Source+Eight

http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?recordid=11876

1 **WASHINGTON -- The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) today released SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND CREATIONISM, a book designed to give the public a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the current scientific understanding of evolution and its importance in the science classroom. Recent advances in science and medicine, along with an abundance of observations and experiments over the past 150 years, have reinforced evolution's role as the central organizing principle of modern biology, said the committee that wrote the book.**

2 "**The study of evolution remains one of the most active, robust, and useful fields in science."**

3 **"Understanding evolution is essential to identifying and treating disease"**

4 **DNA sequencing and molecular biology have provided a wealth of information about evolutionary relationships among species. As existing infectious agents evolve into new and more dangerous forms, scientists track the changes so they can detect, treat, and vaccinate to prevent the spread of disease.**

5 **Biological evolution refers to changes in the traits of populations of organisms, usually over multiple generations. One recent example highlighted in the book is the 2004 fossil discovery in Canada of fish with "intermediate" features -- four finlike legs -- that allowed the creature to pull itself through shallow water onto land. Scientists around the world cite this evidence as an important discovery in identifying the transition from ocean-dwelling creatures to land animals. By understanding and employing the principles of evolution, the discoverers of this fossil focused their search on layers of the Earth that are approximately 375 million years old and in a region that would have been much warmer during that period.**

6 **Evolution not only best explains the biodiversity on Earth, it also helps scientists predict what they are likely to discover in the future.**

7 **Over very long periods of time, the same processes that enable evolution to occur within species also can result in the appearance of new species. The formation of a new species generally takes place when one subgroup within a species mates for an extended period largely within that subgroup, often following geographical separation from other members of the species. If such reproductive isolation continues, members of the subgroup may no longer respond to courtship from members of the original population. Eventually, genetic changes become so substantial that members of different subgroups can no longer produce viable offspring. In this way, new species can continually "bud off" of existing species.**

8 **Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting evolution, opponents have repeatedly tried to introduce nonscientific views into public school science classes through the teaching of various forms of creationism or intelligent design. In 2005, a federal judge in Dover, Pennsylvania, concluded that the teaching of intelligent design is unconstitutional because it is based on religious conviction, not science (Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District). NAS and IOM strongly maintain that only scientifically based explanations and evidence for the diversity of life should be included in public school science courses. "Teaching creationist ideas in science class confuses students about what constitutes science and what does not," the committee stated.**

9 **"As SCIENCE, EVOLUTION, AND CREATIONISM makes clear, the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. Science and religion are different ways of understanding the world. Needlessly placing them in opposition reduces the potential of each to contribute to a better future," the book says.**


 * Panspermia**:

10 **Panspermia, meaning literally "seeds everywhere," is a theory that suggests that the seeds of life are prevalent throughout the universe and that life on Earth began by such seeds landing on Earth and propagating. The theory has origins in the ideas of Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher. An important proponent of the theory was the British astronomer Sir Fred Hoyle.**

11 **There is some evidence to suggest that bacteria may be able to survive for very long periods of time even in deep space (and may therefore be the underlying mechanism behind Panspermia ).**

12 **Recent studies out of India have found bacteria at heights greater than 40 km in Earth's atmosphere where mixing from the lower atmosphere is unexpected, while Streptococcus mitus bacteria that had accidentally been taken to the moon on the Surveyor 3 spacecraft in 1967, could easily be revived after being taken back to earth three years later.**

13 **Another objection to Panspermia is that bacteria would not survive the immense heat and forces of an impact on earth; no conclusive conclusions (whether positive or negative) has been reached yet on this point.**

14 **Of material definitely known to originate off-earth, analysis of the rock sample known as ALH84001, generally regarded as originating on Mars, suggests it contains artifacts that may have been caused by life forms. This is the only indication of extraterrestrial life to date and is still widely disputed.**

15 **Some have taken the theory as an answer to those arguing the improbability of the origin of life, in that wherever life first began, it spread throughout the universe by panspermia.**