SMU Faculty Celebrate Darwin: Evolutionary Thinking

Kimmy Ryan
kryan@smu.edu

What do natural selection, snakes with legs, cancer, and acting have in common?

The answer is Darwin. And, they were all topics discussed at the faculty symposium on “The Year of Darwin.”

Approximately 100 professors, students, and members of the Dallas community hurried through the rain and flocked to McCord Auditorium early Saturday morning to listen to four SMU faculty members delve into the depths of Darwin’s ideas and how they affect us today.

While many have probably only heard of paleontology through Ross’s quirky references in “Friends” episodes, it was one of the four main topics of the event. Other topics included the problem of heritability, gene families and effects on modern medicine, and theatre and cognitive neuroscience.

The faculty symposium was one event in a series of events commemorating the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. It is also the 150th anniversary of “On the Origin of Species,” one of Darwin’s major works.

“I really enjoyed it! I’m interested in Darwin’s theory of evolution, so I decided to come and am glad I did,” said Albat Tursun, an SMU graduate student in the Biology Department.
The event lasted for three hours and the audience attentively listened for the entirety of the forum.

“The speakers were interactive and humorous,” said Devon Ryan, a SMU freshman attendee.

During “intermission,” between the first and last two speakers, audience members took a ten minute break to discuss the speakers, ideas, and Darwin.
“That is exactly what the event series is for,” said Larry Ruben, an organizer and moderator of the forum. “To spark discussion.”

The Panel of Professors

Dr. Donald Wetherington, SMU Chair of Anthropology, discussed the variations in genetics and natural selection. Wetherington predominantly spoke of the heritability problem, nature versus nurture.

He discussed how genetic variations are impacted by the environment.

“The interaction [between genetic variation and the environment] is so fluid. It changes constantly,” Wetherington said.

He posed many different angles of the problem and concluded by saying that, “Evolution is not a game for amateurs.”

Louis Jacobs, a prominent professor in the Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, centered his talk on the SMU paleontology program. Jacobs showed how science has progressed and where paleontology is going.

“Darwin has influenced our [SMU’s] research and how research has changed,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs used a highly-technical PowerPoint slideshow to showcase pictures and video of what SMU students have researched across the globe, from Antarctica to Africa.

“Although we are more effective in determining evolution now, the future of paleontology has the same underlying goals: to understand the earth and explore the heavens,” Jacobs said.

John Wise from the Department of Biological Sciences went “Down in the Trenches” to discuss the basics, the molecules and genes that create traits and affect evolution.
Wise focused on the gene families and modern medicine, specifically cancer and chemotherapy.

“Up to 40 percent of cancer chemotherapies fail,” Wise said.

He discussed the uncontrolled growth and cell division that occurs and how chemotherapy is capable of killing almost all of the bad cells, but not all.

“Evolution is so real it can kill you,” Wise said.

On the screen, he listed multiple diseases that have developed through evolution. Wise discussed new theories in how to better treat cancer patients.

One audience member, Lara Guerra, currently in the Master of Liberal Studies program at SMU, found Wise’s talk to be the most interesting. Guerra has a family member battling cancer, so the topic is very close to her heart.

“I thought it was wonderful. The evolution of cancer, especially breast cancer, was fascinating,” Guerra said.

Finally, Rhonda Blair, a theater professor, discussed sciences impact on the actor. Blair uses science to better understand what she does in the studio, rehearsal, and performance.

“The memory used by performers is a focused imagining,” Blair said.

“The conscious and subconscious parts of the brain contribute to ‘being in your body’.”

Blair also discussed the act of memorization and remembering.

“The more you remember something, the further you get from an accurate memory,” said Blair.

“Darwin’s Evolving Legacy” Series

The series of Darwin events will occur all this year through 2010. Pia Vogel, an organizer of the series said this is the first time any event was celebrated university-wide and more than a year-long.

Almost all the events are free and open to the public.

Funding for the events is given by the Provost’s Office, Meadows, the office of the Deans of Dedman College, Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development, Law School, Perkins, Maguire Center, the office of the Dean of Graduate Studies, the Chaplain’s office, and many individual departments and researchers.

For the entire list of events in “The Year of Darwin” series, visit