Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution persist. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they do not believe in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that promote evolution education and avoids the kinds of misinformation that can undermine it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and difficult subject to teach well. 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 it comes to discussions about the definition 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 clear and useful manner. The site is both a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The material is presented in a nested fashion that assists in navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to other concepts in science. The site provides an overview of the ways the concept of evolution has been tested. This information will help to dispel the myths created by creationists.

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

Adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be more suited to the environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely than those with less-adapted characteristics to survive and reproduce.

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

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information needed for 에볼루션 카지노 cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can interbreed) change through a series natural changes in their offspring's traits. The changes can be triggered by a variety that include natural selection, genetic drift and gene pool mixing. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food or habitat, can slow or 에볼루션 사이트 accelerate the process.

The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of various groups of animals and plants and focuses on major changes in each group's history. It also explores the evolutionary history of humans and humans, a subject that is particularly important for students to understand.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The famous skullcap, with the bones that accompanied it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now regarded 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.

The site is mostly an online biology resource however, it also has a lot of information on paleontology and geology. Among the best features of the website are a set of timelines which show the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time, as well as an outline of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.

Although the site is a companion piece to the PBS television show but it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and offers clear links between the introductory information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specific components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. There are links to John Endler's experiments with guppies, which illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life on Earth has produced a diversity of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context and has many advantages over the current observational and experimental methods in its exploration of evolutionary phenomena. In addition to exploring processes and events that occur regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology allows to analyze the relative abundance of various groups of organisms and their distribution in space over geological time.

The website is divided into several routes that can be taken to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution, and the background of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. The site offers a wide array of interactive and multimedia content which include video clips, animations and virtual laboratories in addition to general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation on the Web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it provides an overview of the relationships between corals and interactions with other organisms and 에볼루션 카지노 사이트 zooms in to one clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbours and respond 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 a wide spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an overview of the role of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis as a key tool for understanding evolutionary changes.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that binds all the branches of the field. A vast collection of books helps in teaching evolution across the life science disciplines.

One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that provides depth and breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site offers a range of interactive learning modules. It also has an encased "bread crumb" structure that helps students transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are closer to the world of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics is linked to a page about John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.

Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this site, 에볼루션 슬롯 which has an extensive library of multimedia items that are related to evolution. The content is organized into curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed at no cost or 에볼루션 슬롯 purchased on DVD.

Many important questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as what causes evolution to occur and the speed at which it occurs. This is especially applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes, and the religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique in the universe and has an enviable place in creation with soul.

There are a myriad of other ways evolution can occur and natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study different types like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.

While many fields of scientific study are in conflict with literal interpretations found in religious texts, evolution biology has been the subject of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolutionary biology, while others haven't.