Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist about evolution. People who have been exposed to popular science myths often assume that biologists do not believe in evolution.

This rich Web site, which is a companion to the PBS program offers teachers resources that support the evolution of education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that can undermine it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.

Definitions

It's not easy to effectively teach evolution. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is especially relevant when it comes to the definition of the words.

It is important to define terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, 에볼루션 룰렛 사이트 (click the up coming internet site) does this in a clear and helpful manner. The site is a companion to the show which first aired in 2001, but can also function as an independent resource. The content is presented in a nested fashion which aids navigation and orientation.

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 other concepts in science. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been researched and 에볼루션 사이트 validated. This information can help dispel myths that are created by the creationists.

You can also consult a glossary that includes terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to be better suited to an environment. This is a result of natural selection. Organisms with more adaptable traits are more likely than those with less adapted traits to reproduce and survive.

Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor): The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or 에볼루션 바카라 more species. The common ancestor can be identified through analyzing the DNA of the species.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotides arranged in sequences that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information inside cells.

Coevolution is the relationship between two species where evolution of one species influence evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution can be observed through the interaction between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups of individuals that can interbreed) evolve through natural changes in the characteristics of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of causes, including natural selection, genetic drift and gene pool mixing. The development of a new species could take thousands of years and the process may be slowed or increased by environmental factors like climate change or the competition for food or habitat.

The Evolution site traces through time the emergence of various species of plants and animals with a focus on major changes within each group's past. It also focuses on human evolution and is a subject that is particularly important to students.

When Darwin wrote the Origin in 1859, 에볼루션 바카라 사이트; try what he says, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been discovered. The famous skullcap, with the associated bones were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it is highly unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.

While the site focuses on biology, it includes a good deal of information about geology as well as paleontology. Among the best features on the site are a series of timelines that illustrate the way in which climatic and geological conditions changed over time, and an outline 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 by teachers and students. The site is very well-organized and offers clear links between the introduction information in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized components of the museum's Web site. These hyperlinks make it easy to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. In particular there are links to John Endler's experiments with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has resulted in many species of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological environment offers many advantages over modern observational or experimental methods for exploring evolutionary phenomena. In addition to exploring the processes and events that happen regularly or over a lengthy period of time, paleobiology is able to examine the relative abundance of different species of organisms and their distribution in space over the geological time.

The Web site is divided into a variety of pathways to understanding evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a line through the science of nature and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The path also explores misconceptions regarding evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. The site offers a wide array of multimedia and interactive resources which include videos, 에볼루션바카라 animations, and virtual labs in addition to general textual content. 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, it provides a comprehensive overview of coral relationships, their interaction with other organisms and zooms in on one clam, which can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in conditions of the water at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, provides an excellent introduction to the many areas of evolutionary biology. The material includes a discussion on the importance of natural selection and the concept phylogenetics analysis as a key tool to understand evolutionary changes.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that weaves together all the branches of the field. A rich collection of resources helps teachers teach about evolution across the life sciences.

One resource, which is the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of an Web page that provides the depth and the wide range of educational resources. The site offers a range of interactive learning modules. It also features an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site closer to the world of research science. For example an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that highlights John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.

Another helpful resource is the Evolution Library on this Web site, which contains an extensive multimedia library of resources connected to evolution. The content is organized in the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning objectives outlined in the standards for biology. It contains seven short videos specifically intended for use in the classroom. These can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.

A number of important questions remain at the heart 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 has been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical traits of humans derived from apes with religious beliefs that hold that humanity is unique among living things and has an enviable place in creation. It is a soul.

There are a myriad of other ways evolution can occur, with natural selection as the most well-known theory. However scientists also study other kinds of evolution, such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection, among others.

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