Nunatak,

having read the article by Nobel Laureate Sir Harry Kroto (now brain-drained to Florida) blogged about below, put in comments some more of the article which she felt deserved more airtime:

"Journalists never ask scientists anything other than what the applications are of scientific breakthroughs. Interestingly, I doubt they ever ask a musician, writer or actor the same question."

"The scientific method is based on what I prefer to call the inquiring mindset. It includes all areas of human thoughtful activity that categorically eschew "belief", the enemy of rationality. This mindset is a nebulous mixture of doubt, questioning, observation, experiment and, above all, curiosity, which small children possess in spades. I would argue that it is the most important, intrinsically human quality we possess, and it is responsible for the creation of the modern, enlightened portion of the world that some of us are fortunate to inhabit."

"Scientific education is by far the best training for all walks of life, because it teaches us how to assess situations critically and react accordingly."

Quite.

Delighted to see a replica Viking longboat

being built. Great report about it in The Guardian here, it looks a terrific project run by a nation proud of its exploring, seafaring past. The BBC are making a documentary about it: a Danish replica boat sailing to Ireland. That'll be the same British Broadcasting Corporation who don't think a British built replica of a British built ship that circumnavigated the world under the command of a British captain with a brave mostly British crew, with a British genius on board who developed a theory that changed the world - is worthy of a TV programme or two*. Built to celebrate Darwin's 200th anniversary, sailing round the world in his wake crewed by young British students, around Cape Horn, to the Galapagos, across oceans, with young people laying aloft in storms, doing shore expeditions in the Andes in Darwin's footsteps and carrying out cutting edge science? No, no interest, no drama there. Let's have another garden makeover show!

Excuse me while I go outside and scream about the self-loathing of the British.

*I suspect they will when we start bolting planks together. The question is, will we have signed deals with other broadcasters first? It's a small dockyard and a small boat, which they may literally miss.

Horned helmet tip: Richard Carter

Beagle Project-supporting blogger

Professor PZ Myers at Pharyngula has been nominated for 'Best Non European Weblog' award. What, are you still here? PZ needs you. Go, scroll down and vote. And if you haven't, bookmark Pharyngula. It's a corker.

Update 29 May, you don't need to vote anymore, Phayngula won at a canter. The Beagle Project effect, I'm sure we all agree.

Lunchtime brainfood...

if you're within striking distance of the Natural History Museum in London, go and listen to our own Nunatak talking about DNA barcoding at 12.30. It's free, open to the public and she's good. (Country cousins can watch a webcast, follow link on page above). And if you are a millionaire philanthropist anxious to help improve the lot of British science education, she will be happy to talk to you about sponsoring our replica HMS Beagle.

Harry Kroto, Nobel Laureate

writes about science education in UK newspaper The Guardian. It makes blistering but gloomy reading. Excerpt:

The laissez-faire attitude to science education has resulted in a disaster exemplified by the fact that more young people are opting for media studies than physics. As a new five-storey chemistry building nears completion here at Florida State University (where I was wanted!), the jaws of American colleagues drop with incredulity at news of each successive UK science department closure.

All of this matters because the need for a general population with a satisfactory understanding of science and technology has never been greater. We live in a world economically, socially and culturally dependent on science not only functioning well, but being wisely applied.

Read the whole thing. It's really worth it for the last section where Sir Harry hits his stride and ends with:

So my final message is: "Do Panic!"

Sir Harry, you're welcome on The replica Beagle any time for a cup of tea. And for a Nobel Laureate of such sound views we may stretch to a bun.

You can't not...

...post a pic of a puppy with The Origin of Species. It's from Sandwalk the blog of sceptical biochemist Larry Moran. Sandwalk is named after the thinking walking path behind Charles Darwin's house in Downe, Kent. Larry and Prof. PZ Myers (combative author of Pharyngula) visited Down House together in October last year and I'm surprised there wasn't some kind of evolutionary critical mass event. There's recently been some sloppy writing about the history of Darwin and Sandwalk puts the boot in illustrating it with the puppy. You can't not...

Happy 300th Birthday, Carl.

Today we celebrate Carl Linnaeus' 300th birthday, and how better than to listen to a truly excellent episode of BBC Radio 4 programme, Frontiers, which this week rightly honours the undisputed father of taxonomy.

The Frontiers programme also does a bang-up job introducing J. Craig Venter's project the Global Ocean Sampling Expedition, which is serving as a key model for what we intend to do aboard the Beagle.

More than that, the programme ranges 'round significant Beagle Project haunts including The Natural History Museum, full time employer of yours truly, and where I will be giving a free public talk this Friday on our project to re-survey and "DNA barcode" Darwin's meadow at Down House.

About the meadow, Darwin wrote "If ever you catch quite a beginner, & want to give him a taste for Botany tell him to make perfect list of some little field or wood. Both Miss Thorley & I agree that it gives a really uncommon interest to the work, having a nice little definite world to work on, instead of the awful abyss & immensity of all British Plants."

And so it is for us. Before embarking on our planned project to DNA barcode all British plants, we are starting with Darwin's self same little meadow, just to make sure our methods are up to snuff.

Thanks very much indeed to Richard Carter FCD for bringing the above quote to my attention. A real gem!

Green eyed monster time...

...as we introduce uber administrator Perry Crickmere. In his own words: "Perry is a keen sailor with a particular interest in classic boats, having spent six years rebuilding the family cruising yacht Torhilda (left, Perry in the red lifejacket). She is a 28' gaff cutter originally built in Looe in 1933 and was found abandoned in an east coast boatyard. Torhilda is now based in Milford Haven where she is sailed by Perry, his wife (Claudia Myatt, author and illustrator of a popular series of sailing books for children for the RYA) and son James.

With his merchant navy background Perry has sailed most waters of the world including a sailing /climbing expedition to the Arctic with Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Chris Bonington on board Suhaili in 1991. Perry is also rather useful in the office and computer literate, having spent nearly 20 years in a suit in the city after leaving the merchant Navy."

So he's got a lovely boat and he's sailed with Robin Knox-Johnston, the first man to solo the world non-stop (a personal hero, if you haven't read his book 'A world of my own', go and do so at once) and who has just completed a solo round the world race on an Open 60 ocean racing yacht aged 68. Not really envious.

Cambridge University

has details of its Darwin 2009 festival (6-10 July 2009) online. Darwin studied at Cambridge before embarking on the Beagle, and Cambridge University has done terrific work making Darwin's writings freely available at Darwin Online and the Darwin Correspondence Project.

Friends of Charles Darwin

has 999 members (666 upside down as our detractors might point out). Click over, maybe you could join and be the prestigious 1kFCD.

Update: the 1000th Friend of Charles is our own director of science. FOCD was Pharyngula'd and a rush of new members resulted.

It's official...

we are very 'kewl' (pop over and vote, make us even kewler. I think we're as cool as a polar bear's paws.) Unlike our fellow square rigger, the Cutty Sark which is not cool, sadly having caught fire this morning. Commiserations to the Cutty Sark Trust: the Cutty Sark worked as a tea clipper, and there is no more noble job in the world than bringing soothing and healthy tea to the mugs of otherwise grumpy caffeine addicts, so we wish the Cutty Sark a full and speedy restoration. We at The Beagle Project are up to our eyeballs in a funding bid. Through it we're meeting good-quality people interested in turning the science done aboard the replica into science curriculum teaching materials and in continuing professional development for teachers.

If you're new to the site and the project, we're building a replica HMS Beagle, tricking her out with science kit, satellite communications. The idea is to celebrate Darwin in 2009, and to use the boat to help the teaching of science, to improve public understanding of science: feedback and ideas from science teachers very welcome. Then we aim to circumnavigate the world in Darwin's wake, crewed by relays of young students and science mentors. There'll be some cutting edge science done aboard, so the students will see what the end product of those long afternoons in double biology is all about. We'll retrace Darwin's shore expeditions, see what's changed since the Voyage of The Beagle 1. Like the climate, the ecosystems. Feeback in comments or through the contact us page.

Nunatak comes out of the closet.

I couldn't let Peter hog all of the limelight, so here's me, above. I've also updated my nunatak blogger profile with my real-life details.

To make a 33-year-long story short, I've got a PhD in genetics from the University of Washington in Seattle and work full time as a postdoctoral researcher in the Botany department at the Natural History Museum, where I also coordinate science projects for the museum's Darwin200 campaign. I also volunteer as science coordinator for The Beagle Project, hence this blog.

This summer I am participating in a research project to collect morphological and DNA specimens of every plant species in Darwin's meadow at Down House as a pilot study for field, curatorial and laboratory procedures that we will use to eventually "DNA barcode" the whole British flora. I'll be talking about this project at a public event at the Natural History Museum on Friday 25th of May.

So, you may be wondering, why “nunatak”? A nunatak (nuhn-uh-tak), from the Inuktitut, meaning "lonely peak", is a mountain or rock rising above a large ice sheet or poking out of a glacier. This is usually caused by the nunatak being composed of sturdier stuff than the surrounding landscape. In addition to my love for all things mountainous and glacial (see photo of me telemark skiing in Switzerland above), I like to think of myself as one who resists downward flow in the context of science and society. A good example of such downward flow is the pseudo-scientific idea of Intelligent Design, which I will not honor here with a link.

An Arizona science teacher

puts some Senators and hacks straight on evolution here. As concise and elegant a piece of science communication as you could wish to read.

Hello...

the National Association of Biology Teachers, who will shortly be featuring the Beagle Project on their website. We look forward to biology classes in the USA following the build and voyage, visiting us in harbour, proposing experiments and sending students to sail with us. Also from the US, thanks to rigging guru Brion Toss for his email. He looks forward to joining us aboard for a cup of tea: we promise not to turn up with wobbling masts, a load of rope on deck and a hopeful look in our eyes. If you own a sailing boat Brion's book 'The Rigging Handbook' should on your shelves. It's a hugely instructive, well illustrated, beautifully written and frequently funny book.

Alright, alright.

Several people have got in touch and said, yeah, but who are the people behind all this blather? Pics, please. So let's get the pain out of the way first: on the right me Peter McGrath at the helm of the 70 foot (21 metre) sail training ketch James Cook. I'm a zoology graduate from Liverpool University where one of my final year courses was history of the idea of evolution taught by Prof A.J.Cain. That made me read The Voyage of the Beagle which is one of the reasons why I'm here - his time aboard the Beagle is crucial to Darwin's story. I'm an RYA commercial yachtmaster (professional yacht skipper) and during my time in youth sail training I've seen the inspirational effect tall ships can have on young minds.

I live two miles from Staithes in Yorkshire, England where the young James Cook fell in love with the sea, and eight miles from Whitby where he learned his seamanship. It was on Whitby-built ships that Cook circumnavigated the globe, so it really got my dander up when an Australian-built replica of his first command HM Bark Endeavour sailed into Whitby harbour, welcomed by 20,000 cheering spectators. (Nothing against the Australians, good for them for doing such a magnificent job on the Endeavour.) The British are so utterly rubbish at celebrating their heroes, true heroes like Cook and Darwin and so negative at supporting and executing ambitious, celebratory projects. Several attempts to build a replica HMS Resolution here in Whitby have failed amid British torpor and indifference.

Well, this one ain't going to: there are a lot of scientists, teachers, Darwin fans, students and sailors the world around who have contacted us, inspired to sail with us, make TV programmes about Beagle and Darwin, do science aboard, have their youngsters sail with us or just have the joy of seeing a replica HMS Beagle grace their port or harbour.
Pic: The Australian built replica Endeavour sailing into Whitby harbour © me, may be used in exchange for a link to The Beagle Project, unless you are a millionaire philanthropist in which case the fee is $2 million.

The power of Darwin...

sounds like something a superhero would say, but in this case it's the power to intrigue and interest. Most read item on the BBC news website Science and Nature page yesterday? Darwin's letters archived on the web.

"A magnificent scheme"

so said Charles Darwin of the Voyage of the Beagle in a letter. A similarly magnificent scheme is the Darwin Correspondence Project which has just made 5,000 of his letters available online, including many dating from his days on the Beagle and from the turbulent times around the publication of the Origin of Species. More information about the Darwin Correspondence Project here. Huge thanks and congratulations to all concerned for making these valuable resources available to us, BBC story here.

Their work isn't yet done: there's another 9,000 where they came from. Prolific chap, our Charles.

Welcome (and Wellcome)...

the Beagle Project's new administrator Mr Perry Crickmere. Contact details will be published shortly. Now watch us go: we have got this far on the basis of doing this in our spare time, having a very capable someone behind a desk will make a huge difference. Other Beagle Project developments: we are in the middle of putting a hefty funding bid together as part of the Wellcome Trust 'Darwin's Children' strand.

Cafe Scientifique, by gum!

Many good things have come from Yorkshire, including the first editions of The Origin of Species, which Darwin posted from Ilkley. Another bit of sciency goodness of Yorkshire origin is Cafe Scientifique, and a recent BBC Radio programme tells the story here. If there's one in your area go and support it, if there's not think about starting one. There is a lot of good science being done in the world, but there is also a great lack of understanding, some wilful misinterpretation, bare-faced hijacking, some indifferent teaching and bobbins reporting about the field. Cafe Scientifique (sounds great in a Yorkshire accent) is part of the push to make science more accessible, so trois cheers for it, and by coincidence CS organisers have been holding their second annual conference this weekend in Leeds. And yes: we intend to make the replica Beagle available for Cafe Scientifiques aboard.

Linguistic notes: 'By gum!' is a general purpose Yorkshire expletive. It may be prefixed by 'Eeee' for added vehemence.

Just discovered...

The dispersal of Darwin blog. We are all in favour of Darwin's wider dispersal, so celebrate Beagle's birthday by clicking over. It's a good read and has a cool pic of Beagle on the banner. So cool I had to nick it to illustrate this post. Thanks Coturnix (and a belated happy birthday).

11 May 1820

HMS Beagle was launched at Woowich Dockyard, London.

Sou'wester tip to The Old Coot for This Day In History: 11th May.

Now please celebrate this great day by joining the Friends of Charles Darwin (it's free). At last count there were 989 FCDs, today would seem an auspicious day to break the 1000 mark.

Thanks, blognotices

Thank you to southern seafarer for the comment about FitzRoy's descendents: we'd like as many descendents of the Beagle's crew as possible to be associated with the project and be guests aboard the replica HMS Beagle. 2009 is Darwin's 200th anniversary, so inevitably the spotlight will be on Charles Darwin. However, we at the Beagle Project will see that Commander Robert FitzRoy gets his share of credit. As a sailor, I am in awe of FitzRoy's courage in circumnavigating the world in a small ship without reliable charts, engines, GPS, toasty thermals and GoreTex waterproofs or long-range weather forecasts. His weather records of the voyage are extraordinary (text here) and later in his career he was appinted Meteorological Statist to the Board of Trade, and his small office grew to become the UK Meteorological Office which has become one of the leading meteorological bodies in the world. Descendents of the great man will be welcome across the gang plank of the descendent of the great ship he commanded any time.

Meanwhile, many thanks for the blog write ups about the Project to Sisu and Peak Energy. Scroll down in both cases.

Another Darwin link...

Darwin at Downe, which is campaigning to have Down House in the village of Downe, Kent, declared a World Heritage Site. Click over and have a look. Darwin moved from London to Down House in 1842, and there did the work which led to the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859. From Down House he fired off letters of inquiry to experts, invited his colleagues for visits to test their support for his ideas, established that worms are indifferent to bassoon music, lived a happy family life (although not without its tragedies) and did experiments in support of his theory of evolution. Down House is open to the public, and is a must-visit for anyone interested in Darwin, biology, natural history and the history of ideas.

What science will be done aboard the Beagle?

Check out our updated science page on the website here. Meanwhile, what was Charles Darwin doing on this day in 1832?

"Rio de Janeiro
Torrents of rain. I am at present chiefly collecting spiders. In the course of a few hours 2.6 inches of rain fell."

From Charles Darwin's Beagle diaries, available at Darwin Online or ready digested and blogged for you here at the Darwinbeagle weblog: an anonymous project which is worthy of congrats, bookmarking and a daily visit.

A post-genomic Beagle

Last month, a press conference was held in California to launch something called the Global Community Cyberinfrastructure for Advanced Marine Microbial Research and Analysis (CAMERA). CAMERA is a user-driven site dedicated to providing the scientific community with metagenomics data and analysis tools.

Um, right. Jargon alert! What on earth is "metagenomics"? It's a simple breakdown: "meta" = in the midst of, among, with, and "genome" = the totality of genetic material from a single individual. So, metagenomics is simply the study of the amalgam of genetic material contained in an environmental sample containing more than one individual organism. It is an especially powerful tool for documenting and monitoring the diversity of life in the most difficult of environments: the ocean.

Before going forward with "metagenomes", let's take a stroll down memory lane for a moment, back to a simpler time when individual "genomes" were all the rage. You might remember something called the Human Genome Project, and if you've got enviably deep memory banks you might remember that the project was in essence a race between a consortium of public institutions and a private company, Celera Genomics, headed by Craig Venter. Remember what I said above about a genome being from an individual organism? Well, the so-called "human genome" is actually Craig Venter's own personal genome. Creepy, at best. But we should be willing to forgive Craig Venter for this because he has spent the last several years applying his considerable powers of entrepreneurship to ocean biodiversity.

First, it was shotgun sequencing of the Sargasso sea, and now, in fact at this very moment, Venter's research vessel the Sorcerer II is circumnavigating the globe taking environmental samples along the way (sound familiar?). On the new Voyage of the Beagle (2009-11) we plan a similar marine environmental metagenomics project, with regular sampling and some overlap with Venter's Sorcerer II data set. In other words, we will see what Darwin couldn't. We'll see what is in the ocean beneath the Beagle even in the most murky and mysterious depths simply by using a pair of fancy DNA goggles.

All aboard, and we do mean all.

More information - including regular news - on these global marine metagenomic initiatives including this clever graphic, can be found in a special collection at the Public Library of Science. Don't miss Craig Venter's web seminar ("webinar", ugh).

One of the finest Voyage reads is this...

Fossils, Finches and Fuegians by Richard Keynes. If you want an account of the context to the voyage, the ship and its crew, events aboard during the voyage, Darwin's shore expeditions and especially the science carried out by Charles Darwin, this is the book to get. Richard Keynes is a former Professor of Physiology at Cambridge University, so no slouch on the science front. He is also Charles Darwin's great grandson, and has waded through Darwin's primary sources on our behalf: the field notebooks and Beagle diaries which were the raw materials for The Voyage of the Beagle. Given the nature of the Beagle Project beast, my shelves bend under the strain of Darwin-related books, but Fossils, Finches and Fuegians is one of the most-reached for because it is authoritative and a good read. Sadly, you can't barrel down to your local bookshop and buy a copy because it's out of print, and it would a crying shame if 2009 were to come and go without a reprint of this excellent book. It would also be a shame if the British government were to let Darwin's bicentenary go by without ensuring that every secondary school had a copy of this book in its biology labs to lend to curious young minds. Fossils, Finches and Fuegians was published by Harper Collins.