The Making of the Fittest: The New Science of Evo-Devo
Oct. 10, 7 p.m., Science Museum of Virginia
Sean Carroll
A major contributor and researcher to the understanding of the
conceptual foundations of evolutionary developmental biology
 Scientific exploration and progression change
the way we see and comprehend reality. Astonishing diversity abounds
in the natural world and people have long been interested in
explaining the processes that generated this diversity. We often ask
questions such as "How did the wing of a bird or brain of a human
evolve?" or "How did the snake lose its limbs?" Biologists are now
beginning to answer these questions in exciting and novel ways by
decoding the genetic mechanisms that control the generation of, and
divergences in, the structure of our bodies. This new field of
study, coined Evolutionary Developmental Biology ("Evo-Devo"),
represents a synthesis of many branches of scientific knowledge. At
the forefront of this young science--the modern synthesis of Darwin
and DNA--is molecular biologist Dr. Sean Carroll. Carroll received
his doctorate in immunology from Tufts University School of
Medicine, is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and
a principal investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His
realm of study explores how and when evolutionary changes occur in
animal forms. He will discuss topics such as the genetic toolkit
that is common to all animals on our planet and other recent
advances in Evo-Devo. He is an articulate champion of the importance
of including evolutionary biology in science curricula and has
challenged nonscientific ideas such as intelligent design.
A book signing and reception follows the lecture. Books will be
available for sale at this event.
The Science Museum of Virginia hosts this event
in its Thalhimer Pavilion. The Science Museum is the most visited
museum in the Commonwealth and has a mission to educate all citizens
about science. More: www.smv.org
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