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Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

Evolution a natural story of adventure

Finding the origin of species was near death experience

For early naturalists such as Charles Darwin, cataloging new species wasn't just extraordinary because of its effects on science, but also because of the amazing stories of danger and discovery their travels produced.

Many of those accounts have been overshadowed by the impressive science that lives on. Darwin's theory of evolution that he famously laid out in his 1859 Origin of Species still is a source of controversy.

But how these groundbreaking naturalists gathered their research is as historic as their contributions to modern biology, said Sean B. Carroll, professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

These overlooked stories will be revealed when Carroll lectures Wednesday at Haggin Auditorium at Transylvania University's Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Carroll, a Darwin scholar and author, is Transylvania's fall Kenan Lecture speaker. His 7:30 p.m. speech is free.

"You're going to hear tales of adventure, great voyages and what some early naturalists encountered, in terms of the animals, the fossils they dug up, the hardships they faced and the more dramatic moments in their adventures," Carroll said. "And you'll hear how the creatures they found led them to new ideas about the nature of life and how life changed."

Carroll said he'll focus on the intertwining stories of three 19th century naturalists and field biologists: Darwin, Alfred Russel Wallace and Henry Walter Bates. Wallace and Bates, much more well-known in their time than now, traveled to the Amazon on their initial voyages.

For his speech, Carroll draws from his recent book, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origin of Species. It was recently named one of the five non-fiction finalists for the 2009 National Book Awards.

The book and Carroll's remarks coincide with the bicentennial of Darwin's birth and the 150th anniversary of the Origin of Species. A rare first edition of Darwin's book is housed at Transylvania's library.

Carroll said all three of the explorers he will highlight overcame huge obstacles, had very little training in what they set out to do and faced potentially fatal conditions.

"You wouldn't have bet on any of these three guys to be scientific revolutionaries and immortals in biology," he said. "Actually, you wouldn't have bet on any of those people to survive the trip. These were really hazardous journeys."

And their work is collectively celebrated as the foundation for modern biologists as biology, Carroll said, is enjoying a second "Golden Age."

"It's a Golden Age being enabled by the massive explosion in information that's available about species and how they're made and how they differ and how they change," said Carroll, whose research focuses on genes that play key roles in animals' evolution.

Carroll said his lecture, part of a series funded by the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, is aimed for science buffs or novices of all ages.

"This is meant to be fun," he said. "It's a lecture on science, but it's really meant to be storytelling."