Beginning with the molecular origins of life and culminating with the latest findings on human evolution, eighteen of the world's leading experts reported on research spanning three billion years of evolution at a two-day symposium at Rockefeller University on May 1 and 2, 2008. Videos from the "From RNA to Humans" symposium were available on-line for everyone to view. The topic of the symposium sessions included Archaean chemistry and earliest fossils; cells, cellular evolution, and protein history; development of eukaryotic genetic capacity and multicellularity; and human evolution through the lens of DNA sequences. Speakers include such luminaries as Andrew K. Knoll of Harvard University, L. Luca Cavalli-Sforza of Stanford University, and W. Ford Doolittle of Dalhousie University. NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott was on hand to chair the human evolution session and to introduce Jerry A. Coyne of the University of Chicago, who gave a public talk entitled, "Feeding and Gloating for More: The Challenge of the New Creationism."
May 29, 2008