Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. Pop science fiction has led a lot of people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.

This rich Web site - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials that promote evolution education and avoids the kinds of misconceptions that make it difficult to understand. It's organized in a nested "bread crumb" format to make it easy for navigation and orientation.

Definitions

Evolution is a complex and difficult subject matter to teach well. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even use a definition that confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.

It is essential to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. Understanding Evolution's website helps you define these terms in a simple and efficient way. The site is both an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The information is presented in an organized way that makes it easy to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution with other scientific concepts. The website then provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and validated. This information can be used to dispel the myths that have been engendered by creationists.

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

Adaptation: The tendency of heritable traits to become better adaptable to a specific environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to reproduce and survive.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by studying the DNA of the species.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together to form long chains, also known as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.

Coevolution: A relationship between two species in which evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interaction of predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups of individuals that are able to interbreed) develop through an array of natural changes in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of causes that include natural selection, 에볼루션 genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The development of a new species could take thousands of years and the process can be slowed down or speeded up due to environmental conditions, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a variety of species of plants and animals over time with a focus on the key shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. It also explores the human evolutionary roots, a topic that is especially important for students to comprehend.

Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The famous skullcap, along with the bones that accompanied it, was discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now known 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 is extremely unlikely that Darwin had ever heard of it.

While the site focuses on biology, it also contains a wealth of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features of the website are a series of timelines that show how climatic and geological conditions changed over time, and an interactive map of the distribution of a few of the fossil groups featured on the site.

The site is a companion for a PBS TV series but it could be used as a resource for teachers and students. The site is extremely well-organized and has clear links between the introduction information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized elements of the museum's web site. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. There are also links to John Endler's experiments with guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has produced a variety of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological environment is a superior method of study over modern observational or research methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology is able to study not just the processes and events that happen frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of different groups of animals across the geological time.

The site is divided into various pathways to understanding evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the nature of science and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The path also examines myths about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thought.

Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that support a variety levels of curriculum and teaching methods. The site has a range of multimedia and interactive resources that include videos, animations, and 에볼루션 슬롯게임 virtual labs, in addition to its general textual content. The content is laid out in a nested bread crumb-like fashion that helps with navigation and orientation within the vast web site.

The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of the coral's relationships and their 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 interactive and multimedia pages offers a great introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial tool for understanding the evolution of changes.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is a common thread that runs through all branches of biology. A wide range of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.

One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an exceptional example of an Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site has a wide array of interactive learning modules. It also features an "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon-like style used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely linked to the fields of research science. An animation that introduces students to the concept of genetics links to a page about John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies living in ponds native to Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of assets related with evolution. The contents are organized into curricula-based pathways that correspond to the learning goals established in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos specifically intended for use in the classroom. They can be viewed online or 에볼루션 룰렛바카라 (www.youtube.com) purchased as DVDs.

Many important questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as the factors that trigger evolution and how fast it happens. This is particularly applicable to human evolution which has made it difficult to reconcile that the physical traits of humans evolved from apes with religious beliefs that claim that humans are unique among living things and has a special place in creation, with a soul.

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

Although many scientific fields of study conflict with the literal interpretations of religious texts, evolution biology has been the subject of intense debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have embraced their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.