NCSE is pleased to congratulate Andrew J. Petto on receiving the Evolution Education Award for 2015 from the National Association of Biology Teachers, sponsored by BSCS (Biological Sciences Curriculum Study) and the BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. The award recognizes…
If you could send a message to yourself in the past, what would it say? Would you tell yourself not to miss that trip to Fire Island where you met your future husband? Would you say to take the risk and see what happens on that trip to Europe? Would you urge yourself to never, ever eat…
Science frequently challenges our intuitive understanding of the world. Even as an adult, I am constantly confronted with new scientific advancements and discoveries that don’t always line up with my preconceived notions. Such ideas are considered counterintuitive because they present themselves…
Robert J. Schadewald (1943-2000), a former president of NCSE's board of directors, was working on a manuscript about the history of the flat-earth movement until the week of his death. Now, thanks to his sister Lois Schadewald and his widow Wendy Schadewald, a final version of The Plane…
Here’s another look at our specimen from last Friday, this time with scale and all: If you couldn’t identify it before, you probably can now, with those lower lobes in there. It’s a clam! A clam with the completely metal name of Retroceramus lucifer. Why did these clams get such a…
Two in three Americans think that global warming is happening, and about half think that, if it is happening, it is mostly owing to human activity, but only about one in ten know that nearly all climate scientists agree that global warming is happening as a result of human activity. Those were…
It’s almost Thanksgiving! Here are a few articles NCSE staff came across this week, for you to read while your turkey roasts. No “What We’re Reading” next week—you’re on your own. You should probably take a walk after that big dinner anyway... Health Experts Are Explaining Drug-Resistant…
This week on Fossil Friday, we have another specimen from the wonderful collection of Dan Phelps. I’ve cropped the photo to make guessing a little more interesting, but I promise I haven’t done too much to throw you off. A couple of hints? This specimen was found in Alaska, and dates from the…
We will soon live in a world with an atmosphere permanently above 400 parts per million (ppm) CO2. As I discussed in part 1, sometime in the next year the last sub-400 measurement will occur. In fact, measurements made last week may be the very last below 400 ppm. But even if a brief…