We discussed biological evolution in our lesson in Week 1 and 2. Just to recap, biological evolution can be defined as: the process of gradual change during which new species arise from older species. (Additional definition below) The concept of biological evolution is considered both a scientific theory (which is different than a theory in the colloquial sense) and a scientific fact. Like all theories in science, however, evolution is also subject to refinement and discovery based on new findings. Even today, we are discovering new fossils, or using new technologies to analyze older fossils. In either of these cases, we are discovering new information about the past, that we can use to predict the future.
“Biological evolution is the change in inherited traits over successive generations in populations of organisms. Evolutionary modification of traits occurs when variation is introduced into a population by gene mutation or genetic recombination or is removed by natural selection or genetic drift.” (Jeffrey, 2012)
This week, we will look for modern-day examples of biological evolution, those recently discovered, the use of newer technologies, or simply finding out more about past projects.
You are to find an article that demonstrates a modern-day example of biological evolution. If you are stuck, a great place to start is either Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/ using choice keywords (evolution or “current topics in evolution” brings up a lot of results). Be sure that you can address the following points and remember to stay on topic. If you are unsure if your idea or article really pertains to biological evolution, please reach out and ask me. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) is a fascinating topic but does not pertain to biological evolution.
Choose an article that is different than your classmates use the article title as the title to your post.
Summarize the main points of the article.
Was there a new technology used? How? What did it discover?
Was there a new species discovered? New information on an already discovered species?
What was the species? What was the information?
What were the methods used? Is this groundbreaking?
