15 Interesting Facts About Evolution Site That You Didn't Know

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources which support evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions which undermine it. It's organized in the "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and challenging subject to teach effectively. It is often misunderstood by non-scientists, and even some scientists are guilty of using definitions that confuse the issue. This is particularly true when discussing the definition of the words.

It is therefore crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and useful way. The website is a companion to the show that premiered in 2001, but it can also function as an independent resource. The content is organized in a way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms like common ancestor, 에볼루션바카라 gradual process and adaptation. These terms help define the nature and significance of evolution with other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and 에볼루션 코리아 validated. This information can help dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.

It is also possible to access a glossary of terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

Adaptation: The tendency of hereditary traits to become more suitable to a particular setting. This is the result of natural selection, which happens when organisms that are more adaptable characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adapted traits.

Common ancestor: The latest common ancestor of two or more different species. By analyzing the DNA from these species it is possible to identify the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that holds the information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind 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 in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups which can interbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. Changes can be caused by many factors, such as natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species may take thousands of years and the process may be slowed down or speeded up due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a variety of animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major transitions that occurred in the history of each group. It also explores the human evolutionary roots and humans, a subject that is particularly important for students to comprehend.

When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. The famous skullcap, with the bones associated with it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, just one year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.

The site is primarily an online biology resource however it also includes many details on paleontology and geology. One of the most appealing features of the Web site are a series of timelines that show the way in which climatic and geological conditions changed over time, 에볼루션 슬롯게임 and a map of the geographical distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.

The site is a companion to a PBS television series, but it can be used as a source for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more sophisticated components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks help users move from the cartoon-like style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. In particular there are hyperlinks to John Endler's research with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in an array of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their natural environment and has many advantages over modern observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary processes. Paleobiology can examine not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of different groups of animals across geological time.

The website is divided into several routes that can be taken to study the subject of evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on common misconceptions about evolution and the history of evolutionary thought.

Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, and includes materials that support a variety curriculum levels and teaching styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and 에볼루션바카라 multimedia resources which include animations, video clips and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation on the Web site.

For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms, then zooms in on a single clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions at the level of the reef. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia, and 에볼루션코리아 interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is a key method to understand evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that binds all branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the life science disciplines.

One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that provides the depth and the broadness in terms of educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also has an encased "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are more closely linked to the field of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.

Another useful resource is the Evolution Library on this web site, which contains an extensive multimedia library of items that are related to evolution. The content is organized in curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It contains seven videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.

A variety of crucial questions remain in the midst of evolutionary biology, including what causes evolution to occur and 에볼루션 블랙잭 the speed at which it occurs. This is especially true in the case of human evolution where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humanity has a special place in creation and a soul, with the notion that our physical traits were derived from apes.

Additionally there are a myriad of ways that evolution can occur and natural selection is the most popular theory. However scientists also study other types of evolution such as mutation, 에볼루션바카라 genetic drift, and sexual selection, among others.

While many fields of scientific inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts Evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, but others haven't.