Category Archives: Biology

De Loys’ Ape

Posted on October 8, 2012 by

Louis François Fernand Hector de Loys, (1892-1935) was a Swiss geologist and pioneer of oil field prospection in Europe, Africa and America. Unfortunately de Loys is today less known for his geological work than for a story involving a strange … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Evolution, Geology | Leave a comment

The Earth-like Mars

Posted on August 14, 2012 by

Mars – a distant, extraterrestrial world, but it shares some surprising similarities with Earth. The rotation period is almost the same with 24 hours, 39 minutes and 21,67 seconds (as measured by astronomer William Herschel in 1777-1783), the planet possess … Continue reading →

Posted in astronomy, Biology, Geology, Science | Leave a comment

Saints and Demons

Posted on August 1, 2012 by

There is an unfortunate habit amongst those who subscribe to a Whig interpretation of the history of science, which sadly seems to include most working scientists and especially those of a gnu atheist persuasion, of dividing historical figures into two … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, History | Leave a comment

Inside a Herbarium (finding history amongst the science)

Posted on April 6, 2012 by

This week I had the pleasure of seeing inside the Herbarium at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. I have, very often and from earliest childhood, enjoyed walking in the gardens and hothouses, but this was the first time I … Continue reading →

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Frauds, Fakes and Fossils

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Almost every student of earth sciences knows the hoax perpetuated on poor Dr. Johann Bartholomäus Adam Beringer (1667-1738), often told in textbooks as warning of blind faith and argument from authority in science. However careful study of the still existing “lying … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Biology, Geology, History, Philosophy, Religion, Science | Leave a comment

Monday blast from the past #11 (on a Tuesday)

Posted on January 17, 2012 by

Who was John Ray?

Posted in Biology, Biology, History, Philosophy | Leave a comment

On the Track of Ichnology

Posted on October 20, 2011 by

“We can do nothing . . . that does not leave its impress behind, for good or for evil, for a blessing or a curse,..[] Our footprints are left in whatever we do. . . . The traces of our … Continue reading →

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[Review] The Genius of Erasmus Darwin

Posted on July 14, 2011 by

C.U.M. Smith & Robert Arnott, eds. The Genius of Erasmus Darwin , Burlington VT: Ashgate, 2005, xvii + 416 pp., illus, $130. As we approach [This review appeared in Journal of the History of Biology 41(4): 766 – 768 in 2008] the bicentennial of … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Book Reviews, History | 1 Comment

[Review] Richard Owen. Biology Without Darwin.

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

Nicolass Rupke. Richard Owen: Biology without Darwin. xxiv + 344pp., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009. $29.00, (paper). The Natural History Museum in London recently unveiled its Darwin Center, the most significant expansion of the Museum since it opened at its present site in … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Book Reviews, History, Institutions, Museums, Religion | Leave a comment

Putting the lead in your pencil

Posted on March 28, 2011 by

Anyone who has regularly reads this blog (does anybody regularly read this blog?) will perhaps be aware of the fact that I have a soft spot for polymaths. There is an expression in German “Fachidiot”, which translates as “discipline idiot” … Continue reading →

Posted in Biology, Geology, History | Leave a comment