Jerry Coyne

Jerry Coyne
Jerry Coyne at Duke University
Born	1949
Residence	Chicago
Nationality	American
Fields	Ecology and Evolution
Institutions	University of Chicago
Alma mater	College of William & Mary, Harvard University (Ph.D)

Jerry Allen Coyne (born 1949) is an American professor of biology, known for his commentary on the intelligent design debate. He is currently a professor at the University of Chicago in the Department of Ecology and Evolution. His concentration is speciation and ecological and evolutionary genetics, particularly as they involve Drosophila.^[1]

Academic work

Coyne graduated with a B.S. from the College of William & Mary in 1971. He then earned a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University, studying under Richard Lewontin, and went on to do a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Davis. In 1989, he was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship.

Coyne has served as Vice President of the Society for the Study of Evolution (1996) and as Associate Editor of Evolution (1985–1988; 1994–2000) and The American Naturalist (1990–1993). He currently teaches evolutionary biology, speciation, genetic analysis, social issues and scientific knowledge, and scientific speaking and writing.

His work is widely published, not only in scientific journals, but also in such mainstream venues as The New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, and The New Republic. His research interests include population and evolutionary genetics, speciation, ecological and quantitative genetics, chromosome evolution, and sperm competition.

Coyne is a critic of creationism^[2] including intelligent design, which he calls "the latest pseudoscientific incarnation of religious creationism, cleverly crafted by a new group of enthusiasts to circumvent recent legal restrictions."^[3]

Atheism

Coyne is an advocate of atheism.^[4] He claims that religion and science are incompatible, that only science is capable of revealing truth, and that scientists who hold religious views are only reflective of the idea "that people can hold two conflicting notions in their heads at the same time".^[4] He suggests that "the incompatibility of science and faith" is "amply demonstrated" by the fact that, according to Elaine Howard Ecklund, 64% of American scientists are atheists or agnostics.^[4]

Scientific papers

Coyne's peer-reviewed scientific publications include three papers in Nature and three in Science:^[5]

• Matute, D.R., I.A. Butler, D.A. Turossini, and J.A. Coyne. 2010. A test of the snowball theory for the rate of evolution of hybrid incompatibilities. Science 329 1518-1521. doi:10.1126/science.1193440
• Llopart, A., S. Elwyn and J.A. Coyne. 2002. Pigmentation and mate choice in Drosophila melanogaster. Nature 419: 360. doi:10.1038/419360a
• Greenberg, A.J., J.R. Moran, J.A. Coyne and C-I. Wu. 2003. Ecological adaptation during incipient speciation revealed by precise gene replacement. Science 302: 1754-1757. doi:10.1126/science.1090432
• Coyne, J. A., A. P. Crittenden, and K. Mah. 1994. Genetics of a pheromonal difference contributing to reproductive isolation in Drosophila. Science 265:1461-1464. doi:10.1126/science.8073292
• Price, C.S.C., K. A. Dyer, and J. A. Coyne. 1999. Sperm competition between Drosophila males involves both displacement and incapacitation. Nature 400:449-452 doi:10.1038/22755
• Coyne, J. A. 1992. Genetics and speciation. Nature 355:511-515. doi:10.1038/355511a0

Books

• Coyne, Jerry A.; H. Allen Orr (2004-06-30). Speciation. Sinauer Associates Inc.,U.S.. ISBN 0878930892. 
• Coyne, Jerry A. (2009-01-22). Why Evolution is True. OUP Oxford. ISBN 0199230846. OCLC 233549529. 

Online articles

• "The faith that dares not speak its name: The Case Against Intelligent Design.", The New Republic
• "Ann Coulter and Charles Darwin. Coultergeist.", The New Republic
• "Seeing and Believing", The New Republic
• The Great Mutator", The New Republic (Review of Michael Behe's The Edge of Evolution)
• "Speciation" (co-author H. A. Orr)
• Answers in Science (Review of Jonathan Wells' Icons of Evolution)
• Does the empirical nature of science contradict the revelatory nature of faith? (Article criticising theistic evolution at Edge.org)
• "A Letter to Charles Darwin" OUP Blog (celebrating the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth)

References

1. ^ "Jerry Coyne Profile". Edge. 2009. http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/bios/coyne.html. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
2. ^ Coyne, Jerry (02.12.09). "Why Evolution Is True: Creationists don't deserve credence--especially from Forbes". Forbes magazine. http://www.forbes.com/2009/02/12/evolution-creation-proof-opinions-darwin_0212_jerry_coyne.html. Retrieved 2009-06-20. 
3. ^ Coyne, Jerry (July 1, 2007). "The Faith that Dare Not Speak its Name". The New Republic. http://pondside.uchicago.edu/ee/faculty/Coyne/pdf/New_Republic_ID.pdf. Retrieved 2007-07-29. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Coyne, Jerry A. (2010-10-11). "Column: Science and religion aren't friends". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-10-11-column11_ST_N.htm. 
5. ^ Publications of Coyne's Vitae

External links

• Why Evolution is True - Official Blog
• Faculty website at the University of Chicago
• 'Why Evolution Is True' by Jerry Coyne - one hour video at ExChristian.net
• "Speciation" list from Sinauer

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Name	Coyne, Jerry
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Date of birth	1949
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