Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. People who have taken in pop science nonsense often assume that biologists claim they don't believe in evolution.

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

Definitions

It is difficult to properly teach evolution. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is particularly relevant when discussing the meaning of the words themselves.

As such, it is crucial to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient manner. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The material is presented in an organized way that makes it easy to navigate and understand.

The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the manner in which evolution has been examined. This information can be used to dispel misconceptions that have been engendered by the creationists.

It is also possible to get a 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 known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestor shared by two or more species. By studying the DNA of these species it is possible to determine the common ancestor.

Deoxyribonucleic acid: A huge biological molecule that contains information necessary for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information within cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are dependent on evolutionary changes in the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and 에볼루션 바카라 체험 바카라 에볼루션 무료 (just click the next site) prey, or host and parasite.

Origins

Species (groups of individuals who can interbreed) develop through an array of natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. The changes can be triggered by a variety of factors such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of new species could take thousands of years. Environmental circumstances, such as climate change or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.

The Evolution site tracks through time the evolution of various species of plants and animals and focuses on major changes in each group's past. It also focuses on human evolution, which is a topic that is of particular interest for students.

Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. The most famous among them was the skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. It is unlikely that Darwin knew about the skullcap, which was first published in 1858, which was a year following the initial edition of The Origin.

While the site is focused on biology, it also includes a good deal of information about geology and paleontology. Among the best features on the site are a timeline of events that show the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time and an interactive map of the distribution of some fossil groups listed on the site.

The site is a companion to the PBS television series, but it can also be used as an educational resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers easy links to the introductory content of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's funding) and the more specialized features of the museum website. 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 links to John Endler's research with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in an array of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geological context and has many advantages over the modern observational and research methods of examining evolutionary phenomena. In addition to exploring processes and events that take place regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology is able to analyze the diversity of kinds of organisms as well as their distribution across geological time.

The website is divided into different options to gain knowledge about evolution. One of these paths, "Evolution 101," guides the user through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The path also reveals common misconceptions about evolution as well as the evolution of thought.

Each of the main sections on the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that support a variety educational levels and teaching styles. In addition to the standard textual content, the site features an array of multimedia and interactive content, such as videos, animations and virtual labs. The content is organized in a nested, bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast web site.

For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships and their interactions with other organisms. Then, it narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in water conditions at the level of the reef. This page, 바카라 에볼루션 as well as the other multidisciplinary, multimedia and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a wide range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an explanation of the significance of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis as a key tool for understanding evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students evolution is a crucial thread that connects all branches of the field. A rich collection of resources can help teachers teach about evolution across all life sciences.

One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that offers both depth as well as breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has 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 closer to the world 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 resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this site, which contains an extensive collection of multimedia assets related to evolution. The content is organized according to curricula-based paths that correspond to the learning goals set forth in biology standards. It includes seven short videos that are designed for use in classrooms. These can be viewed online or purchased as DVDs.

Evolutionary biology is a field of study that poses many important questions, including the causes of evolution and the speed at which it happens. This is particularly true in the case of human evolution where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humans have a distinct place in creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits originated from apes.

In addition there are a variety of ways that evolution could be triggered with natural selection being the most popular theory. Scientists also study different types like mutation, genetic drift, 에볼루션 바카라 체험 and sexual selection.

Although 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 resistance from religious fundamentalists. While certain religions have managed to reconcile their beliefs with the ideas of evolution, other religions haven't.