UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE

BIOL 1122: BIOLOGY II FOR HEALTH STUDIES MAJOR

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT UNIT 1: EVOLUTION
INSTRUCTOR: DR. ANUPRIYA CHATTERJEE
Evolution is a natural process of movement through adaptation that results in the transmission of
desirable traits to future populations. Over time, living things change and develop more useful
traits for their survival in their given environment. Some of the best evidence for evolution
currently available are fossils, scientists can, through analysis, determine how old these fossils
are; thus allowing them to determine when organisms live in relation to each other (OpenStax,
2015). They have collected all the details of the fossils and the fossil record which helps us to
show the timeline of the beginning of fossils over millions of years. The fossils show the process
of evolution; things that lived in the past were different from what we see today. For example,
"Radiometric dating shows that all animals descended from the great ancestor of fossils
discovered 700 million years ago, a small, soft-bodied worm called the Ediacara fauna" (Ayala,
2020).

Embryology and anatomy are also important in studying and explaining evolutionary processes.
Scientists use the shape to compare the structure of different organisms in order to be able to
predict the evolutionary relationship between them, the existence of homologous structures
across different species is clear evidence of the evolutionary relationship between them
(OpenStax, 2015). These joint structures are from ancient structures and ancestors of these
objects. However, evolution has allowed time to progress and change in these ancient structures,
making them look like they do in today's assessment (OpenStax, 2015). There are also other
things that are not used in many things that are not useful during evolution, such as the coccyx in
humans; they are called residual classification (OpenStax, 2015).

Molecular genetics also provides clear evidence of evolution during DNA analysis of different
organisms (OpenStax, 2015). A good example of the contribution of molecular biology in the
study of evolution is that of chimpanzees and humans, the cytochrome c protein in chimpanzees
and humans has the same 104 amino acids and in the exact same sequence that shows great
similarity and common sharing the father of both species (Ayala, 2020). Below are three proofs I
would like to mention about evolution:

Natural selection

It can be said that natural selection is the main force behind the evolution of all living things over
time. It is the main mechanism of evolution, where genes are selected that cannot be passed on to
their offspring, thus favoring some adaptive traits over other lethal traits (Andrew, 2014). A
current instance of the power of natural selection at work is the study of anole lizards in the
Turks and Caicos Islands which after two hurricanes hit the habitat of these lizards, “the lizards
that had survived developed large and sticky toe pads which they passed on to their offspring
through natural selection. Therefore, this trait was naturally selected and passed on because it is
better to survive in the new environmental conditions of hurricanes" (Lizards Adapt To
Hurricanes!, 2020).

Mutation

This is another fundamental process of evolution and is important for random genetic variation in
genes. This happens through mutational changes, frameshifts, chromosomal mutations, and
breakdowns in the DNA repair process which, in turn, change the gene pool (Lerner, 2014).
Through mutation, new genes are brought in into the group of species, allowing natural selection
to act on these genes thereby choosing for or against them (Lerner, 2014). Therefore, they are a
source of misunderstanding in human cells and can be harmful as seen in Huntington's disease in
humans.

Genetic drift

This occurs when organisms migrate and carry the genome of their local genes to another
environment (OpenStax, 2015). This thus creates an opportunity for the introduction of different
alleles by interacting with people from other regions and producing babies with different genes
(Lerner, 2014). Genetic drift can be attributed to changes in the number of genes in a species, or
through local restrictions, random mating or catastrophic events (Lerner, 2014). An example
would be the fish that is taken to a new lake.

I am of the opinion that humans have had a major negative impact on the evolutionary process of
almost all living things. Humans affect these processes through hunting or poaching,
consumption of other living things, destruction of the environment through industrialization,
population growth, pollution of the environment, construction of shelters for themselves and war.
These are all aspects of human life that have a strong impact on the evolutionary process, either
intentionally or unintentionally, causing many species to be extinct.

Word Count: 743

References

Andrew, S. (2014). Evolution. In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), The Gale Encyclopedia
ofScience (5th ed.). Gale. Retrieved from https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CV2644030857/ITOF?
u=lirn17237&sid=ITOF&xid=e964308a

Ayala, J. F. (May 21, 2020). Evolution. In Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica,

inc. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/evolution-scientific-theory
Lerner, K. L. (2014). Evolutionary mechanisms. In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), The
Gale Encyclopedia of Science (5th ed.). Gale. Retrieved from
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CV2644030863/ITOF?u=lirn17237&sid=ITOF&xid=5998d969

Lizards Adapt To Hurricanes! (2020, May 20). Youngzine, NA. Retrieved from
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A624846799/ITOF?u=lirn17237&sid=ITOF&xid=a03194a1

OpenStax. (2015). Biology. OpenStax CNX. Retrieved from http://cnx.org/contents/185cbf87-

c72e-48f5-b51e-f14f21b5eabd@9.85:1/