"Evolution is the change in heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations."
Evolution is the study of the changes in organisms over time. It is a fundamental concept in biology that helps us understand the way that species have changed and adapted over millions of years.
Natural Selection: The process by which organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more offspring.
Adaptation: The process by which organisms evolve traits that make them better suited to their environment.
Genetics: The study of genes and how they are passed down from generation to generation.
Mutation: A change in DNA that results in a new trait or characteristic.
Speciation: The process by which one species evolves into another.
Fossil record: The collection of all the fossils that have been discovered, providing evidence of the history of life on Earth.
Biogeography: The study of the geographic distribution of living things and how it relates to evolution.
Molecular evolution: The study of the evolution of genes and proteins.
Population genetics: The study of how the frequency of genes changes within a population over time.
Phylogenetics: The study of the evolutionary history of organisms and their relationships to one another.
"The processes that change DNA in a population include natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow."
"The theory of evolution by natural selection was conceived independently by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-19th century."
"Evolution occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation."
"Certain characteristics become more or less common within a population over successive generations."
"The theory was an explanation for why organisms are adapted to their physical and biological environments."
"(1) more offspring are often produced than can possibly survive; (2) traits vary among individuals; (3) different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction; and (4) traits can be passed from generation to generation."
"Evolution was combined with Mendelian inheritance and population genetics to give rise to modern evolutionary theory."
"All life on Earth—including humanity—shares a last universal common ancestor (LUCA), which lived approximately 3.5–3.8 billion years ago."
"The fossil record includes a progression from early biogenic graphite to microbial mat fossils to fossilised multicellular organisms."
"Existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped by repeated formations of new species (speciation), changes within species (anagenesis), and loss of species (extinction)."
"Morphological and biochemical traits tend to be more similar among species that share a more recent common ancestor, which historically was used to reconstruct phylogenetic trees."
"Their discoveries have influenced not just the development of biology but also other fields including agriculture, medicine, and computer science."
"Researchers have constructed theories based on evidence from the field or laboratory and on data generated by the methods of mathematical and theoretical biology."
"Traits can be passed from generation to generation (heritability of fitness)."
"The processes that change DNA in a population include natural selection, genetic drift, mutation, and gene flow."
"Existing patterns of biodiversity have been shaped by repeated formations of new species (speciation)."
"In this synthesis, the basis for heredity is in DNA molecules that pass information from generation to generation."
"Different traits confer different rates of survival and reproduction (differential fitness)."
"Their discoveries have influenced not just the development of biology but also other fields including agriculture, medicine, and computer science."