Presented by Stephanie Norris and Shannon O’Connor

 “Congress shall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise of thereof.”  Different interpretations “Free exercise” argument “Establishment” argument

 1920s: Teaching evolution was banned in schools  1925: Scopes trial  1968: Ban against teaching evolution was ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court  1970s: Fundamentalist Christians sought again to require the teaching of creation science, but ultimately ruled it to be a religious account of nature and not scientific

 1923 Frye v. United States “General acceptance within scientific community as prerequisite for admitting scientific evidence in court”  1975 The Federal Rules of Evidence Expert witness may testify in the form of an opinion Assign trial judge the task of ensuring that an expert’s testimony both rests on reliable foundation and is relevant to the task at hand.

 1993 Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals Daubert rejects any formal checklist  Currently, judges are in charge of what is admissible in their court. Results in a variety of contradictory decisions

 1)Forensics Due to variation in an individual’s genome DNA can be used at crime scenes to identify individuals present Example: Rape cases, jogger in Central Park, and OJ Simpson Trial

 2)Phylogeny Due to the ability to trace ancestry of a species, allows for the determination of the source of an infectious agents Example: Doctor who infected his mistress

 3)Evolutionary Variation Knowledge of variation across an organism's life history can be used as evidence Feeding cycles differ greatly across insects.  This knowledge can allow for the determination of the amount of time that has past. Example: Missing girl’s time of death

 Evolution has been attacked in the courts but, as Mindell has shown, it is now beginning to be used as scientific evidence in some trials. What might this shift indicate about public perceptions and misperceptions about the evolutionary science?

 Evolutionary biology serves as a unifying concept for the life sciences  Comprehensive biological understanding  Application of evolution in education and research

 Evolution of mitochondria and chloroplasts in eukaryotes  Phylogenetic analyses of homologous genes  Eukaryotic genomes

 Benefits of sexual reproduction  Segregation and recombination yields variation  Spreads advantageous traits and removes deleterious ones through natural selection

 Using the process of evolutionary biology in solving real world problems  Engineering, industry, and science  5 step process of applying evolutionary algorithms in everyday life

 How should evolution fit into education curriculum?  Policies for including evolution into public education Scientific American “Down with evolution!”

 The requirement of evolutionary biology is increasing for biology majors in junior and senior years  Reputation for excellence in education of a university  Prepares students for careers in all science based fields

 High school programs have the same goal as universities but different in implantation  Great risk of interference from creationist activists  Creationist activists want to include creationist view in curriculum and textbooks

 Balanced treatment 1982: McLean v. Arkansas Board of Education 1987: Edwards v. Aguillard  Intelligent design 2005: Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District  Teach the controversy about evolution approach  Restrictions on evolution cause widespread concern about quality of science education and preparedness for college

 Mainstream cultures use a scientific worldview  Criterion of accuracy  Many stories covered in media make sense with an evolutionary world view, but would not make sense in a world without evolution

 More people of faith are accepting evolution  Explaining human origins is only one aspect of evolutionary biology.  Applications are underappreciated by public  “Evolution is arguable the most inclusive of the biological sciences”  Evolution has penetrated not only the legal system and classroom but all throughout modern culture

 What are the goals of education in science? How should evolutionary theory fit into these goals in public schools and in undergraduate studies?