WASHINGTON, D.C.--Prompted by recent court battles and persistent pressures to teach intelligent design in U.S. schools, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Institute of Medicine today released an 88-page booklet—-intended for wide dissemination—-that explains why evolution is science and creationism is not.

The handsomely illustrated document, titled Science, Evolution, and Creationism and unveiled here at NAS headquarters, is an updated version of two previous publications, one released in 1984 and its successor in 1999. According to Jay Labov, the staff director for the project, NAS began revising the booklet during a highly publicized 2005 court case in Dover, Pennsylvania (ScienceNOW, 20 December 2005). The judge ruled that teaching intelligent design in the science classroom is unconstitutional, but some schools are still trying to circumvent the ruling by teaching what they call the scientific "controversy" surrounding evolution.