Evolution is alive and well

Terry M. Gray (grayt@lamar.colostate.edu)
Wed, 7 Oct 1998 09:40:33 -0600

I've been amazed over the past few years when I've heard people prophecy
about the immenent demise of evolutionary theory as a credible scientific
theory. My own assessment is that evolutionary theory is alive and well
and in better shape than ever. How we can possibly come to such different
viewpoints is one of those mysteries of human intercourse.

I was prompted to post this message after having read the editorial in the
25 September 1998 issue of Science (p. 1959). The essay is on-line at

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/281/5385/1959

but you must sign up for the free registration to access this part of the
journal.

It's called "A Revolution in Evolution" by Jim Bull and Holly Winchman. It
starts out

"Evolutionary biology has emerged from its 19th-century state; the
image of naturalists collecting butterflies and museum curators
dusting fossils has faded. Evolution is now widely perceived and
appreciated as the organizing principle at all levels of life. This
principle so pervades research that the evolutionary underpinning
of many experimental approaches is unstated."

It also contains the honest line:

"Notwithstanding this recent metamorphosis, many mysteries in the field
remain to challenge us. Complex evolutionary phenomena are difficult to
explain from well-understood elemental mechanisms, just as the weather
proves difficult to predict despite advances in basic physics."

TG

_________________
Terry M. Gray, Ph.D., Computer Support Scientist
Chemistry Department, Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
grayt@lamar.colostate.edu http://www.chm.colostate.edu/~grayt/
phone: 970-491-7003 fax: 970-491-1801