Why Evolution Site May Be More Risky Than You Think

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts by biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions regarding evolution. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists aren't believers in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that undermine it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.

Definitions

It's not easy to properly teach evolution. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is especially true when discussing the nature of the words themselves.

It is therefore important to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website does this in a straightforward and useful manner. The site is both an accompanying site for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a nested fashion which aids navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor (or common ancestor), gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relation to other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and confirmed. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been created by creationists.

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

Adaptation: The tendency of hereditary traits to become more suited to a particular environment. This is due to natural selection. It occurs when organisms with better adapted characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestral ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that contains information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together to form long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution is evident in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can interbreed) develop through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety, including natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The development of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as climate changes or competition for food or habitat can impede or accelerate the process.

The Evolution site follows the emergence of various groups of animals and plants with a focus on major changes in each group's past. It also examines the evolutionary history of humans which is crucial for students to comprehend.

When Darwin wrote the Origin of Species, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The skullcap that is famous, along with the associated bones, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was a year before the first edition of the Origin appeared, it is very unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.

While the site focuses on biology, it also contains a wealth of information about geology and paleontology. One of the most appealing features of the Web site are a timeline of events that illustrate how climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of some fossil groups that are featured on the site.

Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television series, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) as well as the more specialized features of the museum's website. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies. They demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life on Earth has led to a wide variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their natural environment and has a number of advantages over the current observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not only processes and events that occur regularly or over time but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups in space over the course of geological time.

look at here  is divided up into various routes that can be taken to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the nature and evidence of evolution. The path also explores common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution theory's history.

Each of the other major sections of the Evolution site is equally well developed, with materials that support a variety of curriculum levels and pedagogical styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia resources that include videos, animations, and virtual laboratories as well as general textual content. The breadcrumb-like organization of the content aids in navigation and orientation on the large Web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals, their interaction with other organisms, and then zooms in on one clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an explanation of the role of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a key tool in understanding evolutionary changes.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is an underlying thread that runs through all branches of biology. A vast collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.

One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of a Web site that provides depth and a variety of educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that allows students to move away from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely related to the fields of research science. For example an animation that explains the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments in artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this website, which includes an extensive collection of multimedia assets that are related to evolution. The contents are organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning objectives outlined in the biology standards. It contains seven videos intended for use in the classroom. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.

Evolutionary biology is a field of study that poses many important questions, such as what causes evolution and how fast it occurs. This is especially true for humans' evolution, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humanity has a unique position in the universe and a soul with the idea that innate physical traits originated from apes.

There are a myriad of other ways in which evolution can occur and natural selection being the most popular theory. However, scientists also study other kinds of evolution like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among other things.

While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, other religions haven't.