Misconceptions About Evolution

Years ago Charles Darwin created the theory of natural selection. He attempted to explain how evolution worked, and his theory is now regarded as correct. Natural selection states that animals with traits that are better suited to their environment will survive and reproduce more. This would explain how evolution works. Groups of animals with the most beneficial traits survive and are able to reproduce. While the other group has difficulty surviving and would therefore reproduce less. The variation between that type of animal would come from a random mutation which turned out to be useful. An animal may get a mutation which is either beneficial or disadvantageous to the organism (1). As time progresses there are a larger amount of animals with the beneficial trait, while there is a lot less animals with the older trait. Natural selection correlates to the phrase “survival of the fittest” meaning that animals with beneficial traits will survive, while those without will die (2). Theoretically, this could lead to an entire change of the population; leaving only the group that can survive easily and produce more offspring.

Evolution has led to the approval of new species and others have disappeared throughout the planet; today, a great diversity of organisms of different species can be seen throughout the ecosystems, some are in danger of extinction. The artificial selection causes the species to no longer compete naturally, so this leads to degradation and disappearance of the species. Natural selection is the basis of all evolutionary change. It is the process through which, the best-adapted organisms displace the less adapted ones by the slow accumulation of favorable genetic changes in the population during the generations. The importance is that natural selection is one of the main mechanisms of evolution, since this favors or disadvantages the survival of certain species, to achieve survival need to adapt to their environment and the changes they produce.

Natural selection is the process where organisms that have more advantageous adaptions that benefit its survival in its environment then breed and produce offspring with similar traits that then have a greater chance of survival. For natural selection to occur there are essential elements that are required; variation, heritability and excess production. For the formation of a new species there must be variation within a species so that some may have slightly better adaptions to the climate, diseases or other survival traits like better camouflage. The organisms that possess these adaptions are sometimes called more fit; this is called ‘survival of the fittest’. The ‘fitter’ organisms will then reproduce and their offspring will inherit the

The second reason why evolution is false is that there is little evidence of transitional fossils in the fossil record. Even Darwin and other scientists have admitted the lack of evidence and fossils. For example, Stephen M. Stanley, an evolutionist, has made comments about this: “In fact, the fossil record does not convincingly document a single transition from one species to another” (Snyder, 44 Reasons Why Evolution Is Just A Fairy Tale For Adults). If evolution has happened, and is still in process today, then the world would be filled with species that are transitioning into another, instead, there are none alive today. To add to this, no human has ever witnessed macroevolution, so therefore, there is little proof and no possible record

Genetic diversity provides a species with its form and function. A species genotype refers to their genetic code; what their cells are going to be used for – hair cell, eye cell, muscle cell, etc. A species phonotype refers to the way in which that species gene will be expressed – blonde hair, blue eyes, large muscle tone; which significantly impacts the success of that individuals genes. Without genetic diversity among populations the gene pools would be very limited, which gives way to a rise in mutations and inevitably the end of a species. “Genes regulate body size, shape,

Genetic diversity allows the population to adapt to changing environments and it contributes and adds to the gene pool.

The 2001 film “Evolution”, is an entertaining film about an alien species being introduced to earth via meteor. However, this film seems to contain a copious amount scientific inaccuracies. For example, when the meteor is traveling through space, the movie presents the meteor rushing towards Earth with sound. However, space is a vacuum, so there for there would be no sound in space.

The human genome project is a way of inspecting our molecular selves. There are three billions of letters that make up the DNA in the human genome that scientists have to study in order to understand our molecular cells. Furthermore, there are all distinct sets of genes that interact with environmental factors, which directly influence things like our physical appearance, personalities and risks for diseases. Geneticist, Jeffery C. Long “None of the observable traits that people associate with race are simple genetic traits. Complex traits are influenced by several genes as well as environment.” -Long, Jeffery C. "RACE - Exploring Our Molecular Selves." RACE - Exploring Our Molecular Selves. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015.

The way we look can be argued to be mainly due to nature. The genes we inherit from our parents make the basis of we look. For example, people often say ‘Don’t you look like your father/mother!’ Genetic inheritance can determine our eye colour, whether we have straight or curly hair or how tall we will be. We

Natural selection involves the adaptation of a species to better survive in their designated environment. When organisms reproduce, they pass down their DNA to their offspring. For example, a child that is tall is the result of their parent being tall as well. Parents pass down traits to their children. When it comes to survival, some organisms are better at it than others based on the traits that they have acquired. Some organisms can camouflage from predators while members of the same species do not obtain that same trait. With that in mind, the ones that can camouflage will most likely survive in certain environments and they will then pass on that trait when they reproduce. Since these traits are advantageous, they are passed on to more and more offspring through time and it will eventually overcome any original traits that species first started out with. It’s kind of like the current state of sexual misconduct in Hollywood. We have our directors, actors, agents, and so forth. However, as time goes on, some do not survive in the business based on their inherently evil traits and they get weeded out just like some species in the wild. As generations pass, these organisms have then adapted to fit the environment and better survive based on their inherited traits.

There is a misconception that race is a biological concept, races refer to subspecies, and no subspecies exist within the modern Homo sapiens. In the historical context, race was created to understand the difference between populations by the phenotype of skin colour, body size, head shape and hair texture. This took a turn for the worst by creating a hierarchical framework of certain populations, for instance, white Europeans being the superior compared to native populations of Indigenous people, who were exploited and enslaved throughout North and South America. This is racism a socially constructed word by individuals reacting on the basis of social stereotypes instead of scientific fact, such as behavioural characteristic is not biology,

Human beings are still very much evolving. According to recent studies, genetic changes in women over the years have decreased the age at which they birthed their first child. In one study the age decreased as much as four years from age 26 down to age 22 (Allen 2011). Another concurrent study looked at women’s physical appearance in correlation with the number of children they had. The resulting data revealed that, “stout, slightly plump” women had more children. Researchers found that these characteristics are passed on from mothers to their offspring and so forth (Harrell 2009). Therefore, as these traits are passed from generation to generation, the population grows and these characteristics become more prominent in the population. All of these findings confirm that the evolution of human beings is still very much an ongoing process.

Natural selection is considered one of the most important processes for a variety of species and the environment which allows the fittest organisms to produce offspring. To prevent a species from extinction, it is necessary for them to adapt to the surrounding environment. The species which have the ability to adapt to new surroundings will be able to pass their genes through reproduction. Within the process of natural selection, it is possible for the original genetic make-up of a species to become altered. The team will report on the different processes of basic mechanisms of evolution, how natural selection results in biodiversity and why biodiversity is important to continued evolution. The sources of genetic

There has been a lot of scientific research done into genetics, genetic crosses and inheritance enabling us to understand why we have the certain characteristics and traits that we do, how we inherited them and how we can pass them on. It’s because of this research that we can understand and learn about our genetic makeup and why it effects the way we are.