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An introduction to evolutionary theory, summarizing some of the key lines of evidence in support of the theory.

Evolution

How stupid of me not to have thought of that.
– Thomas Huxley, after reading Darwin’s Origin ( On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life ).

Introduction

What is Evolution? Surely everyone has heard the word, and perhaps a lot of other words to describe it, but do you really know what that word means, in the context of biology? Here are a few common notions about evolution. How many do you agree with?

  1. Evolution has never been observed directly.
  2. Evolution is only a theory, and has not been shown to be a fact.
  3. Evolution means that life originated, and living things change, randomly.
  4. Evolution is progress; organisms get “better” and more complicated whenever evolution occurs.
  5. Evolution means that individual organisms change.
  6. In order for evolution to occur, the offspring of some organisms will have to be radically different from the parental organisms.

If you said that all of these statements are false, then you have a good understanding of evolution. They are indeed all untrue. However, this is a list of some fairly common misconceptions about evolution, and many people in the world (and particularly in the USA) share one or more of these misconceptions. It is likely that you think that some or all of these statements are true. One of the hardest parts of learning is to undo a well-established misconception, so if you do think that one (or more) of those statements is true, this chapter might be a bit harder for you. But it will be worth the effort, since, as you will learn below, evolution is the guiding framework for modern biological science. Once you have a good understanding of evolution, and the mechanisms that drive it, you will be well-poised to learn and understand the biology that comes in the rest of this course.

Evolution – what is it?

The biological world is extremely diverse. In fact, that is one of the most powerful realizations that come from the study of biology, or even just from being an observant person in the world. Living things range from the microscopic bacteria to the immense blue whale. They have a diversity of life styles and metabolic capacities, from photosynthetic creatures who can make their own food from carbon dioxide gas, to predatory creatures, all the way to parasitic creatures who have some of the most complicated life styles of all. Within any one of these groups, there is also astounding diversity. Open any field guide, whether for birds, mammals, flowering plants, or mushrooms, and you will be confronted with an abundance of colors, sizes, shapes and behaviors. Even within a single species, say Homo sapiens, there is diversity. Look around your classroom and you will see people with a wide variety of skin colors, hair colors, eye colors, heights and weights. This diversity is a fact, and for many millennia, human beings have been trying to come up with explanations for that well-observed fact.

Questions & Answers

what is mutation
Janga Reply
what is a cell
Sifune Reply
how is urine form
Sifune
what is antagonism?
mahase Reply
classification of plants, gymnosperm features.
Linsy Reply
what is the features of gymnosperm
Linsy
how many types of solid did we have
Samuel Reply
what is an ionic bond
Samuel
What is Atoms
Daprince Reply
what is fallopian tube
Merolyn
what is bladder
Merolyn
what's bulbourethral gland
Eduek Reply
urine is formed in the nephron of the renal medulla in the kidney. It starts from filtration, then selective reabsorption and finally secretion
onuoha Reply
State the evolution relation and relevance between endoplasmic reticulum and cytoskeleton as it relates to cell.
Jeremiah
what is heart
Konadu Reply
how is urine formed in human
Konadu
how is urine formed in human
Rahma
what is the diference between a cavity and a canal
Pelagie Reply
what is the causative agent of malaria
Diamond
malaria is caused by an insect called mosquito.
Naomi
Malaria is cause by female anopheles mosquito
Isaac
Malaria is caused by plasmodium Female anopheles mosquitoe is d carrier
Olalekan
a canal is more needed in a root but a cavity is a bad effect
Commander
what are pathogens
Don Reply
In biology, a pathogen (Greek: πάθος pathos "suffering", "passion" and -γενής -genēs "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is anything that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ. The term pathogen came into use in the 1880s.[1][2
Zainab
A virus
Commander
Definition of respiration
Muhsin Reply
respiration is the process in which we breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide
Achor
how are lungs work
Commander
where does digestion begins
Achiri Reply
in the mouth
EZEKIEL
what are the functions of follicle stimulating harmones?
Rashima Reply
stimulates the follicle to release the mature ovum into the oviduct
Davonte
what are the functions of Endocrine and pituitary gland
Chinaza
endocrine secrete hormone and regulate body process
Achor
while pituitary gland is an example of endocrine system and it's found in the Brain
Achor
what's biology?
Egbodo Reply
Biology is the study of living organisms, divided into many specialized field that cover their morphology, physiology,anatomy, behaviour,origin and distribution.
Lisah
biology is the study of life.
Alfreda
Biology is the study of how living organisms live and survive in a specific environment
Sifune
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Source:  OpenStax, Principles of biology. OpenStax CNX. Aug 09, 2016 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11569/1.25
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