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Evolution is the scientific theory of the development of living organisms during their period on earth. The theory takes into consideration the biological processes of natural selection, mutation, symbiosis, gene transfer, and genetic drift. Charles Darwin, a naturalist born on the 12th of February 1809 in England, is a significant figure in the science concept. Darwin grew up loving nature and went to Edinburgh University. On the trip around the world, Darwin collected natural samples, including birds, plants, and fossils. Darwin found a particular interest in the Pacific islands and South America. When he arrived back in England, he wrote up his findings as part of the Captain's narrative. Darwin started working on his theory after coming back from the trip. He observed that species had the same characteristics all over the world, leading him to believe that species slowly evolved from their ancestors. In 1859, Charles Darwin published his work in his book On the Origin of Species. On Darwin's trip around the world, he found something very interesting on the Galapagos Islands. On the isolated islands, he found fourteen species of finches with very similar characteristics, but they had some differences in their beaks, diet, body size, and habitat. Darwin thought the birds had a common ancestor. He thought that some time back, some finches arrived on the islands, and the finches with the beaks that suited the islands' conditions survived. This happened on all the islands. When they had offspring, the next generation would inherit the same beak. This is a great example of natural selection, which was a contributor to how humans evolved. From this, Darwin established his theory of natural selection and how creatures slowly evolved over time. Scientists have discovered many artefacts that help us understand how early humans lived. For example, fossils of early humans show that they lived in Africa around 6 million years ago. Other artefacts, such as tools, paintings, footprints, and figurines, show how they lived. The markings the muscles left helped the scientists work out how they moved and held tools. One of the biggest findings was Lucy, a 40% complete skeleton discovered in Ethiopia. This helped scientists understand more about the way early humans walked on two legs. The most complete hominin skeleton ever found was Ardi, an Ardipithecus ramidus who was around 4.4 million years old. Interesting facts include that early humans left Africa over 1 million years ago, some people may still have some Neanderthal genes, and around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, the human population nearly became extinct. The population went from around 2 million people to only around 3,000 people. Scientists think this was thanks to the combination of a super-volcano erupting and the ice-age.
Darwin did not come up with his theory out of nowhere. Like anyone else who has made discoveries, he was influenced by others. For quite a long time before Darwin, people didn't look beyond the Biblical creation story. Such things as fossils, primitive stone tools and visible layers in rock were said to have been placed on earth by God. There wasn't a great deal of work done on what we now call evolution, until the age of exploration began. Around that time people noticed that there were different types of humans in different parts of the world. There were several attempts to classify the various types of humans, but such classifications were generally extremely ethnocentric, and included ideas that have been proved incorrect. For a time people believed that creatures like Dr. Moreau's Beast People could and did exist in the world; explorers told fantastic tales of humans with the heads of dogs, or mermaids, or islands populated by only humans of only one gender. In the seventeenth century John Ray coined the term "species," but he believed that none of the species had changed since the day of creation. Linnaeus, who invented the system of binomial nomenclature used today to classify different species, was also a creationist.
As Homo sapiens evolved they began to farm, domesticate animals, which led to a genetic mutation that helps our digestive system digest lactose. Through further advancements, the brain became smaller, but more efficient and reduced aggressive behavior. Because humans became less aggressive, they were able to work in groups and live in small communities, which then again helped technological evolution. Technology such as tools are found in locations across the globe help archeologist date civilizations and Homo
At Christ’s College, Darwin had a professor named John Stevens Henslow who in time became his mentor. After Darwin graduated Christ’s College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1831, Henslow recommended him for a naturalist’s position aboard the HMS Beagle.The HMS Beagle was a ship that was to take a five year long trip around the world. Charles Darwin took the opportunity knowing that the up close experience with collecting natural specimen would teach and interest him greatly. Darwin uncovered many unknown thoughts about the specimens he discovered during his journey (Price, 2006). Other naturalists believed that all species either came into being at the start of the world, or were created over the course of natural history. Darwin however, noticed similarities among species all over the globe...
What is evolution? Evolution in modern terms is fairly easy to understand. Evolution is the theory that life on earth began with a single celled organism that lived more that 3.5 billion years ago that slowly evolved into many diverse creatures over time. When you break down this theory into sections you get 6 factors: evolution, gradualism, speciation, common ancestry, natural selection and nonselective mechanisms of evolutionary change.
However, it was Darwin that formalized the theory, and presented the most convincing case for the theory. Charles Darwin was born on the 12th of February 1809 (incidentally, the same day and year as Abraham Lincoln), in Shrewsbury, England. He had a privileged upbringing, and enjoyed science - particularly biology. He graduated from Cambridge University in 1831, and on December the 27th of that year, he set off for a five-year journey aboard the Beagle, a ship bound for South America. His voyage was long and eventful, including once, in Chile, encountering both an earthquake and a tidal wave in a single day!
What is evolution? Evolution is the process at which all living things that are around use today that have ancient ancestors in their background. Also, with evolution it allows for use to see how we have similarities as well as differences from all living organisms from the past to the present. By being able to see the similarities as well as differences it shows how overtime we have changed and evolved through the use of evolution. However, the use of evolution involves different mechanisms in order for it to take place.
What is evolution and how does it work? Evolution is the theory of how one form of life changes into another form. Evolution also is the change of a population’s inherited traits from generation to generation. Evolution helps to explain why an animal, human, and plant looks the way it does and acts the way it does; it gives an explanation of the history of life. Genes come in many varieties and the evolution helps to make it happen. Mutation, natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow: the four forces that make the evolution work.
A British naturalist and geologist by the name of Charles Darwin was the first to formulate a scientific argument for the theory of evolution by means of natural selection.Evolution is said to occur over long stretches of time, not in quick jumps. There are actually two different lines of thought on the matter. Phyletic gradualism holds that speciation takes place constantly and over long periods of time. Punctuated equilibrium, on the other hand, involves quick jumps and starts, with long periods of time between the changes.
Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution and used the term natural selection to describe it. He proposed that all living species derived from a common ancestor. In On the Origin of Species (1859), Darwin explained: “if variations useful to any organic being do occur, assuredly individuals thus characterised will have the best chance of being preserved in the struggle for life; and from the strong principles of inheritance, will then tend to produce offspring similarly characterised” (p127).
The impact these men had on religious thought was tremendous. Some of them are the starting points for many of the controversies existing today. Of all the scientists, historians, and philosophers in the nineteenth century, the most influential and controversial was Charles Darwin. Born in 1809, Charles Darwin always had an interest in the nature, so he chose to study botany in college. His strengths in botany led him to become the naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. On a trip to South America, he and the rest of the crew visited the near by Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It was there he noticed many different variations of the same general plants and birdshe saw previously in South America. He also observed ancient fossils of extinct organisms that closely resembled modern organisms. By 1859, all of these observations inspired him to write down his theories. He wanted to explain how evolution had occurred through a process called natural selection. In his published work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, or On the Origin of Species for short, Darwin stated that, "new species have come on the stage slowly and at successive intervals."(1) He also said, "old forms are supplanted by new and improved forms," and all organisms play a part in the "struggle for life.
Charles Darwin was a scientist from the United Kingdom who was a naturalist and geologist in the early 1800s. Although, he is best known for his role in the evolution theory. Darwin decided to take part in a five-year voyage in 1831, called the Beagle, to make naval charts of South America. At the beginning of the expedition Darwin was just a young graduate, at the age of twenty-two, with only eagerness to be able to be a part of the opportunity. He had no high expectations to find the rare discoveries that he had found during his time on land on the far off continent. By the end of the excursion, Darwin had made a name for himself as a geologist and fossil collector after his journal was published, later titled The Voyage of the Beagle. His writing got him a lot of attention from multiple scientists around the world.
With the studies that Charles Darwin obtained he published his first work, “The Origin of Species.” In this book he explained how for millions of years animals, and plants have evolved to better help their existence. Darwin reasoned that these living things had gradually changed over time to help themselves. The changes that he found seemed to have been during the process of reproduction. The traits which would help them survive became a dominant trait, while the weaker traits became recessive. A good example of what Darwin was trying to explain is shown in giraffes. Long-necked giraffes could reach the food on the trees, while the short-necked giraffes couldn’t. Since long necks helped the giraffes eat, short-necked giraffes died off from hunger. Because of this long-necks became a dominant trait in giraffes. This is what Charles Darwin would later call natural selection.
Charles Darwin began his scientific breakthroughs and upcoming theories when he began an expedition trip to the Galapagos Islands of South America. While studying there, he discovered that each island had its own type of plant and animal species. Although these plants and animals were similar in appearance, they had other characteristics that made them differ from one another and seem to not appear as similar. Darwin questioned why these plants and animals were on these islands and why they are different in ways.
The evolutionary theory is the concept that species evolve over time through the mechanism of natural selection of survival and reproduction. Natural selection means acting on the assumption that various living organisms were produced by genetic diversity and mutation. The evolution theory may also be referred to as the philosophizing science. This theory states that all phenomena are derived from natural causes and can be explained by scientific laws without reference to a plan or purpose.
Evolution is a systematic mechanism through which the modern day has evolved from his ancestors. The Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is based on the premise that we all