Like most writers, I wield a mean scissors. I love to clip articles from assorted newspapers, magazines, Web sites, and research journals. Who knows, I tell myself, maybe the flotsam and jetsam will come in handy some day. Sometimes the clippings sort themselves into meaningful piles (I gave up file cabinets years ago) that turn into stories. Consider the following items:
The news is awash in DNA--and the clip pile rises--which raises some interesting questions. If people think DNA can and should exonerate the innocent, if they gratefully accept its value in bringing closure to personal tragedy, if they even use it to decide who pays child support, why do so many still deny it has anything to say about the relationship between our species and every other living entity on the planet? Why is evolution still so controversial now that DNA evidence has profoundly fleshed out the biotic family ...
