Description

When biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky wrote these words in 1973, he was reflecting on the coming together of two strands of thinking: evolutionary change, kick-started by Darwin in the mid-19th century, and genetics, a subject whose origins go back to the same year, with Mendel's studies, but only really got going in the 20th century.

Since then, the general principles of Darwinian evolution have been widely accepted. At least, they have been in the scientific community. In wider society, a significant proportion of people remain sceptical.

Why should this be? Why does Darwinian evolution raise controversy when, say, quantum mechanics scarcely registers on the public consciousness? This issue of 'Big Picture' looks at the theory of evolution, the evidence that supports it. unanswered questions and the history of public reaction.