IBO in the News

(and related media events)

1995:

"Dissin' Darwin," Isthmus, April 7-13, 1995, cover story.
"A lone molecular biologist challenges evolutionary theory."
"For the past 14 years, Periannan Senapathy has been digging into the molecular origins of life on earth. And what he says he's found is that things didn't happen the way Charles Darwin said they did." [Full article text]
"Standing Darwin's Wisdom on Its Ear? A Different Theory on the Origin of Life on Earth," Wisconsin Academy Review, Summer 1995, pages 11-15.
Contains significant excerpts from chapters 1, 5, and 12 of Independent Birth of Organisms.
"Bacteria Rule OK?", NewScientist, June 3, 1995, pages 34-38.
"Does having complex genes full of apparently worthless scrapes of DNA make us evolution's top dogs, or less sophisticated than bacteria?"
Jerry Pounelle's Book of the Month, BYTE magazine, October 1995.
"The book of the month is Independent Birth Of Organisms by Periannan Senapathy (Genome International, 1994). Fair warning: this book is heavy reading, being nothing less than a new theory of evolution; or, rather, a critique of why current theories based on Darwin can't be correct. If nothing else, this is a readable (with difficulty) introduction to modern molecular biology. I found it fascinating, but then I like complicated scientific detective stories."
"Capital City Sunday," WKOW-TV, November 19, 1995. Wendy Warren interviews Dr. Senapathy about his new theory.
"We have a fascinating topic for you this morning, if not a little complicated, so get ready to challenge your mind."
Time Magazine, Letter to the Editor (unpublished), by Dr. Senapathy in response to the December 4, 1995 cover story about the Cambrian explosion, "Evolution's Big Bang."
Time: "For billions of years, life on earth was dominated by plankton, bacteria and algae. Then, in a burst of creativity like nothing before or since, nature sketched the designs for virtually the entire animal kingdom. What could have powered biology's "Big Bang"? [Full story text]
Senapathy: "No one can explain the scenario of the Cambrian explosion in molecular or genetic terms using the theme of descent with modification. I offer a more plausible scientific explanation of the same empirical findings of the Cambrian explosion." [Full letter text]

1996:

"Book Watch," WYOU, Madison Cable Channel 4, January 23, 1996. James Cox interviews Dr. Senapathy about his book and the new theory.
"One of the most fundamental scientific questions of our age is the origin of life. Our once cherished assumptions don't cover all of the findings."
"To the Best of Our Knowledge," Wisconsin Public Radio, March 17, 1996, a nationally-syndicated radio program hosted by Jim Fleming.
Fleming: "Molecular biologist Periannan Senapathy thinks Darwinian theory fails to explain the creation of new species. He says the fossil record is so full of holes that the idea of missing links to evolutionary ancestors is science fiction. In fact, he argues that one species can never evolve into a new, entirely different species."
Senapathy: "Whatever Darwin observed is true, and whatever modern biologists and molecular biologists are observing is still true, but they are only observing population level changes -- changes of a distinct organism into its own varieties. Evolutionists only look at some pieces of the whole puzzle and are convinced that their theory is correct, but, if they look at the whole scenario, they cannot explain it. The presence of unique genes cannot be explained by the theory of evolution. ... I can show that multitudes of [split genes] could easily occur in only a small amount of DNA material, actually just about 100 pounds that could fit in a small primordial pond."
[Program details and audio tape]

1997:

"The theory of evolution -- it won't stop evolving," Wisconsin State Journal, February 2, 1997. Science reporter Ron Seely writes about the theory of evolution, and he interviewed Dr. Senapathy.
"Madison is particularly rich with scientists of all stripes who are studying how evolution works. ... Off campus, a renegade molecular biologist named Periannan Senapathy -- one of those rare scientists who doesn't believe Darwin -- has come up with a completely new idea about the origin and evolution of life. ... The theory, he said, solves one of the greatest biological mysteries -- that is, the sudden and unexplained appearance of cells with an organized nucleus."

1998-2003

Could this be the quiet before the storm?