The Often Unknown Benefits Of Evolution Site
Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology teachers, misinformation about evolution persist. Pop science nonsense has led people to believe that biologists don't believe evolution.
This site, a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources that support the evolution of education while avoiding the types of misconceptions which make it difficult to understand. It's arranged in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and challenging subject to teach effectively. People who are not scientists often have a difficult time understanding the subject, and some scientists even use a definition which confuses it. This is particularly true when discussing the definition of the words.
Therefore, 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 manner. It is a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource of its own. The material is presented in a nested fashion that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help to define the nature of evolution as well as its relationship to other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information can help dispel myths created by creationists.
You can also consult a glossary that contains terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to be better suited to an environment. 에볼루션 사이트 is a result of natural selection, which happens when organisms that have more adaptable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less adapted traits.
Common ancestor: The most recent common ancestor of two or more distinct species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of the species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A huge biological molecular containing the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information within cells.
Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolution of one species influence evolutionary changes of the other. Examples of coevolution include the interactions between predator and prey or host and parasite.
Origins
Species (groups that can crossbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in their offspring's traits. Changes can be caused by various factors, including natural selection, gene drift and mixing of the gene pool. The development of a new species can take thousands of years and the process can be slowed down or speeded up by environmental conditions such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the development of a variety of species of plants and animals over time and focuses on the most significant changes that took place in the history of each group. It also focuses on human evolution, which is a topic that is of particular interest to students.
Darwin's Origin was published in 1859, at a time when only a few antediluvian fossils of humans had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany which is now believed as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's extremely unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.
While the site focuses on biology, it includes a good deal of information about geology and paleontology. The most impressive features on the site are a series of timelines which show how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time and an outline of the distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.
Although the site is a companion piece to a PBS television show, it also stands on its own as a valuable resource for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introductory information of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's support) and the more specific features of the museum website. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated realms of research science. Particularly there are links to John Endler's experiments using guppies that illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to many species of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures within their geological context, has many advantages over the current observational or experimental methods of studying evolutionary processes. Paleobiology focuses on not just the processes and events that take place frequently or over time, but also the distribution and frequency of various animal groups across the geological time.
The website is divided into various paths that can be chosen to learn about evolution. One of the paths, "Evolution 101," walks the reader through the evolution of nature and the evidence of evolution. The course also focuses on common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution theory's history.
Each of the other sections of the Evolution site is equally well constructed, with materials that support a variety of different pedagogical levels and curriculum levels. In addition to the general textual content, the site features a wide range of multimedia and interactive resources, such as videos, animations, and virtual laboratories. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation within the large Web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides an overview of the relationships between corals, their interaction with other organisms, and then is enlarged to show one clam that can communicate with its neighbours 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 the broad range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes a discussion on the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetics analysis, an important method for understanding the evolution of changes.
Evolutionary Theory
For biology students, evolution is a key thread that connects all branches of the field. A wide selection of resources helps teachers teach evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an outstanding example of an Web site that provides the depth and breadth of its educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has a nested "bread crumb" structure that allows students to transition from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely tied to the world of research science. Animation that introduces the concept of genetics links to a page highlighting John Endler's artificial-selection experiments with Guppies in native ponds in Trinidad.
The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal to evolution. The contents are organized into courses that are based on curriculum and follow the learning goals established in biology standards. It includes seven short videos that are designed for use in classrooms. These are available to stream or purchase as DVDs.
Evolutionary biology is still a field of study that has many important questions, including what triggers evolution and the speed at which it happens. This is especially true for the evolution of humans, where it was difficult to reconcile religious beliefs that held that humans have a distinct place in the creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits evolved from Apes.
There are also a number of other ways in which evolution can take place and natural selection being the most well-known theory. Scientists also study other kinds like mutation, genetic drift, and sexual selection.
Many fields of inquiry have a conflict with literal interpretations of religious texts evolutionary biology has been the subject of intense controversy and resistance from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, but others haven't.