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10 Evolution Site Related Projects That Can Stretch Your Creativity
The Berkeley Evolution Site

Students and teachers who explore the Berkeley site will find resources to aid in understanding and teaching evolution. The materials are organized into a variety of learning paths like "What did T. rex taste like?"

Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection explains how creatures that are better equipped to adapt to changes in their environments survive longer and those that do not become extinct. This process of evolution is what science is all about.

What is Evolution?

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

Evolution is an important principle in the field of biology today. It is a concept that has been tested and confirmed by thousands of scientific tests. Unlike many other scientific theories like the Copernican theory or the germ theory of disease, the evolution theory does not address questions of religion or God's existence.

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. This was referred to as the "Ladder of Nature", or scala Naturae. Charles Lyell used the term to describe this idea in his Principles of Geology, first published in 1833.

In the early 1800s, Darwin formulated his theory of evolution and published it in his book On the Origin of Species. It states that all species of organisms have a common ancestry, which can be traced through fossils and other lines of evidence. This is the current view of evolution, which is supported in a wide range of disciplines which include molecular biology.

Scientists do not know how organisms have evolved however they are certain that natural selection and genetic drift is the primary reason for the evolution of life. People with desirable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, and these individuals transmit their genes to the next generation. Over time the gene pool slowly changes and develops into new species.

Certain scientists use the term evolution in reference to large-scale changes, like the formation of a species from an ancestral one. Others, like population geneticists, define evolution more broadly by referring to the net change in the frequency of alleles across generations. Both definitions are correct and acceptable, however some scientists believe that allele-frequency definitions do not include important aspects of evolutionary process.

Origins of Life

One of the most crucial steps in evolution is the development of life. The emergence of life occurs when living systems begin to develop at a micro scale, for instance within cells.

무료에볼루션 of life is an important subject in many disciplines such as biology and the field of chemistry. The question of how living things got their start is of particular importance in science because it is an enormous challenge to the theory of evolution. It is sometimes referred to "the mystery" of life or "abiogenesis."

The notion that life could arise from non-living matter was known as "spontaneous generation" or "spontaneous evolutionary". This was a common belief prior to Louis Pasteur's tests showed that the creation of living organisms was not possible by an organic process.

Many scientists believe that it is possible to make the transition from nonliving substances to life. The conditions required to create life are difficult to reproduce in a lab. This is why scientists studying the nature of life are also interested in determining the physical properties of the early Earth and other planets.

Furthermore, the growth of life depends on the sequence of extremely complex chemical reactions that cannot be predicted from the fundamental physical laws alone. These include the reading and re-reading of complex molecules, like DNA or RNA, to produce proteins that perform a particular function. These chemical reactions can be compared to the chicken-and-egg issue which is the development and emergence of DNA/RNA, protein-based cell machinery, is required to begin the process of becoming a living organism. However without life, the chemistry needed to make it possible is working.

Research in the area of abiogenesis requires cooperation among scientists from a variety of fields. This includes prebiotic chemists the astrobiologists, the planet scientists geophysicists and geologists.

Evolutionary Changes

The term "evolution" today is used to describe the cumulative changes in genetic characteristics over time. These changes may be the result of adaptation to environmental pressures as discussed in Darwinism.

This is a process that increases the frequency of genes in a species that confer an advantage in survival over other species which results in gradual changes in the appearance of a group. The specific mechanisms behind these changes in evolutionary process include mutation or reshuffling genes during sexual reproduction, and gene flow between populations.

While mutation and reshuffling of genes happen in all organisms and the process by which beneficial mutations are more frequent is called natural selection. As previously mentioned, those with the beneficial trait have a higher reproductive rate than those that do not. This variation in the number of offspring that are produced over a number of generations could result in a gradual shift in the average number advantageous characteristics in the group.

One good example is the growth of beak size on various species of finches on the Galapagos Islands, which have developed different beak shapes that allow them to easily access food in their new habitat. These changes in the form and shape of organisms can also aid in the creation of new species.

The majority of changes are caused by one mutation, although sometimes multiple occur at once. The majority of these changes are not harmful or even harmful to the organism however a small portion of them could be beneficial to the survival of the organism and its reproduction, thereby increasing the frequency of these changes in the population over time. Natural selection is a process that causes the accumulating change over time that eventually leads to a new species.

Many people mistakenly associate evolution with the concept of soft inheritance that is the belief that inherited traits can be altered by conscious choice or by abuse. This is a misunderstood understanding of the nature of evolution, and of the actual biological processes that trigger it. It is more accurate to say that the process of evolution is a two-step independent process, which involves the forces of natural selection and mutation.

Origins of Humans

Humans of today (Homo Sapiens) evolved from primates, which is a group of mammal species which includes gorillas and chimpanzees. The earliest human fossils indicate that our ancestors were bipeds - walking on two legs. Genetic and biological similarities suggest that we are closely related to Chimpanzees. In reality we are the closest with chimpanzees in the Pan genus which includes pygmy chimpanzees and bonobos. The last common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees was 8 to 6 million years old.

In the course of time humans have developed a range of traits, including bipedalism as well as the use of fire. They also invented advanced tools. It's only in the last 100,000 years that we have developed the majority of our essential traits. These include language, large brain, the ability to build and use complex 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 triggered by natural selection, a process whereby certain traits are more desirable than other traits. Those with the better adaptations are more likely to pass their genes to the next generation. This is how all species evolve, and it is the foundation of the theory of evolution.

Scientists refer to this as the "law of natural selection." The law says that species that share a common ancestor tend to develop similar characteristics over time. This is because these traits make it easier for them to live and reproduce in their environment.

Every living thing has a DNA molecule that contains the information needed to guide their growth. The DNA molecule is made up of base pairs arranged spirally around sugar molecules and phosphate molecules. The sequence of bases within each strand determines phenotype which is the person's distinctive appearance and behavior. Variations in mutations and reshufflings of the genetic material (known as alleles) during sexual reproduction can cause variation in a group.


Fossils of the first human species, Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis were discovered in Africa, Asia, and Europe. These fossils, despite some variations in their appearance, all support the idea of modern humans' origins in Africa. Evidence from fossils and genetics suggest that early humans came out of Africa into Asia and then Europe.

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