Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes that are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Different characteristics tend to exist within any given population as a result of mutation, genetic recombination and other sources of genetic variation. Evolution occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection (including sexual selection) and genetic drift act on this variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more common or rare within a population. It is this process of evolution that has given rise to biodiversity at every level of biological organisation, including the levels of species, individual organisms and molecules.The scientific theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-19th century and was set out in detail in Darwin's book On the Origin of Species. Evolution by natural selection was first demonstrated by the observation that more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive. This is followed by three observable facts about living organisms: (1) traits vary among individuals with respect to their morphology, physiology and behaviour (phenotypic variation), (2) different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness) and (3) traits can be passed from generation to generation (heritability of fitness). Thus, in successive generations members of a population are more likely to be replaced by the progenies of parents with favourable characteristics that have enabled them to survive and reproduce in their respective environments. In the early 20th century, other competing ideas of evolution such as mutationism and orthogenesis were refuted as the modern synthesis reconciled Darwinian evolution with classical genetics, which established adaptive evolution as being caused by natural selection acting on Mendelian genetic variation.All life on Earth shares a last universal common ancestor (LUCA) that lived approximately 3.5–3.8 billion years ago. The fossil record includes a progression from early biogenic graphite, to microbial mat fossils, to fossilised multicellular organisms. Existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped by repeated formations of new species (speciation), changes within species (anagenesis) and loss of species (extinction) throughout the evolutionary history of life on Earth. Morphological and biochemical traits are more similar among species that share a more recent common ancestor, and can be used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees.Evolutionary biologists have continued to study various aspects of evolution by forming and testing hypotheses as well as constructing theories based on evidence from the field or laboratory and on data generated by the methods of mathematical and theoretical biology. Their discoveries have influenced not just the development of biology but numerous other scientific and industrial fields, including agriculture, medicine and computer science.
This idea came out pondering the question if scientific research is limited in what it can achieve.
Evolution is the process that can lead to the organization of matter as complex as the human mind. Scientific research can lead to different (not necessarily as complex) organizations of...
First year astronomy question, goes as follows:
"A closely exact description of the cooling described above is to consider the differential equation which says that rate of charge of thermal energy equals the rate of radiative
output. That is:
\frac{d}{dt} \frac{\left(3MkT\right)}{m_p} =...
Suppose it turns out that humans with a set of eyes behind their head, or humans with 2 pairs of hands were better than current morphologies.
How would evolution even begin to evolve humans with such features? We don't have any mutations that can produce something remotely close to a second...
This is for those who believe QM includes a phase of unitary evolution. In ordinary QM the state is given by a complex vector (actually a ray) in Hilbert space and it evolves by unitary operators transforming it. Does this complex thing and its behavior exist in out spacetime? If not, then...
The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence, 2005
Hello,
I liked the book The Origin of Mind: Evolution of Brain, Cognition, and General Intelligence, by David C. Geary, 2005 because it not only discusses some of the latest research on human intelligence, but...
I am exploring the evolution discussion from many different subjects. I have thought that maybe math could provide some impact on the discussion. I would like to explore the mathmatical probability of one aspect of evolution. It would seem that the key to man's biological evolution seems to be...
I'm guessing that our history class is (in the next couple of days) going to break out into a huge debate about evolution. In order to quell the usual outburst of completely illogical and factually incorrect arguments that will come up, I want to learn a few basic things about chemistry, mainly...
How does natural selection change the DNA of a population of a certain species to create a new species? In order for a new species to evolve into another won't new DNA have to be formed some how? If so where does this new DNA come from?
A couple of months ago someone left a kitten on the side of the road (it could not have been more than a week old, if that). Me being the push over that I am (even though I am not a cat lover) brought it home. On the way home I stopped by the pet store and got a litter box and the crap you put...
Hi,
I just completed reading a very interesting article called "Love Thy Neighbor: The Evolution of In-Group Morality," by Professor John Hartung. Here is the link to the full article: http://members.aol.com/toexist/ltnhome.html His basic premise is that through the evolutionary processes...
Hey everyone. For my Biology II AP class we were assigned a project in which we have to basically write a term paper on a subject relating to evolution. I asked my teacher whether cancer was tied to evolution in any way and he said there is a possibility. I just have no clue where to start. If...
What is the difference between the Theory of Evolution,
and the Mechanisms and Processes of Evolution?
If someone could please help me out, that would be great!
is there any info out there about this. this might have to go in the philosphy section(well part of it) but i was just wondering if there is such a thing as instant evolution and the only reason I am asking, is the basis of the subjective power of the mind over the body. so far this appears to...
Yes yes, I’m a slacker. I have a short paper (2500 words max) due on Friday for an Earth Sci. class about ‘some aspect of biological evolution’. My chosen topic is the evolution of ears and hearing in animals. I chose it because I’m pretty sure no one else is doing it…and the evolution of eyes...
Hey guys
I have some small questions on evolution. Or what would be the driving factor, or whatever.
Take a population of individuals, that say lived in the mountains in high altitude for thousands of years, and they tend to be shorter with more barrel-shaped chests so that they are...
I've been reading a lot about this controversy about teaching evolution in classrooms, and I have to say that I'm just baffled that we're even arguing about whether or not evolution should be taught in schools. Conservative christians have over taken this country and seem to want to do away with...
has anyone tried using evolution as a tool?
For example, I can envision an experiment where a colony of E.Coli is grown in ever increasing levels of radiation, after after say a year and a couple of million replications later, I would end up with E.Coli that would be very resistant to...
From the NCSE Oct 15 e-newsletter.
I'm not trying to promote ID here, but it sure is refreshing to hear a voice from that arena finally say "hey, shouldn't we be using science to prove our case?"
I was talking to one of my friends earlier and somebody remarked that she wasn't an ape (I don't really remember how that came about). Anyway, I replied that by saying that our ancestors were. After that, she quickly responded that Adam and Eve were and began to say how she totally didn't...
This thread is based on some reading I've done on decoherence (a lot of it by Zurek) and recent experiments involving decoherence and complementarity. One interesting item is the recent experiment by Anton Zeilinger and team involving C60 molecules interacting to produce and interference pattern...
:smile:
microorganisms underwent changes in their dna to form new organisms. The better changed ones survived. The older ones died. The change was brought due to radioactive elements.
how did life evolve out of inanimate organic molecules is a question that has vexed scientists for decades now and no consensus has yet emerged on the issue. however there are many competing theories including RNA world hypothesis, khauffman's models and a bizarre proposition of an initial...
Hey guys;
I just started a class in parasitology this fall, we haven't covered anything yet, just looked as some cases of people infected with parasites.
I was wondering how obligate parasites could have evolved. My thinking is that they were originally facultative parasites that found a...
Could one of you scientists out there help me?
A friend of mine is reading a book called 'Uncommon Dissent', which she says makes a serious claim for doubting the basic tenets of the theory of natural selection.
I suspect that this book and its claims might be flat-earth stuff, easily debunked...
We all know Darwin's theory of how humans were once little monkeys running around, hitting other with sticks, but what about what humans will become?
Some people have "psi power". Like control fire, look anywhere on earth, move objects with their minds. Is that what humans are going to...
can you bio pple help me. My brother and I were having a discussion, and we cannot resolve weather the humans and species in the world today actually evolved from other beings. I believe that the other species did, but I do not believe that for humans. Any help would be great.
According to evolutionary theory, an animal goes through physical changes according to genetic mutations that occur, which in turn are influenced (is the influence direct or indirect?) by environmental changes.
When a genetic mutations occur in humans for example, the result is a handicapped...
Know why the cicada have 13 and 17 year life cycles ? Is there a reason why evolution picked prime numbers for their life-cycles ?
Check out this neat article in the Post :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61426-2004May2.html
I've kinda grown up with computers since the mid 60's. The main difference in me and the computer is our Hardware. It appears to me that human evolution is moving at a snails pace compared to computer evolution. Weather we are talking about computers or humans, the kind of hardware you have and...
Either Sleeth or Canute, please flesh out your ideas fully here. I'm really curious about them. What is it that you think is the driving force behind the inception of life and what makes you believe this?
Can you tell me what the differences between the two are ?
Thanks in advance
Regards,
>>>>I have some posts without having been received any replies so far, please click my name and check them out, then post help me please... I don't know what and how to do...please help..
Again...
suppose we have a single eigen-state finite potential well like following:
V(x)= V, x<-a and x>a;
0, -a<=x<=a;
say only one eigen-state within this well S1(x)
when all of sudden this potetial well broden by size of 2
V(x)= V, x<-2a and...
So this morning, I wokeup and thought "mitochondria!" Weird huh? Why? Well, I thought of it as just another "proof" of evolution from a common ancestor. Not that anyone with an education should doubt it anyway, but just that we and bacteria have the same intracellular organelles should be...
let me start at the begining
evolution is the process of species to continue survival so here came along single celled organisims, multi celled organisims then down the line came humans. with humans evolution took a larger new step, a second being inside a material one that comprehends the...
Seems that not much gets posted here lately. The link is to a simple chart that answers (in advance) some of the questions asked here. Note in particular the abundance label at the bottom of each class, with M Class stars being 80% !
See how few of the biggies (Class O, B and A) are either...
Baez recent paper "Quantum Quandaries" references one that Fotini Markopoulou wrote last year with Hanno Sahlmann and Eli Hawkins
"Evolution in Quantum Causal Histories"
http://arxiv.org/hep-th/0302111
I suspect I'm failing to get the point of this paper, so I mention it in case anyone...
i was once heard that life begin with one cell,
and that cell is made up by chemicals water and other substence from
aerolites.
this is proved by someone i don't remmber.
and then that cell was evolved (some how), and become so many species we have now, so that cell was the...
Until the mid-1980s, the understanding of the development of animal life was that it had followed the logical path of a gradual evolution with more simple phyla over eons leading into more complex phyla.
With the rediscovery of fossils held quietly in the dusty drawers of the Smithsonian...
[SOLVED] Evolution vs Intelligent Design
Something to consider:
Can Darwin's evolutionary concepts of small changes be consistent with an intelligent design that uses adaptic changes within a species but not the random chance of life from inanimate matter to create all life forms and specie...
BELOW ARE THE FIVE STATES THAT HAVE BANNED EVOLUTION FROM THE CLASSROOM, IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
“Currently five states _ Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi and Oklahoma _ have no references to evolution in their state school curriculums, according to the National Center for Science...
Ok here goes, I was thinking about how to improve artificial intelligence capabilities, and I was in biology and for some reason we were taking about neuron and cell capabilities to replicate DNA in mitosis. And then it hit me, if you could create a small self-contained application that would...