Evolution

Gerek Simonis
6/1/2014

Evolution is one of the most disputed theories of modern day. It has
gained much attention because it tries to explain why the world we see today
is what it is. Evolution is backed up by many scientific tests but still gets
criticism by many religious supporters. What exactly is evolution, how do
fossils support it and how does it happen?

Evolution is a highly disputed theory because it attempts to explain
why the world is how it is and why. Evolution is defined as a gradual
process in which something changes into a different and usually more
complex or better form (3). Evolution does have many scientific facts and
studies that support it but it cannot be proven, which is why it is referred to
as a theory. This theory is greatly favored by many scientists and others
because it explains the phenomena in nature (3). Most Christians regard
evolution as false and rather they believe in creationism (2). Religious
assumptions aside, evolution has several components, which consist of
Natural Selection, Micro-Evolution and Macro-Evolution (3). Natural
Selection is the key to evolution because it is the mechanism that causes
organisms to become abnormal and allow them to survive environmental
change. This means that over many generations a group of organisms can
look and act significantly different compared to the original. The next
component is Micro-Evolution. Micro-Evolution is saying that all related
species came from a stock species and underwent devolution. Devolution
is the process in which there is a stock organism that is superior and all
offspring start to lose the genetics and use different mutations. A good
example of this includes wolves, coyotes, dingoes, jackals and dogs in
general (3). They underwent simple changes and all created different minor
alterations to look slightly different. This however, differs greatly from the
third component which is Macro-Evolution. Macro-Evolution focuses on
species that arent similar and how they drastically changed to adapt. This
hasnt been studied very in-depth so it is highly disputed but it is essentially
the large or important changes in a species that allow it to change rapidly
over a period of only a couple generations. For instance, bacteria quickly
adapts to antibiotics and is becoming more and more resistant to them but
this fast changing isnt a good thing because the fast changes dont allow the
species to adapt properly for extended periods of time (3).

Evolution
Gerek Simonis
6/1/2014

(Figure 1) Shows evolutionary
time periods

The fossil record provides a good look into the past and when connected,
provides a good picture of the evolutionary track over time. Many
Creationists argue that If evolution was true, then why dont we find all of
the links and why are there gaps in time periods between fossils? (2).
Fossilization is so rare that its amazing we find any fossils, but the ones we
do find provide us with a pretty clear track to follow (2) (Figure 1). If
evolution is wrong then why do we, for example,
not find fossils from animals in the Jurassic period
all the way in the early
Cambrian period? It is
because the animals have
changed over the long
time they have been on
earth (1). A good
example of this change is
the modern day Hoatzin
bird, many creationists
claim that its merely a
bird, however it has
reptilian qualities that is
similar to an ancient bird
that was called
Archaeopteryx (2).
They claim its just a bird
but they leave out the
reptilian qualities that no
modern day bird
possesses. Nicholas
Steno, a science scholar,
noted that there is a huge
similarity between
Ancient shark teeth and
comparing them to
modern day stones known
as tongue stones (1).
They had shocking similarities and he was able to show a correlation
Evolution
Gerek Simonis
6/1/2014

(Figure 2) Meiosis vs Mitosis
Comparison Chart
between the stones and the shark teeth making an argument that the stones
came from one of the sharks and showed a record of past life (1).


How would evolution ever occur? The process of Sexual and Asexual
production explains how genetics can change so
much and make the world how it is today (5).
Sexual reproduction (meiosis) harbors the
opportunity to produce
organisms that are better
able to keep up with
changes in the environment
(5). This change in genetic
make-up allows for adaption
in organisms and allows
them to live better in their
environment (5). Sexual
reproduction gets a mix of
genetics from its parents
(Figure 2). Asexual
reproduction (mitosis) is a
type of reproduction that
only involves one parent
(4). This can be ideal in
some situations but
extremely bad in other
circumstances. This allows
the organisms to reproduce
and multiply at great rates
without exerting much time
or energy. Organisms that
reproduce asexually give the
exact same genetic make-up
to their offspring, which
creates no diversity in the
population (4). Given that there is no diversity and all the organisms are the
same, they all act and react to things the same way which seems like a good
Evolution
Gerek Simonis
6/1/2014

thing. These organisms rely solely on genetic mutations to change their
offsprings genetics and create diversity which means if a certain disease
were to be introduced and were deadly to the organisms the disease has a
much better chance of eliminating the species (4). Since asexual reproducing
organisms give the same genetics to their offspring and only have diversity
if there is a genetic mutation, if one of the organisms mutates and develops
cancer then when it reproduced it would pass on the gene for cancer to every
one of its offspring unless the offspring mutated again.


Although Evolution is highly disputed and has holes in the time line,
it is still a great way to track the change over time in the world we see today.
Fossil records help support the theory by showing certain time periods in
history, which allows us to pinpoint changes and when they happened. This
change can easily be explained through simple cell division and heredity. So
given the evidence, its a matter of do you believe it?





(1. Fossil Evidence." Fossil Evidence. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2014.

(2. "ROI Science: Evolution vs Creationism." Evolution vs Creationism:
Evolution Facts and Creationist Fallacies. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June
2014.

(3. . What Is Evolution?" AllAboutScience.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 June 2014.

(4. "Asexual Reproduction." About.com Biology. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014

(5. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National
Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2014