Tribune press service
Kapurthala, February 13
Pushpa Gujral Science City celebrated Charles Darwin’s birthday by hosting a webinar on Saturday.
About a hundred students and teachers participated in the event. Delivering opening remarks on the occasion, Neelima Jerath, Chief Executive of Science City, said Darwin Day is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and his significant contribution to the fields of science and humanity.
His theory of evolution helped dispel the conventional belief that the formation of various species was a supernatural phenomenon. His book on “The Origin of Species” is considered the foundation of evolutionary biology. It provided many answers to doubts that had arisen about the true age of the earth and the vast collection of fossils that had been discovered. Besides, the day aims to inspire the masses to understand the importance of scientific thinking, spark curiosity to discover new things and thirst for truth, she said.
NG Prasad, Professor, Biological Sciences and Dean of International Relations and Outreach, IISER Mohali, was the keynote speaker. He said the beautiful diversity that everyone sees around is the result of billions of years of evolution. He emphasized the importance of the work of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in describing the evolution of the spotted camel. He said people outside Africa called the giraffe “Camel-Leopard” or “spotted camel” for its camel-shaped neck and leopard-shaped spots, when they first saw it. . The long neck of the giraffe gave rise to very special anatomical features such as an extra large heart, long cranial nerves, etc. The quest to explain the giraffe’s long neck helps us understand the complex beauty of evolution, he said.
Rajesh Grover, director of Science City, said Charles Darwin’s work had a huge impact on the science of anthropology. Many problems of human evolution, human variation, heredity and environment have been studied following the ideas and findings of Darwin.