Selection is the third of the five principles of natural selection, abbreviated as VISTA. Selection acts to bring things together, as recently observed in the water flea (pictured left).
Selection is the core function of natural selection.
Niles Eldredge (pictured right below), a paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History, formulated the acronym to explain Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. While selection is Darwin’s most core principle, it is also the most controversial of the five.
“On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”
One of modern biology’s principal functions includes the naming, grouping, and defining of species. However, exploring the history of the term opens a fascinating window into the checkered history of Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
Mendel rescued Darwin’s theory of natural selection early in the twentieth century – to a point.
By the end of the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin’s influence had continued to deteriorate, stemming from his obsolete theory of inheritance.
In the search for a scientifically valid theory, scientists, early in the twentieth century, rediscovered Gregor Mendel’s genetic inheritance theory, which had been published thirty years earlier.
Mendel’s theory delivered what Darwin missed – a scientifically valid theory of inheritance capable of driving evolution.
In 1837, nearly twenty years before publishing The Origin of Species, Darwin drew his first sketch linking species by inheritance (pictured left).
Knowing Darwin’s mechanisms of inheritance is essential for understanding his theory since inheritance plays a “chief part” in natural selection. As Darwin explains in TheOrigin of Species –
“The most important consideration is that the chief part of the organisation of every being is simply due to inheritance.”
Variations play a pivotal role in driving Darwin’s theory of evolution; heritable variations are a prerequisite for evolutionary change. In the sixth edition of The Origin of Species, while “natural selection” appears 408 times, the term “variations” appears 303 times.
Logic and science play crucial roles in understanding how nature works. Importantly, however, there are distinct types of logic and methods in science. Selecting the appropriate type of logic and science is crucial for developing scientifically valid explanations.
Charles Darwin applied various logic and scientific methods in his life-long quest to explain how Earth’s biosphere works. The story of his quest is fascinating, giving insight into how the interplay of logic and science still influences modern evolution research.
Three years into the pandemic, the origin of COVID-19 is still controversial. Two leading theories are under investigation: natural selection process or genetically engineered – each with vastly different implications. The phylogenetics of coronaviruses is the key to the COVID-19 origin dilemma and gaining insights into the theory of evolution.
Coronaviruses are RNA, not DNA viruses. RNA viruses are associated with causing the common cold, influenza, mumps, and measles; coronaviruses in humans can cause respiratory tract infections ranging from no symptoms, mild symptoms to a cytokine storm resulting in organ failure and death in humans.
The platypus puzzles naturalists and scientists alike. While its bizarre characteristics seem to defy a natural explanation, the platypus may be a classic transitional link. Like a reptile, it lays eggs, yet, it nurses with milk without nipples. As one of the least understood living mammals, and unlike any other known species, it has ten sex chromosomes. The platypus produces venom, like a reptile, and uses electroreception, like a shark – a puzzle known as the platypus paradox dilemma.
That’s not all; the list of oddities goes on. To gain an understanding of this evolution icon, scientists have long-awaited insights from its genome. This January’s journal Naturereports on the most comprehensive investigation of the platypus genome ever performed.
Public schools require the teaching of evolution as a scientific theory. Amazingly, no science organization in the twenty-first century has successfully developed a scientific consensus on evolution.
Science organizations have a privileged responsibility for developing and publishing a consensus on important issues. While a scientific consensus is not synonymous with absolute truth, it guides the public on what is considered scientifically valid.
Science Organizations
Eighteen science organizations, from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to the American Medical Association (AMA), currently have a consensus statement on climate change. While the consensus on climate change from leading science organizations is silent on a scientific consensus on evolution, the message is clear.
The fate of Charles Darwin’s finches is a fascinating saga. Far from England on the equator in the Pacific Ocean lying more than 800 miles off the west coast of Ecuador, the finches Darwin captured on the Galapagos Islands (pictured left), except for one tag, are now missing. As one of the most controversial birds in modern history, the fate of Darwin’s finches belies their current iconic status.
Reaching the Galápagos Islands on September 15, 1835, more than four years after leaving England, the HMS Beagle started preparations to set sail from the island just five weeks later. Darwin had collected many different types of specimens during that time, some weighing up to 500 pounds each. Although typically an avid collector and note-taker, Darwin surprisingly did not record the number of finches collected nor the number loaded onto the ship.
Darwin, Then and Now, the Most Amazing Story in the History of Science, chronicles Darwin's life, how he developed his hypothesis, specifically what he said, and what scientists have discovered since the publication of The Origin of Species in 1859.
The book traces the rise and fall of evolution's popularity as a scientifically valid theory. With over 1,000 references from Darwin and scientists, Darwin Then and Now retraces developments in the most amazing story in the history of science.
Darwin Then and Now is an educational resource focusing on understanding the intersection of evolution and science to develop basic skills for analyzing and assessing the theory of biological evolution.
Selection is the third of the five principles of natural selection, abbreviated as VISTA. Selection acts to bring things together, as recently observed in the water flea (pictured left).
Mendel rescued Darwin’s theory of 
Three years into the pandemic, the origin of 
Public schools require the teaching of evolution as a 
The fate of 