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The Berkeley Evolution Site

Teachers and students who visit the Berkeley site will find a wealth of resources to assist them in understanding and teaching evolution. The resources are organized into a variety of learning paths such as "What did T. rex taste like?"

Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection explains how animals who are better able to adapt to changes in their environments survive longer and those that don't end up becoming extinct. This process of evolution is what science is all about.

What is Evolution?

The term "evolution" can have many nonscientific meanings. For example, it can mean "progress" and "descent with modifications." Scientifically it refers to a process of changing the characteristics of living organisms (or species) over time. This change is based in biological terms on natural drift and selection.

Evolution is one of the fundamental tenets of modern biology. ??????? is an established theory that has stood the test of time and a multitude of scientific experiments. In contrast to other theories in science such as the Copernican theory or the germ theory of disease, evolution does not address issues of religious belief or God's existence.

Early evolutionists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Erasmus Darwin (Charles's grandfather), believed that certain physical characteristics were predetermined to change in a gradual way, over time. They referred to this as the "Ladder of Nature" or scala naturae. Charles Lyell used the term to describe this concept in his Principles of Geology, first published in 1833.

Darwin presented his theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species published in the early 1800s. It states that all species of organisms share a common ancestry, which can be determined through fossils and other lines of evidence. This is the current view on evolution, and is supported by a variety of scientific fields that include molecular biology.

Although scientists aren't able to determine exactly how organisms evolved however they are sure that the evolution of life on earth is the result of natural selection and genetic drift. People with desirable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce, and these individuals pass their genes on to the next generation. As time passes, the gene pool gradually changes and evolves into new species.


Certain scientists use the term"evolution" to refer to large-scale changes, like the evolution of one species from an ancestral one. Others, like population geneticists, define it more broadly, referring to an overall change in allele frequencies over generations. Both definitions are acceptable and precise however some scientists believe that the allele-frequency definition is missing crucial aspects of the evolutionary process.

Origins of Life

The birth of life is a key step in the process of evolution. This occurs when living systems begin to develop at the micro level, within cells, for example.

The origins of life are a topic in many disciplines that include biology, chemistry and geology. The origin of life is a topic that is of immense interest to scientists because it challenges the theory of evolution. It is often described as "the mystery of life" or "abiogenesis."

The idea that life could emerge from non-living objects was referred to as "spontaneous generation" or "spontaneous evolutionary". It was a common belief prior to Louis Pasteur's experiments proved that the development of living organisms was not possible through a natural process.

Many scientists still think it is possible to transition from nonliving substances to living ones. The conditions needed to create life are difficult to reproduce in a lab. This is why scientists studying the nature of life are also keen to understand the physical properties of early Earth and other planets.

Additionally, the evolution of life depends on a sequence of very complex chemical reactions that can't be predicted from basic physical laws alone. These include the reading of long information-rich molecules (DNA or RNA) into proteins that carry out some function as well as the replication of these complex molecules to generate new DNA or sequences of RNA. These chemical reactions are often compared with the chicken-and-egg issue of how life came into existence: The emergence of DNA/RNA and protein-based cell machinery is essential for the onset of life, but without the emergence of life the chemical reaction that is the basis for it isn't working.

Abiogenesis research requires collaboration among scientists from various disciplines. This includes prebiotic scientists, astrobiologists, and planetary scientists.

Evolutionary Changes

The term "evolution" is commonly used today to describe the accumulated changes in the genetic traits of populations over time. These changes could be the result of the adaptation to environmental pressures as described in Darwinism.

The latter is a mechanism that increases the frequency of those genes in a species that confer an advantage in survival over other species, resulting in an ongoing change in the appearance of a population. These evolutionary changes are caused by mutations, reshuffling of genes during sexual reproduction and the flow of genes.

Natural selection is the process that allows beneficial mutations to become more common. All organisms undergo mutations and reshuffles of their genes. This happens because, as noted above those who have the advantageous trait are likely to have a higher fertility rate than those without it. Over the course of many generations, this difference in the number of offspring born can result in an inclination towards a shift in the number of advantageous traits in a population.

This can be seen in the evolution of different beak designs on finches that are found in the Galapagos Islands. They have created these beaks to ensure that they can eat more easily in their new environment. These changes in shape and form can also help create new organisms.

Most of the changes that occur are caused by one mutation, but sometimes, several changes occur at the same time. The majority of these changes are neutral or even harmful to the organism however, a small proportion of them can be beneficial to the longevity and reproduction of the species, thus increasing their frequency in the population over time. Natural selection is a mechanism that can produce the accumulating change over time that eventually leads to the creation of a new species.

Some people confuse the idea of evolution with the notion that the traits inherited from parents can be changed through conscious choice or by use and abuse, which is known as soft inheritance. This is a misinterpretation of the biological processes that lead to evolution. It is more accurate to say that the process of evolution is a two-step, separate process, which involves the forces of natural selection as well as mutation.

Origins of Humans

Humans today (Homo sapiens) evolved from primates, a group of mammals that also includes chimpanzees, gorillas, and bonobos. Our ancestral ancestors were walking on two legs, as shown by the earliest fossils. Biological and genetic similarities indicate that we have the same ancestry with Chimpanzees. In actual fact, we are most closely related to the chimpanzees within the Pan Genus which includes bonobos and pygmy chimpanzees. The last common ancestor of modern humans and chimpanzees was 8 to 6 million years old.

Humans have evolved a wide range of characteristics over time, including bipedalism, the use of fire and advanced tools. But it's only in the past 100,000 years or so that the majority of the important traits that distinguish us from other species have emerged. These include language, large brain, the ability to create and utilize complex tools, as well as the ability to adapt to cultural differences.

Evolution occurs when genetic changes allow individuals in a group to better adapt to their environment. This adaptation is driven by natural selection, a process whereby certain traits are more desirable than other traits. People with better adaptations are more likely to pass their genes to the next generation. This is the process that evolves all species and is the basis of the theory of evolution.

Scientists call this the "law of natural selection." The law states that species that share a common ancestor tend to develop similar characteristics over time. This is because these traits help them to reproduce and survive within their environment.

Every living thing has a DNA molecule that is the source of information that helps guide their growth and development. The DNA structure is composed of base pair that are arranged in a spiral around sugar and phosphate molecules. The sequence of bases in each strand determines the phenotype, the characteristic appearance and behavior of an individual. A variety of changes and reshuffling of genetic material (known as alleles) during sexual reproduction can cause variations in a population.

Fossils from the early human species Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis have been found in Africa, Asia and Europe. Despite some differences, these fossils all support the idea that modern humans first appeared in Africa. The fossil evidence and genetic evidence suggest that early humans came from Africa into Asia and then Europe.

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