Natural Selection: What Does It Means To Be Human

Charles Darwin was an influential ideologist, known as the father of evolution. He created the theory of evolution in which species change overtime through what he called natural selection. Natural selection is the process when organisms that are better adapted to their environment survive and pass on their genetics. In The Descent of Man, Darwin explains various topics such as the similarities between races, the relevance of evolution in society, and the process of sexual selection. Ideas of The Descent of Man, were explored before Darwin, but what sets him apart is that he wanted to find the origin of man and ape as opposed to just stating similarities and differences. The theories that Darwin created contributed knowledge to evolution as

According to Darwin (Date), there is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental and perceived emotional faculties. In theory, every organism is engrained with complex, useful, and non-arbitrary bits of information that is essential to its survival. Organisms know when it is time to migrate, when it is best to hunt, and when mating should occur. According to Name (Date), these faculties are actually nonrandom parts of our development they must have come from either divine design or natural selection. The notion of whether or not divine design or natural selection is the result of an organisms faculties has sparked significant debate since Darwin first proposed his theory of natural selection

Natural selection is the process in which heritable traits that make it more likely for organisms to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. Each of us individuals is specifically shaped and formed by our own genetic pattern. We inherit this pattern half from are mother and half from are father. The cause of this is the proximate cause that led it’s phenotype to ultimate causes. Much of we know today about evolution derives from the late great pioneer, Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was an english naturalist that even from an early age was very interested in outdoor pursuits. Early in his prep career his father tried sending him to the University of Edinburg to pursue his medical

Evolutionary biology has always interested me, specifically the mechanisms of natural selection and how species adapt to their environment. It started with my love for animals and nature when I was little. I spent my summers working with horses at a local corral, where I would ride around the surrounding wilderness areas. My favorite part about riding in the mountains was watching the change in plant and animal species as the elevation changed. It never ceased to amaze me how the alpine tree line was always so sudden. Humongous pine trees would give way to the short, shrubby plants of the alpine tundra so uniformly and noticeably. I have always wondered about the environmental conditions that cause species to distribute themselves in

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

One of the most astonishing things on earth is the human body. They consist of many organs that work together to maintain the person alive. The humans body composition is complex, but what was the origin? How did we become who we are today? These are the questions that intrigued me, and allowed me to understand how the human body evolved over the years. By the examination of our ancestors, and our body we will understand how we look today.

This question ties with what was mentioned earlier that nature does not identify problems or feautures that make oranisms succesfful but instead natural selection responds to phenotypic variation in a population. Artificial selection doesnt have a direct natural correlation to the phenotypic variation but instead its based on what humans decide to consume/buy etc, doesnt necessarily have to be the best thing for them.

It would probably surprise most people to learn that broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and kohlrabi all hail from wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea), due to a process called artificial selection. Over thousands of years humanity has manipulated plants and animals using artificial selection. However, we now have a different process called genetic engineering, which opens new doors to countless applications such as, genetically modifying plants to become cold, resistant. Traditionally we would have to rely on artificial selection, but now we can manipulate the genetic material of organisms. However, with new technology comes an issue of environmental impact. The very same organisms that we create can become exceedingly detrimental to the environment it’s ecosystems. Concerns on the effects of these organisms on our health are justified as they can be a benefit or detriment. To better appreciate genetic engineering, we first must explore artificial selection and its history.

I like the explanation you provided for natural selection. You did a good job of capturing how natural selection works and how it relates to behavior. Especially when it came to innate behavior. I never really thought about how behavior you've learned is different than behavior you inherited. I also agree that evolutionary traits are beneficial because these are the traits that have had success in the past, and they keep getting passed down. Hopefully we will eventually be the perfect race if all the good traits get passed down, but I doubt that will ever

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, which is the process of extracting genes from one species into another unrelated species. The process of transferring DNA from two distinct species is through genetic engineering. This displays the new traits of the first donor, which will be part of the genetic make up of the recipient organism. GMO is different from cross breeding or hybridization. Scientists developed GM plants by introducing genes that kill insects and protect crops against viruses. Many of these GM plants require less water so that they are able to grow in areas where water is scarce. The benefit of GMOs help crops grows and ripens faster so that farmers are able to grow more crops throughout the year. On the other hand, GMOs may be harmful to humans if they are not washed and cleaned properly before eating. GMOs include high risk of allergens, toxins, and other unknown side effects that are harmful.

In this lab, we were given the task of modeling the process of natural selection. Natural selection is when an environment poses obstacles and chooses to favor a certain trait over another. We created fake paper “birds” for this model, with straws and construction paper. This lab showed was both accurate and helpful and not so accurate.

Humans have existed on Earth for approximately 3.4 million years. The oldest known human ancestor is "Lucy," an Australopithecus. Over this extensive period of time, humans have evolved significantly. Homo Sapiens have grown from 3 to almost 6 feet (average), lost most of the body hair, became leaner and adapted to walking. Humans have come a long way, from Australopithecus to Homo sapiens, from living in trees to living in cities. Slowly, through hundreds of thousands of years, we mutated over and over again, natural selection ensuring that no destructive mutations continue. From the slow evolution, four distinctive species emerged and died out, each giving way to its ' descendant: Homo Habilis, Homo Erectus, Homo Sapiens Neanderthalesis, and Homo sapiens Sapiens.

in regards to eye color, a child could receive one set of genes from his father

Human evolution according to research started over 6 million years ago. The outcome of the evolution process is the current human beings. Scientific studies have revealed over the years a remarkable affinity between the chimpanzees/Apes and human beings. Even though this reality is not a definitive prove that human beings evolved from apes, it does show that the human beings are in one way or another related to other primates. Scientists suppose that the humans and the primates shared a common ancestor. The subject of what makes humans what they are and their origin has been the exclusive purpose leading to many scientific studies globally (Coolidge & Wynn, 2011). Studies believe that Africa was the origin of evolution millions of years ago. Fossil remains have been discovered in different parts of Africa as well as other regions of the world. Different hominins have been discovered around the world in the last 1 million years. Thus, the different discoveries have led to comparisons between the various species of hominins to clarify on their similarities as well as differences. This essay seeks to explain whether they were distinctively different species or regional versions of the same species.

The very first big difference was the shape of our brain that is different than those our predecessors. That this is so is illustrated by the Dikka baby who "from the waist down.. looked like us.. One of her humanlike knees was complete with a kneecap no bigger than a dried pea. But her upper body had many apelike features" (152). The Dikka baby showed the first signs of a hyoid bone that later developed into the tool for human speech. She was developing into the humans that we are today. The rest of her upper body, however, was like Lucy's, the famous Australopithecus hominid. Her brain was small, her nose flat like a chimpanzee's, and her face was long and projective" (ibid). Her finger bones too almost resembled those of a chimp's and her two shoulders represented those of a gorilla. It was her smaller brain that provides the clue.