The father of evolution was worried sick.
Evolution
Charles Darwin at age 60
Castle Bravo nuclear test • US Department of Energy (Public Domain)
Nuclear winter survivors
Two stories in a [January 1990] issue of the journal Science ask us to consider the robustness of life.
Artist's reconstruction of Burgess Shale animals • Image by PaleoEquii (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The crapshoot of history
Stephen Jay Gould has written his best book yet. “Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History” is the story of some remarkable fossils from the mountains of western Canada, and a sprightlier introduction to the history, methods, and philosophy of science would be hard to imagine.
The universe is not always warm and fuzzy • Photo by Kote Puerto on Unsplash
Warm and fuzzy
Religious fundamentalists in California have mounted yet another attack on the teaching of evolution in the schools. At issue is a proposed statewide textbook guideline that asserts “Like gravitation and electricity, evolution is a fact and a theory.”
Musca domestica • USDA (Public Domain)
The point of flies
Grab the swatter! Here comes Musca domestica, the common house fly. Cosmopolitan. Ubiquitous. From Polar Circles to the Equator. On every continent. The Typhoid Mary of the insect world. Irritating, filthy-footed, summertime pest.
Artist's reconstruction of a pterosaur • Matt Van Rooijen (CC BY 2.5)
Cuddly pterodactyls
The June [1989] issue of National Geographic arrived with a stunning, fold-out poster of dinosaurs.
A thrips under the microscope • Josef Reischig (CC BY-SA 3.0)
A thripsish tale
According to the news, Vermont maple syrup producers are running scared of the pear “thrip.” This little insect defoliates maple trees, which is not good for the sap.
Artist's impression of asteroid impact • Donald E. Davis (Public Domain)
Apocalypse now?
I heard on the radio the other day that a “rocket scientist” had predicted — with the aid of mathematical equations and biblical references — the imminent end of the world.
Photo by Ryan Song on Unsplash
Green cows and black grass
You may have heard the old rhyme: “I never saw a purple cow, I never hope to see one; But I can tell you, anyhow, I’d rather see than be one.”
Hadrosaur skeleton at the Field Museum, Chicago • Photo by Lisa Andres (CC BY 2.0)
Make way for…er, dinosaurs
“Big-Game Hunters From Mars Gunned Down Our Dinosaurs,” screamed the banner in the tabloid at the supermarket checkout counter. The story under the headline described fossilized dinosaur skulls supposedly found in France that are pierced by neat round holes.