After a break (thanks to a surge of activity at work and home), SOS is back -- this episode, with a two-threaded take on recent events on the red planet. Tune in to hear both the human and geological history of water on Mars, and a bit of background on the argument you'll hear running in the background in related press releases.

In episode 18, I talked about the development of evolutionary theory leading up to Darwin and his contemporaries. Now it's time to turn to the man himself -- so with the background... well... in the background, I'll talk about what Darwin did and didn't do. I'll also talk about a number of cases in which people in subsequent centuries have (and continue to) wrap various other theories in Darwin's name -- in attempts to either win their theories some respect, or to smear Darwin and his work.

Today, the 12th of February, 2008, is the 199th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. Since this has been dubbed "Darwin Day," and all sorts of events are planned for the upcoming year commemorating Darwin's turning the "big 200" (as well as the 150th anniversary of the publication of his "Origin of Species") in 2009, I thought it'd be a good time to discuss how evolutionary theory became what it is today, and what Darwin's unique contributions to the theory really were. In part one, we'll talk about the development of evolutionary theory leading up to Darwin and his contemporaries.

While sorting through pictures for some "Scientific tourist" blog posts, it occurred to me that two of them together told an interesting tale. Listen in on this episode, and find out how two craters -- one in Arizona and one in Bavaria -- helped a man named Eugene Shoemaker reshape how geology is conducted, and invent the field of planetary geology as a scientific discipline.

Between discussions of global climate change, and the ever-rising cost of energy, people are taking a hard look at the costs of lighting. Listen in to this episode, and I'll attempt to (ahem...) enlighten you on the history and potential future of this technology.

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