Teaching Theories on Origins Without Controversy

Thirty years of intensive efforts by creationists have produced little substantiate prog ress in bringing about open academic inquiry in the teaching of origins theories in public schools because the opposition has convinced the courts that this would violate the First Amendment. The author has developed a secular approach to origins teaching that avoids all possible objections on constitutional grounds. It informs students about the true nature of the relevant scientific data which reveal great difficulties with evolution theory and show that all basic types of life first appeared abruptly on Earth

Teaching Theories on Origins: An Approach That Works

An effective approach to teaching about theories on origins defines the two general concepts, gives the requirements of a scientific theory, and examines the direct scientific evidence found in the fossil record to see if it supports common ancestry of all life or the sudden appearance of complete organisms. No legal objection on constitutional grounds is possible since religious doctrine is not promoted or even discussed

The polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor increases mercury lability and methylation in intertidal mudflats

The polychaete worm Nereis diversicolor engineers its environment by creating oxygenated burrows in anoxic intertidal sediments. The authors carried out a laboratory microcosm experiment to test the impact of polychaete burrowing and feeding activity on the lability and methylation of mercury in sediments from the Bay of Fundy, Canada. The concentration of labile inorganic mercury and methylmercury in burrow walls was elevated compared to worm-free sediments. Mucus secretions and organic detritus in worm burrows increased labile mercury concentrations. Worms decreased sulfide concentrations, which increased Hg bioavailability to sulfate-reducing bacteria and increased methylmercury concentrations in burrow linings. Because the walls of polychaete burrows have a greater interaction with organisms, and the overlying water, the concentrations of mercury and methylmercury they contain is more toxicologically relevant to the base of a coastal food web than bulk samples. The authors recommend that researchers examining Hg in marine environments account for sediment dwelling invertebrate activity to more fully assess mercury bioavailability