Categorizations of the interface of evolution and religion

This piece responds to the article by Arif Rachmatullah, Soonhye Park, and Minsu Ha “Crossing borders between science and religion: Muslim Indonesian biology teachers\u27 perceptions of teaching the theory of evolution,” in which the authors are among the first researchers to explore the views of Indonesian science teachers regarding evolution instruction. This new context is important for furthering a global perspective on evolution education. However, the authors use preexisting taxonomies for their analyses that were developed in studies executed in mostly Christian contexts. In this response, we argue that investigations into new geographical and religious milieus, such as the teachers in the study by Rachmatullah and colleagues, could instead be used to develop more attuned categorizations for the burgeoning research area of the interaction of Islam, Judaism, and other traditions with evolution. We reflect upon experiences from our own work in studying Jewish and Muslim views of evolution, as well as on alternative taxonomies developed regarding Islam and evolution; we close with a brief rationale for a current initiative to create a researchers’ network for those who study the interface of science, religion, and society in the Middle East and North Africa

Replication studies in the Netherlands:Lessons learned and recommendations for funders, publishers and editors, and universities

Drawing on our experiences conducting replications we describe the lessons we learned about replication studies and formulate recommendations for researchers, policy makers, and funders about the role of replication in science and how it should be supported and funded. We first identify a variety of benefits of doing replication studies. Next, we argue that it is often necessary to improve aspects of the original study, even if that means deviating from the original protocol. Thirdly, we argue that replication studies highlight the importance of and need for more transparency of the research process, but also make clear how difficult that is. Fourthly, we underline that it is worth trying out replication in the humanities. We finish by formulating recommendations regarding reproduction and replication research, aimed specifically at funders, editors and publishers, and universities and other research institutes

Gain of MYC underlies recurrent trisomy of the MYC chromosome in acute promyelocytic leukemia

The leukemogenic effects of Myc drive recurrent trisomy in a mouse model of acute myeloid leukemia

Jeremy Brown. New Heavens and a New Earth: The Jewish Reception of Copernican Thought

No abstract is available

Scientific and Religious Perspectives on Evolution: an Approach Based on Pedagogy of Difference

Presentation given at The 13th Conference of the European Science Education Research Association. There is a long history of some students finding that the science instruction they receive in schools fails to address their deeply held concerns about the theory of evolution. New instructional strategies are emerging, aimed at reducing the tensions that may exist between evolution and religion by making space for students to examine their own views and recognize the spectrum of views that exists between atheistic evolution and special creation, as well as the bounded nature of science and different ways of knowing. In this study, we test the potential for an approach based on ‘pedagogy of difference’ to enhance students’ development of epistemic insight through recognition of the multiple perspectives that exist concerning the relationship between religion and science in the context of evolution. In doing so, we identified several alternative conceptions of science that arose in students’ shared perceptions of two accounts of the origin of species–one religious and one scientific. We discuss the findings implications for implementation of the epistemic insight exercise in classroom settings, which should aid students’ situating of science as a resource for making decisions about issues with scientific and societal aspects where the acknowledgement of multiple perspectives is valuable

Scientific and Religious Perspectives on Evolution in the Curriculum: An Approach Based on Pedagogy of Difference

There is a long history of some students finding that the science instruction they receive in schools fails to address their deeply held concerns about the theory of evolution. Such concerns are principally religious, though there are also students with deeply held religious views who are perfectly comfortable with the theory of evolution. New instructional strategies are emerging, aimed at reducing the tensions that may exist between evolution and religion by making space for students to examine their own views and recognize the spectrum of views that exists between atheistic evolution and special creation, as well as the bounded nature of science and different ways of knowing. In this article, we discuss the teaching of evolution in societies where acceptance of the theory of evolution is far from universal, and argue that an approach based on pedagogy of difference has considerable potential to enhance students’ development of epistemic insight through recognition of the multiple perspectives that exist concerning the relationship between religion and science. In doing so, we explicate precisely what pedagogy of difference entails and introduce an approach that should enhance evolution education, and even aid students’ situating of science as a resource for making decisions about issues with scientific and societal aspects where the acknowledgement of multiple perspectives is valuable