Embryology plays a critical role in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The “leading facts in embryology … [were] second to none in importance,” he argued in The Origin of Species.
Illustrations of embryos by Ernst Haeckel, a German biologist, influenced Darwin. Haeckel’s drawings portray embryos repeating the steps of evolution, known as the “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” theory.
It is thought that genes drive evolution through natural selection. Since turtles have a unique body plan, studying the turtle genome during embryonic development is expected to give insight into their origin.
Natural selection emerged as the cornerstone law of evolution following the publication of The Origin in 1859. “I do believe,” Darwin argued, “natural selection acts slowly by accumulating slight, successive, favorable variations.”
Natural selection, the tenet of Darwin’s theory, when viewed through the lens of twenty-first-century technologies, increasingly faces scientific challenges.
The long-awaited analysis of one of the most influential lobed-finned fish in evolution history, the coelacanth genome (pictured left), was published last week by Chris T. Amemiya (pictured right below) of the University of Washington and Jessica Alföldi from MIT and Harvard in the prestigious journal Nature.
The coelacanth plays a crucial and colorful role in the history of evolution.
A research team led by Michael Blaber of Florida State University College of Medicine recently reported a solution to a problem with the “protein-first,” also known as the protein self-assembly origin of life theory. The issue involves protein folding.
Biologically active proteins are only functional when folded into specific molecular structures.
Proteins’ ability to fold into specific structures is essential to performing cellular functions. While the team’s approach aligns with Charles Darwin’s theory, the protein self-assembly origin of life competes with the popular “RNA-first” origin of life theory.
“The origin of life on Earth is a scientific problem,” according to WIKIPEDIA, “which is not yet solved. There are many ideas but few clear facts.”
In 2013, Princeton University hosted an international Origin of Life conference to address this issue.
In the nineteenth century, the “spontaneous generation” theory had long been the natural explanation for the origin of life, starting in Greek philosophy. Even Charles Darwin, centuries later, endorsed the theory in The Origin of Species (1859).
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.
Embryology plays a critical role in Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. The “leading facts in embryology … [were] second to none in importance,” he argued in The Origin of Species.
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The long-awaited analysis of one of the most influential lobed-finned fish in evolution history, the coelacanth genome (pictured left), was published last week by 
“The origin of life on 