The New York Academy of Sciences Celebrates the Year of Charles Darwin, 2009

In 1859 Charles Darwin, one of the Academy's most famous members, revolutionized science by publishing On the Origin of Species. Today, the New York Academy of Sciences follows in his footsteps, convening meetings with prominent researchers to examine the most exciting developments on the cutting edge of science and publishing important work in new cross-disciplinary fields by some of today's sharpest minds. Join us this year as we celebrate the Year of Darwin by not only looking back at past contributions to evolutionary science, but also looking forward to the new frontiers of science.

Looking Back

Over the course of the year we will be featuring historic Annals publications, as well as articles from the Academy's magazine, on evolution. This month's features are two papers by Charles Finney Cox, former Academy President (1908-1909):

"Charles Darwin And The Mutation Theory"

Cox's Presidential address, read at the annual meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences, 21 December, 1908

"The Founder Of The Evolution Theory"

A profile of Charles Darwin and the impact of his work from the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 19. March 1909

Selected eBriefings

eBriefings are online multimedia meeting reports that summarize research discussed at our scientific meetings and selected partner events. In addition to meeting summaries, each eBriefings features a variety of content such as audio slideshows, video interviews, photos and figures, as well as links to related resources including Web sites, reference information for scientific literature, and speaker biographies.

Evolution, Health & Disease:
Darwinian Approaches to Medicine

Evolutionary medicine can provide a long-term perspective on why diseases exist, and offers fundamental insights that can help to treat them.

Convergent Revolution:
Evolutionary Systems Biology

Considered in tandem, evolutionary biology and systems biology could explain how evolution shapes molecular networks, or how those networks give rise to phenotypic fitness.

Teaching Evolution and the Nature of Science

Calls to "teach the controversy" surrounding intelligent design have made battlegrounds of science classrooms across the country. This eBriefing offers teachers, parents, and education policy-makers scientific knowledge and practical tools to respond to the challenge.

A Labyrinth to the Past: What Made Us Human?

Recent additions to the fossil record are helping to identify the crucial biological and cultural developments that led to the rise of Homo sapiens.

Pseudogenes: Fishing for Clues to Genomic History

Computational approaches are showing that some apparently nonfunctioning regions of DNA are not just preserved artifacts of evolution, but might also perform important roles.

Evolution and Robustness

How do the complex networks of gene regulation, cellular signaling, and cellular metabolism remain stable in the face of constant perturbations?

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