News roundup

— The Orlando Sentinel education blog continues the conversation concerning doing away with the 11th grade science FCAT.

— John F. Haught (no relation to me that I know of), a senior fellow in science and religion at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University in Washington, was the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of the Florida Center for Science and Religion at Florida Southern College. Here are his comments on “Religion and Science in an Age of Doubt.”

— Here is a guest editorial in the Palm Beach Post about Darwin Day:

Evolution by natural selection is the central tenet of modern biology, and, to quote a famous biologist, “nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” It is a testament to Darwin’s genius that the core of his theory remains intact, especially since the discovery of genes and DNA postdate On the Origin of Species, as do nearly all human fossil discoveries. Few scientific ideas have withstood the test of time so well.

…

Charles Darwin may not be here to make a wish on his 200th birthday, but I speak for all scientists when I say that he might have wished for greater public understanding and acceptance of his very basic idea. Taking a long view, it is difficult to see how the U.S. can remain competitive – in science, medicine, and other fields – without being taught from an early age scientific facts such as evolution, the main organizing principal behind life on Earth.

— Review: In ‘The Well-Dressed Ape,’ science journalist Hannah Holmes analyzes people the way zoologists study animals.

— The Florida Times Union will be running an article about evolution and education Sunday. I was interviewed for it earlier this week, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.

— Here’s an article about Pulitzer Prize-winning biologist E.O. Wilson’s upcoming visit to DeLand.

— Here’s an interesting column comparing Lincoln and Darwin.