In Depth:  Nancy Darrall

In virtually every biology textbook, Darwin’s finches are quoted as a key proof of the theory of evolution.

For example: ‘It was, however, the diversity of adaptive structures shown by the 13 species of finches found within the archipelago which had the greatest influence on Darwin’s thinking on the mechanism of the origin of species’ (Biological Science 1&2, Taylor Green & Stout, 1997, Cambridge University Press).

How did you react to the news? Did it feel rather like being told that you had only got 30% in an examination, or only a third of the salary you had expected?

Worse than only having 30,000 genes is the comparison with a small garden weed with 26,000 and a fruit fly with 14,000 genes. Professor Bowbrow was not to be upset.