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The Academy's Evolution Site

imageThe concept of biological evolution is a fundamental concept in biology. The Academies have been for a long time involved in helping those interested in science understand the theory of evolution and how it influences all areas of scientific exploration.

This site provides a range of resources for teachers, students as well as general readers about evolution. It also includes important video clips from NOVA and WGBH produced science programs on DVD.

Tree of Life

The Tree of Life, an ancient symbol, symbolizes the interconnectedness of all life. It appears in many cultures and spiritual beliefs as symbolizing unity and love. It has numerous practical applications as well, such as providing a framework to understand the history of species, and how they react to changes in environmental conditions.

Early approaches to depicting the world of biology focused on the classification of organisms into distinct categories that were identified by their physical and metabolic characteristics1. These methods, which rely on sampling of different parts of living organisms or 무료 에볼루션 short fragments of their DNA, greatly increased the variety of organisms that could be represented in the tree of life2. These trees are mostly populated of eukaryotes, while the diversity of bacterial species is greatly underrepresented3,4.

Genetic techniques have greatly expanded our ability to depict the Tree of Life by circumventing the requirement for direct observation and experimentation. We can create trees using molecular methods like the small-subunit ribosomal gene.

Despite the rapid growth of the Tree of Life through genome sequencing, a large amount of biodiversity remains to be discovered. This is particularly true of microorganisms, which can be difficult to cultivate and are typically only present in a single sample5. A recent analysis of all genomes resulted in an unfinished draft of a Tree of Life. This includes a variety of bacteria, archaea and other organisms that haven't yet been identified or 무료 에볼루션 their diversity is not well understood6.

The expanded Tree of Life can be used to evaluate the biodiversity of a particular area and determine if particular habitats require special protection. This information can be utilized in a variety of ways, from identifying the most effective remedies to fight diseases to enhancing the quality of crops. It is also beneficial to conservation efforts. It helps biologists determine those areas that are most likely contain cryptic species with potentially important metabolic functions that could be at risk of anthropogenic changes. While funds to safeguard biodiversity are vital, ultimately the best way to ensure the preservation of biodiversity around the world is for more people living in developing countries to be empowered with the knowledge to act locally to promote conservation from within.

Phylogeny

A phylogeny, also called an evolutionary tree, reveals the relationships between groups of organisms. Scientists can create an phylogenetic chart which shows the evolution of taxonomic groups based on molecular data and morphological differences or similarities. The concept of phylogeny is fundamental to understanding evolution, biodiversity and 무료 에볼루션 genetics.

A basic phylogenetic tree (see Figure PageIndex 10 ) identifies the relationships between organisms that share similar traits that evolved from common ancestral. These shared traits could be analogous, or homologous. Homologous traits are similar in their evolutionary roots while analogous traits appear like they do, but don't have the same origins. Scientists combine similar traits into a grouping referred to as a the clade. For 무료 에볼루션 instance, all the organisms in a clade have the characteristic of having amniotic egg and evolved from a common ancestor who had these eggs. The clades are then connected to form a phylogenetic branch that can determine the organisms with the closest relationship to.

Scientists use DNA or RNA molecular data to build a phylogenetic chart that is more accurate and precise. This information is more precise and gives evidence of the evolution of an organism. Researchers can utilize Molecular Data to estimate the age of evolution of organisms and identify how many organisms have an ancestor common to all.

The phylogenetic relationship can be affected by a variety of factors that include phenotypicplasticity. This is a kind of behavior that alters in response to particular environmental conditions. This can cause a particular trait to appear more similar in one species than another, obscuring the phylogenetic signal. However, this problem can be solved through the use of methods such as cladistics which incorporate a combination of similar and homologous traits into the tree.

Furthermore, phylogenetics may help predict the duration and rate of speciation. This information can aid conservation biologists in making choices about which species to save from disappearance. In the end, it is the preservation of phylogenetic diversity that will lead to an ecosystem that is balanced and complete.

imageEvolutionary Theory

The fundamental concept in evolution is that organisms change over time as a result of their interactions with their environment. Many scientists have come up with theories of evolution, such as the Islamic naturalist Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-274) who believed that an organism would evolve according to its own needs, the Swedish taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) who conceived the modern taxonomy system that is hierarchical as well as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1844-1829), who suggested that the use or non-use of traits can cause changes that can be passed on to future generations.

In the 1930s and 1940s, ideas from various fields, including genetics, natural selection and particulate inheritance--came together to form the modern evolutionary theory synthesis which explains how evolution occurs through the variations of genes within a population, and 에볼루션 코리아 바카라사이트 (8.140.244.224) how those variations change over time due to natural selection. This model, which encompasses genetic drift, mutations, gene flow and sexual selection is mathematically described.

Recent developments in the field of evolutionary developmental biology have shown that genetic variation can be introduced into a species via mutation, genetic drift, and reshuffling of genes during sexual reproduction, and also through the movement of populations. These processes, along with other ones like directional selection and gene erosion (changes in frequency of genotypes over time), can lead towards evolution. Evolution is defined as changes in the genome over time as well as changes in phenotype (the expression of genotypes within individuals).

Students can gain a better understanding of the concept of phylogeny by using evolutionary thinking into all areas of biology. A recent study conducted by Grunspan and colleagues, for example revealed that teaching students about the evidence that supports evolution increased students' understanding of evolution in a college biology course. To learn more about how to teach about evolution, please see The Evolutionary Potential in all Areas of Biology and Thinking Evolutionarily A Framework for Infusing Evolution into Life Sciences Education.

Evolution in Action

Scientists have studied evolution by looking in the past, analyzing fossils and comparing species. They also observe living organisms. However, evolution isn't something that occurred in the past. It's an ongoing process, taking place in the present. Viruses reinvent themselves to avoid new drugs and bacteria evolve to resist antibiotics. Animals adapt their behavior in the wake of the changing environment. The changes that result are often visible.

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