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Explaining how evolution went from theory to fact

Facebook Dialog icoOver on FACEBOOK, a friend posted this question:


Is  there anyone who can link me to some scientific studies backing evolution? Many are available but I need to find something that is  easy to swallow.

Here is a simple answer:
 
Darwin’s theory was that animals inherit traits from their parents. Since we already knew that to be true, he went on to suggest that traits that improve chances of breeding and survival would be selected. This seemed obvious even then because humans had been breeding animals for some time.  

One challenge for Darwin was to explain how species arrived.  He suggested that isolation, egLeading Research Organizations Announce Top-Tier, Open Access Journal for Biomedical and Life Sciences The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society and the Wellcome Trust announced today that they are to support a new, top-tier, open access journal for biomedical and life sciences research. The three organizations aim to establish a new journal that will attract and define the very best research publications from across these fields. All research published in the journal will make highly significant contributions that will extend the boundaries of scientific knowledge. A team of highly regarded, experienced and actively practicing scientists will ensure fair, swift and transparent editorial decisions followed by rapid online publication. The first issue of the journal, whose name has yet to be decided, is expected to be published in the summer of 2012. The three research organizations developed their plans following a workshop in 2010 at HHMI’s Janelia Farm Research Campus attended by a number of leading scientists. The participants concluded that there was a need for a model of academic publishing that better suits the needs of the research community. Dr. Robert Tjian, President of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, says: "The message from the research community was clear: we are fortunate to have many excellent journals, but there is need for a different, more appropriate and efficient publishing model." Professor Herbert Jäckle, Vice President of the Max Planck Society, says: "A journal which aims to represent and publish the very best research outcomes needs an editorial team of experienced – and, crucially, actively practicing – scientists. It must also be editorially independent of those who provide the financial support." Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust, says: "We will attract the most outstanding science for publication by establishing a journal in which researchers have confidence in robust editorial decisions taken by their scientific peers. This will be a journal for scientists edited by scientists. The ethos of the journal will be to avoid asking authors to make extensive modifications or perform endless additional experiments before a paper can be published." Recruitment is under way for an Editor-in-Chief who – together with the journal's editorial team – will be an experienced, active scientist. The editorial team will be editorially independent of the funders. They will rely on their scientific expertise and active research experience to identify the best papers, make scientifically-based judgments and exercise leadership in steering these papers through peer review. The journal will employ an open and transparent peer review process in which papers will be accepted or rejected as rapidly as possible, generally with only one round of revisions, and with limited need for modifications or additional experiments. For transparency, reviewers' comments will be published anonymously. As the journal will only exist online, it offers an opportunity to create a journal and article format that will exploit the potential of new technologies to allow for improved data presentation. The journal will be an open access journal, i.e. the entire content will be freely available for all to read, to reproduce and for unrestricted use. This open access system will also enhance opportunities to share content and to more directly engage the reader. The three organizations have made a commitment to cover costs of launching the journal to ensure its success. The long-term business model will be developed by the incoming Editor-in-Chief and the team they build.

when some animals are separated from others, would create diversity simply because of the luck of whatever traits happened to be there .. for example better vision would be useful in animals that left the jungle for the plains.  Of course binocular vision does not create a species but add that to isolation but other traits, eventually the isolated animals would eb so different that they were now a new species.  Darwin used this to explain variation on birds isolated n different islands off of South America.  Today, in the lab, we can and do create species by isolating organisms artificially and using selective condition to allow different species to take over the isolated populations. 

 
What Darwin could not explain was how variations in traits occurred. He did know some genetics but he did not know about DNA, chromosomes or genes.
 
So, back then evolution was a theory. But .. soon other scientists discovered what Darwin’s theory said must be true. Today we know how the traits arise and how they are inherited. Even better we ca read DNA and see with our own eyes the record of Darwinian evolution.
 
Is that helpful?

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Posted 04 Oct 2016 by theaveeditor in Misc.

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