Francis Galton, Charles Darwin's cousin, had wide and varied interests. They ranged from exploration and travel writing to fingerprinting and the weather. After reading Darwin's "On the Origin of Species," Galton reached the conclusion that it should be possible to improve the human stock through selective breeding, as was the…

The story of biology is far more complex and fascinating than straightforward facts or neatly labeled diagrams of structures and systems. Although exams can motivate students, the key to using these extrinsic motivators to increase student understanding lies in the way the assessments are designed and what they measure. Those involved in…

This document points out that creationists claim that humans and dinosaurs lived together in Texas just before Noah's flood by citing alleged human footprints found side-by-side with those of dinosaurs in the Cretaceous limestone of the Paluxy River near Glen Rose, Texas. An investigation was conducted to determine if this claim were true.…

Researchers who study the fossil record are seeking to determine whether the impact made by a comet or meteor really did decimate up to half of the life on this planet at the end of the Cretaceous period. Questions whether the extinction of plant and animal life was abrupt, started before the impact, or was a gradual change. (KR)

Provides an introduction to the field of molecular evolution. Changes in genetic material and proteins help to time the stages of species evolution. (BB)

Discusses major leaps in knowledge about the production of flowers that have come from studying genes that regulate the flowers of mouse ear cress (Arabidopsis thaliana). Examines the ABC model of flower morphogenesis, commonality of genes, evolution of angiosperms, and agricultural and horticultural potential. (LZ)

Contains a summary of the latest research findings related to the topics of eye development, mimicry, evolution of llamas, hybridization between Arctic wolves and huskies, ultraviolet light and algae, acid rock, orchids and funerals, enzymes that can withstand heat, fungus-killing compounds, chaos theory and the treatment of epileptics, sleep and…

A study is conducted to develop sound comprehension of natural selection theory by prompting students to use its concept to explain the evolutionary status of humans. In relation to the current existence of human it is stated that human populations currently undergo microevolutionary changes in allele frequencies due to natural selection and other…

Summarizes events of a conference on evolutionary biology in Chicago entitled: "Macroevolution." Reviews the theory of modern synthesis, a term used to explain Darwinism in terms of population biology and genetics. Issues presented at the conference are discussed in detail. (CS)

Drilling during 1978 focused on three major geologic problems: the nature and origin of the oceanic crust, the nature and geologic history of the active continental margins, and the oceanic paleoenvironment. (Author/BB)

Research efforts tended to focus on the ancestry of major groups in 1978, and in particular on Cambrian fossils. (Author/BB)

Conclusion of a three-part article in which the author discusses the implications for zoology and paleontology today and summarizes with comments on the "model" aspects of the controversy and its resolution. (BR)

Part II of a three-part article describes the growth of scientific understanding of the reptile-mammal transition and its place in evolution. (BR)

Discusses various theories about life on Mars and biochemical experiments pertaining to the origin of life. (MLH)

Techniques in geochemistry continue to improve in sensitivity and scope. The exciting areas of geochemistry still include the classical fields of the origin of the elements and objects in space, but environmental crisis problems are important as well. (Author/BB)