Stanford Report, June 7, 2006

You say you want some evolution?

Summer 2006 issue of Stanford Medicine

When asked if he thinks the United States is moving closer toward theocracy, former President Jimmy Carter responded, "I don't think there's any doubt about it."

Carter elaborates on what he perceives as the threat Christian fundamentalism poses for American values and institutions—in particular, quality science education—in the summer issue of Stanford Medicine, a special report on evolution and medicine.

The evolution debate arguably constitutes the biggest cultural chasm in the United States today. Walk onto nearly any university campus and you'll find evolution accepted as the undisputed premise of biological science. Strike up conversations about evolution most anywhere else and you'll get the message that it's just another theory—no better than creationism.

Many scientists and medical leaders say to just leave this divide as a debate between two valid views of the world and get on with your research. But the latest issue of Stanford Medicine shows that such an approach comes at a heavy cost, and that scientists are starting to realize that they must become politically involved. Indeed, a growing awareness of the erosion in the separation between church and state has galvanized some scientists to act.

The issue examines this challenge to science with such stories as:

  • A Q&A with former President Jimmy Carter on America's move toward theocracy
  • A report on scientists' efforts to turn back the anti-evolution tide, with a timeline plotting the ongoing battle between science and creationism
  • A one-page primer providing "evolution in a nutshell"
  • A feature on developmental biology professor David Kingsley, PhD, and his discoveries about stickleback fish that blow anti-evolutionists' arguments out of the water
  • A sermon by dean of religious life the Rev. William L. "Scotty" McLennan explaining why teaching "Intelligent Design" is sacrilegious
  • A perspective from neurobiology professor William Newsome, PhD, on life at Stanford as a serious Christian and a scientist
  • An article on the curious absence of evolution from all medical school curricula
  • A peek at the human genome of the future. Are we still evolving?

    • Look for copies of the magazines in departmental offices and also online at http://mednews.stanford.edu. To request a copy, call 723-6911.