What's Everyone Talking About Evolution Site Right Now

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts by biology educators, there are still a lot of misconceptions about the evolution. People who have absorbed the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists do not believe in evolution.

This rich website - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that support evolution education and avoid the kinds of misconceptions that undermine it. It's organized in a "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is especially true when discussing the definition of the words.

It is crucial to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful way. The site serves as a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The material is presented in a way that aids navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms like common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other concepts in science. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and verified. This information can help dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.

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

Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less adaptable characteristics to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor: The latest 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 large biological molecular containing the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences that are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the basis for new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution is a relation between two species, where the evolution of one species are influenced by 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 crossbreed) change through a series of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety such as natural selection, genetic drift and gene pool mixing. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as climate changes or competition for food or habitat can slow or speed up the process.

The Evolution site follows the evolution of different animal and plant groups and focuses on major changes in each group's past. It also focuses on the evolutionary origin of humans, a topic that is especially important for students to understand.

When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, with the bones associated with it were 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, just one year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's highly unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.

The site is primarily an online biology resource however it also includes a lot of information on geology and paleontology. The site offers several features that are particularly impressive, including a timeline of the way that climate and geological conditions have changed over time. It also includes an interactive map that shows the location of fossil groups.

While the site is a companion to a PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as a great source for teachers and students. The site is well organized and provides clear links between the introductory content 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 easier to move from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. In particular there are hyperlinks to John Endler's experiments with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has led to a variety of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological environment, has many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary phenomena. In addition to studying processes and events that take place frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology is able to examine the diversity of groups of organisms and their distribution in space over the geological time.

The site is divided into various paths that can be chosen to gain knowledge about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," takes the viewer through the complexities and evidence of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions about evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thought.

Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that can be used to support a range of educational levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to the standard textual content, the site offers an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive resources including videos, animations, and virtual labs. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation on the web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of the coral's relationships and interactions with other organisms and then zooms in on a single clam, which is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the conditions of the water that occur at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide spectrum of topics in evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the role of natural selectivity and the concept of phylogenetics as a key tool for understanding evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is an underlying thread that is found throughout all branches of biology.  에볼루션 바카라 무료체험  of resources supports teaching about evolution across all life sciences.

One resource, the companion to PBS's television series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that offers both depth and breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site features a wealth of interactive learning modules. It also features an encased "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon-like style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this huge site that are more closely linked to the field of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page about John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this Web site, which has an extensive collection of multimedia items connected to evolution. The contents are organized into curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in biology standards. It contains seven videos that are intended for use in the classroom. These can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.

A variety of crucial questions remain at the core of evolutionary biology, including the factors that trigger evolution and the speed at which it occurs. This is especially applicable to human evolution where it's been difficult to reconcile that the physical traits of humans derived from apes and religious beliefs that claim that humanity is unique among living things and holds a an enviable place in creation. It is soul.

Additionally there are a variety of ways in which evolution could occur and natural selection is the most popular theory. Scientists also study other kinds like mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.

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