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Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. [1] [2] It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certain characteristics becoming more or less common within a population over successive generations. [3]
The research generated in these applied fields, contribute towards progress, especially from work on evolution in computer science and engineering fields such as mechanical engineering. [ 5 ] In evolutionary developmental biology , scientists look at how the different processes in development play a role in how a specific organism reaches its ...
In biology, evolution is the process of change in all forms of life over generations, and evolutionary biology is the study of how evolution occurs. Biological populations evolve through genetic changes that correspond to changes in the organisms ' observable traits .
Also called functionalism. The Darwinian view that many or most physiological and behavioral traits of organisms are adaptations that have evolved for specific functions or for specific reasons (as opposed to being byproducts of the evolution of other traits, consequences of biological constraints, or the result of random variation). adaptive radiation The simultaneous or near-simultaneous ...
Evolution then works upon these stages to ensure that an organism adapts to its environment. [5] For example, a human, between being born and reaching adulthood , will pass through an assortment of life stages, which include: birth, infancy, weaning , childhood and growth, adolescence , sexual maturation , and reproduction.
Biology – Science that studies life Evolutionary biology – Study of the evolution of life Evolutionary developmental biology – Comparison of organism developmental processes; Genetics – Science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms; Biogeography – Study of distribution of species
The urban ecosystem is a place of extremities and makes for fast evolution. Higher rates of phenotypic change have been observed in urban areas compared to natural and nonurban anthropogenic systems. [7] A field of study has emerged regarding urban evolution in which the adaptations of animals and plants to urban environments are studied.
The list of fossils begins with Graecopithecus, dated some 7.2 million years ago, which may or may not still be ancestral to both the human and the chimpanzee lineage. For the earlier history of the human lineage, see Timeline of human evolution#Hominidae, Hominidae#Phylogeny.