Prevention of Pressure Sores

Since the late 18th century, scientists in Europe had noticed a distinct progression of animal forms in the fossil record, indicating that somehow certain species evolved from others. While he did not 'discover' or 'invent' the idea of evolution, Charles Darwin famously posited the theory of natural selection as the engine of evolutionary change, and this remains the best fit for the facts available to us today. Before this, however, the arguments within the scientific community about evolution were every bit as passionately disputed as those between the scientific community and the diametrically opposed established churches. Two of the most plausible ideas of the time were Richard Owen's theory of archetypes, where certain pre-ordained body plans were altered by Divine will to create new species; and Thomas Henry Huxley's agnostic view that all creatures must have co-existed for all time, and that the fossil record was incomplete, giving a false view of progression (a theory he was later to abandon). It isn't too difficult to understand why fossil evidence of transitional forms was eagerly sought by proponents of both arguments in order either to reinforce or refute one or other view. And, conveniently, in 1861, a transitional form turned up in the limestone quarries of Solnhofn in Germany, a fossil with both bird-like and reptilian features: Archaeopteryx. Here Paul Chambers tells the story of this remarkable and opportune find, and of the consequent argument over transitional forms that continues to rage today. From Owen and Huxley's dispute to the 'is it a bird-like reptile or a reptile-like bird' argument; from those who believe dinosaurs evolved into birds to those who strenuously disagree (it's all about the collarbone), opinion on these rarest of fossil animals has always been split. Then there are those who believe the whole thing to be a fake - Victorian fundamentalists and contemporary creationists who offer no argument apart from 'it's not in the Bible so it cannot be' and, somewhat surprisingly, respected grandee scientists whose slightly wacky theories of the origin of life don't allow for the existence of a transitional form. To bring the story up to date, Chambers documents the flock of new transitional reptile/birds coming out of China today - including another famous, and this time irrefutable, fake. While Chambers hasn't the slickness of a Dawkins or a Gould, he does well to avoid the partiality of most pop science. He limits himself to telling the story he has set out to tell and does so with precision, and the narrative bounces along in a readable style, with enough substance for the dedicated follower of popular science but enough clarity for the more occasional dipper. (Kirkus UK)