Tennessee's New Evolution Battles

America's Evolution and Creationism battles really began with the infamous Scopes Trial of 1925.  Authorities charged a school teacher, John Scopes, with the crime of teaching Darwin's dangerous theory of evolution to his students.  Though found guilty of the crime, the Scopes Trial opened the door to teaching evolution in high schools and igniting the conflict we still fight today.  Actually, we are still fighting this battle in Tennessee.

Scientific American highlights the rising battles and the new tactics used by the creationists.  The creationists perceive themselves as modern-day Scopes fighting oppressive laws that limit teacher discussions.  In this light, Tennessee's anti-evolution bill and others in the country are misleadingly called "Academic Freedom" bills.  On the surface, these bills promote critical thinking skills by allowing teachers to present the strength and weaknesses of scientific theories: evolution, abiogenesis, big bang, global warming and others.  Realistically, fundamentalist teachers can introduce creationism and intelligent design to the classroom.  Instead of actively promoting the teaching of creationism, these bills simply say that there is no prohibition on the topics.

We can deduce the actual motives of the bill from their writers.  The Discover Institute, who introduced Intelligent Design, wrote at least part the the Tennessee bill.  Fresh off their defeat in Dover, the Discover Institute has learned from the previous failures and are helping these legislators search for a legal loophole to circumvent the First Amendment.  They care far less about strong science education than they do about religious indoctrination.

This is why we must continue to fight against these anti-evolution bills.

Cell (Phone) Microscopes in Class

This might be pretty cool.  For about $20, you can purchase something to add to your iPhone (and really any cell phone).  A tiny glass (or plastic) bead attached to your camera lens can turn your phone into a microscope.  An app would then help the resolution to create better images.

Ichneumon Wasp's Compound Eye - Charles Krebs

It may help doctors diagnose blood disorders, but I am interested in the opportunities for science education.

Almost every child has a cell phone.  At least enough have them for group work.  Many students have smart phones with high resolution cameras.  A small grant could pay for enough kits for the class and the apps.

We should see a technological revolution in the classroom.  This could change how we teach cell biology, but also how we teach spectroscopy in chemistry.  Cool stuff could be coming soon.

Creationist Biology Teachers

Creationist "Science" Teacher, Beau Schaffer, will be keeping his job as a Libertyville High School biology teacher.  Recently, the school board and superintendent decided not to fire him, even though he violated several Supreme Court rulings and district rules by teaching Creationism to his student.  In a related story, Tom Ritter, a biology teacher from Pennsylvania, has sued the school board for the teaching of evolution, which he calls "unscientific".    In my own high school, my biology teacher refused to teach evolution because she did not believe it and would not discuss it.

In each instance, and the remaining 13% of creationist biology teachers, these individuals have risen and declared this truth: "I don't know anything about the subject that I am supposed to teach to your children!"  They dress it up in many ways like Tom Ritter who also states, "I do not understand the methods and characterizations of science".  Or my teacher, "I don't know anything about the topic, but at least I won't do anymore damage than plant a tiny seed of doubt in 150 years of scientific observation and theory".

Yet these teachers keep their jobs (even while school boards slash the teaching force and governors make boogie men out of teachers unions).  You can't teach biology if you don't understand evolution.  Simple.  That 60% of biology teacher teach the bare minimum or admit to avoiding the subject bothers me, but applies to another post.

Imagine a math teacher to claims not to believe in calculus, scoffs at the idea of Game "Theory", or refuses to teach algebra as Muslim conspiracy.  Imagine history teachers leading lessons question the veracity of Holocaust claims, or claiming that the Founders used the Three-Fifth's clause to undermine slavery and never resting until the awful practice were abolished.

Of course we would look upon these teachers for what they are, people who don't understand the subject for which we pay them to teach.  A Holocaust-denying art teacher or algebraically-illiterate civics teacher present sad problems for the general education of the American public, but their beliefs don't affect their ability to teach their subjects. I couldn't care less about a creationist librarian, but if your job is to teach biology then you should know what you are talking about.

Tyson: Why Science Literacy Matters

At the World Science Festival, Neil DeGrasse Tyson shares his enthusiastic views on the importance of understanding science.  Science illiteracy threatens our society in many ways- from selling fancy placebo crystals to policy matters in politics.  We need more people like Dr. Tyson to eagerly share science to the public, correcting massive misconceptions and leading our future.

Ann Coulter Says that Radiation is Good For You

Not much to say about this other than this:  When Bill O'Reilly is the voice of reason, you know something is wrong.  On his show, The O'Reilly Factor, Ann Coulter declares than we don't need to fear the radioactive plume emitted from the Fukushima Reactor in Japan.  I would agree that the US has very little to worry about with the radiation.  There is no need for people to rush out for iodine pills.

However, to say that radiation is a good thing is dangerously stupid.  We know that high doses of radiation on a regular basis can cause cancer in some people.  Radiation is only part of the problem.  Genetics plays another role.  For some people, the radiation will alter the DNA and lead to cancers.  For others, nothing will happen.  Think about how not all smokers get lung cancer but some will get it just from second hand smoke.  You likelihood of cancer depends on your exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing chemicals) and your DNA.  With all of it, don't sit there and smugly say that radiation is good for you.

She seems sincere in her statements, but I would guarantee that Coulter will not be traveling to Japan anytime soon.  At least O'Reilly can step back and warn people of the potential dangers of radiation.

See the video for yourself:

Videos like these remind me of the importance of quality science education which becomes more and more important in an ever-modernizing world.

A Visual Tour of the Primate Family Tree

Ed Young put this slideshow of primates on his website, Not Exactly Rocket Science.  When studying biology, we selfishly search for our place in the animal kingdom.  Yes, we are animals.  We are also (in descending order): chordates, VERTEBRATES, gnathostomes, tetropods, amniotes, MAMMALS, placentals, PRIMATES, GREAT APES, hominids, and humans.  Each category provides a wealth of information of characteristics and helps us to understand our similarities and differences with other organisms.

Image from Wikipedia- Japanese Macaques just chillin' in a hot tub.

At the primate level, we share a number a traits.  We all have opposable thumbs (Which I think is redundant.  If it is not opposable, isn't it just the first finger).  We all have finger nails instead of claws.  We all have collarbones which move our arms to the sides of our bodies.  We all have stereoscopic vision which helps to just distances.  These traits, and more, define us as primates.  As we peer deeper into the family, we find more traits in common with our closer cousins.  Likewise, our DNA shows more and more similarities.  The trend continues to our closest cousins, structurally and genetically, the chimpanzees.

These common traits and common DNA sequences would be exactly what you would expect if species started off as one population and later became distinct species.  Evolution helps us understand our difference and to appreciate our similarities.  This is the power of evolution as the unifying theory of biology.  Human evolution frightens many people away from science, but can also help to teach the amazing story of our family tree.

House Republicans Vote Against Science

In a less than shocking turn of events, the Republicans of the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted that Global Warming does not exist.  Instead of accepting the scientific data detailing how the Earth continues to warm causing severe changes to our climate, these brave Congressional leaders covered their eyes and ears to pretend that nothing is happening.

Henry Waxman (D-Ca) introduced an amendment that would let Congress admit that the "warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising global average sea level.’’  This first amendment only resolved THAT Global Warming was happening.  A later amendment asserted that human actions have played a role in the acceleration of the event (like the burning of fossil fuels and more).  While both of amendments carry consensus among the people who actually model climates (you know, experts), the first amendment carries less political promise. Basically, you can agree that it is happening but if it isn't our fault we don't have to do anything about it.  


Instead, the 31 Republicans and 3 Democrats on the committee voted to keep their heads in the sand about a problem with society, economic, and security concerns for the future of the planet.  It should be noted that each member who voted against the amendment have received considerable contributions from Koch Industries.  


At least one congressman, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass), recognized that a committee vote (biased by money and ideology) does not actually affect climate science.  Even with this event, the Earth will continue to get warmer and our actions will continue to harm the planet.  Reality continues to exist even if we ignore it.  Markey delivers the best response to this vote in the video below.



For more information about Global Climate Change check out NASA's website on the topic.

How Nicotine Works

We have been talking about cell biology in class these last few weeks.  Specifically, we just covered passive/active transport and endocytosis/exocytosis.  I enjoy looking at how the brain works while covering this.  The students don't have to understand neurotransmitters and how drugs work for basic biology, but many find it enjoyable.

After talking about it on Friday, I then found this infographic about how nicotine works.  Some take home facts:  Nicotine (like caffeine) serves the plant as an insecticide to fight off pests.  Each cigarette provides 1 or 2 mg of nicotine, yet a 60 mg dose would kill a human.  Nicotine mimics the actions of acetylcholine.

The website, GOOD, has some pretty cool infographics, videos and news.  Check it out.

Preaching Evolution in Church

Paul Wallace wrote an interesting article for the Religion Dispatches making the claim that evolution should be taught in church.  I agree wholehartedly with the premise.  Every week we hear news stories about laws proposed in state legislatures to bring creationism into the classroom.  While the seek to force their "truth" upon us, Wallace hopes to bring a sense of wonder to the pew.

If anything, we could at least get rid of these images.

Current in Divinity School, Wallace talks about his introduction to the wonders of nature and ultimately to God.  He sorts church-goers into two groups: those coming for the answers and those coming for the questions.

Most Fundamentalist Christians would fit in the Answers category.  They come to church, listen to the preacher, and read the Bible to find the answers to life's questions.  The Bible provides all the answers if we simply understand it.  With that view, Creationists pack the school boards, propose laws,  and otherwise subvert science education because they already have all the answers they will every need.  But at least they are willing to share the answers.

On the other hand, some people go to church to uncover more questions.  A reading of the Bible produces far more questions than answers and starts an intellectually fulfilling theology.  The Questioners find more enjoyment in not knowing, much like most scientists.  These Christians are much more open to understanding evolution as a path to further understanding God.

I think all Christians could benefit from learning about evolution (as could everyone, which is why it is in State Curricula).  Almost every argument I have heard against evolution comes from a deep, misconception about the theory itself.  Creationist documents routinely mischaracterize evolution and science itself.  As a high school teacher, I have heard many strange caricatures of evolution.  In church, I learned more of them.  Now that I have a better understanding of evolution, I can counter such problems by educating the others.  One place to do that is in the church.

I would love an opportunity to give an evolution lecture to a creationist crowd.  I would correct their misunderstandings by showing that Christianity has nothing to worry about from science.  Most importantly, I would answer their questions to the best of my ability.  In their questions, you can really find out what they think.  So let's preach evolution in church!

Walking in Circles

Take a person to an open field, blindfold them, and tell them to walk straight across the field.  You may think, "Sure, no problem.  I could do that easily."  Unfortunately, you would be wrong.  Over and over again, people recreate this basic experiment and the results end up the same for absolute no known reason.  Instead of walking in a straight line, you will actually walk in a circle.  Without the aid of fixed points of reference, the human body tends to walk in circles.  Researchers find the same situation when walking, swimming or even when driving a car (I hope it was a very open field!).

No explanation exists for this circular phenomenon.  Some blame our disproportionate bodies, dominant handedness, or dominant hemispheres-ness.  It seems that our possible explanations also keep us running in circles.

I would like to try the experiment.  Could be fun!

Enjoy this video on the strange phenomenon from NPR:

An Elephant Buffet

In this amazing time-lapse video, a elephant dies at the Tsavo West National Park in Kenya.  Seven days later, the once whole pachyderm was reduced to a pile of bones.  That elephant held approximately 6 million calories which feed several species in the area.

Check it out:

Re-Defining Evolution

Recently, the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) made a small, accommodating change to their "official" definition of evolution.  The previous definition went like this:

The diversity of life on earth is the result of evolution: an unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable and natural process of temporal descent with genetic modification that is affected by natural selection, chance, historical contingencies and changing environments.

Eugenie Scott, of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), and others objected to a couple of words that were eventually removed.  As people debate the relationship between science and religion, many others in science education hope to find a common ground between the two to allow us to teach without completely offending religious students.  The NCSE sits in the middle and takes its lumps from both extremes.  

One of my favorite evolution cartoons.

In this case, the NCSE lobbied for the removal of the terms "unsupervised" and "impersonal" from the definition.  While the original definition upset the religiously inclined, the new definition has fed the attacks from the atheists.  Jerry Coyne posted a response to the news on his blog Why Evolution is True defending the materialistic meaning behind such words.  

First of all, we all agree on 95% of the definition of evolution.  As described by Charles Darwin, evolution occurs by descent with modification.  As genetic material passes from parent to offspring, some individuals mate more often and minor mutations accumulate over time.  Natural selection and genetic drift act as environments change.  These mechanisms account for the massive biodiversity we see in the world from the remarkable, yet imperfect, human body to the oddities of life.  

Does "unsupervised" or "impersonal" really affect a person's ability to understand evolution?  Not really. There is no evidence for or against a supervised process as evolution.  Many Theistic Evolutionist simply view natural selection as the tool God used to guide evolution.  But regardless, supervision or unsupervision is not a requirement of understanding the processes of  evolution.  The mechanisms of mutations and selection can still be taught without an outright attack on the religious students in the class.  

Removing the words, may help more students accept learning about evolution and make no change in the understanding of the science.  Evolution is still natural and unpredictable.  If we rewound the history of life and tried again, we have no certainty that humans would show up again.  Yet we constantly search for signs of intelligent life as far as our telescopes will listen hoping the evolution stumbled upon the same design elsewhere in the cosmos.

University professors have far more leeway in this regard than high school teachers which makes Coyne's objections rather predictable.  This small change to the definition of evolution will upset the atheists for a short while, but will have very little impact on the actual teaching of evolution in schools.   The NCSE and the NABT will still fight for quality science education for all students.  We teachers will still teach the mechanisms of evolution and the wonders of life.  And we will still debate the compatibility of science and religion.

Stuff to Blow Your Mind

How Stuff Works puts out an official science podcast called "Stuff to Blow Your Mind".  I found the show by skimming through iTunes looking for something new and decided to try it.  I have only had time to listen to three podcasts so far, but they have been about:

1. Animal Junkies- the drug attics of the animal kingdom.  Many animals take mind- and body-altering drugs either from natural sources or from humans.  Beginning with catnip, they talk about everything from alcoholic monkeys to reindeers getting high on shrooms (and the shamen who drink their urine).
2. Are computer viruses alive?  Beginning with this simple question the hosts describe everything from the qualities of life, the history of computer viruses, to the future of war.
3. The Werewolf Principle- altering the human body for life in space.  The human body is not meant for space travel.  The hosts discuss the ideal traits of an astronaut- flatus-free (no methane), black (denser bones), and deaf (no balance issues).  They also talk about the medical ways we can alter the body to prepare for space travel.

I really enjoy the podcast.  My only problem is that they keep coming out with new podcasts faster than I can listen to the old ones.  If you enjoy slightly off-center science, this is a podcast for you.  I hope to have many new things to talk about to my science classes from these shows.  Check it out the show and their website full of supporting documents.

Ranking the Important Experiments

William Harris compiled a list of the 10 Science Experiments that changed the world.  Some simple experiments alter our understanding of reality and lead us to our theories to describe nature.  So I will join in this salute of the experiment by providing his list (Top 10)  and completing a top 25.  For more details check out Harris' list at Curiosity Online through the Discovery Channel

1. Stanley Milgram's experiments in obedience provided some shocking results (psychology).
2. Ivan Pavlov trains his dog to salivate at the sound of a bell (classical conditioning).
3. Marie Curie leaves uranium on a photographic plate (radioactivity).
4. A.A. Michelson devises a method of calculating the speed of light (quantum mechanics).
5. Stanley Miller and Harold Urey simulate the conditions of early Earth in a lab (abiogenesis).
6. Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin maps the 3-D structure of penicillin (x-ray crystallography).
7. Ernest Rutherford fires alpha particles through gold foil and some bounce back (atomic nucleus).
8. Edward Jenner defeats small pox (vaccination).
9. Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase infect bacteria with radioactive viruses (DNA).
10. Charles Darwin inspects the relationship between orchids and their pollinators (natural selection).
11. Gregor Mendel studies pea plants (genetics).
12. Oswald Avery narrows down the genetic material (DNA).
13. Henry Cavendish calculates the Gravitational Constant (G).
14. Isaac Newton unlocks the secret of the prism (light).
15. Thomas Hunt Morgan mutates fruit flies (chromosomes).
16. Robert Hooke looks at cork under a microscope (cells).
17. Louis Pasteur boils some broth (biogenesis).
18. Galileo drops a ball and disproves Aristotle (acceleration of gravity).
19. Barbara McClintock finds jumping genes (transposons).
20. Thomas Young passes light through a double slit test (light).
21. Enrico Fermi splits the atom (nuclear physics).
22. BF Skinner puts the pigeons in a box (operant conditioning).
23. Philip Zimbardo puts college kids in a prison with college guards in Stanford (psychology)
24. J.J. Thomson builds a cathode ray tube (electrons).
25. Hans Speilman clones a salamander by dividing an embryo (embryology).

I will admit that my list may be biased towards biology and physics because I am teaching those subjects right now.  You can leave your favorite experiments in the comments section.

Tickling the Ivories to Teach Evolution

Richard Dawkins plays the piano to demonstrate the vastness of geologic time.  He places the beginning of life at the far left and present at the far right.  So when do humans show up?  We don't even get one whole note!

Great analogy:

The Convergence of Awesome

I saw this cool comic which shows several different living things all coming together to make a sandwich:

From: http://abstrusegoose.com/339

Explaining Relativity

I saw this amazing video which helps to explain a strange occurrence in space-time.  When traveling at the speed of light, time moves more slowly causing you to age less than someone else.  Anyways, watch the video and enjoy!

A Tale of Two Twins from Yuanjian Luo on Vimeo.

The Potential Power of Mutations

This video records the results of a simple experiment.  Clement Valla designed an online drawing tool with one function.  Users traced a line on the screen.  Beginning with a straight line, the first user attempts to copy the line perfectly.  The second user copies the first user's line and so on.  Eventually the tiny imperfections in each line continue to distort the original picture, a straight line.  This simple experiment demonstrates the potential power of small mutations as they add up over time.  Valla produced a similar video beginning with a circle, with similar results.  I may attempt to reproduce the results in a class experiment this year.  Looks like fun.

Enjoy!

A Sequence of Lines Traced by Five Hundred Individuals from clement valla on Vimeo.

An Amazing Kid

Several people have picked up the story of a Louisiana high school student who chose to stand up for science education.  Zack Kopplin has found a few friends in his quest to better education in this state.  He took on the conservative group, Louisiana Family Forum, after they complained about a biology textbook discussing evolution in a positive manner!  His lobbying efforts to the state school board led to an 8-2 decision in favor of science.

With his success, Zack has now set his sites on the repeal of Louisiana's covertly creationist law which seeks to undermine the teaching of evolution in high school.  Disguised as an Academic Freedom, these bills try to get biology teachers to openly teach creationism or Intelligent Design.  Zack's website Repeal Creationism attempts to bring the same grassroots mentality his previous achievement  to this new challenge.

Win or lose, Zack Kopplin is definitely an amazing kid who deserves another shout out.  Not many 17-year-olds would take a definitive stance on any topic, much less science education.  He serves as a example for all of us.  If he can demand better education, then why can't we do it too?

I wish his success in his endeavors- in this and in the future.

The Frontier is Everywhere

Reid Gower put together this awesome clip for NASA called The Frontier is Everywhere.  Featuring amazing music by Michael Marantz, a speech by Carl Sagan ponders humanity's exploration of other planets.  Sagan begins by reminding us that we are nomads constantly searching over the horizon and looks to a future of our descendants inhabiting another world.

The video is quite awesome.  Enjoy!