How did the discovery of DNA prove that Darwin’s theory of evolution was correct and how does it change the way we view evolution today and into the future?
Charles Robert Darwin was a revolutionary scientist who proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection. He suggested that it’s the process by which organisms change over time as a result of changes in physical, heritable or behavioral traits. This allows the organism to develop a higher fitness, by becoming more adapted to their specific environment. His theory can be summarized by the following statements: populations increase at a geometric rate, populations are basically constant, there’s a struggle for existence, there is variation in each species and some traits are more favorable than others which are then passed on to the offspring. Even-though Darwin’s theory was scientifically correct he possessed no concrete evidence to prove his findings. Almost a century later, the properties of DNA were unraveled, allowing us to expand upon his knowledge and justify his assumptions.
With modern technological advancements and scientific discoveries, embryology and DNA have confirmed Darwin’s theory. In the documentary What Darwin Never Knew the audience is able to explore several specific examples that include the Tikaalik, Hox genes and the genetic comparison between chimpanzees and humans. Tikaalik represents a transitional form from fish to amphibians. It provides insights on the features of the extinct closest relatives of tatrapods, serving as evidence that intermediates between very different vertebrates did once exist. Another example includes Hox genes, a group of related genes that control the body plan of an embryo along the head-tail axis. They have been found in all complex animals from 600 million year worms to humans. Finally, scientists have discovered that there is only a 1% percent difference in the DNA between humans and chimpanzees. They were in the switches that directed the genes involving the brain, demonstrating that even a small difference in DNA can cause an enormous change. All of these examples have allowed us to verify Darwin’s theory of evolution and show the development of hundreds different species.
The discovery of DNA has changed the perspective of the way that we view evolution today. It has established a strong foundation for the principle of evolution and caused the research to shift towards focusing on genetics. I believe that in the future DNA will allow us to further expand our knowledge regarding evolution, leading biology and science to greater new frontiers.
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