15 Interesting Facts About Evolution Site You've Never Heard Of
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. People who have absorbed popular science myths often assume that biologists don't believe in evolution.
에볼루션 슬롯 , which is a companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources which support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that undermine it. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and difficult subject matter to teach effectively. Non-scientists often misunderstand the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is especially relevant to debates about the meaning of the word itself.
It is therefore essential to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient way. The site is a companion to the show that premiered in 2001, but it also functions as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion that aids navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, gradual process and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and relationship of evolution to other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the manner in which evolution has been examined. This information can help dispel the myths created by creationists.
You can also access a glossary that contains terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to become more suitable to their environment. This is a result of natural selection, which occurs when organisms that are more adaptable characteristics are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable traits.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more different species. By analyzing DNA from these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.
Deoxyribonucleic acid: A massive biological molecule that holds the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the cause of new genetic information in cells.
Coevolution is the relationship between two species, where the evolutionary changes of one species are influenced evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution is evident in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups that can interbreed), evolve through a series natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes can be caused by numerous factors, like natural selection, gene drift, and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species could take thousands of years, and the process could be slowed down or speeded up by environmental conditions such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a number of different animal and plant groups through time, focusing on the major transitions that occurred in the history of each group. It also focuses on human evolution as a subject that is particularly important to students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when only a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The famous skullcap, with the bones associated with it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was published in 1858, which was a year after the first edition of The Origin. Origin.
The site is primarily a biology site however it also includes many details on paleontology and geology. The most impressive features on the site are a series of timelines that show the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time as well as a map of the geographical distribution of some fossil groups that are featured on the site.
The site is a companion for the PBS TV series but it can also be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory material in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to transition from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. Particularly there are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has resulted in many species of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geographical context and offers many advantages over the modern observational and research methods of examining evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining processes and events that occur regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology allows to examine the relative abundance of various groups of organisms and their distribution across geological time.
The website is divided into several optional paths to learning evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the nature of science and the evidence supporting the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally well created, with resources that support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. The site includes a variety of interactive and multimedia resources which include videos, animations, and virtual labs as well as general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides a comprehensive overview of the coral's relationships and their interactions with other organisms and then zooms in on one clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and react to changes in conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the website, provide an excellent introduction to the broad range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an explanation of the role of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis, which is a key tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across the disciplines of life science.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that offers both depth as well as broadness in terms of educational resources. The site features a wide range of interactive learning modules. It also features an encased "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are closer to the world of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page highlighting John Endler's experiments in artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website is a vast multimedia library of materials that deal with evolution. The contents are organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning goals established in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in the classroom, and can be streamed for free or purchased on DVD.
Many important questions remain at the core of evolutionary biology, such as what triggers evolution and how fast it happens. This is particularly applicable to human evolution where it has been difficult to reconcile that the physical traits of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that hold that humanity is unique among living things and has a special place in creation with soul.
There are a variety of other ways evolution can take place, with natural selection as the most popular theory. However scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.
While many scientific fields of inquiry conflict with the literal interpretations of the Bible, evolutionary biology has been the subject of controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the notions of evolution, others aren't.