Charles Robert Darwin, born February 12, 1809. The same day, incidentally, as another famously bearded fellow. Next year will be the 200th anniversaries of their births.

Leslie E. Orgel, a biochemist whose studies of early life on primitive Earth helped lead to the formation of a now widely accepted theory about the development of DNA, died Oct. 27 in San Diego. He was 80.

Dr. Orgel had also advanced a novel idea about life’s possible arrival from outer space.

The cause was pancreatic cancer, said a spokesman for the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, where Dr. Orgel had been on the faculty since 1964.

Wait, what was that again?

Dr. Orgel had also advanced a novel idea about life’s possible arrival from outer space.

The cause was pancreatic cancer…

Yup, that’s a novel idea, all right.

Any adaptations that can keep a host disease-free will be favored by natural selection. Leaf-rolling caterpillars, for instance, fire their droppings out of an anal cannon, so that they don’t end up creating a fragrant pile of frass that attracts parasitic wasps.

Anal cannon! Is it childish that I find that funny?

A modern-day warrior
Mean mean stride
Today’s Tom Sawyer
Mean mean pride.

One interesting advantage of my job is that I come across announcements and reviews of cool new books. Today, for example, I was indexing the latest issue of American Biology Teacher and saw an ad for a book called The Evolution Dialogues, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

(The AAAS publishes the journal Science, so this don’t look like no Discovery Institute bullshit or anything, pushing ID in science clothing.)

According to the AAAS’s press release for the book, it was written for use in adult Christian education programs. The idea seems to be, Let’s explain evolution, genetics, and natural selection in layperson’s terms; examine the various Christian responses to these concepts over the years; and correct common misunderstandings.

A book like this will succeed more with mainstream Protestants and Roman Catholics than with hard-core fundamentalists, but I could see how moderate evangelicals might find it useful, to better understand the issues involved, whether they accept evolution or not. (Some evangelicals, in fact, do accept that evolution is true.)

I’m going to order a copy, give it a good read, and see what bloggers and critics think of it. I think directly engaging faith communities in a proactive way is a good thing, especially when poll after poll shows that Americans have little understanding of, and patience for, evolution and genetics.

Chick: I know you’ll think I’m crazy, but I just don’t believe that dinosaurs ever existed.

Read the rest.

The first edition, Darwin: The Indelible Stamp, is from Running Press and is edited by James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA double-helix structure. W. W. Norton follows with From So Simple a Beginning: Darwin’s Four Great Books, edited by E. O. Wilson, the famous Harvard scientist who popularized sociobiological theories.

[via the NYTimes]

This exhibition will explore the extraordinary life and discoveries of Charles Darwin, whose striking insights in the 19th century forever changed the perception of the origin of our own species as well as the myriad other species on this planet and launched modern biological science. Visitors of all ages will experience the wonders Darwin witnessed on his journey as a curious and adventurous young man aboard the HMS Beagle on its historic five-year voyage (1831–1836) to the Galapagos Islands and beyond.

The exhibition will feature live Galápagos tortoises and an iguana and horned frogs from South America, along with actual fossil specimens collected by Darwin and the magnifying glass he used to examine them. Darwin will feature an elaborate reconstruction of the naturalist’s study at Down House, where, as a revolutionary observer and experimenter, he proposed the scientific theory that all life evolves according to the mechanism called natural selection.

Good news.

I see from various blogs [links below] that the print edition of Seed has indeed relaunched, with advance copies going out to prominent science bloggers. The Seed Media Group site says the mag will be available worldwide on October 1, but I’m going to sneak down to the big Hudson News in GC after work to see whether it has arrived yet.

I’m pleased to see that its cover story, a Chris Mooney piece on the evolution/intelligent design “controversy,” is already sparking debate on LuboÅ¡ Motl’s blog, even before the magazine hits newsstands. That’s both the point and the value of Seed, in my opinion: to highlight the role of science in our governance and culture. To see such a vibrant discussion appear so soon is, to my eyes, delightful.

[Links: Luboš Motl; Clifford Johnson; Peter Woit; Chris Mooney and his The Republican War on Science.]

I’m eager to get the new Seed, but this is a busy period for me, and I don’t know how quickly I’ll actually read the thing. Here’s a list of things I’m working on right now, usually at lunch and on the train:

• the book Evolution : The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory
• daily reads of the Wall Street Journal
• a self-taught review of algebra, trigonometry, and calculus
• the book The Joy of Mixology : The Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft
• a reread of Tender Is the Night, which I’ve sort of stalled on, because I pretty much hate Dick and Nicole Diver and their social circle
• Planning a wedding
• Revamping my website (look, Todd, color!)

All this in addition to watching cool TV shows (My Name Is Earl, Everybody Hates Chris), cooking yummy dinners, and sleeping. I don’t know where I’m going to slot Seed in, but I’ll have to find some place for it.

One adult American in five thinks the Sun revolves around the Earth, an idea science had abandoned by the 17th century.

The CIA Factbook tells me that there are roughly 235 million Americans above the age of 14. I don’t know how many of those are adults, meaning 18 or older, but let’s say 90%.

That means 42.3 million Americans believe the Sun revolves around the Earth.

42.3 million.

That is astonishing.

[Links: Scientific Savvy? In U.S., Not Much - New York Times; CIA -- The World Factbook -- United States]