Tom Regan is a professor emeritus of philosophy at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. His book The Case for Animal Rights (University of California, 2004) is considered a classic in the area.

Gary Lynn Comstock is a professor of philosophy at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., where he conducts research on ethical questions in the biological sciences. He has written about ethics and the humane treatment of animals.

Feb. 11, 2005, is celebrated as Darwin Day, an international observance of Charles Darwin’s work on evolution. Check out International Darwin Day Foundation’s site that maintains a list of celebrations of the naturalist’s birthday around the world, including the United States.

Read the Fordham Foundation’s 2000 report “Good Science, Bad Science: Teaching Evolution in the States,” which includes a state-by-state grading of science education in the public schools.

The website Religious Tolerance maintains a list of the beliefs of 17 religions regarding the origins of life.

Read the American Civil Liberties Union’s lawsuit filed on behalf of parents in Dover, Pa.

A July 26, 2004, poll by the Barna Group found that almost six of every 10 adults favor teaching creationism in the public school, while less than four of 10 do not.

A Sept. 21, 2001, Zogby International poll found that 71 percent of respondents said that Darwin’s theory of evolution should be taught along with scientific evidence against the theory.

Read a Nov. 22, 2004, CBS News story about its poll, which found that most Americans do not think humans evolved, and that if they did, God guided the process.