Physical evidences of evolution?

Question

I'm doing a research assignment on this at the moment so I want a non-biased opinion and statements. No religious stuff about how Creation is true or anything (I am Christian). This project requires non-biased information so yea.

Answer 1

Evolution, as defined as change in allele frequency in a population over time, is a natural phenomenon that is observed and easily measured.

At the molecular level, genes can be sequenced and changes measured in important areas such as cancer, virology and microbiology.

At the physical level, one of the most detailed records of evolution can be found in the work of Peter and Rosemary Grant. They measured the changes in the Darwin's finches as the environment changed over decades. They tracked how the number of finches with different sized beaks changed as the amount of available food changed on the island.

These changes (evolution) can be predicted and explained by the theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

It is easy to see the position of a website that has Genesis in the URL. That site appears to be the work of Ken Ham, an Australian for whom The Flintstones is a documentary. He, like Carl Weiland, is a fanatic who believes in a young earth and a literal interpretation of the bible.

Evolution is not a process of perfection. Evolution is not directed. There is no such thing as more or less evolved. Bacteria are the most successful life forms on this planet. If something works, then there's no point in screwing with it. It's not surprising forms that have endured for hundreds of million years.

Besides, the shape of bacteria says very little about it's genome. There can be significant divergence in the genomes of similar appearing bacteria.

Evolution happens.

Answer 2

Bacteria is usually used as the best evidence, but as Dr. Carl Wieland has said, “Bacteria actually provide evidence against evolution. Bacterial populations multiply at incredibly high rates. In only a matter of a few years, bacteria can go through a massive number of generations, equivalent to millions of years in human terms. Therefore, since we see mutation and natural selection in bacterial populations happening all the time, we should see tremendous amounts of real evolution happening. However, the bacteria we have with us today are essentially the same as those described by Robert Koch a century ago. In fact, there are bacteria found fossilised in rock layers, claimed by evolutionists to be millions of years old, which as far as one can tell are the same as bacteria living today.”

Oh, and all of secretsauce's 10 areas have been dealt with; just look them up here: http://www.answersingenesis.org

Answer 3

A good place to start is with the evolution of the pentadactyl limb in fish, and then up through the reptiles to the dinosaurs, then to archaeopteryx (the feathered dinosaur) and up to modern birds.
This is a good example because it shows how one detail has allowed a broad range of adaptations and also shows how it eked its way through. Fish, reptiles, dogs, humans and birds all have this pentadactyl limb, on at least one set of limbs, so do whales.
This means it is a very early adaptation and branched through the evolutionary tree rapidly. Archaeopteryx is a good middleman too, because it presages the avian feathered wing.
If you have the time or chance, try to look up fossil records that can show you how the avian wing developed from a gliding tool for treebound dinosaurs to a tool for birds to fly long distances. It's a beautiful example of nature's step-by-step fine tuning of a system.
Good luck!

Answer 4

Go with James and horse evolution. There is a very complete fossil record of horses progressing from rodent type to hooved horses. You should be able to find lots of information on the internet on this topic.

Answer 5

The perfect book for you is Evolution Emerging by Gregory, published by Macmillan. It's in two volumes. You can get all the information you can use, and then some.

Answer 6

See my answer to this question ... the 10 main categories of evidence:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhzOxsVLNERvJ9jLtVh4Q8zty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20061114162706AAJ3vs9

P.S. ... good for you for insisting on a scientific answer to a scientific question. Millions of Christians (like myself) have no problem whatsoever with evolution, and recognize that conflicts only arise when you take the Bible so literally that you read it like a science textbook. The Bible was never intended to be taken literally or to be used for that purpose ... it answers a very differnt kind of question.

Answer 7

The evolution of horses has a good fossil record. Also the glycolysis pathway is a good example of evolutiuon, as all organisms have a near identical pathway.

Answer 8

Michael Tsarion's got some really weird and interesting theories about the origins of man.

http://www.taroscopes.com/products/atlantisbook.html