...and quite frankly I am pretty pissed off that his lectures have been cancelled. James Watson, Nobel Prize winner and cofounder of the structure of DNA told the Times of London that "there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically." So guess what? Most venues hosting Watson have decided to cancel his forthcoming public engagement talks.

Cloning is not a human invention; nature has been creating clones for millions of years, among all organisms including humans. Nature’s clones, identical twins, are born in approximately 1 / 1000 births. Identical twins come in two varieties: identical and mirror images. Both share 100% of their DNA and but in mirror image twins, small differences are ‘reflected’. Examples include skin variations such moles, dental patterns, hairlines and handedness.

As I’m having a baby my mind has recently been turned to thoughts of the very weird and wonderful world of developmental biology. As a new parent tracks the progress of their child, you can’t help wonder about some of the really bizarre stages it goes through.

American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope, died on 12 Apr 1897. Cope is best remembered for his rivalry with O.C. Marsh, often referred to as the Great Bone Wars. These two antagonists shared a lot in common: a fierce sense of competition, unbounded arrogance and a deep driving force that led them to unbelievable lengths to outdo each other. Cope led many great expeditions into the American West and was prolific in the naming of dinosaur species. Cope was also an ichthyologist, an evolutionist, and a founder of the Neo-Lamarckian school of thought.

But enough of the boring stuff, here's a story that really reveals the character of good old EDC:

In response to inquiries after a previous blog entry, Macrocosmos and Microcosmos, this article discusses white tiger breeding and their conservational value.

A recent issue of Nature celebrated Linnaeus’ 300^th birthday with a series of editorials, essays and features on the continuing work of taxonomists. One of the more provocative articles discusses the definition of species, including the status of the beloved polar bear, Ursus maritimus.

Ancient footprints have provided compelling evidence that some dinosaurs were able to swim. The 15m (50ft) trackway was discovered in the Cameros Basin in Spain, which, 125 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous was a vast lake.

I took a long weekend so I guess this story is a few days old but I had to relay it because it is so funny! Thanks to Hank Campbell who organizes Scientific Blogging for sending it along.

The Creation Museum of Petersburg, Kansas has been wrought with criticism since before it even opened, but most recently, they have been embroiled in a ‘moral scandal’ by an employee hired to tell the story of the fall of man.

Too many weird stories to blog about today so here are some links:

Poland inquiry to probe 'gay' teletubbies
Poland's conservative government sees the teletubbies as homosexual propaganda on the small screen, and is taking aim at Tinky Winky and his friends. Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told a local magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBC children's show promoted homosexuality.

Thanks to Janine for pointing out this story of a python which burst open after gobbling up a Florida gator. The strange scene was found by park rangers in the Everglades National Park. The Burmese python is likely an escaped pet or perhaps a descendant of one. In recent years many guilt-ridden owners release their exotic pets into the hot and wet swampy environment because they are no longer able to take care of them and do not want them put down.