Originstag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2008-09-30:/origins//72009-12-17T22:28:50ZA History of BeginningsMovable Type Open Source 4.1The End of Originstag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.43382009-12-28T17:06:55Z2009-12-17T22:28:50Z This year, the worldwide community of science has marked the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth—and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species—with dozens of evolutionary-themed meetings, books, review papers, and Science’s own monthly Origins...Elizabeth CulottaDarwin (Festival) Caught on Videotag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.43452009-12-18T11:08:11Z2009-12-18T14:36:11ZIf you're tired of watching It's a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Carol yet again, perhaps Darwin can occupy your cold winter nights. As a holiday treat, Origins would like to point out that this summer's Darwin Festival in Cambridge,...John TravisA Musical Tribute to Darwin and the Earthtag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.43312009-12-16T11:38:44Z2009-12-16T17:41:26Z by Lucas Laursen Charles Darwin may have had his biggest impact on biology, but he began his scientific career as a geologist. So it’s appropriate that earlier this year, retired geologist John Ramsay, who had long studied the famed...John TravisLeaf Plumbing and Angiosperm Evolutiontag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.42852009-12-09T14:44:10Z2009-12-09T16:13:49Zby Elizabeth Pennisi In my essay on the origin of flowering plants, I discussed many ideas related to how angiosperms came to dominate terrestrial ecosystems. Representing hundreds of thousands of species and 96% of all terrestrial vegetation, flowering plants are...Elizabeth PennisiOn the Origin of Tomorrowtag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.42552009-12-03T19:05:14Z2009-12-03T22:11:03Zby Elizabeth Pennisi More than ever before, the future is in our hands. We are shaping not just our own destiny but also the destinies of much of life on this planet. That is the take-home message of the final...Elizabeth PennisiThe Lost World of Old Europe: See It in New Yorktag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.42242009-11-25T02:56:26Z2009-11-30T14:45:22Zby Michael Balter NEW YORK CITY—The exhibition of Vermeer’s The Milkmaid at the Metropolitan Museum of Art here is scheduled to end on 29 November, but don’t worry if you can’t get to the Big Apple in time to see...Elizabeth CulottaResearchers Discuss Darwin in NSF's Online Reporttag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.42222009-11-24T20:57:35Z2009-11-24T21:30:23ZElizabeth PennisiA Plethora of Hobbit Paperstag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.42032009-11-23T19:45:43Z2009-11-23T16:13:45Zby Elizabeth Culotta Fans of Homo floresiensis will be happy this month, as the Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) has a special issue devoted to these diminutive hominins whose fossils were found on the Indonesian island of Flores. There’s also...Elizabeth CulottaPenguin DNA May Reset the Molecular Clocktag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.41712009-11-16T19:41:01Z2009-11-16T21:24:45ZElizabeth CulottaDoes Studying Why People Believe in God Challenge God's Existence?tag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.41642009-11-13T17:07:40Z2009-11-13T20:30:57ZElizabeth CulottaHow Weblike Is the Tree of Life?tag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.41352009-11-06T19:02:30Z2009-11-06T19:29:38Zby Julia Galef One of the most iconic symbols of evolution—the tree of life (left), a visual metaphor for the branching ancestry of species—has recently become one of its most controversial. The idea of a tree dates back to Charles...Elizabeth PennisiOn the Origin of Religiontag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.41162009-11-05T15:38:25Z2009-11-05T22:07:53Zby Elizabeth Culotta Every human society has had its gods, whether worshiped from Gothic cathedrals or Mayan pyramids. In all cultures, humans pour resources into elaborate religious buildings and rituals. But religion offers no obvious boost to survival and reproduction....Elizabeth CulottaChange in Regulatory DNA Responsible for Stickleback Evolutiontag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.41132009-11-04T20:09:10Z2009-11-04T20:04:57Zby Julia Galef CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—The birthplace of modern evolutionary biology can arguably be located at a landmark 1959 conference at the University of Chicago, which synthesized the then-new discoveries of DNA and genetics with Charles Darwin's observations on evolution. Last...Elizabeth PennisiAnt and Tree Cooperation a Delicate Balancetag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.41072009-11-02T18:29:00Z2009-11-02T19:49:50Zby Elizabeth Pennisi Charles Darwin worked hard to figure out how cooperation within a species—self-sacrifice among worker bees, for example—could have evolved. But he was stumped when it came to understanding cooperation between species. In his book, On the Origin...Elizabeth PennisiWhat Ever Happened to Kenyanthropus platyops?tag:blogs.sciencemag.org,2009:/origins//7.40902009-10-29T14:42:20Z2009-10-29T16:05:23Zby Michael Balter Human evolution research is not for the faint-hearted. Hominin fossils are rare and hard to find. And more often than not, no sooner do anthropologists announce a big discovery than other researchers argue that they have it...Elizabeth Culotta