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Menu. Main navigation. Work. For Kids. This section is for kids. Charles Darwin was a brilliant naturalist who changed the way people think about life on earth. One reason why he was able to do this was because he was always passionate about science

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin & The Worms. Darwin died in the spring of 1882. His last major published work was on the earthworm: The Formation of Vegetable Mould, Through the Action of Worms went on sale in 1881. Somewhat surprisingly it was a big

Menu. Main navigation. Life. Work. In this section you'll find articles about Darwin's life. Darwin had an amazing life! He spent his youth and university years making the most of life - eating, drinking and having fun. Yet out of this emerged a

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Case Studies. Here you can read some case studies about various aspects of evolutionary biology. These incorporate evidence from the fossil record, the DNA record and observations from populations of animals carefully

Menu. Main navigation. Evolutionary. Astrophysics? If you had to choose one subject left untouched by the impact of Darwin’s ideas, you might think a safe bet is physics. It’s difficult to see how unravelling the mechanism for the diversity and

Thanks to this Darwin’s name was already known on his return and so he could begin editing his notes and diaries for publication, and digesting the lessons he had learned

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Applications. What use is evolution? Many people spend their whole lives carrying out research on evolutionary biology. Governments give scientists millions of pounds to do this research. Why? Apart from the obvious

Menu. Main navigation. Welcome! Welcome to the Charles Darwin & Evolution website. This website celebrates the life, work and impact of Charles Darwin. There are lots of articles about who Darwin was, what he did and why he matters. You can also

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Evolution. Human Evolution. Please see the corresponding article in the Works section. 2015 Christ's College, Cambridge. Primate 6 Faces by Stephen D. Nash/Conservation International. 1997. Used with permission. 2024.

Menu. Main navigation. Eugenics. What does your ideal partner look like? Now what about their mind? To many of us the idea of someone who looks like they could belong on America’s next top model with a stellar IQ and a quick sense of humour is

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin's Impact On Psychology. In On the Origin of Species Darwin wrote:. ‘In the distant future I see open fields for more important researches. Psychology will be based on a new foundation, that of the necessary

plants: ‘may not those naturalists… learn a lesson of caution when they deride the idea of species in a state of nature being lineal descendents of other species?’.

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin & Botany. Many people know about Gregor Mendel and his work on peas which laid the foundation for modern genetics, but the public does not often associate Darwin with botany. They should: he published numerous articles

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin & Zoology. Humans are animals. Many people most readily associate Darwin’s evolutionary ideas with other animals: monkeys, birds, whales etc. But neither Darwin’s theoretical work nor his practical studies were

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. Science works by continually testing and revising its theories. Darwin's theories on how evolution works have been no exception. 150 years worth of research has shown that Darwin was right, but have also

Menu. Main navigation. Work. For Teachers. Class Trips In Cambridge. Sometimes getting out of the classroom and teaching in a different setting can be great for both students and teachers. Cambridge has a lot of places ideal for educational school

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. Mendel's Genetics. The work of Gregor Mendel laid the foundations for genetics. Initially his work went unnoticed and when it was finally recognised his findings were seen as being an alternative to

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. The DNA Age. Darwin's theories depended on there being a way for offspring to inherit their parents' characteristics. For example, if a particular giraffe has a longer neck than average, allowing it to

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin's Impact On Biology. ‘Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution’ – Theodosius Dobzhansky (1973). These words are as true today as they were at the time they were written. Evolution has

Menu. Main navigation. Life. Work. How Henslow inspired Darwin. Darwin’s time spent at Christ’s was a period of great intellectual growth in his life, and it is here that some of the major ideas that culminated in his evolutionary theories were

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Applications. The Descent Of The Man-Made. Darwin developed his theories to explain the biological world. Now they are being put to work in a completely different field – evolutionary electronics, which may produce a

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Darwin & Cambridge Today. Darwin & Christ's College. ‘upon the whole, the three years I spent at Cambridge were the most joyful of my happy life’. Darwin’s time at Christ’s College was very important for him.

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin & The Descent Of Man. Charles Darwin’s theories of natural and sexual selection apply to humans as they do to any other species. Recent editions of his most famous book, On The Origin of Species, often feature a

Menu. Main navigation. Work. For Kids. Activities & Books For Kids. There are many good children's books and other materials about Darwin's life and evolution. Below is a non-exhaustive list. The Amazing Voyage of Charles Darwin. by Anna Nilsen,

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Applications. Evolution And Fish Stocks. Fish and shellfish have long been a vital food source for humans. Historically, fish stocks seemed so plentiful that many thought there were such huge amounts of fish in the sea

Menu. Main navigation. Life. Work. All Aboard The Beagle! Darwin’s voyage on the Beagle was a key turning point in his life, as he acknowledges in his Autobiography:. ’The yoyage of the Beagle has been by far the most important event in my life,

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Darwin & Cambridge Today. Darwin's time in Cambridge was very important for him. It was here that he met Henslow and Sedgwick, two great scientists, who saw the potential in the young beetle collector and encouraged him

The gardens also boast nine national collections. Amongst the tree collections are different varieties of Pinus nigra which Henslow collected to demonstrate variability within species, a lesson which he taught to

Menu. Main navigation. From Wilberforce To Dawkins: Evolution & Religion. The publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and later of The descent of Mantriggered fierce debates and raised many questions about life and its origins. This led

Menu. Main navigation. Life. Work. Galapagos. The Galapagos holds a special place in the history of evolution, but the story of how the island’s wildlife influenced Darwin’s thought is often misconstrued. Many people imagine the young Charles

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. The Fossil Record - The Prodigal Son Returns. Darwin seemingly had little faith in the fossil record as a source of evidence for his theory; it was just too incomplete:. ‘I look at the natural

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Evolution. How Did The Victorian World Respond To Darwin? When Darwin first wrote to his friend and confidant Joseph Hooker detailing what he modestly called his ‘presumptuous’ and ‘foolish’ work on evolution and

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Darwin & Cambridge Today. Young Man! The most common image of Darwin is as an old man with a bushy beard, a bald head, and usually a bit of sour expression on his face. This is a great shame as such images fail to get

Menu. Main navigation. Work. For Kids. What Is Evolution? Evolution is the slow process that changes animals and plants and it’s a great piece of science! It describes loads of things in nature like fossils, peacocks' tails, lions’ teeth,

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Evolution. Natural Selection. Natural selection is Darwin’s most famous theory; it states that evolutionary change comes through the production of variation in each generation and differential survival of individuals

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Case Studies. Symbiosis: No Man Is An Island. John Donne once wrote that no man is an island. Biology can go one better and can assert that no organism is an island either! Clearly no organism exists wholly by itself in

Menu. Main navigation. Life. Work. Darwin's Childhood. Born on 12th February 1809 into a wealthy family, Charles Robert Darwin had a pretty ordinary childhood. He didn’t enjoy or do well at school but he had, from an early age, a passion for

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin The Philosopher. Darwin is remembered for his brilliant science: in many ways though he was equally gifted in philosophy. He himself made many fundamental changes to the way we approach philosophy, and his work has

Menu. Main navigation. Darwin, Literature & Language. Darwin’s work quickly captured the minds of many writers. More recently, evolutionary ideas have been used to explore how texts and even languages change over time. Darwin’s work captivated

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Applications. Evolving Drug Design. Humans are the product of evolution. Many of the diseases we have to put up with are also either the product, or by-product of evolution. Can we turn this on its head and use

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. Weismann & Inheritance. Darwin’s theory of natural selection is critical for the modern study of evolution. However, as important as its central idea is, The Origin of Species is not the 'bible' of

Menu. Main navigation. Barnacles. Darwin was to spend eight hard years on barnacles, toiling away dissecting these tiny creatures under the microscope. The result was a 4 volume monograph on the Cirrepedia, living and extinct – the authoritative

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Case Studies. Flowers. When Darwin first proposed his theory of evolution by natural selection many people collected orchids. Their complicated and delicate flowers were held up by some as an example of nature’s beauty

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Case Studies. Trilobites. This case study focuses on a group of extinct early arthropods called trilobites. Trilobites were a hugely successful group and they are the most diverse group recorded in the fossil record, but

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Evolution. Variation. Understanding how individuals of the same species vary was key to Darwin developing his theory. He had begun noticing variability of individuals during the Beagle Voyage, but it was through his

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Evolution. Sexual Selection. In order to leave an evolutionary legacy survival is not enough. Individuals must also reproduce. Over 90% of species reproduce sexually, meaning two individuals from each sex must mate in

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. Life's Orgins. ‘Probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some primordial form, into which life was first breathed’. This is all Darwin says in The

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Updating Darwin. The Eclipse Of Darwin. Like many revolutionary scientific theories, Darwin's ideas were not accepted immediately. His theory suggested that the origins of life are both cruel and blind - relying on death

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Evolution. Speciation: The Origin Of Species. Darwin’s great book is titled On the Origin of Species, but some have said this is misleading. Darwin discusses evolution, common descent and natural selection at great

Menu. Main navigation. Work. Case Studies. Hox Genes & Animal Body Plans. Animals have very different body plans. Compare, for example, a centipede to a bird, or a mouse to a fly, and it’s easy to see the differences. How has evolution produced