Open research questions in Evolution and Science Education
31 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,788 Evolution and Science Education papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.
What the literature leaves open
Manosphere respondents were recruited on a voluntary basis. This means the most inimical and mistrustful probably did not participate. Similarly, the survey was only posted on the presumably more moderate manosphere platforms whose administrators accepted, a case of gatekeeper bias. Finally, this was a long survey, and the people who took the time to complete it were presumably more interested in and knowledgeable about science than average. However, random probability sampling is known to be impossible with hard-to-reach populations (Mathy et al. 2022). As such, using some form of non-probability sampling is the norm when studying “hard-to-reach,” “hidden,” or “underrepresented” populations. In their review of these suboptimal sampling methods, Bonevski et al. write, “Selection bias and gatekeeper bias which limit validity of the sample are the primary limitations of these strategies”. Our survey study unsurprisingly Bachaud and Gauchon Developmental Biology Advances (2026) 17:9 Page 11 of 15 Fig. 4 Prevalence of online scientific content posting among manospherians and counterpart respondents Fig. 5 Prevalence of scientific citation in manosphere and counterpart discussions features those biases, as do all manosphere survey studies. This calls for a high level of caution when trying to generalize findings. Handing out cash rewards to the best scorers on the science questionnaire was avoided to prevent cheating. In fact, respondents were explicitly asked to “please refrain from consulting outside resources to answer the quiz.” Nonetheless, this was a remotely-administered survey, and there is no way to guarantee absence of cheating, or purposefully disingenuous answers. Overall, the study gathered fewer responses than originally desired (i.e., 100 answers per manosphere group for between-group comparison), due to the lack of means to promote the study on social media platforms, lack of control on the algorithms governing these private platforms, refusals of community gatekeepers, and mistrust of manosphere Bachaud and Gauchon Developmental Biology Advances (2026) 17:9 Page 12 of 15 Fig. 6 Prevalence of scientific discussions in manosphere and counterpart conversations communities. While disseminating the survey, we received some hostile reactions, and even a death threat, and had to suspend data collection for a while due to security concerns in our home university. There was to the authors’ knowledge no pre-existing psychometrically validated undergraduate-level evolutionary psychology (EP) literacy questionnaire. We therefore took the opportunity to design ad hoc multiple-choice items with distractors measuring the prevalence of several common manosphere misconceptions.
Evolution acceptance, literacy, and knowledge acquisition among online manosphere communities: an exploratory survey study · 2026 · DOIHow has the field evolved? What are the epistemic and methodological problems it has addressed, and how? What is the field heading towards in the current scholarly environment? A self-reflexive conception of the history of EA is still lacking, although EA research is acquiring more and more perspectives from different disciplinary viewpoints.
The paper invokes religious experience, historical events, and sacred texts as 'relevant data' for religious paradigms but does not operationalize how these data types are weighted, interpreted, or adjudicated when they conflict, unlike the explicit evidentiary standards in scientific paradigms.
The boundary question debate between mechanistic and teleological explanations for cosmic existence is presented without systematic comparison of how different theological paradigms (Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, etc.) differentially respond to the multiverse hypothesis as an alternative to divine creation.
The paper discusses Lakatos's research programme model as applied to theology by Murphy but does not specify which theological core theories and auxiliary theories correspond to his framework, nor does it provide concrete examples of how auxiliary theological hypotheses have been modified or rejected in response to problematic data across different religious traditions.
The paper applies Kuhn's paradigm framework to both science and religion but does not empirically test whether religious communities actually exhibit the same resistance to falsification and anomaly-deflection patterns as scientific communities under paradigm pressure. Comparative analysis of specific historical theological crises and scientific revolutions using quantitative measures of paradigm persistence would be needed.
The three-kingdom tree of life that Haeckel introduced to include microorganisms is mentioned as revolutionary, but the specific taxonomic composition, placement rationale, and microorganism characterization criteria used in this classification system are not detailed. A comparative analysis of Haeckel's three-kingdom system against Linnaeus' two-kingdom system and subsequent microbial taxonomy frameworks is lacking.
The paper argues that Haeckel's understanding of evolutionary mechanisms (accepting inheritance of acquired characters and environmental effects alongside natural selection) diverged from neo-Darwinian views, but does not specify which of Haeckel's empirical studies on marine organisms (jellyfish transparency, medusae, ctenophores) actually relied on these non-selectionist mechanisms. Detailed case studies are needed showing how Haeckel's old-school Darwinian framework was applied to specific marine taxa.
Haeckel's experimental procedures with siphonophores are mentioned as anticipating evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo), but the specific experimental designs, replication protocols, and developmental-evolutionary connections he demonstrated are not detailed. A rigorous examination of Haeckel's siphonophore experiments against modern evo-devo methodologies is needed to clarify his actual experimental contributions.
The paper identifies critical gaps in Haeckel's empirical paleontological record that he himself noted when charting phyletic history, but does not specify which organismic groups or geological formations had the most significant data deficiencies. Future work should map the specific paleontological gaps across different animal phyla that Haeckel documented in his phylogenetic reconstructions.
Haeckel's three groundbreaking scientific books (Generelle Morphologie, Systematische Phylogenie, Die Kalkschwämme) were never translated into English, creating a significant gap in accessibility of his phylogenetic methodology and empirical data on organismic groups. A comprehensive English translation and critical analysis of these works is needed to properly evaluate Haeckel's contributions to phylogenetic systematics and his methods for reconstructing evolutionary pathways.
Nonetheless, evolution remains controversial (Hermann 2008) with a third of American adults stating that the theory is false (Miller, Scott, and Okamoto 2006).
But does being correct biologically make the Darwin/Mendel synthesis an appropriate model of change in world politics? This is an open question and one made interesting by the existence of multiple discarded models of biological evolution, most prominent among them being Lamarck's model of inheritance of acquired characteristics.
Darwin's Finches or Lamarck's Giraffe, Does International Relations Get Evolution Wrong? · 2013 · DOI" This second integration has enormous implications for expanding evolution theory, inasmuch as the Modern Synthesis (Provine 1971), which combined classical genetics and Darwinism in the mid-20th century, did not account for the role of development in evolution.
OF DARWIN RESEARCH Charles Darwin, Johnson Reprint Corporation: New York, 1969. 3 ~01s. $50.
Lewes and Herbert Spencer were the inspiration of Pavlov's classical research on conditioned reflexes,117 and it is only very recently that the Darwinian version of evolution, including the Watson-Crick solution of the genetic code, could be taught, and the relevant scientific subjects could be studied, in the Soviet Union.
If to some people such discussions seem "far out," it should be remembered that they deal with measures closer to realization than those of applied gene knowl edge of the traditional kind, and ever so much closer than those of "genetic surgery." In fact the latter pro cedures also would have the same weighty problem "f aims to decide if they were not to be confined to mat ters which, by comparison, were trivialities. As we have seen, the germinal choice by empirical methods that is so much closer to realization still has to clear one or March 1968 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 11 more technological hurdles of importance before it can be of very wide use. But these should prove readily ne gotiable if subjected to some concerted action. In the empirical germinal choice project it is the mat ter of values that looms as by far the most important one at present. This is especially the case because so many people who would like to be associated with it fail to realize its importance, or what the major values should be, and are therefore striving to get the tech- . niques going, willy-nilly. We as geneticists concerned with man should see lt as a part of our own responsibility not only to enlighten the public but also to promote, in the meantime, the collection, documentation, and storage of exemplary germinal material. This would be that of men w?o best represent the major aims of enhanced cooperativeness, based on more heartfelt, broader brotherly love and of more creative and generalized intelligence. Only in that way can we meet the obligation we all have .to the mul titudes to use the insights they afforded us m behalf of their and our successors. We must avoid getting sidetracked into acceptance of the delaying procedure so prevalent in both aca demic and political circles, which declares: "This needs more study!" Of course it does, but it is clear that there are certain things which can and must be done at this point; also that some of us are the ones to do them, in collaboration with suitable persons in other fields, whom we must find and encourage. Chief among these immediate tasks is the starting of the practice of accu mulating germinal stores and records, derived from per sons who so far as we can see embody the major traits here stressed. The example thus set by us is the main present feature of this starting effort. On the whole, physicians, especially those concerned with reproduction and the urinogenital organs, who would be willing to give up dictatorship and secrecy as principles to be adhered to in inseminations carried out under the germinal choice project, would be important to have as participants in it. But they are extremely hard to find. Meanwhile the work of getting the project go ing must be undertaken as soon as possible, and both medical and legal aid will eventually be forthcoming. Thus we should not let ourselves be discouraged by the temporary difficulties. We should not only bear in mind the urgent need for success. We should also recall that, after all, man has gone from height to height, and that he is now in a position, if only he will, to transcend himself intentionally and thereby proceed to elevations yet unimagined. He no longer can do so unintention ally. It is up to us to do our bit in this purposive proc ess, and to use what we know constructively, rather than temain in that ivory tower which has the writing on its wall. Our reward will be that of helping man to gain the highest freedom possible: the finding of endless worlds both outside and inside himself, and the privi lege of engaging in endless creation. 12 VICTOR A. KOVDA Search for o U.N.
There is a very great need for more knowledge about the processes of biological production in the seas, and many special aspects of these processes could be studied by the encouragement or expansion of ex isting programs which are not already committed to the large international surveys.
It prompts them to recognise uncertainties and gaps in knowledge, fostering a more nuanced and truthful exploration of complex subjects such as consciousness.
INTELLECTUAL PURSUITS AND ETHICAL DILEMMAS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF TOM STOPPARD’S THE HARD PROBLEM · 2026 · DOIThe teaching design will fill in the gaps in understanding concepts of evolution and its significance to the lives of many organisms and for the teachers to look evolution from very broad flexible and interdisciplinary perspectives.
University Students' Acceptance of Evolution: Basis for STEM-based Instructional Design · 2021 · DOIAffiliation with a scientific area or degree program could affect one´s religious beliefs and acceptance of evolution; however, this issue has been poorly studied.
EFFECT OF ACADEMIC DEGREE AND DISCIPLINE ON RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND EVOLUTION ACCEPTANCE: SURVEY AT A CHILEAN UNIVERSITY · 2016 · DOISection V also demonstrates that great deference usually given to state and local school boards with respect to shaping school curriculum is insufficient to preclude judicial intervention in this controversy.
Going Back in Time: How the Kansas Board of Education's Removal of Evolution from the State Curriculum Violates the First Amendment's Establishment Clause · 2001Existing approaches to the study of social evolution are insufficient for the task of explaining the full range of social evolution from the Neolithic Revolution down to the present day.
The metaphor is a “black box” whose internal structure and characteristics are not yet known exactly, but it has been already recognized as “something” by giving it a name, therefore the metaphor became thinkable and could be studied.
Moreover, I would not place positive or negative valua tions on either mode of behavior since it is still an open question as to which one will prove to be the most effective.
Most-cited papers in Evolution and Science Education
- On the Origin of Adaptations: Rethinking Fidelity Discourse and "Success"—Biologically · New Literary History · 2007 · 73 citations
- Reliability of the Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) Instrument with University Students · The American Biology Teacher · 2007 · 65 citations
- The evolution of a field: A challenge and an opportunity · CRANIO® · 2024 · 55 citations
- Biological Function, Adaptation, and Natural Design · Philosophy of Science · 1995 · 50 citations
- A New Measure of Students’ Perceived Conflict between Evolution and Religion (PCoRE) Is a Stronger Predictor of Evolution Acceptance than Understanding or Religiosity · CBE—Life Sciences Education · 2021 · 50 citations
- Life as Aftermath: Social Theory for an Age of Anthropogenic Biology · Science Technology & Human Values · 2024 · 40 citations
- Ernst Haeckel in the history of biology · Current Biology · 2019 · 34 citations
- Whither the Blank Slate? A Report on the Reception of Evolutionary Biological Ideas among Sociological Theorists · Sociological Spectrum · 2014 · 33 citations
- Nine Months · The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine · 2020 · 22 citations
- A Revised Measure of Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution: Introducing the MATE 2.0 · CBE—Life Sciences Education · 2022 · 22 citations
Most recent work
- Writing the fascination for extreme contexts: Darwin’s reverie · Culture and Organization · 2026
- Evolution acceptance, literacy, and knowledge acquisition among online manosphere communities: an exploratory survey study · Developmental Biology Advances · 2026
- Identifying the complex factors influencing evolutionary biology career interests among black and African American undergraduates · Developmental Biology Advances · 2026
- Evolution, Suffering, and the Moral Texture of Creation · Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science · 2026
- Religion, education, science and technology towards a more inclusive and sustainable future · Theology and Science · 2026
- Restoration of Abundance: Feyerabend, Mysticism, and Science-Engaged Theology · Theology and Science · 2026
- Creationism in a South Korean Culture: Science, Religion, and the Struggle against Evolution · East Asian Science Technology and Society An International Journal · 2026
- Sur l’effet réversif de l’évolution: Une brève réponse à Bernard Lahire · Sociétés plurielles · 2026
- The differing fortunes of Ernst Haeckel’s biogenetic law: from the Nazi Führerprinzip to the evolutionary synthesis · EvoDevo · 2026
- Evolution education in slovenia: using the framework for the assessment of school curricula on the presence of evolutionary concepts (FACE) in curriculum reform · EvoDevo · 2026
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