Blog 7 What was dangerous about Darwin's idea?

Darwin's theory was revolutionary because it banished the concept of intelligent design from biology, consigning it to a marginal theological ghetto. For the first time, there seemed to be a plausible materialistic explanation for all those ingenious biological mechanisms -- the brain and the eye, digestion and circulation, feathers and fins.

Others extended Darwin's ban on intelligent design to include the origin of life and the universe itself. With help from intellectuals such as Marx and Freud, we were left with a view of humans as mere animals or machines who inhabit a universe ruled by chance, and whose behavior and thoughts are determined by the immutable and impersonal forces of nature and environment.

Blog#6 There are many types of evolution convergent and divergent are two. Look them up. Define them and give an example of each type of evolution.

Divergent evolution is the most commonly known of the three types of evolution. It involves one species that eventually separates into two separate species. For example, a flock of migratory birds, heading for a warmer climate, gets divided in a storm. One half of the flock continues on to the original destination. The other half lands on a new island, and decides to stay. Over time, they develop characteristics that allow them to better survive on the island, and become a different species their ancestors who were initially separated from the larger flock. What was once one species has now been separated into two.The second type of evolution -- and usually the hardest to understand is convergent evolution. Convergent evolution explains two or more species that develop similar traits in separate types of environments. Animals developing wings is one example of convergent evolution. There was no one common ancestor for all winged animals. Due to their individual environments, these animals all developed wings on their own, through generations of evolution. Wings were developed based on the physics of flying, not on a pre-programmed internal blueprint handed down from a similar ancestor.

Blog 5 Explain how different species form (speciation)

By conbining one organism with another. A new specie formed when a population is isolated.When a group of individuals is separated from the rest of their species for a long time, the individuals can evolve different traits. The longer the group is isolated from the rest of the species, the more likely it will evolve into a new species. Almost every lake has different forms, believed to have evolved from one species.Groups of living things can become separated in different ways. Rivers can change their course. Volcanoes and mountain ranges form. New islands are created. Ocean waves can carry small groups many miles away and put them down in a new place.