#618: BBC - Evolution - Series 1

The BBC's new Evolution series is now up and running.

Evolution is co-produced by The Open University and the BBC, and supported by leading OU academics specialising in evolution, ecology and the history of life on Earth.

Through Chris Packham's journey, the series explores the extraordinary story of life on our planet, from humble origins to the complex creatures we see today, shaped in surprising ways by the unstoppable force of evolution.

A free OU poster is available.

The series has good reviews.

#530: Published on this day

In 1859, Charles Darwin's landmark book 'On the Origin of Species' was first published. 

The work is one of the foundations of evolutionary biology, and one of the most important scientific works of the 19th century.

#480: That's gneiss... the oldest rock...

Wikipedia has a useful page on the development of life on the earth and the different eons that the planet has gone through. 

There is plenty of new language and vocabulary for students to potentially engage with here.

Source - CC licensed 3.0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_evolutionary_history_of_life

#429: Alfred Russel Wallace

A piece in The Conversation in January 2025 looked at the work of Alfred Russel Wallace - someone who one would expect the GCSE Natural History - if it occurs - might 

#418: The Cambrian Explosion

The Cambrian Explosion is the name given to an important period in the development of life on Earth. 

Around 530 million years ago, a wide variety of animals burst onto the evolutionary scene in an event known as the Cambrian explosion. 

In perhaps as few as 10 million years, marine animals evolved most of the basic body forms that we observe in modern groups. This added massively to the biodiversity of the world.

The Oxford Museum of Natural History has a display on this period.

There is some debate of course about whether it actually happened as many think. Nobody was around to see it of course, and the fossil record is sometimes open to debate.

One of the most important sites is the Burgess Shale, where much of this activity can be traced. This was mentioned in books by Richard Fortey.

Image copyright: Brittanica

Publisher
Encyclopædia Britannica
URL
https://www.britannica.com/science/Cambrian-explosion#/media/1/90620/124131
Access Date
October 21, 2024

#185: Origin of Species

Today marks the anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species' (shortened version of full title). Cambridge University Library has a large archive of Darwin's papers.

This can be viewed via this link.

There are links from here through to Darwin's correspondence.

#8: Alfred Russel Wallace - born 200 years ago today

It is likely that the new qualification will reference particular people who are significant in the field of Natural History... these could be biologists or from related sciences. It remains to be seen which people are referenced in the final draft specification and what students might be expected to know about them and their work. One imagines that Alfred Russel Wallace may get a mention.

"...there is no more admirable character in the history of science." 

Sir David Attenborough, 2013

2023 is the bicentenary of the birth of Alfred Russel Wallace.

He was born 200 years ago today.

He is described as a naturalist, explorer, geographer and anthropologist, but also drew maps and carried out biological investigations and species gathering on a range of expeditions. He was also an ornithologist.

He developed similar ideas to those of Charles Darwin at the same time in the area of evolution (known back then as transmutation).

The main website linked to above provides a wealth of information on him.

He was especially known for his studies of its zoogeography, including his discovery and description of the faunal discontinuity that now bears his name. The "Wallace Line," extends between the islands of Bali and Lombok and Borneo and Sulawesi, and marks the limits of eastern extent of many Asian animal species and, conversely, the limits of western extent of many Australasian animals.

He received the RGS-IBG's Founder's Medal.

The theory of evolution by natural selection was first proposed by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the scientific paper below (the part Wallace authored is known as his 'Ternate Essay'). It is probably the most important scientific paper in the history of biology and it was read at a meeting of the Linnean Society of London on July 1st 1858, before being published on the 20th August of that year in the Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society: Zoology.

Source: https://wallacefund.myspecies.info/content/1858-darwin-wallace-paper