纪念达尔文逝世一百周年学术讨论会在北京召开

今年四月十九日是英国著名生物学家、现代进化论的伟大奠基人达尔文逝世一百周年纪念日。 1859年达尔文《物种起源》一书的发表,标志着人类对生物界认识的重大进步。以自然选择理论为基础的生物进化论,科学地解释了物种的起源和发展,阐明了生物发展的规律,从而在生物学领域中完成了一次伟大革命。达尔文的进化论以丰富的材料和雄辩的事实有力地冲破了“神创论”的一统天下,改变了人们对“上帝创造万物”和“物种不变”的宇宙观,为生物科学奠定了唯物主义基础。     

2009-2010生物科学十大热点回顾与展望

达尔文诞辰二百周年 2009年是达尔文诞辰200周年，同时又是《物种起源》发表150周年。达尔文1809年2月12日诞生于英国，他于1859年提出了以自然选择为核心的进化论，揭示了生物物种之间的联系以及进化规律，奠定了现代生物学的基础，并且彻底改变了人们对自然、社会和人类本身的根本看法。     

重读《物种起源》

从1859年11月24日出版《物种起源》以来的140多年,对进化论的争论从未停止过,这是科学发展的正常态,但从上世纪80年代以来,否定之声更高,我在重读《物种起源》之后,更加感觉到达尔文之正确。     

被误解的命运：从达尔文理论到达尔文主义

1859年,达尔文发表了《物种起源》一书,系统地阐述了进化论思想。在书的结尾,他写下了一句意味深长的话：“人类的起源和历史也将由此得到许多启示。”然而,一百年后的1959年,美国著名遗传学家H．J．穆勒在纪念《物种起源》发表100周年大会上与另一位知名学者却发出不约而同的感慨：“这一百年来没有达尔文也是一样的。”     

进化论的发展和中性突变学说

去年是生物进化论的伟大旗手、英国的著名学者查理士·达尔文逝世的一百周年。许多国家举行了隆重的纪念活动,缅怀达尔文对生物科学的发展所做出的不朽的贡献。 1859年11月24日,达尔文的巨著《物种起源》问世,它不仅以丰富的事实论证了生物进化,而且提出了以自然选择为核心的理论合理地令人信服地阐明了生物进化的机制。     

启蒙之光——进化论在现代中国的传播与影响

1859年达尔文《物种起源》在英国的发表震动了整个西方世界,生物进化论随之广为流传,成为19世纪最重要的科学成果之一。进化论在近代中国的译介与传播,也对19世纪末20世纪初国人的思想与意识产生了广泛的影响。     

进化论的奠基人──拉马克

伟大的生物学家,进化论的奠基人--达尔文于1859年出版了《物种起源》,提出了以自然选择为基础的进化学说,成为生物学史上的一个转折点。恩格斯指出它是19世纪自然科学的三大发现之一。因此达尔文的进化论已举世瞩目。但拉马克早于达尔文诞生之前（180年）就在《动物学哲学》     

两百岁的达尔文在中国111年：进化与天演

今年是人类科学发展史上的一个最受到关注的年头——达尔文诞生两百周年和他的名著《物种起源》发表一百五十周年,也是达尔文演化论被严复介绍到中国111年。全球范围内许多国家和地区的科学家、普通公众、科学组织、政府部门举行各种活动隆重纪念这一全人类科学的盛事。达尔文为人类正确认识自然界、认识人类自己奠定了深厚的基础,提供了认识生命现象的核心理论体系。在这一背景下,《生命世界》推出了本期纪念达尔文的专题,讨论《生命世界》广大读者最戋心的与达尔文和演化论有关的一系列重要问题。     

揭开生物进化的秘密

恩格斯在马克思墓前讲话中曾提到达尔文“发现有机界的发展规律”这一历史功绩。达尔文是怎样研究物种起源和创立科学进化论的?现在我们来回顾这段历史是很有意义的。一、决心探索进化的奥秘达尔文在环球旅行的科学考察中大大丰富了对物种的认识。正如恩格斯所说的:“达尔文从他的科学旅     

第69届北美古脊椎动物学会年会暨第57届古脊椎动物与比较解剖学会年会将在英国召开

<正>2009年是"达尔文年",既是达尔文的200年诞辰,也是他的划时代巨作《物种起源》发表150周年。该书不仅完全改变了人类对生命及人类本身的认知,也直接引发了一场科学大革命,奠定了生命科学的基础。     

Is Darwinism past its "sell-by" date? The Origin of Species at 150

Many people worry that the theory of evolution that Charles Darwin gave in his Origin of Species is now dated and no longer part of modern science. This essay challenges this claim, arguing that the central core of the Origin is as vital today as it ever was, although naturally the science keeps moving on. Darwin provided the foundation not the finished product.     

Charles Darwin 1809-2009

The year 2009 is the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species. This article briefly surveys his life and work, dispelling some common myths and summarizes Darwin's achievement and legacy at his death in 1882.     

致病性细菌微进化的研究进展

2009年是达尔文诞辰200周年,《物种起源》发表150周年。值此之际,我们将致病性细菌微进化的遗传学动力、研究方法及其意义进行综述,并以鼠疫耶尔森氏菌与沙门氏菌为例讨论了这两种细菌的微进化研究进展。     

Was Darwin a creationist?

Throughout the Origin of Species, Darwin contrasts his theory of natural selection with the theory that God independently created each species. This makes it seem as though the Origin offers a scientific alternative to a theological worldview. A few months after the Origin appeared, however, the eminent anatomist Richard Owen published a review that pointed out the theological assumptions of Darwin's theory. Owen worked in the tradition of rational morphology, within which one might suggest that evolution occurs by processes that are continuous with those by which life arises from matter; in contrast, Darwin rested his account of life's origins on the notion that God created one or a few life forms upon which natural selection could act. Owen argued that Darwin's reliance on God to explain the origins of life makes his version of evolution no less supernatural than the special creationist that Darwin criticizes: although Darwin limits God to one or a few acts of creation, he still relies upon God to explain life's existence.     

ON THE INDEPENDENCE OF SYSTEMATICS

Abstract— Before the publication of On the Origin of Species the standing patterns of natural history—common plan, homology, ontogenetic parallelism, and the hierarchy of groups — were taken as indications of a biological order that had not yet been understood. Darwin covered all of these in chapter 13 of the Origin , arguing that his theory was the first to provide a reasonable explanation for the existence of such patterns. Since Darwin took these relations to be established by previous biology, and used them as evidence for the explanatory power of his theory, he was clearly of the opinion that they were independent of that theory. Although several modern figures have argued to the contrary, it seems that Darwin was right. The patterns listed above are recoverable from observation without reference to evolutionary theory, which theory may then be applied to provide an account of the processes by which they may have come about. That aspect of systematics concerned with the identification of the empirical patterns evidently constitutes a study prior to and independent of theories of process.     

Darwin’s Heritage: Endless Evolution of a Species Concept

Russian Journal of Developmental Biology - The 160 years that have passed since the release of the first edition of the brilliant work by Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species through Natural...     

From Charles Darwin's botanical country-house studies to modern plant biology

As a student of theology at Cambridge University, Charles Darwin (1809–1882) attended the lectures of the botanist John S. Henslow (1796–1861). This instruction provided the basis for his life-long interest in plants as well as the species question. This was a major reason why in his book On the Origin of Species , which was published 150 years ago, Darwin explained his metaphorical phrase 'struggle for life' with respect to animals and plants. In this article, we review Darwin's botanical work with reference to the following topics: the struggle for existence in the vegetable kingdom with respect to the phytochrome-mediated shade avoidance response; the biology of flowers and Darwin's plant–insect co-evolution hypothesis; climbing plants and the discovery of action potentials; the power of movement in plants and Darwin's conflict with the German plant physiologist Julius Sachs; and light perception by growing grass coleoptiles with reference to the phototropins. Finally, we describe the establishment of the scientific discipline of Plant Biology that took place in the USA 80 years ago, and define this area of research with respect to Darwin's work on botany and the physiology of higher plants.     

Some of the best online Darwin resources

Ask most men or women in the street who Charles Darwin was and the chances are that they will know something of the work he did: the work that has revolutionised our understanding of the living world and our place in it. The 200th centenary of his birth was in February 2009. Over the 150 years since the publication of his seminal work On the Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, the quality of his scientific thinking, experimenting and writing — leading to the formulation of his ideas about evolution — has had the single most profound impact on the development of modern biology. During this year a number of dedicated Darwin websites have been created and this edition of Webwatch describes a small number of the best of them.     

150 years beyond Darwin's Origin of species: finding new approaches to reconstruct early animal phylogeny

The conference ‘Celebrating Darwin: From the Origin of Species to Deep Metazoan Phylogeny’ was held at the Humboldt University in Berlin, from 3 to 6 March 2009. Specialists from the fields of bioinformatics, molecular biology, developmental biology, comparative morphology and paleontology joined forces to present and discuss novel approaches in reconstructing the still unresolved early branching patterns of the metazoan tree of life.