Darwin’s theory of evolution was found to be correct. The ability for a single organism to develop into different types or change over a period of time to better suit their environment or habits. An example of this can be found in land animals as descendants of the Tiktaalik. As response to the predators in the water the Tiktaalik pulled itself onto land and eventually led to other land animals as land was perfect for life above the water. While in the Galapagos Island Darwin observed the variety of finches with different beaks and structure based on the island. Interested in why this was the case Darwin realized that all finches originated from a single finch and differed due to the type of food and environment on their island. Small beaked finches lived where seeds from flowers were eaten while tough, large beaked finches thrived in locations where hard to open, large nuts were the staple diet. Darwin’s theory changes the way we view evolution today as it challenged the Fixity of Species and showed us the theory that species evolved and led to research into biological switches that we can observe today. This was shown during the experiment done on fruit flies when a switch that coded for spotted wings in one fly was inserted into a non spotted fly. Almost immediately this switch turned on the DNA that coded for the spot and the fruit fly showed spots. Moving forward we can use this fundamental principal of Evolution to realize and recognize switches in animals and humans and possibly conduct further experiments and use the switches to our advantage or simply understand them better.
From https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tylerkeillor/digital-dinosaur-dryptosaurus/posts
A visual of Tiktaalik eventually becoming the ancestor of land animals including humans.
From https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/329677635196634636/
Image of different types of Finches in the Galapagos that Darwin studied. All linked to a common ancestor.