Can you list some of the evidence supporting the theory of evolution?

Question

SO far noone has answerd my question. One guy just gave me the falws of the human body, another guy said that there is so much, but didnt give me a single example, and another person gave me a website that easily stated that eveolution may have occured with two diffrent birds, but arent those just mating diffrences? Just cause a polar bear marrys a black bear, it doesnt create a new species.

Answer 1

150 years ago, we didn't know about bacteria. No clue. It wasn't understood until Louis Pasteur determined that germs caused disease.

You are seeking information about evolution, something that scientists are doing as well. You have, however, asked this in the Religion & Spirituality section, where we are mostly humanities majors, not biologists or physicists. Would you come to R&S to find out what opus number was Mozart's 40th Symphony? I think not. You're asking us to play to our weakness. Quite frankly, you're being unfair.

So let me suggest two things:

1. If you are serious about wanting to know the current evidence-based understanding on the origins of the universe and on evolutionary theory, there are excellent descriptions found at http://www.talkorigins.org .

2. Consider that you are proposing (not so subtly) that anything that is not explained is a place for God to be discovered. This is commonly referred to in ontology as "the god of the gaps" theory. It typically assigns God to any blank space that science has not yet reached useful conclusions. Remember what I said about disease? Before bacteria were discovered, it was assumed God was punishing the ill, or that they were demon possessed, or some other supernatural phenomenon caused sickness. This is the same god of the gaps.

Science never assumes, and should never assume, anything is supernatural. The purpose of science is to discover through measured observation, testing, and repetition what natural causes lead to our natural world. If you impose a statement "God caused it," then this stops the search for knowledge, because God is ultimately unknowable. This is the reason that the "god of the gaps" theory is discounted among learned ontological academicians, and is ignored by science.

Answer 2

-I've got some really good evidence against it... Darwin even stated that there is so many missing links. He created the theory of "Natural Selection." Meaning that the weakest will not survive. If, say, a lizard were to evolve into a whale, then most likely the steps that would take place would be the lizard growing in size, losing its legs, and forming a fin instead. It would be sort of a "half creature" and according to natural selection, it would not survive.
- When you go to the museum, you see a display consisted of white bones and darker ones. The darker ones are real, whereas the white ones are bones that scientist just assume go into place. Sure a monkey's bone structure somewhat resembles a human, but there are absolutely no actualy skulls and such found that prove the change between monkey and human.
- Also, if this whole thing is true, then where did the ape come from?

Answer 3

Dude - there's SO MUCH.

Also, do you mean evolution, or the weird conflation of cosmogony, abiogenesis and evolution that Xians are always banging on about?

How about making a new type of bacterium in a matter of days by teaching their genes to resist antibiotics?

CD

Pilgrim: galaxies DON'T have 'a spiral form'. They just look that way because density waves of star birth move around them and that makes them brighter in some regions.

uiop b: On closer inspection you're an idiot. People have written a great deal of information that would help you with this question, but you're not here for information, are you? You just want to parade your ignorance and claim that there ARE no answers, on the basis that you can't understand and won't read them. Pathetic.

Answer 4

The evidence is conclusive; evolution has been established science for a century, meaning that people routinely use it to make correct predictions. That would be enough by itself, but there is much more; the genetic evidence and fossil evidence is all over, and any random issue of any of the technical scientific publications (Science, Nature, PNAS, etc.) will have numerous examples. Most scientific theories are (for technical reasons) unproveable; but I have discovered that evolution is an exception: it is provably correct, and I have done so. (Details on request.) You can read:

Answer 5

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/ Try this just to get the idea of what it is and is not,

The Evidence for Evolution
Concept Outline

1. Fossil evidence indicates that evolution has occurred.

The Fossil Record. When fossils are arranged in the order of their age, a continual series of change is seen, new changes being added at each stage.

The Evolution of Horses. The record of horse evolution is particularly well-documented and instructive.

2. Natural selection can produce evolutionary change.

The Beaks of Darwin's Finches. Natural selection favors stouter bills in dry years, when large tough-to-crush seeds are the only food available to finches.

Peppered Moths and Industrial Melanism. Natural selection favors dark-colored moths in areas of heavy pollution, while light-colored moths survive better in unpolluted areas.

Artificial Selection. Artificial selection practiced in laboratory studies, agriculture, and domestication demonstrate that selection can produce substantial evolutionary change.

3. Evidence for evolution can be found in other fields of biology.

The Anatomical Record. When anatomical features of living animals are examined, evidence of shared ancestry is often apparent.

The Molecular Record. When gene or protein sequences from organisms are arranged, species thought to be closely related based on fossil evidence are seen to be more similar than species thought to be distantly related.

Convergent and Divergent Evolution. Evolution favors similar forms under similar circumstances.

4. The theory of evolution has proven controversial.

Darwin's Critics. Critics have raised seven objections to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

FIGURE 1

A window into the past. The fossil remains of the now-extinct reptile Mesosaurus found in Permian sediments in Africa and South America provided one of the earliest clues to a former connection between the two continents. Mesosaurus was a freshwater species and so clearly incapable of a transatlantic swim. Therefore, it must have lived in the lakes and rivers of a formerly contiguous landmass that later became divided as Africa and South America drifted apart in the Cretaceous.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Of all the major ideas of biology, the theory that today's organisms evolved from now-extinct ancestors (figure 1) is perhaps the best known to the general public. This is not because the average person truly understands the basic facts of evolution, but rather because many people mistakenly believe that it represents a challenge to their religious beliefs. Similar highly publicized criticisms of evolution have occurred ever since Darwin's time. For this reason, it is important that, during the course of your study of biology, you address the issue squarely: Just what is the evidence for evolution?

Answer 6

Evidence is everywhere, from fossil records (such as dinosaurs, which are not mutated cows as some believe), to parts of yourself. At one time our appendix served a purpose, but now it doesn't, and we will keep it until it becomes harmful to ourselves. Goosebumps, once used when we had fur, to trap warmth, now, since we have little "fur" they have no use. Even in early stages of development (like when we are a zygote) we have gill slits, they eventually disappear in later development, but there are some humans still born with them. And our tailbone, it is not just a random structure, but proof that at one point we had a tail. I can't explain everything, but check my sources out. And to be totally honest, the evolution theory is not fully solid, there are gaps in research, and unexplained mysterious, at this point there is not 100% way to say how life got here.

Answer 7

Here is my list. There is more, I just tried to stick with the easy to understand ones.

* Fossils - the order can be determined by stratification alone (no radiological dating) it is unarguable and life started simple and got more complex. Here is a simple chart to show what I mean: http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/fossils/succession.html
* Circular species. Meaning that it geographically evolved in two geographic directions with interbreeding possible between all steps but not the two ends. The two ends are actually separate species. Example: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/05/2/l_052_05.html
* Mitochondrial DNA regressive studies. - This comes only from your mother and the only changes to it are through mutations. These mutations occur at a known rate, and converge world wide 150,000 years ago give or take. If Eve (6000 years ago) was the only female, it would be almost identical world wide. It is not. The flood gives a second bottleneck that matches the facts even less well.
* Geographic distribution of related species. Meaning related species are usually near each other.
* Wisdom Teeth - there isn't room on your jaw for them anymore.
* Your little toe - totally useless. Nice intelligent design here.
* Your appendix - totally useless now but it does digest cellulose in other species.
* Your inner eyelids - They don't even work now, but they do for lots of other animals like house cats. Bet you didn't even know you had 'em.
* Vestigial DNA - meaning chromosomes that we have but don't use, but that are used in other species. We have several that other primates use but are totally useless to us.
* The fact that we share so much DNA among species
* There are no wild milk cows. They evolved through artificial selection and are totally man made.
* Different breeds of dogs, cats, livestock.
* Viruses and bacteria evolve quickly and you can actually see it. This is why you need a new flu shot every year.
* Your tail bone. It is even not that uncommon to be born with a tail.
* Goosebumps - this would be useful if we had fur because it fluffs it and makes more insulation. For us it is worthless.
* The hair standing up on your neck when you are frightened. Animals use this to make themselves look bigger. Doesn't work when you walk upright and don't have fur.
* The fact that humans have gotten measurably and heritability taller since the 1600s
* The fact that humans jaw have gotten measurably and heritability smaller since the 1600s
* The fact that humans little toes have gotten measurably and heritability smaller since the 1600s
* Human lower back problems. Your back is intelligently designed to have support from your shoulders.
* Transitional fossils - here are several lists: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils

Answer 8

One at a time. Ring species:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_species

I can tell from your response that you looked at the photo of the gulls and decided you'd read enough.

If you want more you'll obviously have read and examined all these:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_for_evolution

Fossils, fortunately, come out of the ground with a date tag on them which we can read using uranium-lead radiometric dating methods. Radiometric isotopes decay at a consistent rate. From the decay present in these two types and the ratio between them, accurate dating is possible to dates that precede the age of the solar system.

Answer 9

Monkeys, fossils showing the stages of development of pre-historic creatures, religious neanderthals who claim to be gods creation but resemble savage apes when they go red in the face screaming at the cieling at religious rallies ( there is the missing link that science describes).

Answer 10

Anatomic comparisons of living creatures. This is supported by fossils showing progression of features to their modern forms, and molecular studies that show the same relationship of relatedness is genes that do not determine anatomic features.

The fossil record that shows progression of life and occasional mass extinctions.

The "universal" genetic code.