Here’s a brilliant piece of science-writing satire from the Onion. I find it particularly funny because I’ve been writing a lot recently about the evolution of human uniqueness. It’s so easy to mix up “unique” with “totally awesome.” The conflation flatters my readers, and myself. That’s the sort of self-importance that great satire can deflate so quickly.

[Hat tip, Ed Yong]

Originally published May 13, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

Earlier today I noted a weird situation in Alabama, with a teacher-union-funded ad attacking a candidate for governor for believing in evolution, and the candidate declaring himself a defender of creationism in the schools. I wondered who would speak up for science in Alabama. But I’d be remiss not to point out that good research in evolutionary biology does get done there. For example:

Beatrice Hahn studies the evolution of HIV from chimpanzee-infecting viruses.

Marshal Abrams studies the philosophical foundations of fitness.

Phillip Harris studies the evolution of diversity in freshwater fishes.

John Yoder studies the evolution of new organs.

Steven Secor studies the evolution of digestion in reptiles and amphibians, and what they surprisingly say about the evolution of our own species.

Jeannette Doeller and David Kraus have designed an innovative course on integrating evolution and medicine.

I could go on (and please feel free add other scientists in the comment thread). Suffice to say, there’s good stuff going on in Alabama. Too bad it’s not better known there.

Originally published May 12, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

Let’s get this straight.

An ad attacks a Republican candidate for governor in Alabama, Bradley Byrne, for the horrible crime of defending the teaching of evolution.

Byrne lashes back, stating

As a member of the Alabama Board of Education, the record clearly shows that I fought to ensure the teaching of creationism in our school textbooks. Those who attack me have distorted, twisted and misrepresented my comments and are spewing utter lies to the people of this state.

The nerve of some people to make such horrible accusations.

But wait! As Talking Points Memo observes, the ad that made that scurrilous charge that Byrne might have a bias towards reality has an important back story:

The group behind the ad and others attacking Byrne’s conservative credentials is called the True Republican PAC. Interestingly, as the Montgomery Advertiser reported last month, the PAC has gotten most of its money from the teachers’ union — or, more accurately, from a collection of other PACs heavily funded by the union.

According to the Advertiser, members of the Alabama Education Association have a beef with Byrne for his past attempts to ban the employees of two-year colleges from serving in the state legislature.

Emphasis mine. So does this mean the teachers of Alabama support an attack on a political candidate for not being a creationist (an attack that sadly is not even true)? Is anybody standing up for science in Alabama?

Originally published May 12, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

I was delighted to discover this morning that the journal The American Biology Teacher gives thumbs-up toThe Tangled Bank. From the review:

“For students of evolution or scholars who want to know the specifics about particular evolutionary processes, this is an excellent read. The fact that it is understandable to beginners and fascinating to scientists makes this book truly unique and valuable.”

Originally published May 12, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.