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In Darwin’s day, biologists travelled the world to identify and classify plants and animals. They collected specimens and named them, grouping them in related categories to show how life on Earth is organised.

But today, support for taxonomy – the system of species classification pioneered by 18th century ‘superstar’ biologist Carl Linnaeus – is dwindling.

The lack of funding isn’t just an esoteric problem for a few people in labs and university classrooms. It affects children (and likely their parents) as much as professional scientists.

Taxonomy “has suffered somewhat because we’re not taking kids out into the world, showing them the world,” says one present day biologist currently working on a project called Venus, designed to find new species on the ocean floor. “Children haven’t changed. The sense of wonder is no different in the modern child.”

But nature has to compete with TV and the internet, and structured play. The ramifications potentially run deep. In the words of another biologist: “It is unrealistic to expect people to care for the local environment if they are unaware of the organisms that live in it.”

A “treasure trove” of fossils – including some collected by Charles Darwin during his voyage aboard the Beagle to the Galapagos Islands in 1834 – has been rediscovered in an old cabinet.

Dr John Ludden, executive director of the Geological Survey said: “This is quite a remarkable discovery. It really makes one wonder what else might be hiding in our collections.”

As Astronomer Royal and president of the Royal Society respectively Nevil Maskelyne and Joseph Banks had a long and complex relationship, spanning more than forty years.

The two giants of late 18th century science were key members of the Board of Longitude and during the formative years of their friendship they were close, sometimes sharing smutty jokes in their letters to one another.

An article in the British Medical Journal this week has reopened the debate about whether the skeleton of Charles Byrne, the ‘Irish Giant’, should be removed from the London museum where it has been on display for almost 200 years and buried at sea, as was his wish.

Byrne, who reputedly grew to more than eight feet tall, was born near the border of County Derry and County Tyrone in 1761, not far from the shores of Lough Neagh.

From an early age his exceptional height gained him local fame and his impoverished parents were persuaded to appoint a manager to exhibit him as a ‘curiosity’ for money.

Joe Vance took Byrne to London in April 1782 to seek his fortune, where he took on the name Charles O’Brien and quickly attained celebrity status, mingling with the rich and famous, even entertaining the court of King George III.

But his day-to-day life was rather more mundane, remaining in a room in Spring Gardens, Charing Cross for hours on end while a constant stream of customers paid two-shillings-and-six-pence a turn to gawp at him.

One of those most intrigued by Byrne was the experimental surgeon John Hunter. On perceiving that the young man’s condition was taking its toll and was potentially fatal, Hunter became obsessed with acquiring Byrne’s body.

From January 1, 2012 botanists will no longer be required to provide Latin descriptions of newly discovered plants in a move designed to speed up the process of classifying species before they die out.

The new rules, agreed at a conference during the International Botanical Congress last summer, represent a radical shake-up of a system that dates back almost 260 years.

The ‘binomial’ tradition of scientific nomenclature – such as Homo sapiens for humans – has its origins in the 1753 publication of Species Plantarum by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.

As part of the process of establishing the scientific foundation for a new species, botanists not only have to give them Latinized names but also, from 1908, have been required to describe them in exact detail using the ancient language.

However, fewer and fewer scientists are comfortable with Latin these days and as fears grow that climate change and deforestation could wipe out many species before we’ve had a chance to register their existence, the decision has been made to drop the need for a Latin description.

While the headline on the source article is rather misleading – Latin names for newly discovered plants will still be required – this is still a major change in the history of taxonomy and the relevance of Linnaean system today is still very much a live debate.