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The Academy's Evolution Site

Biology is a key concept in biology. The Academies are involved in helping those interested in the sciences learn about the theory of evolution and how it is permeated across all areas of scientific research.

This site provides students, teachers and general readers with a variety of learning resources about evolution. It contains the most important video clips from NOVA and the WGBH-produced science programs on DVD.

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life, an ancient symbol, represents the interconnectedness of all life. It is seen in a variety of spiritual traditions and cultures as an emblem of unity and love. It can be used in many practical ways as well, including providing a framework for understanding the history of species and how they react to changes in environmental conditions.

The first attempts to depict the biological world were founded on categorizing organisms on their metabolic and physical characteristics. These methods, which relied on the sampling of various parts of living organisms or on small fragments of their DNA, significantly increased the variety that could be represented in the tree of life2. However these trees are mainly composed of eukaryotes; bacterial diversity remains vastly underrepresented3,4.

By avoiding the need for 에볼루션바카라 direct experimentation and observation genetic techniques have enabled us to represent the Tree of Life in a more precise manner. Particularly, molecular techniques allow us to construct trees using sequenced markers like the small subunit of ribosomal RNA gene.

The Tree of Life has been greatly expanded thanks to genome sequencing. However, there is still much diversity to be discovered. This is particularly relevant to microorganisms that are difficult to cultivate, and are typically found in a single specimen5. Recent analysis of all genomes resulted in an initial draft of a Tree of Life. This includes a wide range of archaea, bacteria, and other organisms that haven't yet been isolated or the diversity of which is not thoroughly understood6.

This expanded Tree of Life can be used to determine the diversity of a specific region and determine if certain habitats need special protection. This information can be utilized in a variety of ways, such as finding new drugs, battling diseases and enhancing crops. This information is also extremely useful in conservation efforts. It can help biologists identify the areas that are most likely to 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 preserve the world's biodiversity is for more people in developing countries to be empowered with the necessary knowledge to act locally in order to promote conservation from within.

Phylogeny

A phylogeny (also known as an evolutionary tree) depicts the relationships between species. Utilizing molecular data similarities and differences in morphology, or ontogeny (the process of the development of an organism), scientists can build a phylogenetic tree that illustrates the evolutionary relationship between taxonomic categories. The phylogeny of a tree plays an important role in understanding the relationship between genetics, biodiversity and evolution.

A basic phylogenetic Tree (see Figure PageIndex 10 ) identifies the relationships between organisms that share similar traits that have evolved from common ancestors. These shared traits can be analogous, or homologous. Homologous traits are similar in their evolutionary path. Analogous traits may look similar, but they do not share the same origins. Scientists group similar traits into a grouping referred to as a Clade. For instance, all the organisms in a clade have the characteristic of having amniotic eggs. They evolved from a common ancestor which had eggs. The clades are then linked to create a phylogenetic tree to determine the organisms with the closest relationship.

Scientists make use of DNA or RNA molecular information to create a phylogenetic chart which is more precise and detailed. This information is more precise than morphological information and provides evidence of the evolution history of an organism or group. Researchers can use Molecular Data to calculate the age of evolution of organisms and identify the number of organisms that share an ancestor common to all.

Phylogenetic relationships can be affected by a variety of factors such as the phenomenon of phenotypicplasticity. This is a type behavior that alters due to particular environmental conditions. This can cause a trait to appear more similar to one species than another, obscuring the phylogenetic signals. This issue can be cured by using cladistics, which is a the combination of homologous and analogous traits in the tree.

In addition, phylogenetics helps determine the duration and rate at which speciation takes place. This information can help conservation biologists decide the species they should safeguard from the threat of extinction. It is ultimately the preservation of phylogenetic diversity which will lead to a complete and balanced ecosystem.

Evolutionary Theory

The central theme in evolution is that organisms alter over time because of their interactions with their environment. Many theories of evolution have been developed by a variety of scientists including the Islamic naturalist Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274) who believed that an organism would evolve slowly in accordance with its requirements and needs, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) who developed modern hierarchical taxonomy, and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) who suggested that the use or misuse of traits cause changes that could be passed on to offspring.

In the 1930s and 1940s, concepts from various fields, including genetics, natural selection and particulate inheritance, came together to create a modern synthesis of evolution theory. This explains how evolution occurs by the variations in genes within a population and how these variations change over time as a result of natural selection. This model, which encompasses mutations, genetic drift as well as gene flow and sexual selection, can be mathematically described mathematically.

Recent advances in the field of evolutionary developmental biology have demonstrated how variations can be introduced to a species through genetic drift, mutations and reshuffling of genes during sexual reproduction, and even migration between populations. These processes, along with others such as directional selection or genetic erosion (changes in the frequency of an individual's genotype over time) can lead to evolution which is defined by changes in the genome of the species over time, 에볼루션 바카라 체험 에볼루션 카지노 사이트 (Recommended Looking at) and the change in phenotype over time (the expression of the genotype in the individual).

Incorporating evolutionary thinking into all aspects of biology education can increase students' understanding of phylogeny as well as evolution. A recent study by Grunspan and colleagues, for example, showed that teaching about the evidence that supports evolution increased students' acceptance of evolution in a college-level biology class. For more details on how to teach evolution, see The Evolutionary Power of Biology in all Areas of Biology or Thinking Evolutionarily as a Framework for Integrating Evolution into Life Sciences Education.

Evolution in Action

Traditionally, scientists have studied evolution by looking back--analyzing fossils, comparing species, and observing living organisms. Evolution is not a past moment; it is an ongoing process. Bacteria transform and resist antibiotics, viruses reinvent themselves and escape new drugs and animals change their behavior to the changing environment. The results are usually evident.

It wasn't until late 1980s that biologists realized that natural selection could be observed in action as well. The key is that various characteristics result in different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness) and can be passed down from one generation to the next.

In the past, if one particular allele, the genetic sequence that defines color in a group of interbreeding organisms, it could quickly become more prevalent than the other alleles. Over time, that would mean that the number of black moths within the population could 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 generation turnover like bacteria. Since 1988, Richard Lenski, a biologist, has been tracking twelve populations of E.coli that descend from a single strain. Samples of each population have been collected regularly and more than 50,000 generations of E.coli have been observed to have passed.

Lenski's work has demonstrated that a mutation can profoundly alter the speed at which a population reproduces and, consequently, the rate at which it changes. It also demonstrates that evolution takes time--a fact that some find difficult to accept.

Another example of microevolution is the way mosquito genes that are resistant to pesticides appear more frequently in areas in which insecticides are utilized. This is because pesticides cause an enticement that favors those who have resistant genotypes.

The rapidity of evolution has led to a greater appreciation of its importance, especially in a world which is largely shaped by human activities. This includes pollution, climate change, and habitat loss that prevents many species from adapting. Understanding the evolution process can help us make better decisions about the future of our planet as well as the life of its inhabitants.