Notes

This Is The History Of Evolution Site In 10 Milestones
The Berkeley Evolution Site

The Berkeley site offers resources that can assist students and teachers understand and teach evolution. The materials are arranged in different learning paths like "What does T. rex look like?"

Charles Darwin's theory on natural selection describes how species who are better able to adapt biologically to a changing environment survive over time and those that don't become extinct. Science is about the process of biological evolutionary change.

What is Evolution?

The term "evolution" can have many nonscientific meanings, such as "progress" or "descent with modification." Scientifically, it is a term used to describe a changes in the traits of living organisms (or species) over time. In biological terms, this change is caused by natural selection and genetic drift.

Evolution is an important concept in modern biology. It is an established theory that has withstood the test of time and thousands of scientific tests. Evolution does not deal with the existence of God or religious beliefs in the same way as other scientific theories such as the Copernican or germ theory of diseases.

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

Darwin presented his theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species published in the early 1800s. It claims that different species of organisms have an ancestry that can be traced through fossils and other lines of evidence. This is the modern view on evolution, which is supported in many disciplines that include molecular biology.

Scientists aren't sure how organisms have evolved however they are certain that natural selection and genetic drift are the primary reason for the development of life. People with traits that are advantageous are more likely to survive and reproduce, and they pass their genes on to the next generation. Over time, this results in an accumulation of changes in the gene pool that gradually result in new species and forms.

Some scientists use the term"evolution" in reference to large-scale change, such as the evolution of one species from an ancestral one. Other scientists, such as population geneticists, define it more broadly by referring an overall variation in the frequency of alleles over generations. Both definitions are acceptable and precise however, some scientists claim that the allele-frequency definition is missing important features of the evolutionary process.

Origins of Life

The birth of life is an essential step in 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 many disciplines such as biology and chemistry. The question of how living organisms began is of particular importance in science due to it being an important challenge to the theory of evolution. It is often referred to as "the mystery of life" or "abiogenesis."

Traditionally, the notion that life can arise from nonliving things is known as spontaneous generation, or "spontaneous evolution." This was a popular belief prior to Louis Pasteur's research showed that it was impossible for the development of life to happen through a purely natural process.

Many scientists believe it is possible to move from living to nonliving substances. However, the conditions needed are extremely difficult to replicate in labs. Researchers studying the beginnings of life are also interested in understanding the physical properties of early Earth and other planets.

The growth of life is also dependent on a series of complex chemical reactions which are not predicted by the basic physical laws. mouse click the following article include the reading and replication of complex molecules, such as DNA or RNA, to produce proteins that perform a particular function. These chemical reactions are often compared to the chicken-and-egg issue of how life came into existence with the development of DNA/RNA as well as protein-based cell machinery is crucial for the beginning of life, however, without the appearance of life the chemical process that allows it isn't working.

Abiogenesis research requires collaboration among scientists from different fields. This includes prebiotic scientists, astrobiologists, and planetary scientists.

Evolutionary Changes

The word evolution is usually used to describe the accumulated changes in the genetic traits of a population over time. These changes can be the result of adapting to environmental pressures, as explained in Darwinism.

This mechanism also increases the number of genes that provide a survival advantage in an animal, resulting in an overall change in the appearance of the group. These evolutionary changes are caused by mutations, reshuffling genes during sexual reproduction and gene flow.

Natural selection is the process that makes beneficial mutations more frequent. All organisms undergo changes and reshuffles of genes. As previously mentioned, those who have the advantageous trait have a higher reproduction rate than those who do not. Over the course of many generations, this difference in the numbers of offspring born could result in an inclination towards a shift in the number of beneficial characteristics in a particular population.

This can be seen in the evolution of various beak shapes on finches from the Galapagos Islands. They have developed these beaks in order that they can access food more easily in their new environment. These changes in the shape and form of living organisms may also help create new species.

The majority of changes are caused by a single mutation, although sometimes multiple occur simultaneously. The majority of these changes are neither harmful nor even detrimental to the organism, however a small portion of them could have an advantageous impact on survival and reproduction, thus increasing the frequency of these changes in the population over time. This is the process of natural selection and it could eventually result in the gradual changes that eventually lead to the creation of a new species.

Many people think that evolution is a form of soft inheritance that is the belief that inherited traits can be changed through deliberate choice or misuse. This is a misunderstanding of the biological processes that lead to the process of evolution. A more accurate description of evolution is that it is a two-step procedure that involves the distinct, 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 ancestral ancestors were walking on two legs, as shown by the oldest fossils. Genetic and biological similarities suggest that we are closely related to the chimpanzees. In fact our closest relatives are chimpanzees of the Pan genus. This includes pygmy and bonobos. The last common ancestor shared between humans and chimpanzees was 8 to 6 million years old.

As time has passed, humans have developed a number of traits, including bipedalism as well as the use of fire. They also developed advanced tools. It is only in the past 100,000 years or so that most of the characteristics that differentiate us from other species have developed. They include language, a large brain, the capacity to build and use complex tools, as well as cultural diversity.

Evolution occurs when genetic changes allow individuals of a population to better adapt to their environment. Natural selection is the process that triggers this adaptation. Certain characteristics are more desirable than others. People with better adaptations are more likely to pass on their genes to the next generation. This is the way that all species evolve and forms the foundation of the theory of evolution.

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

Every living thing has a DNA molecule that contains the information needed to control their growth. The DNA molecule is made up of base pairs arranged spirally around sugar molecules and phosphate molecules. The sequence of bases found in each string determines the phenotype or the distinctive appearance and behavior of an individual. Variations in mutations and reshuffling of the genetic material (known as alleles) during reproduction causes variation in a population.


Fossils from the earliest human species Homo erectus, and Homo neanderthalensis have been found in Africa, Asia and Europe. While there are some differences between them the fossils all support the idea that modern humans first came into existence in Africa. The fossil and genetic evidence suggests that early humans left Africa and moved to Asia and Europe.

Here's my website: https://evolutionkr.kr/