American Society for Microbiology
Statement on the Scientific Basis for Evolution
Knowledge of the microbial world is essential to understanding the evolution of life on Earth. The characteristics of microorganisms — small size, rapid reproduction, mobility, and facility in exchanging genetic information — allow them to adapt rapidly to environmental influences. In microbiology, the validity of evolutionary principles is supported by [1] readily demonstrated mutation, recombination and selection, which are the fundamental mechanisms of evolution; [2] comparisons based on genomic data that support a common ancestry of life; and [3] observable rates of genetic change and the extent of genomic diversity which indicate that divergence has occurred over a very long scale of geologic time, and testify to the great antiquity of life on Earth. Thus, microorganisms illustrate evolution in action, and microbiologists have been able to make use of the microbes’ evolutionary capacity in the development of life-improving and life-saving innovations in medicine, agriculture, and for the environment. By contrast, proposed alternatives to evolution, such as intelligent design and other forms of creationism, are not scientific, in part because they fail to provide a framework for useful, testable predictions.
The use of the supposed “irreducible complexity” of the bacterial flagellum as an
argument to endow nonscientific concepts with what appears to be legitimacy, is
spurious and not based on fact.
Evolution is not mere conjecture, but a conclusive discovery supported by a coherent body of integrated evidence. Overwhelmingly, the scientific community, regardless of religious belief, accepts evolution as central to an understanding of life and the life sciences. A fundamental aspect of the practice of science is to separate one’s personal beliefs from the pursuit of understanding of the natural world. It is important that society and future generations recognize the legitimacy of testable, verified, fact-based learning about the origins and diversity of life.
10/5/2006
Brief of Amici Curiae by 56 Scientific Organizations in Selman v. Cobb County
Alabama Academy of Science (1981)
Alabama Academy of Science (1994)
American Anthropological Association (1980)
American Anthropological Association (2000)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (1923)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (1972)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (1982)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (2002)
American Association for the Advancement of Science Commission on Science Education
American Association of Physical Anthropologists
American Astronomical Society (1982)
American Astronomical Society (2000)
American Astronomical Society (2005)
American Chemical Society (1981)
American Chemical Society (2005)
American Geological Institute
American Geophysical Union
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Physical Society
American Psychological Association (1982)
American Psychological Association (2007)
American Society of Biological Chemists
American Society for Microbiology
American Society of Parasitologists
American Sociological Association
Association of Southeastern Biologists
Association for Women Geoscientists
Australian Academy of Science
Biophysical Society
Botanical Society of America
California Academy of Sciences
Committee for the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing
Committee for Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal
Ecological Society of America
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Genetics Society of America
Geological Society of America (1983)
Geological Society of America (2001)
Geological Society of Australia
Georgia Academy of Science (1980)
Georgia Academy of Science (1982)
Georgia Academy of Science (2003)
History of Science Society
Idaho Scientists for Quality Science Education
InterAcademy Panel
Iowa Academy of Science (1986)
Iowa Academy of Science (2000)
Kansas Academy of Science
Kentucky Academy of Science
Kentucky Paleontological Society
Louisiana Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Sciences (1972)
National Academy of Sciences (1984)
National Academy of Sciences (1999)
New Mexico Academy of Science
New Orleans Geological Society
New York Academy of Sciences
North American Benthological Society
North Carolina Academy of Science
Ohio Math and Science Coalition
The Paleontological Society
Pennsylvania Academy of Science
Pennsylvania Council of Professional Geologists
Philosophy of Science Association
Research!America
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Ottawa Centre
Royal Society
Royal Society of Canada
Royal Society of Canada, Academy of Science
Sigma Xi, Louisiana State University Chapter
Society for Amateur Scientists
Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
Society for Neuroscience
Society of Physics Students
Society for the Study of Evolution
Society of Systematic Biologists
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1986)
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (1994)
Southern Anthropological Society
Tallahassee Scientific Society
Tennessee Darwin Coalition
Virginia Academy of Science
West Virginia Academy of Science
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