Charles Darwin Turns 200

In celebration of 150 years of The Origin of Species and Charles Darwin 200th birthday, I picked up an interesting book by Stephen Baxter titled evolution. It is a big book and my reading time limited. I wanted to have it read and reviewed by today, but that was not in the cards. I’ve only conquered the first 60 pages of 761.

The book is good and will most likely consume much of my free time. It begins with a 65 million years before present. Purga is small rodent-like primate that is in trouble. She is on the move looking for food to feed her brood. Her life is hard and limited to the basics of survival: food and shelter.

At first, the story of Purga was hard to get into. She is a rodent-like primate after all. However, the dinosaurs pursuing her got my attention. Not only does she have to avoid being eaten by things that are hungry and bigger than she is, but also the males of her species will eat her young and rape her to ensure that their genetics are passed on and not those of a lesser male.

The book promises to walk the reader through millions, if not billions of years so that we may watch the greatest show ever, the evolution of the human.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!

Darwinism Must Die So That Evolution May Live
By CARL SAFINA
Published: February 10, 2009
Equating evolution with Charles Darwin ignores 150 years of discoveries, including most of what scientists understand about evolution.

Genes Offer New Clues in Old Debate on Species’ Origins
By CAROL KAESUK YOON
Published: February 10, 2009
The study of how species originate, a process known as speciation, is not only one of evolution’s most active areas of study, but also one of its most contentious.

Largest Snake: Researchers have found fossil remains of a species of snake that they say weighed 2500 pounds, and grew to 45 feet long. (first broadcast Friday, February 6, 2009)

Caterpillar Mimicry: How does a parasitic caterpillar survive inside an ant nest? According to research published this week, it sounds like a queen ant. (first broadcast Friday, February 6, 2009)

Ancient Whale Relative Gave Birth on Land: Fossil remains of an ancient pregnant whale suggest that the animal gave birth on land some 47.5 million years ago. (first broadcast Friday, February 6, 2009)

A Year of Darwin: This year marks the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth and the 150th Anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. In this segment, Ira talks with Matthew Chapman, Darwin's great-great-grandson. (first broadcast Friday, February 6, 2009)