The controversy that is evolution. I shall start with the argument against evolution.
Assignment - controversy that is evolution I will be looking at the controversy that is evolution. The one side being we have evolved from primate to Neanderthal man to homo sapien. And the other from a religious creator point of view and the view of no proof of evolution. I shall start with the argument against evolution. The issue here is that faith is something which can not be proven that's why it's called faith because you have to believe, compared to that which has not been proven (theory) (1). This articles argument is that until there is specific evidence and proof in some form of fossil or gradual progression and transition from one species to the next, evolution will remain an unproven, yet appealing, theory. Creationism in the Oxford English Dictionary (6) means 'the belief that the universe and living creatures were created by God in accordance with the account given in the Old Testament.' Creationists will try and argue the case in favour of their belief when people comment on how the Earth is far older than 6000 years and therefore how could God have made it. They infer that the natural processes back then were a lot different to how they are today, such as radioactive decay occurred far more rapid thousands of years ago than it does today, making the earth seem older than it really is. (2). Whether or not decay did occur a lot faster back then is
The Theory of Evolution
The theory of evolution, as set forth by Charles Darwin in 1859, stated that all plant and animal life evolved over long periods of time from simple to more complicated forms through mutation and adaption. He also taught that only the fittest on each species would survive. This concept is called "Evolution by Natural Selection". Natural selection is that the strongest survive and propagate and therefore increase in the strength of the species. On the Galapagos Islands, the various species established themselves and determined territories. Evolution then set in and many unique species, such as Darwin's finches, resulted. These finches probably descended from one type of ancestor and then, due to isolation and through chance, different climates and natural forces such as food availability and type, they evolved into thirteen different types of finches. So in short, based on the food availability and types, certain fiches survived. The process of their evolution would probably have began with immigrates from the mainland. As they dispersed to different islands, new populations would be formed. Every time these satellite populations dispersed, there would be greater differences between the individual species. Natural selection works as follows: . Variations exist in any population. 2. In and generation there are individuals that do not reach maturity and reproduce. Their
Environment and Evolution
What determines where particular species live and how many of them there are? Animals and plants are well adapted to survive in their normal environment. Their population depends on many factors including competition for the things they need, being eaten for food and being infected by disease. * ?to suggest how organisms are adapted to the conditions in which they live * to suggest the factors for which organisms are competing in a given habitat * to suggest reasons for the distribution of animals or plants in a particular habitat. * To survive, organisms require a supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there. * Plants often compete with each other for light and for water and nutrients from the soil. * Animals often compete with each other for food, mates and territory. * Organisms have features (adaptations) which enable them to survive in the conditions in which they normally live. * Animals and plants may be adapted for survival in the conditions where they normally live eg deserts, the Arctic. * Animals and plants may be adapted to cope with specific features of their environment eg thorns, poisons and warning colours to deter predators. Why are individuals of the same species different from each other? What new methods do we have for producing plants and animals with the characteristics we prefer? There are not only
Evolution v.s Religion
CASE STUDY - "EVOLUTION OR CREATION" The homo sapiens is a complex model, made out of 200 bones, skin, hair, tendons etc all place in the precise place enabling our thoughts and movements. There's no possibility that we were made by coincidence. Or is there? Human evolution is one of the most hotly debated areas of biology. At one time, pale anthropologist saw it as an almost linear process, with relatively few branches in the human family tree. But over recent years, new fossil finds have shown that as many as half a dozen hominid species may have been alive at any one time. Remarkably, out of the entire hominid family, only we are left. In the natural world, many processes are fast enough to be tested in real time. For example, it is a simple matter to confirm the pull of gravity - all you have to do is drop something and watch it hit the ground. But evolution is different. Years may go by between one generation and the next, so the effects of evolution may take hundreds of years to become evident. As a result, evolution is difficult to verify by normal scientific methods, making it that much easier for sceptics to dismiss. But while evolution itself is rarely seen, its outcome is all around. It shows up in a huge range of adaptations found in living things, from their outward shape to the complex ways in which they interact. As theses adaptations build up, new species
Evolution of birds
Essay -Evolution of birds- Introduction On planet Earth first come insects unimaginable on a very long distance past then several hundred millions ago, huge and terrifying new life forms pterosaurs or flying dinosaurs reached the airs. These massive creatures had skin wings stretched between one powerful elongated finger and their flanks. Around 150 millions the nature started to make them into, as many scientists says more aerodynamics, feathered creature. And so flimsily biplane ceded the aerial master. The bird has born. Birds are the most successful terrestrial vertebrate, abundant in both numbers of species and populations. Today they live on every continent and occupy virtually all-available ecological niches. About 300 billion birds, over 9,000 species, now inhabit the earth, as compared to 3,000 species of amphibians, 6,000 species of reptiles, and 4,100 species of mammals (C. Shankar 1997) One of the most intriguing questions of science is whether birds evolved from the dinosaurs. The dispute is not over whether there are evolutionary relationships between birds and dinosaurs. On that point, all paleontologists agree. The birds and the dinosaurs are closely related. The question is, how are they related? In one scenario, birds are dinosaurs. The birds represent a branch of the dinosaur lineage that survived the Cretaceous crisis and radiated into the forms we
Describe the evolution of microbes.
Describe the evolution of microbes When the earth formed some 4.6 billion years ago, it was a lifeless, inhospitable place. A billion years later it was teeming with organisms resembling blue-green algae. How did they get there? How did life begin? Important dates in the history of life - * 4.6 billion years ago - origin of the earth * 3.5 - 4.0 billion years ago - origin of life on earth * 3.5 - 2.0 billion years ago - prokaryotes dominate * 2.7 billion years ago - oxygen accumulates in atmosphere * 2.0 billion years ago - eukaryotic life begins * 1.2 billion years ago - multicellular eukaryotes evolve Earth was formed when a very large, hot star exploded thus creating a new star (the sun) and other components of the galaxy (Madigan, Martinko & Parker 2003). Millions of years passed before the first life forms evolved on the planet. During this period, conditions on earth were very different from that of today. A reducing atmosphere was present containing very little oxygen and it is thought that the environment had high levels of hydrogen, ammonia and methane present (www.britannica.com). In a reducing environment such as this, it is thought that the origin of life was most certainly possible. The joining of simple molecules through chemical bonds into more complex larger molecules can occur in a reducing environment. The joining of molecules would however require
Outline and evaluate Darwin's theory of Evolution.
Outline and evaluate Darwin's theory of Evolution. This essay is first going to look briefly at the pre-Darwin theory of evolution which came from Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Secondly, outline Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and look at some criticisms, lastly it will evaluate Darwin's theory Lamarck (1744-1824), a zoologist, claimed that changes that occurred in animals had been passed on from their ancestors, who in their own life time had responded to its survival needs. Lamarck's example of this would be the giraffe that stretches its neck to reach the higher leaves will gain neck length, which in turn will be passed on to its offspring. This theory became known as 'inheritance of acquired traits'. Lamarck's theories were not accepted, as they only offered an explanation, rather than proof as to why these changes occurred. Darwin (1809-1882) was born to a middle class family in Shrewsbury. Darwin quit medical school and went on to read theology, Euclid and the classics and later secured a position aboard the HMS Beagle, whose venture was to explore the unexplored waters of South America. On his travels Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands; it was here discovered and collected samples of bird fossils of geological interest to himself. On his return, Darwin studied his finding and asked John Gould (1804-1881) to classify the bird fossils. Gould identified these
Human Evolution
Enrique Granados Human Evolution Ardipitecus Ramidus This is the oldest hominid found so far, he shows some physical adaptations for the jungle, many theories say that weather changed and predators forced Ardipitecus Ramidus out of the jungle. Ramidus learned friendship in order to protect each other helping to form societies because they were not adapted to live in the plains. He was an herbivore, and his physiology was designed to eat fruits and soft things. He was not design to eat meat. And food is scarce in the plains. He was structurally too slow to convert to a plain's predator. Birth rate began to decline dramatically so birth increases would require major physical changes to adapt for new kinds of food available in the plains. Now living in the plains the children were more exposed to the dangers that never faced in the forest or the jungle. Therefore the women had to spend more time caring their children and the males needed to take more care of the shores than before. Without the protection of the trees, the tribe needed a shelter from weather and predators and the customs had to change for the sake of survival. Most remains found are skull pieces dating 5.8 million years. There is no solid evidence
Horse Evolution
Horse Evolution The horse family is a classic example of evolution and is supported by extensive fossil evidence. It has been comprehensively studied to form possibly the most complete evolution of any animal after humans. Horses are believed to have first appeared around 55 million years ago in the form of the Hyracotherium, or 'hyrax-like beast' (The World Book Encyclopedia). They originally inhabited North America and Europe, where the oldest fossils of possible ancestors were found (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007). The Przewalski's Horse, Equus ferus przewalskii or Equus caballus przewalskii, belongs to the family Equidae in the order Perissodactyla, which means odd-toed ungulates (Wikipedia, 2007). Animals in this order all have hoofed feet with an odd number of toes, mobile upper lips and similar tooth structure. Other animal families in this order are tapirs and rhinoceroses. In the evolution of the horse, the change of the teeth, toes, legs and overall shape of the body are of particular significance. These characteristics evolved as adaptations to changes in their environment and the progress from a smaller minor species to one of the largest species today. The equids diet began to change from foliage to grasses when grasses first began to flourish, causing the equids to have larger and more durable teeth. Equids also became further under threat from predators as
Evolution Revision Notes
Evolution- Revision for test 11/03/13 Specification- . define the term variation 2. discuss the fact that variation occurs within as well as between species. 3. describe the differences between continuous and discontinuous variation, using examples of a range characteristics found in plants, animals and microorganisms. 4. explain both genetic and environmental causes of variation. 5. Outline the behavioural, physiological ad anatomical (structural) adaptations of organisms to their environments. 6. Explain the consequences of the four observations made by Darwin in proposing his theory of natural selection. 7. Define the term speciation. 8. Discuss the evidence supporting the theory of evolution, with reference to fossil, DNA and molecular evidence. 9. Outline how variation, adaptation and selection are major components of evolution. 0. Discuss why the evolution of pesticide resistance in insects and drug resistance in microorganisms has implications for humans. Variation Individuals within a species have many differences; this is known as intra-specific variation. Variation within a species has two causes- an organism’s genes and its environment. Genetic Variation Some of the variations between individuals within a species are caused by differences in their genes- genetic variation. Alleles – Different varieties of a gene for a particular
