The 12 Best Evolution Site Accounts To Follow On Twitter
The Academy's Evolution Site
Biology is one of the most central concepts in biology. The Academies are involved in helping those who are interested in science to learn about the theory of evolution and how it is incorporated across all areas of scientific research.
This site provides students, teachers and 에볼루션 바카라 체험 바카라 - Ceshi.xyhero.Com, general readers with a range of learning resources on evolution. It contains key video clips from NOVA and WGBH produced science programs on DVD.
Tree of Life
The Tree of Life is an ancient symbol of the interconnectedness of life. It is an emblem of love and unity across many cultures. It also has many practical uses, like providing a framework to understand the history of species and how they respond to changing environmental conditions.
Early attempts to describe the world of biology were founded on categorizing organisms on their physical and metabolic characteristics. These methods, which rely on the sampling of different parts of organisms or short DNA fragments have significantly increased the diversity of a tree of Life2. However, these trees are largely composed of eukaryotes; bacterial diversity is still largely unrepresented3,4.
Genetic techniques have significantly expanded our ability to visualize the Tree of Life by circumventing the need for direct observation and experimentation. Trees can be constructed by using molecular methods, such as the small-subunit ribosomal gene.
Despite the massive expansion of the Tree of Life through genome sequencing, much biodiversity still remains to be discovered. This is particularly true for microorganisms that are difficult to cultivate and are typically only represented in a single specimen5. A recent analysis of all genomes has produced a rough draft of the Tree of Life. This includes a variety of archaea, bacteria and other organisms that haven't yet been identified or 에볼루션 their diversity is not well understood6.
The expanded Tree of Life can be used to evaluate the biodiversity of a specific region and determine if certain habitats need special protection. This information can be utilized in a variety of ways, from identifying new remedies to fight diseases to improving crop yields. The information is also useful to conservation efforts. It can help biologists identify the areas that are most likely to 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 protect the world's biodiversity is for more people living in developing countries to be empowered with the necessary knowledge to take action locally to encourage conservation from within.
Phylogeny
A phylogeny is also known as an evolutionary tree, reveals the relationships between various groups of organisms. Scientists can construct an phylogenetic chart which shows the evolution of taxonomic groups based on molecular data and morphological differences or similarities. Phylogeny is crucial in understanding evolution, biodiversity and genetics.
A basic phylogenetic Tree (see Figure PageIndex 10 Finds the connections between organisms with similar characteristics and have evolved from an ancestor that shared traits. These shared traits may be homologous, or analogous. Homologous traits are similar in their evolutionary origins, while analogous traits look like they do, but don't have the same origins. Scientists organize similar traits into a grouping called a clade. For instance, all the organisms that make up a clade share the characteristic of having amniotic eggs. They evolved from a common ancestor which had these eggs. The clades are then connected to form a phylogenetic branch that can determine the organisms with the closest connection to each other.
Scientists utilize DNA or RNA molecular information to build a phylogenetic chart that is more accurate and precise. This data is more precise than morphological data and gives evidence of the evolutionary history of an organism or group. Molecular data allows researchers to identify the number of organisms that have the same ancestor and estimate their evolutionary age.
The phylogenetic relationships between species are influenced by many factors, including phenotypic flexibility, an aspect of behavior that alters in response to specific environmental conditions. This can cause a characteristic to appear more similar to a species than another, obscuring the phylogenetic signals. This issue can be cured by using cladistics, which is a an amalgamation of homologous and analogous traits in the tree.
Furthermore, phylogenetics may help predict the time and pace of speciation. This information can assist conservation biologists make decisions about the species they should safeguard from extinction. In the end, it's the conservation of phylogenetic diversity that will lead to an ecosystem that is complete and balanced.
Evolutionary Theory
The main idea behind evolution is that organisms change over time due to their interactions with their environment. A variety of theories about evolution have been proposed by a wide variety of scientists such as the Islamic naturalist Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201-1274) who envisioned an organism developing slowly according to its requirements and needs, the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) who designed the modern hierarchical taxonomy, as well as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829) who suggested that use or disuse of traits cause changes that can be passed on to offspring.
In the 1930s and 1940s, theories from various fields, such as genetics, natural selection and particulate inheritance, came together to form a contemporary synthesis of evolution theory. This describes how evolution is triggered by the variation in genes within the population and how these variants change with time due to natural selection. This model, known as genetic drift or mutation, gene flow, and sexual selection, is a cornerstone of current evolutionary biology, and can be mathematically explained.
Recent developments in evolutionary developmental biology have shown how variations can be introduced to a species by mutations, genetic drift, reshuffling genes during sexual reproduction and migration between populations. These processes, as well as others such as directional selection or genetic erosion (changes in the frequency of the genotype over time) can result in evolution that is defined as changes in the genome of the species over time, and the change in phenotype as time passes (the expression of that genotype within the individual).
Students can gain a better understanding of the concept of phylogeny through incorporating evolutionary thinking into all areas of biology. A recent study by Grunspan and colleagues, for example, showed that teaching about the evidence for evolution increased students' acceptance of evolution in a college-level biology course. For more information about how to teach evolution, see The Evolutionary Potential in all Areas of Biology or Thinking Evolutionarily: a Framework for Integrating Evolution into Life Sciences Education.
Evolution in Action
Scientists have traditionally looked at evolution through the past--analyzing fossils and comparing species. They also observe living organisms. But evolution isn't just something that happened in the past; it's an ongoing process that is happening in the present. The virus reinvents itself to avoid new medications and bacteria mutate to resist antibiotics. Animals alter their behavior because of a changing environment. The results are often apparent.
It wasn't until late 1980s that biologists began to realize that natural selection was also in action. The main reason is that different traits result in a different rate of survival and reproduction, and can be passed down from one generation to another.
In the past, if one allele - the genetic sequence that determines color - was present in a population of organisms that interbred, it could become more common than other allele. As time passes, that could 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.
Observing evolutionary change in action is much easier when a species has a rapid turnover of its generation like bacteria. Since 1988 biologist Richard Lenski has been tracking twelve populations of E. bacteria that descend from a single strain; samples of each are taken on a regular basis and over 500.000 generations have passed.
Lenski's research has revealed that mutations can alter the rate at which change occurs and 에볼루션 바카라사이트 the efficiency at which a population reproduces. It also shows evolution takes time, a fact that is hard for 에볼루션 바카라 무료 some to accept.
Microevolution can also be seen in the fact that mosquito genes that confer resistance to pesticides are more prevalent in populations where insecticides have been used. This is due to pesticides causing an enticement that favors those with resistant genotypes.
The rapidity of evolution has led to a growing awareness of its significance especially in a planet that is largely shaped by human activity. This includes pollution, climate change, and habitat loss, which prevents many species from adapting. Understanding evolution can help you make better decisions about the future of the planet and its inhabitants.