How Evolution Site Impacted My Life The Better
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist about evolution. People who have absorbed pop science nonsense often assume that biologists claim they do not believe in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a complement to the PBS program, provides teachers with materials which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that can hinder it. It's organized in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.
Definitions
It's difficult to properly teach evolution. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly applicable to debates about the nature of the word.
As such, it is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website provides this in a simple and efficient way. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but it is also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a nested fashion that aids navigation and 에볼루션 슬롯 룰렛 (Canvas.Instructure.Com) orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor 에볼루션 바카라 무료체험카지노 - historydb.date - and gradual process. These terms help define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and confirmed. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.
It is also possible to find a glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation: The tendency for heritable traits to become better suited to a particular environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adapted traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information required for cell replication. The information is contained in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species, where the evolution of one species are influenced evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey, or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) evolve through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The causes of these changes are numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The evolution of a new species can take thousands of years and the process may be slowed down or accelerated due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the development of various groups of animals and plants over time and focuses on the most significant changes that took place in the history of each group. It also explores human evolution, which is a topic of particular importance to students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and the associated bones discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is highly unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, a year following the initial edition of The Origin.
The site is primarily an online biology resource however, it also has lots of information about paleontology and geology. The most impressive features on the site are a series of timelines which show how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion to the PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introduction information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specific features of the museum's website. These links facilitate the transition from the engaging cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which illustrate the importance ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of plants, animals, and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context, has many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology focuses on not just the processes and events that take place regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of different species of animals in space over the course of geological time.
The website is divided into different options to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on the most common misconceptions about evolution, as well as the evolution theory's history.
Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that support a variety educational levels and teaching styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia content which include video clips, animations and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content helps with navigation and orientation on the large web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships, their interaction with other organisms and is enlarged to show one clam that is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, provide an excellent introduction to a broad spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial tool for understanding the evolution of change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that runs through all branches of biology. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across all life science disciplines.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that provides depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an encased "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site more closely tied to the field of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of assets related to evolution. The content is organized into curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It contains seven short videos specifically intended for use in the classroom. These can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology remains a field of study with a lot of important questions, including the causes of evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly true in the case of human evolution which was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a unique place in the creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits were derived from apes.
There are a myriad of other ways evolution can take place including natural selection, which is the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other types like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
While many scientific fields of inquiry are in conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly fierce debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others haven't.