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The Berkeley Evolution Site

Teachers and students who browse the Berkeley site will find resources to help them understand and teach evolution. The resources are organized into a variety of learning paths like "What did T. rex taste like?"

Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection describes how species who are better able to adapt to changes in their environments over time, and those who do not disappear. Science is concerned with this process of biological evolutionary change.

What is Evolution?

The word evolution can be used to refer to a variety of nonscientific meanings. For instance it could mean "progress" and "descent with modifications." Scientifically, it is a term used to describe a change in the characteristics of organisms (or species) over time. In biological terms the change is caused by natural selection and genetic drift.

Evolution is an important principle in modern biology. It is an accepted theory that has stood the test of time and thousands of scientific studies. Evolution does not deal with the existence of God or religious beliefs, unlike many other theories of science, such as the Copernican or germ theory of diseases.

Early evolutionists, like Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Erasmus Darwin (Charles's grandfather) believed that certain physical characteristics were predetermined to change, in a gradual manner, over time. They referred to this as the "Ladder of Nature" or scala naturae. Charles Lyell first used this term in 1833 in his Principles of Geology.

Darwin published his theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species, written in the early 1800s. It asserts that all species of organisms have an ancestry that can be traced using fossils and other evidence. This is the modern view on evolution, and is supported in many disciplines, including molecular biology.

Scientists do not know how organisms have evolved but they are sure that natural selection and genetic drift is the primary reason for the development of life. People with desirable traits are more likely than others to live and reproduce. They pass on their genes to the next generation. Over time, this results in a gradual accumulation of changes to the gene pool that gradually result in new species and types.

Some scientists also employ the term"evolution" to describe large-scale evolutionary changes, such as the formation of the new species from an ancestral species. Other scientists, such as population geneticists, define evolution more broadly, referring to a net change in allele frequencies over generations. Both definitions are acceptable and accurate however, some scientists claim that the allele-frequency definition omits essential aspects of the evolution process.

Origins of Life

The emergence of life is a crucial step in the process of evolution. The beginning of life takes place when living systems start to develop at a microscopic level, such as within individual cells.

The origins of life are an important topic in a variety of areas, including biology and the field of chemistry. The origin of life is a subject that is of immense interest to scientists, as it is a challenge to the theory of evolution. It is often referred to "the mystery" of life or "abiogenesis."

The notion that life could arise from non-living objects was referred to as "spontaneous generation" or "spontaneous evolutionary". This was a common belief prior to Louis Pasteur's experiments proved that the emergence of living organisms was not possible through the natural process.

Many scientists believe that it is possible to go from nonliving substances to life. However, the conditions required are extremely difficult to reproduce in the laboratory. Researchers who are interested in the origins and development of life are also keen to learn about the physical characteristics of the early Earth as well as other planets.

try this -cycle of a living organism is dependent on a number of complex chemical reactions that are not predicted by simple physical laws. These include the reading and re-reading of complex molecules, such as DNA or RNA, to create proteins that perform a specific function. These chemical reactions can be compared with a chicken-and egg problem which is the development and emergence of DNA/RNA, the protein-based cell machinery, is essential for the beginning of life. But, without life, the chemistry required to create it does appear to work.

Research in the area of abiogenesis requires collaboration between scientists from many different fields. This includes prebiotic chemists, the astrobiologists, the planet scientists geophysicists, geologists, and geophysicists.

Evolutionary Changes

The term "evolution" today is used to describe gradual changes in genetic traits over time. These changes can be the result of adaptation to environmental pressures as explained in Darwinism.

This process increases the number of genes that provide the advantage of survival for the species, leading to an overall change in the appearance of a group. The specific mechanisms responsible for these evolutionary changes are mutation and reshuffling of genes in sexual reproduction, and gene flow between populations.

While reshuffling and mutation of genes happen in all living organisms and the process by which beneficial mutations become more common is called natural selection. As previously mentioned, those who have the advantageous trait have a higher reproduction rate than those who don't. This variation in the number of offspring produced over a long period of time can cause a gradual change in the number of advantageous traits in a group.

This is evident in the evolution of various beak designs on finches that are found in the Galapagos Islands. They have developed these beaks so that they can eat more quickly in their new home. These changes in form and shape can aid in the creation of new organisms.

The majority of changes are caused by a single mutation, although sometimes multiple occur at the same time. Most of these changes are not harmful or even detrimental to the organism, but a small percentage can be beneficial to the longevity and reproduction of the species, thus increasing the frequency of these changes in the population over time. Natural selection is a process that could result in the accumulation of change over time that leads to a new species.

Some people confuse evolution with the idea of soft inheritance, which is the idea that inherited traits can be altered by deliberate choice or misuse. This is a misunderstood understanding of the nature of evolution and of the actual biological processes that trigger it. A more accurate description of evolution is that it is a two-step procedure involving the independent, and often competing, forces of natural selection and mutation.

Origins of Humans

Humans of today (Homo sapiens) evolved from primates, a group of mammals that also includes gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos. Our ancestors walked on two legs, as evidenced by the earliest fossils. Genetic and biological similarities show that we share the same ancestry with the chimpanzees. In reality we are the closest related to the chimpanzees within the Pan Genus which includes bonobos and pygmy chimpanzees. The last common ancestor between modern humans and chimpanzees dated 8 to 6 million years old.

In the course of time humans have developed a variety of characteristics, including bipedalism and the use of fire. They also created advanced tools. However, it is only in the last 100,000 years or so that the majority of the important traits that distinguish us from other species have been developed. These include a large brain that is complex and the capacity of humans to construct and use tools, as well as cultural diversity.

The process of evolution is when genetic changes allow members of the group to better adapt to the environment. This adaptation is driven by natural selection, a process that determines certain traits are favored over other traits. People with better adaptations are more likely to pass on their genes to the next generation. This is the way all species evolve and is the basis of the theory of evolution.

Scientists call this the "law of natural selection." The law states species that share an ancestor will tend to develop similar characteristics over time. It is because these traits allow them to live and reproduce in their environment.

Every living thing has a DNA molecule that contains the information needed to control their growth. The DNA molecule consists of base pairs arranged spirally around sugar molecules and phosphate molecules. The sequence of bases in each strand determines the phenotype, the distinctive appearance and behavior of a person. A variety of mutations and reshufflings of the genetic material (known as alleles) during reproduction causes variations in a population.

Fossils of the earliest human species, Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis, have been found in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Despite some differences they all support the notion that modern humans first appeared in Africa. Genetic and fossil evidence also suggest that early humans moved from Africa into Asia and then Europe.