HISTORY OF THE EARTH

& EVOLUTION
Ch. 19
Sec. 1 How Did Life Begin
BIOGENESIS
• Biogenesis – all living things come from other living
things

• Spontaneous generation – the idea that living

things could come from nonliving things

• Spontaneous generation was accepted by many

scientists from the mid 1600’s to the mid 1800’s. It
was not until the work of three scientists that
spontaneous generation was discredited.
▫ Scientists:
⚫ Francesco Redi
⚫ Lazzaro Spallanzani
⚫ Louis Pasteur
REDI’S EXPERIMENT
• Francesco Redi (mid 1600’s) tried to test whether
spontaneous generation or biogenesis was true.
● He set up 2 jars with rotting meat in the bottom.
• 1 was covered, the other uncovered.
REDI’S EXPERIMENT
• Flies could reach the meat in the uncovered jar. Later,
maggots appeared.
• Flies couldn’t reach the covered meat. No maggots ever
appeared.
• He concluded that flies deposited eggs in the rotting
meat.
• Therefore, life came only from living things!
REDI’S EXPERIMENT
• Many concluded that simple organisms appeared
straight from the air!!!

▫ They might have come from a mysterious

“vital force” in the air.

• So, many thought spontaneous generation was

correct!
SPALLANZANI’S EXPERIMENT
• Lazzaro Spallanzani (mid 1700’s)
decided to test spontaneous generation of
microorganisms.

● He had 2 sets of flasks filled with

broth.
● He boiled both sets to kill any
microorganisms that were already
present in the broth.
• 1 set was then sealed to keep other
microorganisms out.
• The other was left open to allow other
microorganisms in.
 SPALLANZANI’S EXPERIMENT
• The sealed containers remained clear because nothing
grew in the broth.

• The open containers clouded over because new

microorganisms invaded the broth.

• Spallanzani concluded that life couldn’t enter the

sealed container, so biogenesis was correct.

▫ Other scientists disagreed.

▫ They said his boiling killed the “vital force”, so

spontaneous generation could not happen anyway.
 PASTEUR’S EXPERIMENT
• Louis Pasteur (mid
1800’s; of Pasteurized milk
fame!) repeated a version
of Spallanzani’s
experiment.

● He did the same thing,

only instead of sealing
the flasks, he used
flasks with a special
curve that trapped
organisms from the air.
PASTEUR’S EXPERIMENT
• The new microorganisms from the air couldn’t reach
the broth, so it remained clear for over a year!!!

• After a year, he removed the curved top. The broth

was soon invaded by microorganisms!!!

• So, biogenesis appeared to be true, after all.

THE FIRST ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

• Organic compounds (which contain carbon) were

present when the Earth formed.
● These are necessary to all known life forms.

● The primitive Earth atmosphere was very different

than today’s. It had:
• Ammonia (NH3)
• Hydrogen (H2)
• Water vapor (H2O)
• Methane (CH4)
 THE FIRST ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
• Alexander Oparin (1923) theorized that, at high
temperatures & lightning produced organic
molecules.

• When the Earth cooled, water vapor precipitated out

of the atmosphere (rain) and formed lakes and rivers.

• The organic compounds also fell out of the atmosphere

and into the water.

• Over time, the organic compounds formed complex

molecules, fueled by energy from lightning and UV
radiation.
THE FIRST ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
• Stanley Miller and Harold
Urey (1953) devised an
experiment to test Oparin’s
theory.
▫ They made an apparatus that
contained an atmosphere like the
young Earth’s.

▫ They sparked the vapors, which

simulated lightning.

▫ A condenser pulled water vapor out

of the mix.

▫ Organic compounds were formed

and fell out of the mix.
THE FIRST ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
• Similar experiments have produced:

● amino acids

● ATP

● nucleotides of DNA
THE FIRST ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
• New evidence suggests that Oparin’s atmosphere was
slightly wrong.

▫ There may have been more carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen
(N2).

▫ These, along with oxygen (O2) seem to inhibit the formation of

organic compounds.

▫ So, what happened?

• It is now theorized that complex organic compounds

formed in areas protected from the atmosphere.

▫ Underground, undersea thermal vents, etc.

FROM MOLECULES TO CELLS
• Taking Oparin’s experiment a few steps further,
microspheres have been created in labs.

▫ These are spherical-shaped protein molecules that

have a membrane around the outside.

▫ They are precursors to cells.

• Coacervates have also been created.

▫ They are droplets of linked amino acids (proteins)

and carbohydrates (sugars).

▫ No DNA
HISTORY OF THE EARTH
& EVOLUTION
Ch. 19
Sec. 2 Age of the Earth
THE FORMATION OF EARTH
• About 5 billion years ago, our solar system was a
swirling cloud of gas and dust.
THE FORMATION OF EARTH
• As time passed, the material formed into planets
around the sun.

● Earth began very small, but increased in size as

asteroids hit the surface and joined the Earth.
THE FORMATION OF EARTH
• These collisions had enough energy to melt the
surface of the Earth.
⚫ This killed any life that may have existed on the
surface.

⚫ Some bacterial life lived deep enough in the ground

to survive. This eventually repopulated the Earth.

⚫ Recently, spores have been found sealed in salt beds

that were once oceans 2 billion years ago.

⚫ These bacteria have been extracted and brought

back from dormancy.
EARTH’S AGE
• The Earth is estimated to be just under 4.6 billion
years old.

▫ This is taken from geological data obtained from

deep rock formations.
HISTORY OF THE EARTH
& EVOLUTION
Ch. 19
Sec. 3 Evolution of Life
THE ORIGIN OF HEREDITY
• If DNA is the basis of heredity, why do we
have RNA?
▫ It is smaller, so can move out of the nucleus.
▫ It can take a variety of shapes (mRNA, tRNA, rRNA) and
so can “adapt” easily.

• RNA may have been involved in early

precursors to cells.
▫ It has heredity information.
▫ It can act as a chemical enzyme (involved in reactions).
▫ There are viruses that exist with only RNA (no DNA).
THE FIRST PROKARYOTES
• Early autotrophs were probably chemosynthetic
rather than photosynthetic.
▫ Photosynthesis is rather complicated and depends
on light from the sun.
⚫ Many of these early cells were underground or undersea,
where light can’t reach.

⚫ Life was impossible on much of the surface of the Earth,

since there was no ozone to filter out harmful UV rays.

▫ Chemoautotrophs use chemicals (instead of light)

for energy.
⚫ High-energy chemicals were very abundant.
THE FIRST PROKARYOTES
• Photosynthesis eventually developed, which produced
oxygen as a byproduct.

▫ Oxygen was deadly to many early organisms.

• Some organisms learned to use oxygen, thus becoming

aerobic.

▫ This allows for increased energy, and thus increased

complexity.
THE FIRST PROKARYOTES
• As the oxygen levels increased, much of it floated to
the upper levels of the atmosphere.

▫ There, it was blasted by sunlight.

▫ This splits the O2 molecule.

▫ Each O atom can recombine with an O2 molecule to

form O3, or ozone.

• This new ozone layer filtered out many of the sun’s

harmful UV rays, allowing life to move to the surface
and onto land.
THE FIRST PROKARYOTES
• At first, only prokaryotes (simple cells, no nucleus or
membrane-bound organelles) existed.

• Larger prokaryotes were invaded by smaller ones.

▫ The smaller parasites gained shelter and food.
⚫ Present-day mitochondria and chloroplasts.

▫ The larger hosts gained the energy production of the parasites.

▫ This successful invasion of parasite to host in which both

organisms benefit.
THE FIRST EUKARYOTES
• What’s the evidence that modern-day mitochondria
and chloroplasts were once separate cells?

● They still have their own DNA separate from the

main cell’s.

● They replicate on their own, separate from the main

cell.
HISTORY OF THE EARTH
& EVOLUTION
Ch. 16
Sec. 1 Developing a Theory
THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
• Evolution – a gradual change in the traits of a
species over a period of time.

● refers to an orderly succession of changes.

● Note: a single individual cannot evolve! Only

species do.
THEORIES OF EVOLUTION
• Early scientists noticed that new life-forms
appeared to be modifications of fossil forms found
in the same geographical area.

● This strongly implied that a natural

modification process was at work.
LAMARCK’S EXPLANATION
• Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
(1744 – 1829)

▫ He was one of the first to

propose a hypothesis of
species modification
(evolution).

▫ He catalogued an extensive
collection of invertebrates
and then related the fossil
forms to living animals.
LAMARCK’S
EXPLANATION
• He hypothesized that
acquired traits were
passed onto offspring.

● Acquired traits are not

determined by genes, but
instead are gained
through an organism’s life
by experience or behavior.
LAMARCK’S EXPLANATION
• While this was quickly found to be untrue, his
theories were very important.

● He showed that organisms change over time.

● He showed that new types of organisms are

modified descendants of older types.
MODERN EVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT
• Both Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace (mid
1800’s) independently proposed that species were
modified by natural selection.
● Darwin and Wallace announced their hypotheses at the same
time.

● Darwin is better known because of his book The Origin of

Species (1859).
CHARLES DARWIN
• In 1831, he served as the naturalist about the HMS
Beagle.
● It was to do a 5 year mapping and collecting expedition.
● It went from England, around the southern tip of South
America, south of Australia and Africa, back to South America,
and then back to England.
• No wonder it took 5 years!
CHARLES DARWIN
• Often, the ship dropped Darwin off at one port
and picked him up months later at another.
▫ While off ship, he trekked hundreds of kilometers through
uncharted regions, collecting and observing thousands of species.

• Darwin knew that changes to the Earth and to

species took long periods of time.
▫ Fossils of extinct sea creatures can be found in mountain tops
14,000 feet high!!!
⚫ This shows that species can become extinct or change over
time.

⚫ It also shows that the Earth can slowly change over time.
DARWIN’S DATA
• Galapagos Finches
● Darwin found 13 different species of finch on the Galapagos
Islands.
● They were very similar, but had differences in their beak
shapes.
• The differences in shapes were suited to different food sources.
• The similarity of finches suggested a common ancestor.
THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES
• Darwin had been leisurely working on his book about
his trip and studies for 21 years.

• A young naturalist (Wallace) came to him and asked

him to review his paper about evolution by natural
selection.

• This lit a fire under Darwin to finish his book.

• Both hypotheses were presented side-by-side to the

Linnaean Society of London in 1858.
HISTORY OF THE EARTH
& EVOLUTION
Ch. 16
Sec. 2 Applying Darwin’s Ideas
DARWIN’S THEORIES
• Darwin had 2 theories:

1. Evolution (descent with modification) occurs.

2. The process of natural selection causes

evolution.
DESCENT WITH MODIFICATION
• Newer forms appearing in the fossil record are
modified descendants of older species.

● Darwin inferred that all species had descended

from one or a few original types of life.
DESCENT WITH MODIFICATION
• Species that are similar or closely related share a
recent common ancestor.

• Species that are not very similar share a distant

common ancestor.
● Note: the terms “recent” and “distant” are relative. “Recent”
ancestors could be millions of years in the past!

• This theory accounts for the fact that similar

organisms arise in the same geographical locations.
MODIFICATION BY NATURAL SELECTION
• Populations are limited in size by adverse conditions
(war, disease, limited resources).

● These conditions limit birth rates, increase death

rates, or both.

● This keeps populations from getting too large.

MODIFICATION BY NATURAL SELECTION
• Adverse conditions affect
individuals differently.

● Some individuals are better

able to cope with stress.
• Those with more favorable
traits tend to reproduce more.

• Those without favorable traits

will reproduce less.
MODIFICATION BY NATURAL SELECTION
• Eventually, most (or all) of
the population will be
descendants of the favorable
individuals.

● Thus, the population

changes.

● Sometimes it changes so
much that is now a new
species!!!
MODIFICATION BY NATURAL SELECTION
• This process is called “Natural Selection”.

• Natural selection is not an active process.

● Individuals do not acquire traits on purpose.

● The environment “selects” the traits that are

“good”.
 EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
• homologous features – similar features that originated in
a common ancestor
● Birds’ beaks are similar because they evolved from a common ancestor.

● Forelimbs of birds, mammals, and reptiles all have the same basic
bone structure (with minor modifications).
EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION
• analogous features – two parts that are identical in
function but have very different anatomy
● Unlike homologous structures, analogous features do not show
evolutionary relationships.
● Examples:

• The wings of birds, bats, and insects are similar because they are
needed to fly, not because these organisms share a recent
common ancestor.

• The fins of sharks and dolphins are similar, even though they are
only very distantly related.
ANALOGOUS FEATURES
EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION

• Vestigial structures – structures that serve no real

purpose

● Vestigial structures stay with an organism because

they were once useful to its ancestors.

● examples:
• human tailbone and appendix
• whales have pelvic bones
• snakes have pelvic bones and limb bones
VESTIGIAL
STRUCTURES
EVIDENCE OF
EVOLUTION

• Similarities in Embryology

● The early stages of vertebrate

embryos are very similar.
PATTERNS OF EVOLUTION
• Convergent evolution occurs when organisms
appear similar, but only because of the environment
they share (not because they are related).

● Sharks and dolphins look similar because they both

live in the ocean and have to swim quickly.

● They are not closely related, however (sharks = fish,

dolphins = mammals).
PATTERNS OF EVOLUTION
• Divergent evolution: populations or species
become more and more dissimilar.

● It is almost always a response to differing

habitats.

● It can/does result in new species.

DIVERGENT EVOLUTION