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Evolution Explained The most basic concept is that living things change in time. These changes could help the organism survive, reproduce, or become better adapted to its environment. Scientists have utilized genetics, a new science to explain how evolution works. They also have used physical science to determine the amount of energy needed to create these changes. Natural Selection To allow evolution to occur, organisms must be able to reproduce and pass their genes to future generations. This is a process known as natural selection, sometimes described as "survival of the fittest." However the phrase "fittest" can be misleading since it implies that only the strongest or fastest organisms survive and reproduce. In reality, the most species that are well-adapted are able to best adapt to the environment in which they live. Additionally, the environmental conditions can change rapidly and if a group isn't well-adapted it will not be able to sustain itself, causing it to shrink or even extinct. The most fundamental component of evolution is natural selection. This happens when desirable traits become more common as time passes which leads to the development of new species. This process is driven by the heritable genetic variation of living organisms resulting from sexual reproduction and mutation and the need to compete for scarce resources. Selective agents can be any environmental force that favors or discourages certain characteristics. These forces could be biological, such as predators, or physical, for instance, temperature. Over time, populations exposed to different agents are able to evolve differently that no longer breed together and are considered separate species. Natural selection is a simple concept however it can be difficult to understand. Even among scientists and educators there are a lot of misconceptions about the process. Surveys have shown that students' levels of understanding of evolution are only dependent on their levels of acceptance of the theory (see references). Brandon's definition of selection is limited to differential reproduction, and does not include inheritance. But ???? ???? of authors such as Havstad (2011), have argued that a capacious notion of selection that encapsulates the entire Darwinian process is sufficient to explain both speciation and adaptation. Additionally there are a variety of instances in which traits increase their presence within a population but does not increase the rate at which people with the trait reproduce. These situations may not be classified in the narrow sense of natural selection, however they could still meet Lewontin's requirements for a mechanism such as this to function. For instance parents who have a certain trait may produce more offspring than parents without it. Genetic Variation Genetic variation refers to the differences between the sequences of genes of the members of a specific species. Natural selection is one of the major forces driving evolution. Variation can result from mutations or the normal process through which DNA is rearranged during cell division (genetic recombination). Different gene variants can result in a variety of traits like the color of eyes fur type, colour of eyes, or the ability to adapt to adverse environmental conditions. If a trait has an advantage it is more likely to be passed down to future generations. This is referred to as a selective advantage. Phenotypic Plasticity is a specific kind of heritable variant that allows people to modify their appearance and behavior as a response to stress or their environment. These changes could enable them to be more resilient in a new environment or make the most of an opportunity, for example by increasing the length of their fur to protect against the cold or changing color to blend with a particular surface. These phenotypic changes do not alter the genotype and therefore are not thought of as influencing evolution. Heritable variation permits adaptation to changing environments. Natural selection can also be triggered by heritable variation as it increases the probability that people with traits that are favourable to the particular environment will replace those who aren't. However, in certain instances, the rate at which a genetic variant is transferred to the next generation is not sufficient for natural selection to keep up. Many negative traits, like genetic diseases, persist in the population despite being harmful. This is due to a phenomenon referred to as diminished penetrance. It means that some people with the disease-related variant of the gene do not exhibit symptoms or signs of the condition. Other causes include gene by environment interactions and non-genetic factors like lifestyle, diet, and exposure to chemicals. To better understand why some undesirable traits aren't eliminated through natural selection, it is important to know how genetic variation influences evolution. Recent studies have demonstrated that genome-wide associations which focus on common variations don't capture the whole picture of disease susceptibility and that rare variants are responsible for a significant portion of heritability. It is essential to conduct additional sequencing-based studies to document rare variations across populations worldwide and to determine their impact, including the gene-by-environment interaction. Environmental Changes Natural selection is the primary driver of evolution, the environment influences species through changing the environment in which they exist. This concept is illustrated by the infamous story of the peppered mops. The white-bodied mops which were abundant in urban areas where coal smoke had blackened tree barks They were easy prey for predators, while their darker-bodied mates thrived under these new circumstances. However, the opposite is also true: environmental change could affect species' ability to adapt to the changes they encounter. Human activities have caused global environmental changes and their effects are irreversible. These changes affect global biodiversity and ecosystem functions. In addition they pose significant health risks to the human population especially in low-income countries, because of polluted water, air soil, and food. For instance the increasing use of coal by developing countries like India contributes to climate change, and also increases the amount of pollution in the air, which can threaten the human lifespan. The world's limited natural resources are being consumed in a growing rate by the human population. This increases the likelihood that many people will suffer nutritional deficiencies and lack of access to water that is safe for drinking. The impact of human-driven changes in the environment on evolutionary outcomes is a complex. Microevolutionary reactions will probably alter the fitness landscape of an organism. These changes may also alter the relationship between a particular characteristic and its environment. ???? ??? ??? and. and. showed, for example that environmental factors, such as climate, and competition, can alter the phenotype of a plant and shift its selection away from its historical optimal fit. It is important to understand how these changes are shaping the microevolutionary responses of today and how we can use this information to predict the future of natural populations in the Anthropocene. This is important, because the environmental changes triggered by humans will have a direct impact on conservation efforts, as well as our health and existence. It is therefore essential to continue the research on the interaction of human-driven environmental changes and evolutionary processes on a worldwide scale. The Big Bang There are many theories of the universe's origin and expansion. None of is as widely accepted as Big Bang theory. It has become a staple for science classes. The theory provides explanations for a variety of observed phenomena, like the abundance of light-elements, the cosmic microwave back ground radiation, and the massive scale structure of the Universe. The simplest version of the Big Bang Theory describes how the universe began 13.8 billion years ago as an incredibly hot and dense cauldron of energy, which has been expanding ever since. This expansion created all that exists today, such as the Earth and all its inhabitants. The Big Bang theory is widely supported by a combination of evidence, including the fact that the universe appears flat to us; the kinetic energy and thermal energy of the particles that compose it; the variations in temperature in the cosmic microwave background radiation; and the relative abundances of light and heavy elements in the Universe. The Big Bang theory is also suitable for the data collected by particle accelerators, astronomical telescopes, and high-energy states. In the early 20th century, scientists held a minority view on the Big Bang. In 1949 the astronomer Fred Hoyle publicly dismissed it as "a fantasy." But, following World War II, observational data began to come in that tipped the scales in favor of the Big Bang. In 1964, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson were able to discover the cosmic microwave background radiation, an omnidirectional sign in the microwave band that is the result of the expansion of the Universe over time. The discovery of the ionized radiation with a spectrum that is consistent with a blackbody, at approximately 2.725 K was a major turning-point for the Big Bang Theory and tipped it in the direction of the competing Steady state model. The Big Bang is a integral part of the cult television show, "The Big Bang Theory." In the show, Sheldon and Leonard make use of this theory to explain different observations and phenomena, including their experiment on how peanut butter and jelly get mixed together.
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