It's cheeky and we love it. The respected magazine Science has named evolution the "breakthrough of the year" for 2005. Says the mag here:
2005 stands out as a banner year for uncovering the intricacies of how evolution actually proceeds. Concrete genome data allowed researchers to start pinning down the molecular modifications that drive evolutionary change in organisms from viruses to primates. Painstaking field observations shed new light on how populations diverge to form new species -- the mystery of mysteries that baffled Darwin himself. Ironically, also this year some segments of American society fought to dilute the teaching of even the basic facts of evolution. With all this in mind, Science has decided to put Darwin in the spotlight by saluting several dramatic discoveries, each of which reveals the laws of evolution in action.
In other words, while the American religious right argues in favour of creationism in its thinly disguised form known as Intelligent Design, the science world is making strides in proving Charles Darwin's theory and rubbing it in the nostaligentsia's face.
That's fair play. As the judge in the Dover, Penn., school board case noted in his ruling on Monday (he stopped the school board from teaching Intelligent design on the grounds it causes Church to invade State's personal space; see judgment a few items down on this blog), evolution isn't a slap in God's face. Said the judge:
scientific experts testified that the theory of evolution represents good science, is overwhelmingly accepted by the scientific community, and that it in no way conflicts with, nor does it deny, the existence of a divine creator.
And a Merry CHRISTMAS to all.

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