From Thomas Hayden, “How to Hatch a Dinosaur” (Wired September 26, 2011): Human beings are almost indistinguishable, genetically speaking, from chimpanzees, but at that scale we’re also pretty hard to tell apart from, say, bats. Yeah, it figures. Batman. Hints of long-extinct creatures, echoes of evolution past, occasionally emerge in real life—they’re called atavisms, rare cases of individuals born with characteristic features of their evolutionary antecedents. Whales are sometimes born with appendages reminiscent of hind limbs. Human babies sometimes enter the world with fur, extra nipples, or, very rarely, a true tail. Horner’s plan, in essence, is to start off by creating experimental atavisms in the lab. Activate enough ancestral characteristics in a single chicken, he reasons, and you’ll end Read More ›

I recently read the Wikipedia web-page on the “Evidence of Common Descent.” The page comprises a succinct, yet comprehensive, description of the most frequently cited arguments for the proposition of universal descent with modification. Since this is a subject that interests me, I decided to take it upon myself to write a review of the arguments, and in so doing to evaluate their merits. Wikipedia lists eight categories of evidence for common descent, which I hope to address over the course of this and future articles. Click here to continue reading>>>

Here’s some blurb for the latest attempts of the non-existent one to explain how you can be an “intellectually fulfilled atheist”: The Magic of Reality – Richard Dawkins – Royal Albert Hall Wednesday 19 October 2011, 8.30pm Chaired by James Harding, editor, The Times. … The Magic of Reality – An Evening with Richard Dawkins will see him discussing his new book, The Magic of Reality, which uses stunning words and pictures to present the real story of the world around us, taking us on an enthralling journey through scientific reality. Richard Dawkins and Dave McKean have created a dazzling celebration of our planet that will entertain and inform for years to come. The question I’m interested in, is whether Read More ›