Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The term "homology" was first used in biology by the anatomist Richard Owen in 1843 when studying the similarities of vertebrate fins and limbs, defining it as the "same organ in different animals under every variety of form and function", [6] and contrasting it with the matching term "analogy" which he used to describe different structures ...
The most well-studied example is the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, which independently evolved at the same positions regardless of the underlying sublineage. [270] The most ominent examples from the pre-Omicron era were E484K and N501Y, while in the Omicron era examples include R493Q, R346X, N444X, L452X, N460X, F486X, and F490X.
This is different from homology, which is the term used to characterize the similarity of features that can be parsimoniously explained by common ancestry. [1] Homoplasy can arise from both similar selection pressures acting on adapting species, and the effects of genetic drift. [2] [3]
The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are analogous , whereas homologous structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions.
Tail end of human embryo, from eight and a half to nine weeks old. 1 - 7: Homologous male and female pelvic organs. Diagrams that show the development of male and female organs from a common precursor.
Homology (anthropology), analogy between human beliefs, practices or artifacts owing to genetic or historical connections Homology (psychology), behavioral characteristics that have common origins in either evolution or development
Sequence homology is the biological homology between DNA, RNA, or protein sequences, defined in terms of shared ancestry in the evolutionary history of life. Two segments of DNA can have shared ancestry because of three phenomena: either a speciation event (orthologs), or a duplication event (paralogs), or else a horizontal (or lateral) gene ...
An example of a 20th-century comparative anatomist is Victor Negus, who worked on the structure and evolution of the larynx. Until the advent of genetic techniques like DNA sequencing , comparative anatomy together with embryology were the primary tools for understanding phylogeny , as exemplified by the work of Alfred Romer .