10 Top Books On Evolution Site

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions about evolution remain. People who have been exposed to the nonsense of pop science often believe that biologists are saying they don't believe in evolution.

에볼루션사이트  - companion to the PBS series It provides teachers with materials which support evolution education and avoid the kinds of myths that undermine it. It's laid out in the "bread crumb" format to aid in navigation and orientation.

Definitions

It's difficult to effectively teach evolution. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even scientists are guilty of using a definition that confuses the issue. This is particularly relevant when discussing the definition of the words.

As such, it is important to define terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful manner. The site serves as an accompaniment to the 2001 series, but also a resource of its own. The material is organized in a manner that makes it easier to navigate and comprehend.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor and gradual process. These terms help frame the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The site also provides an overview of how the concept of evolution has been vetted and confirmed. This information will help to dispel the 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:

Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to be more suitable to their environment. This is due to natural selection. It occurs when organisms that are better-adapted traits are more likely survive and reproduce than those with less adaptable characteristics.

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

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the information required for cell replication. The information is stored in a sequence of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, called chromosomes. Mutations are responsible for the creation of new genetic information inside cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are affected by changes in evolutionary processes in the other. Examples of coevolution are the interactions between predator and prey, or host and parasite.

Origins

Species (groups that can interbreed), 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 evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, like climate changes or competition for food or habitat, can slow or accelerate the process.

The Evolution site tracks the evolution of various species of plants and animals over time, focusing on the major transitions that occurred in the history of each group. It also explores the evolutionary history of humans, a topic that is particularly important for students to know.

When Darwin wrote the Origin, only a handful of antediluvian human fossils had been found. Among them was the famous skullcap and bones that were discovered in 1856 at the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany, which is now known as an early Homo neanderthalensis. Although the skullcap was not published until 1858, which was one year after the first edition of the Origin was published, it's very unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.

The site is mostly one of biology however it also includes many details on paleontology and geology. Among the best features of the website are a series of timelines that illustrate how geological and climatic conditions have changed over time and an interactive map of the distribution of some of the fossil groups featured on the site.

While the site is a companion to a PBS television series however, it can stand on its own as an excellent source for teachers and students. The site is well-organized, and provides clear links to the introduction material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) as well as 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. Particularly, there are links to John Endler's research 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, the study of these creatures in their natural environment is a superior method of study over the current observational or experimental methods for studying evolutionary phenomena. In addition to examining processes and events that take place frequently or over a long period of time, paleobiology can be used to examine the relative abundance of different kinds of organisms as well as their distribution throughout the geological time.

The site is divided into a variety of pathways to understanding evolution which include "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 about evolution, and also the history of evolutionary thinking.

Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-developed, with materials that are suited to a variety of educational levels and teaching styles. The site has a range of interactive and multimedia content which include videos, animations, and virtual laboratories, in addition to its general textual content. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb fashion that aids navigation and orientation on the web site.

For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" provides a comprehensive overview of the relationships between corals and their interactions with other organisms, then narrows down to a single clam that can communicate with its neighbours and respond to changes in the water conditions at the reef level. This page, as well as the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages gives a good introduction to many topics in evolutionary biology. The content also includes an overview of the importance of natural selection and the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a key tool for understanding the evolution of changes.

Evolutionary Theory

For biology students the concept of evolution is a major thread that weaves together all branches of the field. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across the disciplines of life sciences.

One resource, the companion to PBS's TV series Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that provides the depth and the wide range of educational resources. The site offers a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that allows students to move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this massive website that are more closely linked to the field of research science. For example an animation that introduces the notion of genetic inheritance leads to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments with artificial selection with guppies from the native ponds of Trinidad.

The Evolution Library on this website contains a large multimedia library of materials that deal to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based pathways that correspond to the learning objectives outlined in the biology standards. It includes seven short videos designed specifically for classroom use, which can be streamed at no cost or purchased on DVD.

Evolutionary biology is an area of study with a lot of important questions, such as what causes evolution and how quickly it occurs. This is especially relevant to human evolution, where it's been difficult to reconcile the notion that the physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes with religions that believe that humans are unique among living things and holds a an enviable place in creation with soul.

There are also a number of other ways evolution could occur including natural selection, which is the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study other kinds such as mutation, genetic drift and sexual selection.

While many fields of scientific inquiry are in conflict with literal interpretations of the Bible evolutionary biology has been the subject of particularly controversial debate and resistance from religious fundamentalists. While some religions have been able to reconcile their beliefs with the theories of evolution, other religions haven't.