In Turkey, Darwin is being removed from textbooks

Some parts of the world are going backward right now. Where will it leave us?

 Brandon A. Weber
13 September, 2018

Science education is being attacked in several countries at the same time, including right here in the good ol' U. S. of A. 

The latest? The country of Turkey has banned the teaching of evolution and even the mention of natural selection and Charles Darwin from the biology textbooks of secondary school children. The law was passed to make such changes soon after an attempted political coup in 2016. Since that move, the country's government has moved toward a much more authoritarian model—one that regards religious fundamentalism above science and schools. Erdogan's government is also creating a massive refugee crisis as those who do not wish to live under sharia law escape the country, mainly to Greece. 

The move to the hard right has even included armed vehicles entering University property to round people up, the raiding of libraries on campuses, and more. Terrifying times, indeed.

Anti-riot police stand guard in front of a fence set at the entrance to Istiklal Street to prevent Saturday Mothers' gathering, on September 1, 2018 in Istanbul. The Saturday Mothers are a group protesting the "disappearances" of Turkish citizens held in state and paramilitary custody (Photo credit YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images).

This has been accompanied by a sharp rise in the number of religious schools across the country—at least a 10-fold increase since 2002—many of which are located where there simply are no other schools available, so students have no choice. 

In a New Scientist op-ed, journalist Rachel Jolley lays it out quite plainly:

"These trends are part of a shift by the current Turkish government away from the fact-based education and society envisaged and introduced by Turkey’s moderniser and first president Kemal Atatürk in the 1920s and 30s. Index, a global publishing and campaigning organisation on free expression, has also charted the pressures Turkish academics are under in its Turkey Uncensored project."  

Charles Koch Foundation
Charles Koch Foundation

Stand up against religious discrimination – even if it’s not your religion

As religious diversity increases in the United States, we must learn to channel religious identity into interfaith cooperation.

Sponsored by Charles Koch Foundation
  • Religious diversity is the norm in American life, and that diversity is only increasing, says Eboo Patel.
  • Using the most painful moment of his life as a lesson, Eboo Patel explains why it's crucial to be positive and proactive about engaging religious identity towards interfaith cooperation.
  • The opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of the Charles Koch Foundation, which encourages the expression of diverse viewpoints within a culture of civil discourse and mutual respect.
Keep reading Show less
religion diversity united states buddhism christianity islam self identity collaboration community

Moon landing astronauts reveal they possibly infected Earth with space germs

Two Apollo 11 astronauts question NASA's planetary safety procedures.

Credit: Bettmann, Getty Images.
Surprising Science
  • Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins revealed that there were deficiencies in NASA's safety procedures following the Apollo 11 mission.
  • Moon landing astronauts were quarantined for 21 days.
  • Earth could be contaminated with lunar bacteria.
Keep reading Show less
nasa moon space microbes pandemic microbiology extraterrestrial life disease public health moon landing apollo 11

NASA's idea for making food from thin air just became a reality — it could feed billions

Here's why you might eat greenhouse gases in the future.

Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash
Technology & Innovation
  • The company's protein powder, "Solein," is similar in form and taste to wheat flour.
  • Based on a concept developed by NASA, the product has wide potential as a carbon-neutral source of protein.
  • The man-made "meat" industry just got even more interesting.
Keep reading Show less
biotech discovery future sustainability molecular biology start-up food

Where the evidence of fake news is really hiding

When it comes to sniffing out whether a source is credible or not, even journalists can sometimes take the wrong approach.

Sponsored by Charles Koch Foundation
  • We all think that we're competent consumers of news media, but the research shows that even journalists struggle with identifying fact from fiction.
  • When judging whether a piece of media is true or not, most of us focus too much on the source itself. Knowledge has a context, and it's important to look at that context when trying to validate a source.
  • The opinions expressed in this video do not necessarily reflect the views of the Charles Koch Foundation, which encourages the expression of diverse viewpoints within a culture of civil discourse and mutual respect.
Keep reading Show less
media politics data internet journalism