Kyla Rand Section HB- McGough Argument of Definition December 9, 2013 What is Biological Evolution?

Biological evolution: the world started with a big bang. Atoms collided, space exploded, and suddenly there was a new planet. This planet started with just one cell that divided into several cells. These cells divided and changed until that one first cell became bacteria, dinosaurs, fish, and monkeys. Monkeys advanced over millions of years to become cavemen, and cavemen became humans. Every species alive on this Earth has developed from dozens of other species that all came from the same original cell that appeared when the Earth formed at the Big Bang. There was no god; nothing was created on purpose. Everything just changed over time to become what they are today. This is what it means to have biological evolution. Or is it? Deciding how the Earth began and how humans came to look and think like they do today has caused a huge rift between scientists and supporters of the Creationist view. Repeatedly, parents and teachers take each other to court on the basis of religious offenseeither the parent believes that teaching evolution is against their faith, or the teacher stands behind teaching evolution because it is an important scientific theory and has nothing to do with combating religion. As a result, the lessons that teachers give to their students in elementary and middle school are carefully monitored so that children are not swayed one way or the other, and yet these impressionable minds often grow up with the mindset that evolution is an evil idea. No one can support both ideas, they learn; it has to be one or the other, and the people that choose evolution are antiChristianity. But most of the conflicts Creationists have with evolution are actually very inaccurate. Evolution has nothing to do with how the Earth began, and very few scientists believe that all living creatures are descendants of one original species. Biological evolution is simply the genetic change of a species that is passed on from generation to generation. The Father of Evolution, Charles Darwin, came up with this idea over decades of studying every living creature he could get his hands on. His most important contribution to the theory of evolution was the idea of natural selection, or rather the idea that certain traits help a species survive. As John Wilkins described it in his article Defining Evolution, when the environment around a species changes, that species adapts to better live in their new environment. Those that do not have the necessary trait die off in greater numbers, and the

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surviving creatures with that trait survive and reproduce more. Then that trait is passed down through many generations until most, if not all, of the species can be found with that feature. This, the initial concept of evolution, has been observed time and again in a variety of species. However, during Darwins exploration of this concept, he never actually called it evolution. Only later, when other scientists used that word to describe his work, would he consent to use the term. The very basis of the theory of evolution was not the origin of life on Earth, but on how species adapt over the course of time, a fact that can easily be observed and proven. Since Darwins time, evolution has become a concept studied world-wide. Scientists from all backgrounds study evolution, and that includes scientists of all faiths. Regina Bailey, an educator and biology writer for About.com, explained in her article Biological Evolution that evolution has nothing to do with disproving that there is a god. In fact, many scientists search for explanations on how both ideas can exist together. This idea that separates religion and evolution, one of the greatest misconceptions of the evolutionary debate, causes the greatest divide between Creationists and Evolutionists, and it is completely founded in misunderstanding. Biological evolution does not define how the world began whatsoever. What evolution does involve are two concepts called macroevolution and microevolution. Macroevolution, the first major feature of evolution, is commonly misinterpreted. The older, controversial idea of macroevolution is that all species came from the same original cell and have since then evolved into the diversity of creatures that they are today. Creationists find this view especially repugnant because Christianity states that God created all creatures individually. They believe that because of macroevolution, evolution means that one cell is the originator, the creator, of all other cells. In reality, macroevolution is a very vague topic among scientists. Few believe it means that the entirety of the diversity of life comes back to one cell. Most commonly, as John Wilkins phrased it, macroevolution is considered the origination of a novel species by splitting from an ancestral species, or rather the idea that all species evolve from pre-existing species. This idea can be proven just by observing natural selection taking place. For instance, take Darwins study on the finches of the Galapagos Islands. Frank J. Sulloway, a writer for the Smithsonian magazine and avid traveler to the Galapagos, wrote in his article The Evolution of Charles Darwin that there are 14 finch species in the Galapagos that have all evolved from a single ancestor. Over millions of years, these finches travelled to different islands in the area and were faced with

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varying food sources. Some birds needed to suck nectar from inside delicate flowers; others needed to crush the hard exteriors of nuts and insects. As a result, many different beak shapes were necessary for their survival and each adapted accordingly, as illustrated in Figure 1 below. With each new adaption came a new species because its features were so different. Macroevolution just means to have new generations with new traits that werent present in their ancestors.

Figure 1: Fourteen species of finches evolved from one ancestor, each with its own type of beak based on the food it ate. Source: Adaptive Radiation of Galapagos Finches

The other type of evolution is microevolution, when changes occur on the genetic level. These changes do not create a new species but simply advance what was already there. Consider what happens when plant biologists create a new species of corn, one that is resistant to a certain type of invasive insect. They cross the traits of a second plant with that corn, or they genetically alter the genes of the corn to change the genetic makeup. This results in a new type of crop that sickens the bugs when they eat it and therefore cannot be destroyed by insects but is still safe for humans to eat. In the end, they have effectively created a new breed of the same plant.

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But then those very insects that the new type of corn was created to withstand still need to eat. So that species of bug learns to adapt in the hopes of being able to consume that crop once again. Some bugs, on a fluke, can already withstand the genetic change and are able to eat it. Those that cant consume it die off quickly. After a few years, the only bugs that will exist will have the genetic makeup necessary to withstand the evolved corn. Their offspring will be born with these traits and will be able to eat the corn at destructive levels once again. Then scientists will have to begin once more in creating a new breed of crop. This example involves several cases of microevolution as both plant and animal change to survive longer, coinciding exactly with Darwins original theory of evolution, natural selection. These genetic changes are what happen on a minute scale when macroevolution occurs. As the genes change, the species change; as the species change, new species are formed. To have biological evolution at all, there must be microevolution. Ultimately, biological evolution is the adaption that results in a genetic change that occurs when new traits form in a species. It is not the Creation Story, a theory about how the Earth began. It is not an argument against any religion, especially as many scientists believe in both evolution and God. This theory is based in strongly proven fact, and nothing about it is meant to be offensive to anyone. The constant arguments of whether evolution is appropriate for schools is unnecessary because the true meaning of biological evolution has been distorted into a widely-believed misconception that fuels these debates. Biological evolution is species-wide genetic change, nothing more, nothing less.

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Works Cited "Adaptive Radiation in Galapagos Finches." Chart. Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, 2005. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. Bailey, Regina. "Biological Evolution." About.com. About.com. Web. 13 Nov 2013. Sulloway, Frank J. "The Evolution of Charles Darwin."Smithsonian. Dec 2005: n. page. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. Wilkins, John. "Defining Evolution." National Center for Science Education. 21.1-2 (2001): 29-37. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.