MJC Biology Professor visits, gives talk on Darwin's Down House

Few people in history have been as influential or as controversial as Charles Darwin. And few books have been more monumental than Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. This year marks both the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. 
To celebrate the occasion, Modesto Junior College Professor of Biology, Elizabeth McInnes, gave a talk on “Charles Darwin’s Down House”. The December 1 talk was part of The Science Colloquium series that is offered by the MJC Science, Mathematics and Engineering Division.
McInnes’ chose the topic because she and her daughters toured Down House this past May.  
Today, Down House is a museum. But, for 50 years it was home to Darwin and his family.  It was also his work place, where he did his laboratory experiments, said McInnes.
“He wrote all of his important works here, like “On the Origin of Species” and “Descent of Man”. He had amazing gardens here and a greenhouse full of tropical and insectivorous plants given to him by the botanist, Joseph Hooker, of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew.”
Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 to Robert and Susannah Darwin in the village of Shrewsbury, England. His father was a medical doctor.  Darwin had five siblings. 
“He was the 2nd youngest of six children,” says McInnes. “Darwin was interested in science early. When he was 13, his friends nicknamed him ‘Gas’, because of his interest in chemistry.”
As a biology professor, McInnes tries to help students understand the importance of evolution as a theme in the biological sciences. “(Evolution)…is key to our understanding of and ability to solve problems in biology, biodiversity, climate change, epidemiology and medicine. Evolution helps us to know ourselves and our origins.”

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