Thankful for Darwin

On this 150th anniversary of Charles Darwin's publication of "Origin of Species", I'm thankful for his multi-decade effort to understand one of the greatest questions of human history: where do we come from?

When I asked Stanford biologist Robert Sapolsky which 10 books the general public should read to gain a basic understanding of biology, nine of the books were published in the last 10 years. Only one book he recommended was older than 10 years. You know the book - it's 150 years old today.

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Darwin150 events for the 150th anniversary

We have two final lectures to take place tomorrow, Tuesday, November 23 - the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species."

1. 1pm New York time
You can watch at 1pm ET E.O. Wilson speak via taped comments - through a collaboration we set up wih the British Council. No registration needed but you do need the latest version of Adobe Flash. Go here at 1pm on Tuesday, Nov 24: http://www.open2.net/darwinlecture

2. Free webcast from our partners at the New York Academy of Sciences at 6pm ET Nov 24
Register here: http://www.nyas.org/darwin150 *
* You must register separately for this to get into the New York Academy system.

Our Facebook group has grown to 260,000 members. Join us there and leave your congratulations to Darwin.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=53320310123

Thanks - and, on behalf of everyone at Darwin150 and the Reading Odyssey, congratulations on a successful lecture series, Facebook campaign and online reading group this fall.

Phil
Founder, Reading Odyssey and Darwin150

Sean Carroll lecture *tonight* - still a few spots left

Professor Sean Carroll's third lecture in the Darwin150 campaign still has a few webcast spots left. This will be one of this great scientist's best talks - a multi-media extravaganza supporting his great insights and writings.

It all begins at 8pm New York time (that's 7pm at the University of Wisconsin).

To sign-up for a free webcast pass, click here:

http://DarwinLecture3.Eventbrite.com

With the help of Darwin150 volunteers around the world, we have assembled a global audience from India to Mexico, from Europe to Canada and South America.

Phil

Darwin on Video via Vimeo

Our first two Darwin150 lectures with Professors Everett Mendelsohn and Jonathan Weiner are now available on video via our new Darwin Vimeo Channel.

Visit our new Darwin Vimeo Channel and see the lectures in their entirety!

Don't forget to register for our next free lecture on "The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and the DNA Record of Evolution" with world-renowned scientist, Sean Carroll tomorrow, Wednesday, November 4 at 7pm Central Time (8pmET/5pmPT).

He is the Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Wisconsin, and the author of a number of books for the general reader, including The Making of the Fittest (2006, W.W. Norton) and of Endless Forms Most Beautiful: The New Science of Evo Devo, as well as over 100 scientific papers.

Join us tomorrow live or via Webcast or teleconference for free--register here!

Universities et al participating in Sean Carroll's lecture

The following universities, colleges, high schools and museums have students, faculty, employees remotely watching Sean Carroll's third lecture in the Darwin150 series Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 8pm ET.

To sign-up for the free webcast, click here:
http://DarwinLecture3.Eventbrite.com

American Museum of 
  Natural History
Ashland University, OH
Baylor University
Brandeis University
Botanic Gardens & Parks
  Authority, Western Australia
California Institute of
  Technology
Cal State Univ.,  Northridge
Children’s Hospital Denver
Clarkson University, NY
Clemson University
Collegiate School, NY
Columbia University
DoDDS-Europe
Edgewood College
Ege University, Turkey
Emory University
Evansville Community Schools
Florida Gulf Coast Univ.
Georgia State University
Georgia Tech
Hampshire College
Hardin-Simmons Univ.
Harvard University
Illinois Wesleyan
Indian Inst. Science Ed, India
Indiana University
Kansas Citizens for Science
Kansas State University
Iowa State
LakeHill Prep, TX
Lon Morris College, TX
Marian University, WI
Masconomet Regional
   School District, MA
MIT
McMaster University, CA
Miami University of Ohio
Michigan State
Middlebury College, VT
Mills College
Mississippi School for Math & Science
Ecology Institute at the   
  National Autonomous  
  University of Mexico
National Evolutionary Synthesis Center
New York Hall of Science
Normandale Community Colll, MN
Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy
Penn State University
Purdue University
Princeton University
Rhode Island College
San Jacinto College, TX
Society for Developmental Biology
St. Louis Community College
Saint Louis University
The Salk Institute
San Jacinto College, Texas
Santa Clara University
Texas A&M
The Scripps Research Institute
Towson University, MD
Tufts
Tyler Junior College, TX
UC San Francisco
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
University of Alabama
University of Barcelona, Spain
University of California, Davis
University of Hawaii
University of Maryland
University of North Carolina
University of Hyderabad, India
University of Illinois
Universität Münster, Germany
University of Southern California
University of Toronto
University of York, UK
University of Wisconsin
University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona (Spain)
Wagner Free Institute
Washington University in St. Louis