Convergent Evolution Not all species similarities are due to common ancestry. Species from different evolutionary branches may come to have similar characteristics due to sharing similar ecological roles. Natural selection results in similar evolution or at least similar features. This is known as convergent evolution and resultant similarities are called analogy rather than homology. (Taylor, 1999). An example is the whale; it has a streamlined appearance similar to a fish as they evolved in the
the complexity and functionality of the universe corresponds with Darwin’s theory of evolution. He opposes the argument from design, which states that “everything in the world is made just so that we can manage to live in it, and if the world was ever so little different, we could not manage to live in it.” ( ) He instead believes that there is no validity in the theory of God’s interference with the evolution of living beings. Alternatively, creatures have adapted to be more complex over time in
research centered around how the world and species developed to the way we know them today. His basic theory was that species were not created but evolved and that the driving force in charge of evolution was natural selection. The controversial nature of his work stemmed from his departure of the idea that evolution is a result of God’s will and that God created all species. Though his claims were against the beliefs of many, his work sold out quickly and remains to this day the basis for evolutionary
According to Ehrlich biological evolution can be described as the, “evolution that causes changes in our genetic endowment” (Ehrlich et al. 2005). Humans have been evolving for a very long time now. The first major point in the evolution of human kind is when the development of bipedalism arose. Bipedalism is the use of two legs for primary locomotion. Chimps had walked on all four, but the process of evolution occurred leading to the use of only two legs for locomotion. The ability to stand on two
Evolution by natural selection, a theory proposed by Charles Darwin that all living things undergo a physiological change in response to their environments, applies not only to human beings, but also to organisms as small as a bacterium or a virus. It suggests that one's biological makeup can either be better suited or simply inferior to another's in regards to their surroundings. In this case, natural selection would allow the advantaged organism to thrive, while the other suffers or dies out completely
family. His family, education, and devotion to his studies helped contribute to his success. George Ledyard Stebbins is a man known for being one of the leading evolutionary biologists of the twentieth century. He became known as the ¨father of evolution¨. This man would never had been who he had become without his hard work and dedication. George Ledyard Stebbins Jr.'s father and mother is George and Edith Stebbins. He was born January 6, 1906. George Ledyard grew up with a love for plants and
this specificity, random chance could not have brought about the complexity we see today. For example, the human eye is so precisely tuned for its job that it had to be specifically created for sight by a designer, not because it was a product of evolution. The Argument from Design also claims that the best explanation as to why the universe exists is because God created it, rather than blind chance. Also, because the creation of intelligent gadgets, like watches, is observable, the intelligent world
Survival of the Sickest, by author Dr. Sharon Moalem, is a book that discusses why evolution has not allowed for the destruction of certain diseases over the course of human history. Moalem focuses on many deadly inherited diseases, such as diabetes, hemochromatosis, anemia, vitamin d deficiency and high cholesterol. He explains how such diseases are tools that natural evolution has used, and still uses, to increase the likelihood of human survival. Moalem explains how these genetically and environmentally
distinguish two distinct issues, namely, (1) the causes of form generation in the individual organism during embryological development and (2) the causes responsible for the production of novel organismal forms in the first place during the history of life. To distinguish the latter case (phylogeny) from the former (ontogeny), Muller and Newman use the term �origination� to designate the causal processes by which biological form first arose during the evolution of life. They insist that �the molecular
wanting to rebel against the older generation, pretended to be more open minded while blatantly disregarding the ideas and principles of their elder’s beliefs. They did many things to cause negative repercussions. One of them was the theory of evolution. Some atheists in the younger generation concocted the theory of evolution from the study of apes in Africa coupled with extensive dehydration. They could not bring themselves to believe in something more important than their short meaningless lives. They