7
votes
Accepted
On the history of algae classification
The timeline of the classification is outlined by Boll in A Brief History of the Kingdoms of Life. In brief, Haeckel proposed a third kingdom (Protista) for unicellular organisms in 1866, Chatton ...
- 80k
7
votes
Accepted
Who first suggested that "junk" DNA may perform epigenetic functions?
This is a great question as it touches on the history-in-the-making, a revolution in molecular biology taking place in our lifetime. In the last two decades the "central dogma" of molecular ...
- 80k
6
votes
Accepted
How important was the prediction of Neptune in 1846 for the Oxford evolution debate?
First, the prediction of Neptune was a big win for science in the eyes of the general public. It was not exactly spotless though, especially in the eyes of the scientists. Here is from Kelley's How ...
- 80k
6
votes
Accepted
Did Darwin say that the human menstrual cycle length was influenced by the tides?
Yes. The menstrual cycle is surely one of the "some of our functions" that Darwin speaks of in this passage from Chapter VI of The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex:
The ...
- 1,506
6
votes
Popper on Marx, Freud and Darwin
Popper's main idea about the demarcation problem : pseudo-science is untestable, is a marvel of simplicity :
On this criterion of demarcation physics, chemistry, and (non-introspective) psychology, ...
- 15.2k
5
votes
Accepted
How was Mendel's work rediscovered after being forgotten for 45 years?
The story is told in the Wikipedia article.
Mendel's work was not "forgotten" but rather "ignored" because it did not fit in the mainstream science of that time. But some people go ...
- 51.1k
5
votes
Accepted
Did Einstein oppose evolution?
First of all, I did not study in any detail what Einstein's views on evolution were; the following is just a trivial observation:
Our sun is constantly pumping energy into the ecosystem of the Earth. ...
- 1,755
4
votes
Accepted
Theories on the beginning of photosynthesis, prior to Lynn Margulis work on symbiogenesis
The question implicitly assumes that other theoretical explanations had been offered before the theory of symbiogenesis. I believe the truth is that up to a certain point around the later 60s, those ...
- 5,125
2
votes
When and why was the symbol $w$ introduced for biological fitness?
It seems to be a game of broken telephone with Boltzmann's formula for the entropy at the beginning, and Fisher's Genetical Theory of Natural Selection (1930) in the middle. Fisher's statistical ...
- 80k
2
votes
How important was the prediction of Neptune in 1846 for the Oxford evolution debate?
Discovery of Neptune was indeed a significant step which increased the prestige of science but it was only one of a long chain of such events starting in 17th century. Let me give a short sample: ...
- 51.1k
2
votes
How did 19th century scientists estimate the age of the Earth
In 1862, the physicist Kelvin published calculations that fixed the age of Earth at between 20 million and 400 million years.[18][19]
He assumed that Earth had formed as a completely molten object, ...
- 323
1
vote
What was considered Evolutionary Science or Biology proper in 1880-1890 in the US?
I encountered an insightful article that may address the origins of Veblen's work. Here is an excerpt:
A number of economists and other social scientists have addressed evolutionary explanations. ...
1
vote
Who first developed the idea of conservation of information in physics?
Conservation of information is a term with a short history.
This is more or less true and it's good to see that someone has actually come out and said this given the hype surrounding 'information' ...
- 3,760
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible