Biology group rejects anti-evolution paper

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A biological society that published an article critical of evolutionary theory issued a statement this week saying its council did not approve the paper.

The paper, published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, caused concern among scientists because it advocated a concept called "intelligent design" that has close parallels to creationism, although proponents insist it is different.

The Biological Society of Washington, which publishes the journal, said the article was published without the prior knowledge of the Council. The society said, "We have met and determined that all of us would have deemed this paper inappropriate for the pages of the Proceedings."

The journal editor, who has since left, published the paper without informing the council.

The paper's author, Stephen Meyer, is director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, a Seattle organization that promotes intelligent design and whose members have lobbied education boards to alter how evolution is taught in schools.

The BSW said it endorsed a resolution by the American Association for the Advancement of Science that intelligent design is not supported by scientific evidence and added ID "will not be addressed in future issues of the Proceedings."