Evolution

In general a group of organisms that can potentially breed with each other to produce fertile offspring & cannot breed with the members of other such groups

A permanent change in the genetic material, usually in a single gene

Any evidence of ancient life (more than 10,000 years old)

Genetically determined differences in the characteristics of members of the same species

Greater reproductive success among particular members of a species arising from geneticallay determined characteristics that confer an advantage in a particular environment.

“evolution is like climbing up a ladder of pogress… organisms are always getting better….

The splitting of one species into 2 or more species

Evolutionary process by which new biological species arise

the evolution that includes emperical, quantitative kind of evidence and thats why its different han the evolution before

his birth

Enters Christ College, Cambridge

First unpublished ideas on Evolution

Publication of The Origin of Species

his death

Artificial selection has had a marked effect on the form of domesticated plants and animals, although it has only been applied for a small number of generations

Imagine the changes which might be effected if there were a similar force acting in nature over millions of years.

the selective action of the struggle for existence between species and within species

If a change occurs in the physical environment, individuals will be exposed to new circumstances, and competition from a different set of inhabitants

All species are characterised by variation between individuals. In any new environment there will be different conditions from place to place. this principle of divergence is the most important factor in the evolution of the new species

Evolution is a “ladder of progress”, a steady march of progress with organisms constantly getting better.

Natural selection does weed out individuals unfit for a particular environment but conditions are constantly changing and what is “better’ under one set of conditions may not be under other conditions. Some taxa have hardly changed over hundreds of millions of years, e.g sharks – they are fit enough to survive.

Evolutionary theory is a theory about the origin of life.

The origin of life is not the main focus of evolutionary theory but rather the way life changes after its origin. Evolution shows us that species are not immutable but that they change over time through natural selection.

The fact that the fossil record is not complete shows evolutionary theory to be false.

Fossilization is a very rare event. There must be specific conditions for a creature to be fossilized and many organisms, particularly those without a hard skeleton, rarely fossilize at all. That said many transitional fossils have been discovered as fossils, the most famous being Archaeopteryx.

Because evolution is not observable or testable it is not science.

Evolution is both observable and testable!1. The fossil record.2. Study of living species e.g. Darwin’s Finches.3. Artificial selection in the laboratory.4. Genetic mutation e.g. in fruit flies.

Evolution and religion are incompatible.

“Religion and science (evolution) are very different things. In science, only natural causes are used to explain natural phenomena, while religion deals with beliefs that are beyond the natural world…in the scientific community there are thousands of scientists who are devoutly religious and also accept evolution.”

it provided evidence for many evolutionary events that could not be found in fossil records