Introduction to Evolution

This is my introductory blog post about the evolution unit we are currently studying. I hope that I will learn a ton of cool & interesting facts throughout this unit.

Evolution is a process of change over time. For example, modern, fast computers are very popular today, while the Nintendo DS was once famous (in Dr. G’s childhood). So, we have a fast technical evolution of the whole world that makes kids become more oriented on electronics and less on the environment. 3D view movies, videogames, etc are all popular today. But what will happen in the future? How will evolution affect our future? 

Does evolution happen in one person’s life? Or does it happen only when the environment changes? Genes direct that change that results in the people evolution, but when and how does it happen? For example, if we lose our atmosphere, and we have tons of radiation that destroys our DNA, a lot of people will certainly die out, but the ones that might survive will maybe have that thick crusty skin all over their body. 

One question the class couldn’t figure out: 2,000 years ago, sloths were gigantic. If pandas and bears are huge, why aren’t we like them now? I think that the main reason for that is the evolution that people have passed through and the animals didn’t, or they did, but much slower than we did. People aren’t so big because being big means eating more food - and there is lesser and lesser food in places, and being big means to be slower and more visible to predators; so, evolution helps us survive. 

Whales are in danger because of pollution- but not only that, people are also hunting them down. If the ocean was filled with whales, there would be nothing else in the ocean- so there would be no balance. If all the whales are gone, then the ocean would be filled up with something else-so we really need balance in everything!

During science class, we were watching a movie about Charles Darwin. Here are some facts that I learned about him:

- Charles Darwin was one of the most important figures in the history of science. 

- He is the father of the theory of evolution. As a young man, he was a doctor along with his father, and went to study medicine in the Edinburgh University. However, he neglected this subject because he thought that doing surgery and watching blood was boring and disgusting, so he decided to study taxonomy (the classification of living things). That’s where his life took a turn. Thanks to Charles Darwin, we know about evolution today.

 

- Charles Darwin is extremely famous for his work on natural selection (the idea that all species of life have evolved over time from common ancestors). This process makes favorable traits become more common in successive generations of living things while at the same unfavorable traits become less common. 

- In 1859, Charles Darwin published a book called ’On the Origin of Species’ where he explained his theory of natural selection and the beginning of evolution.