uk/">Rambert Dance Company</a> will soon begin a UK tour of its ballet, <a href="http://www.rambert.org.uk/comedy_of_change">Comedy of Change</a>, "combining the fascinating and exuberant worlds of evolution and dance". <span style="font-style: italic;">The Guardian</span> has an in-depth <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2009/sep/02/rambert-dance-company-darwin">feature article</a> on the ballet.<br /><br />Themes of the performance include avian intelligence (featuring an "avian tango") and an interpretation of the Darwinian concept of time ("In nature, very different time cycles interact. A rock appears to be static, when, in fact, it's changing over a long period of time. The blades of grass growing between the rocks have a much faster life cycle, while the bird pecking at the grass displays a frantic degree of energy, activity and change," says the ballet's music composer Julian Anderson).<br /><br />Other underlying themes include "the concept that beauty, intelligence, art and the religious impulse are fundamental in the battle for survival; and that the process of evolution has, for better or worse, elevated the human race to the highest species on the planet," says Marc Baldwin, who choreographed Comedy of Change.<br /><br />Baldwin came up with the ballet after an approach from his friend Stephen Keynes, great-grandson of Charles Darwin and founder of the <a href="http://www.charlesdarwintrust.org/">Darwin Trust</a>. I wonder if his grandfather was a ballet fan?<br /><br />Comedy for Change starts in Plymouth on 16 September and will <a href="http://www.rambert.org.uk/comedy_of_change/tour_dates">tour throughout the UK</a>. Visit the <a href="http://www.rambert.org.uk/comedy_of_change">Rambert website</a> for more details.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-65252136885819290802009-09-15T16:49:00.000+01:002009-09-17T17:38:06.882+01:00Darwin Centre opens at the Natural History Museum<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibF8XMQLje8O9dKFhi7FjB58eF1Hdyg1en01ZlTNIzrYxsVO2g4fcX8IofUNJni2cmZXh5GjbvRdttSzGXk_T9AY7NXDN5OfW5raq2jw2_Ab4B4WpYZDTEOrHigvDEuyun2uOaPYItl8I/s1600-h/01.+The+Attenborough+Studio+at+the+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 201px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibF8XMQLje8O9dKFhi7FjB58eF1Hdyg1en01ZlTNIzrYxsVO2g4fcX8IofUNJni2cmZXh5GjbvRdttSzGXk_T9AY7NXDN5OfW5raq2jw2_Ab4B4WpYZDTEOrHigvDEuyun2uOaPYItl8I/s400/01.+The+Attenborough+Studio+at+the+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381352488102855186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The Attenborough Studio at the Darwin Centre<br /></span></div><br /><br />Today sees the grand opening of the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/darwin-centre-visitors/index.html">Darwin Centre</a> at the Natural History Museum in London.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/">Wellcome Trust</a> provided the first funding to the £78 million, state-of-the-art research facility, which invites visitors to come and watch scientists working, as well as find out more about the latest insights into the natural world.<br /><br />Amongst the highlights are the 65 metre long, eight storey concrete 'Cocoon', housing millions of insect and plant specimens, as well as 200 of the museum's scientists.<br /><br />Other features include the Attenborough Studio, a state-of-the-art communication centre housing innovative technology, Museum specimens, live animals, natural history film footage and scientists. Named after the Tree of Life’s very own Sir David Attenborough, the Studio promises an inspiring programme of free daily films and live events.<br /><br />For more information about the Darwin Centre, please visit the <a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/darwin-centre-visitors/index.html">website</a>.<br /><br />A taster of photos from the press pack (all images © 2009 Natural History Museum, London):<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBiAxy7L3QBoQSd320e0l7-ZHPmcu1hkoSsObFgczp2As5KtNShkhHQxSRDtubDSB5rfkO3qei0Rm4e1I9WvIrAb41oEPqVimHQaz1xMiQNoIvE2gXzQgID9XQEUie4bfOnf2Z3EHDVD8/s1600-h/24.+Looking+Closer+section+in+Cocoon,+part+of+the+Darwin+Centre+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBiAxy7L3QBoQSd320e0l7-ZHPmcu1hkoSsObFgczp2As5KtNShkhHQxSRDtubDSB5rfkO3qei0Rm4e1I9WvIrAb41oEPqVimHQaz1xMiQNoIvE2gXzQgID9XQEUie4bfOnf2Z3EHDVD8/s400/24.+Looking+Closer+section+in+Cocoon,+part+of+the+Darwin+Centre+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381352502733138114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Visitors in the Looking Closer space in Cocoon<br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7UvUJqq7udl6K2B5L-CBCfClXZdnDPvAZLuLbqgwgBsE9JQL-afqgsns2kQPlCTZlZqUVhoJClhkWXuGApqvJSjKjMLzCrejaQwI4HIZpF4iCDetLTDbY5Ris2hMOeJmGYZmafsKNVs/s1600-h/18.+Overlooking+molecular+labs+in+Cocoon+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj7UvUJqq7udl6K2B5L-CBCfClXZdnDPvAZLuLbqgwgBsE9JQL-afqgsns2kQPlCTZlZqUVhoJClhkWXuGApqvJSjKjMLzCrejaQwI4HIZpF4iCDetLTDbY5Ris2hMOeJmGYZmafsKNVs/s400/18.+Overlooking+molecular+labs+in+Cocoon+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381352508541140466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Visitors at the Decoding DNA space in Cocoon</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRAVR3zAl-GI78DF4XthynLYqb2mUg0OYQZ2ZBg33gLKsidxXim-ZoP3Mev8KhBatnyx-9D9v_riQIuETloaDVUmTuBJt8_Em0WatFDDFrC5KYWN4rRGeZfJEty-JLN-M9ZKpEoHrV6g/s1600-h/13.+The+Attenborough+Studio+at+the+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcRAVR3zAl-GI78DF4XthynLYqb2mUg0OYQZ2ZBg33gLKsidxXim-ZoP3Mev8KhBatnyx-9D9v_riQIuETloaDVUmTuBJt8_Em0WatFDDFrC5KYWN4rRGeZfJEty-JLN-M9ZKpEoHrV6g/s400/13.+The+Attenborough+Studio+at+the+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381352493493781170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The Attenborough Studio</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9Ym0SokoGqY9oiGkaNalbaLoOyVbrwNoUHodUJp7r5Xt2c41UEGnyFQzefUiAt3F_cQffriaKVOkHQoZ57jjPHQvLWblMcu9FCddD0qkJPjvpWKj05WA2HpF_ZAmC4ZXDHNz_akkrbQ/s1600-h/10.+Visitor+space+in+Cocoon,+part+of+the+Darwin+Centre+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9Ym0SokoGqY9oiGkaNalbaLoOyVbrwNoUHodUJp7r5Xt2c41UEGnyFQzefUiAt3F_cQffriaKVOkHQoZ57jjPHQvLWblMcu9FCddD0qkJPjvpWKj05WA2HpF_ZAmC4ZXDHNz_akkrbQ/s400/10.+Visitor+space+in+Cocoon,+part+of+the+Darwin+Centre+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381351571110115794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Visitors in Cocoon<br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgum0pQLASvfL9XLRQD9JrVUy5wrdeKTBvdaZwxMIOdYlzGzCt6kqMhNUvXGwchKS_XwPKJouB5_JvbuO4wi5wX2dtPpuCuP-T_nza_l4-zTeuVP917r6ojfGpa8FbCGsOVXEvmX0SsbNc/s1600-h/07.+The+Climate+Change+Wall+in+the+Darwin+Centre+entrance+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgum0pQLASvfL9XLRQD9JrVUy5wrdeKTBvdaZwxMIOdYlzGzCt6kqMhNUvXGwchKS_XwPKJouB5_JvbuO4wi5wX2dtPpuCuP-T_nza_l4-zTeuVP917r6ojfGpa8FbCGsOVXEvmX0SsbNc/s400/07.+The+Climate+Change+Wall+in+the+Darwin+Centre+entrance+-+%C2%A9+Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381351579578293378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The Climate Change Wall in the Darwin Centre</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcF2lp5EOPQdLH2Ls-GLdQq5IleSOIeVWHUHj04JuIE_FytDw_kx0DFn3F6yRjIkyG_sX6q0ciU0hexU7UPdjG1H50yHT8wOsqONoD1w7AEUTqyMFZpvok1pAnUaf_x-9cGKY-QpB4dk/s1600-h/05.+Visitor+space+in+Cocoon,+part+of+the+Darwin+Centre+-+%C2%A9++Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdcF2lp5EOPQdLH2Ls-GLdQq5IleSOIeVWHUHj04JuIE_FytDw_kx0DFn3F6yRjIkyG_sX6q0ciU0hexU7UPdjG1H50yHT8wOsqONoD1w7AEUTqyMFZpvok1pAnUaf_x-9cGKY-QpB4dk/s400/05.+Visitor+space+in+Cocoon,+part+of+the+Darwin+Centre+-+%C2%A9++Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381351563619828290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Visitors in Cocoon</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcNs24R1Hny0gNPmNhPaXEoSW53AUz3AgkZgarwuC4noDF9z6sEisK8mc7m2MKnAKCyjMsXMq2TrN17V6sy_xOFCzXnTlnyJu84omcRlRzljLi8h7Y2__QTkapqtsjSqFfk4T5xUR7OM/s1600-h/05.+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Torben+Eskerod++Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOcNs24R1Hny0gNPmNhPaXEoSW53AUz3AgkZgarwuC4noDF9z6sEisK8mc7m2MKnAKCyjMsXMq2TrN17V6sy_xOFCzXnTlnyJu84omcRlRzljLi8h7Y2__QTkapqtsjSqFfk4T5xUR7OM/s400/05.+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Torben+Eskerod++Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381351553122347698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The entrance hall and Cocoon</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXy38cRUnHKW8gjbcACNk93DfcizMdngoPezbW-DPWBgVdrpnvwitKZotEtS8pzk1LekTZwOLrsHxeCcac1qsgc1i_zIRQ3jnY8gxjEiaOSyatZ8AA9yawTyC-jFO9oTROBgSmqfxmTs/s1600-h/02.+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Torben+Eskerod++Natural+History+Museum.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgXy38cRUnHKW8gjbcACNk93DfcizMdngoPezbW-DPWBgVdrpnvwitKZotEtS8pzk1LekTZwOLrsHxeCcac1qsgc1i_zIRQ3jnY8gxjEiaOSyatZ8AA9yawTyC-jFO9oTROBgSmqfxmTs/s400/02.+Darwin+Centre+-+Copyright+Torben+Eskerod++Natural+History+Museum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381351545289544274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Exterior of the Darwin Centre at the Natural History</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Museum, London</span><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085403276599068486.post-56232109986307376282009-09-10T09:09:00.002+01:002009-09-11T10:23:38.311+01:00The evolution of On the Origin of Species<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJY-oUYgBPvojms1QMPMakShgTEPOe1LK_bDP8VgPW4ia8ei6sfwbiKNJl9Rq_pdQhLXWKqIDwXnW_z_tvjtmohw3acMQ7C8JKjfnLxdhPhyphenhyphen1urBZR4T3S7wTKoPlamob0_xpcXxVAE8/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 422px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJY-oUYgBPvojms1QMPMakShgTEPOe1LK_bDP8VgPW4ia8ei6sfwbiKNJl9Rq_pdQhLXWKqIDwXnW_z_tvjtmohw3acMQ7C8JKjfnLxdhPhyphenhyphen1urBZR4T3S7wTKoPlamob0_xpcXxVAE8/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379502121779817138" border="0" /></a><br />Take a look at this lovely annotated (at least on the <a href="http://benfry.com/traces/">website itself</a>) graphic showing how <span style="font-style: italic;">On the Origin of Species</span> changed over the course of several editions.<br /><br />As the website points out, the book we think of did not arrive with the first edition but changed with subsequent revisions and ideas added in later versions, including the addition of the phrase "survival of the fittest".<br /><br /><blockquote>Using the six editions as a guide, we can see the unfolding and clarification of Darwin's ideas as he sought to further develop his theory during his lifetime.</blockquote><br /><br />The graphic itself plays through to show which bits were added in which edition, with the final piece bearing an uncanny resemblance to <a href="http://images.google.com/images?q=dna%20sequencing%20lanes&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB298GB298&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi&safe=active">DNA sequencing lanes</a>.<br /><br />The project is the brainchild of Ben Fry, director of <a href="http://seedmediagroup.com/visualization/">Seed Visualization</a> and its Phyllotaxis Lab, a design laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts focused on understanding complex data.<br /><br />Many thanks to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/mocost">@mocost </a>for tipping us off to the link.Mun-Keat Looihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03552051542059410864noreply@blogger.com0