COSMOS magazine


Issue 24

CHARLES DARWIN: EVOLUTION SPECIAL

CHARLES DARWIN: EVOLUTION SPECIALSteve Jones ponders if human have stopped evolving, and we ask was Charles Darwin the genius behind the greatest revolution in science, or did he merely state the obvious? Visit snowball Earth of 800 million years ago, entombed in ice, but the catalyst for complex life. Plus, discover what twins can tell us about our genes, and find out if we're too late to save the Barrier Reef from ocean acidification.

Cosmos Issue 24
FEATURES
HE END OF EVOLUTION

THE END OF EVOLUTION

The forces that drive evolution have largely disappeared in the modern world, says geneticist Steve Jones, who argues that humans are undergoing a 'grand averaging', which is totally new in evolutionary history.

DARWIN'S LONDON

DARWIN'S LONDON

He was a towering figure of science whose ideas changed the world. On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and the 150th of the publication of his On the Origin of Species, Richard Conniff strolls through London recalling those momentous times.

THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION

THE EVIDENCE FOR EVOLUTION

Darwin didn’t invent evolution, but he wrote such a convincing argument that people could no longer ignore the possibility that we evolved. Yet, while most scientists accept the theory, many people would be hard-pressed to explain why. Richard A. Lovett looks at some of the evidence.

SNOWBALL EARTH

SNOWBALL EARTH

About 600 million years ago, a dramatic climate lurch may have left Earth entombed in ice and almost completely devoid of life. But, as Tim Thwaites discovers, this global catastrophe could also have been the catalyst for complex life.

PARADOX OF TWINS

PARADOX OF TWINS

Is it our experiences, or our genes that make us who we are? Tim Dean discovers that science is gaining new, and sometimes unnerving, insights into the nature versus nurture debate from studying identical twins.

SKY DETECTIVES

SKY DETECTIVES

Richard A. Lovett meets the forensic astronomers tracking down clues to historical events embedded in artworks and literature.


REGULAR SECTIONS
PORTRAIT: Caragh Threlfall
Nicknamed ‘batgirl’, this PhD student braves some of the most dilapidated urban spaces in an attempt to save Australia’s bat species.
EXPRESS: NEWS
A round-up of all the latest happenings in science.
MENAGERIE: The paradoxical frog
Named for its bizarre back-to-front development, the tadpole of the paradoxical frog is the longest on the planet.
DIAGNOSIS: Fibrodysplasia ossificans progrssiva
The light bulb has become a symbol of original thought, but the tale behind its invention is a quite different story.
GALLERY: Seeing the invisible
Phred Peterson, a lecturer in scientific photography at RMIT University in Melbourne, took out a Eureka Prize for a picture of shock waves from a small blast. In Peterson’s lab photographers experiment with many types of high-speed photography, and these are the highlights of their work.
TRAVELOGUE: Oceans of acid
As global warming wreaks havoc on coral reefs around the world, evidence is mounting that another problem caused by carbon dioxide is an even bigger threat to sea life. But are we already too late to do anything about it? John Pickrell went to the Coral Sea to find out.
FICTION: The Broken Hourglass
Zane's beloved Emily was nine years dead. Could this strange book help him change that bitter past and build a different future? An original science fiction story by Andy Heizeler.
FICTION: The Noise Machine
The victim bore lifelike tattoos of clawed dragons. With human eyes. Eerie new science fiction by V.G. Kemerer.
REVIEWS
A browse through the latest in science books and DVDs.
OPINION: Why more is less
In the modern Internet age we increasingly seek out ideas that interest us and filter out everything else. As a radio presenter of a science program, Robyn Williams wants to expose his audience to more than dinosaurs, asteroid collisions and the science of Dr Who.