11 Creative Methods To Write About Evolution Site

The Academy's Evolution Site

The concept of biological evolution is a fundamental concept in biology. The Academies are committed to helping those interested in science understand evolution theory and how it is incorporated across all areas of scientific research.

This site provides teachers, students and general readers with a wide range of learning resources on evolution. It includes key video clip from NOVA and WGBH produced science programs on DVD.

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol of the interconnectedness of all life. It is an emblem of love and harmony in a variety of cultures. It also has practical applications, like providing a framework for understanding the history of species and how they respond to changes in environmental conditions.

The earliest attempts to depict the world of biology focused on the classification of organisms into distinct categories which were distinguished by their physical and metabolic characteristics1. These methods rely on the collection of various parts of organisms or short DNA fragments have greatly increased the diversity of a Tree of Life2. These trees are mostly populated by eukaryotes and the diversity of bacterial species is greatly underrepresented3,4.

Genetic techniques have greatly broadened our ability to depict the Tree of Life by circumventing the requirement for direct observation and experimentation. We can construct trees using molecular techniques such as the small subunit ribosomal gene.

Despite the dramatic expansion of the Tree of Life through genome sequencing, much biodiversity still is waiting to be discovered. This is particularly the case for microorganisms which are difficult to cultivate and are typically found in one sample5. A recent analysis of all genomes known to date has produced a rough draft of the Tree of Life, including many archaea and bacteria that have not been isolated and whose diversity is poorly understood6.

This expanded Tree of Life is particularly useful in assessing the diversity of an area, which can help to determine if specific habitats require special protection. This information can be used in many ways, including finding new drugs, battling diseases and improving the quality of crops. This information is also extremely useful in conservation efforts. It can aid biologists in identifying those areas that are most likely contain cryptic species with important metabolic functions that could be at risk from anthropogenic change. Although funds to safeguard biodiversity are vital but the most effective way to protect the world's biodiversity is for more people living in developing countries to be equipped with the knowledge to act locally in order to promote conservation from within.

Phylogeny

A phylogeny is also known as an evolutionary tree, shows the relationships between groups of organisms. Scientists can create a phylogenetic chart that shows the evolutionary relationship of taxonomic groups using molecular data and morphological similarities or differences. The role of phylogeny is crucial in understanding biodiversity, genetics and evolution.

A basic phylogenetic Tree (see Figure PageIndex 10 ) is a method of identifying the relationships between organisms with similar traits that evolved from common ancestral. These shared traits are either analogous or homologous. Homologous traits are the same in terms of their evolutionary journey. Analogous traits may look similar but they don't share the same origins. Scientists combine similar traits into a grouping known as a clade. Every organism in a group have a common characteristic, like amniotic egg production. They all evolved from an ancestor with these eggs. A phylogenetic tree is then constructed by connecting the clades to identify the organisms that are most closely related to each other.

Scientists use molecular DNA or RNA data to create a phylogenetic chart which is more precise and precise. This data is more precise than the morphological data and provides evidence of the evolution history of an individual or group. Researchers can use Molecular Data to estimate the age of evolution of organisms and determine how many species share the same ancestor.

The phylogenetic relationships of a species can be affected by a variety of factors that include phenotypicplasticity. This is a type of behaviour that can change in response to specific environmental conditions. This can cause a characteristic to appear more similar to one species than to the other which can obscure the phylogenetic signal. However, this issue can be reduced by the use of methods such as cladistics that combine analogous and homologous features into the tree.

In addition, phylogenetics can aid in predicting the duration and rate of speciation. This information can help conservation biologists decide which species they should protect from the threat of extinction. Ultimately, it is the preservation of phylogenetic diversity that will lead to an ecologically balanced and complete ecosystem.

Evolutionary Theory

The main idea behind evolution is that organisms change over time as a result of their interactions with their environment. Many theories of evolution have been proposed by a wide variety of scientists, including the Islamic naturalist Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274) who proposed that a living organism develop slowly according to its requirements, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) who designed modern hierarchical taxonomy, and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) who suggested that use or disuse of traits causes changes that could be passed on to the offspring.

In the 1930s and 1940s, ideas from various fields, including genetics, natural selection, and particulate inheritance -- came together to form the current evolutionary theory which explains how evolution happens through the variation of genes within a population and how those variations change over time as a result of natural selection. This model, which incorporates genetic drift, mutations, gene flow and sexual selection, can be mathematically described mathematically.

Recent developments in evolutionary developmental biology have shown how variation can be introduced to a species by genetic drift, mutations or reshuffling of genes in sexual reproduction and migration between populations. These processes, in conjunction with others such as directional selection and gene erosion (changes in the frequency of genotypes over time) can result in evolution. Evolution is defined as changes in the genome over time, as well as changes in phenotype (the expression of genotypes within individuals).

Incorporating evolutionary thinking into all areas of biology education could increase students' understanding of phylogeny and evolutionary. A recent study conducted by Grunspan and colleagues, for instance demonstrated that teaching about the evidence for evolution helped students accept the concept of evolution in a college-level biology class. For more information on how to teach evolution read The Evolutionary Power of Biology in all Areas of Biology or Thinking Evolutionarily as a Framework for Infusing Evolution into Life Sciences Education.

Evolution in Action

Traditionally, scientists have studied evolution by looking back--analyzing fossils, comparing species, and observing living organisms. However, evolution isn't something that occurred in the past, it's an ongoing process, that is taking place today. The virus reinvents itself to avoid new antibiotics and bacteria transform to resist antibiotics. Animals adapt their behavior as a result of a changing world. The changes that result are often visible.

It wasn't until the 1980s that biologists began to realize that natural selection was also in play.  에볼루션게이밍  is that different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness) and are passed from one generation to the next.

In the past, if one particular allele, the genetic sequence that defines color in a population of interbreeding species, it could quickly become more prevalent than all other alleles. In time, this could mean that the number of moths that have black pigmentation may increase. The same is true for many other characteristics--including morphology and behavior--that vary among populations of organisms.

The ability to observe evolutionary change is easier when a species has a rapid turnover of its generation like bacteria. Since 1988, biologist Richard Lenski has been tracking twelve populations of E. Coli that descended from a single strain. samples of each population are taken every day, and over 500.000 generations have been observed.

Lenski's work has demonstrated that a mutation can profoundly alter the speed at the rate at which a population reproduces, and consequently the rate at which it evolves. It also shows evolution takes time, something that is hard for some to accept.

Microevolution can be observed in the fact that mosquito genes for pesticide resistance are more prevalent in populations that have used insecticides. Pesticides create an exclusive pressure that favors those with resistant genotypes.

The rapidity of evolution has led to a growing appreciation of its importance, especially in a world shaped largely by human activity. This includes pollution, climate change, and habitat loss that hinders many species from adapting. Understanding evolution will assist you in making better choices about the future of our planet and its inhabitants.