What Darwin Never Knew – Blog Post
We are currently learning about Evolution in Life Sciences 11. This unit talks about how humans have developed, and so have animals. Darwin plays a significant role in this. Today we will answer the question(s), “how did the discovery of DNA prove that Darwin’s theory of evolution was correct, and how does it change how we view evolution today and into the future?”.
The question that will be first answered is, “how did the discovery of DNA prove that Darwin’s theory of evolution was correct?”
When DNA was discovered, it played a primary factor in identifying the theory of evolution. DNA and the genetic code reflect the shared ancestry life. I would like to include that humans have a 1% difference in the DNA of our bodies from chimps. However, chimps have 18 letters in DNA sequences compared to humans. Many know that it is believed that specifically, humans evolved from apes. However, Darwin believed that humans also evolved from fish. In other words, it is said that the bones of the human inner ear developed from fish gills. This is allowed since a switch in the body tells the “stuff genes” what to do and when. That will enable us to understand that all life forms are related but evolved into different species. This shows that all species come from one ancestor.
The next question I will answer is, “how does the discovery of DNA change how we view evolution today and into the future?”
The discovery of DNA changes how we view evolution today since it allows us to understand how every living animal is. An excellent example is the discovery of how slight differences in DNA can create enormous changes in an organism, such as chimps and humans. Scientists are now able to discover not just the genes but identify the bases thanks to the discovery of DNA. Bottoms allow us to distinguish other organisms from each other. In the future, I believe that evolution will be even viewed differently when more findings of DNA are released. As well as, our current technology shows that legs only appeared 365 million years ago. With new technology being developed every day, more and more will be learned, and the discovery of DNA and genetics will help us understand the theory of evolution even better.
Works Cited
Boersma, Alex “This 365-million-year-old fish fossil reveals how life came to land.” Inverse, July 2022, https://www.inverse.com/science/new-fish-fossil-land-animal-evolution. Accessed 3 March 2023.
Ramirez, Israel. “Comparing Chromosomes.” Quora, 2019, https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-big-key-differences-between-a-human-and-our-nearest-genetic-relative-a-chimpanzee. Accessed 3 March 2023
“Explain the difference between Lamarck’s and Darwin’s theory of evolution. Why was Darwin’s more successful?” Telgurus, https://telgurus.co.uk/explain-the-difference-between-lamarcks-and-darwins-theory-of-evolution/. Accessed 3 March 2023