Species. Naming, Grouping, and Defining


 
Red lionfish - Pterois volitans

Species is a fundamental concept in modern biology. A principal function of biology is naming, grouping, and defining species, the building blocks of Earth’s vast and diverse biosphere – opening a window into the checkered history of evolution.

The term “species” emerged in the fifteenth century, taken from the Latin species meaning “a particular sort, kind, or type” originating from the Indo-European root *spek- a word meaning “to observe” – the language of Japheth, one of Noah’s three sons. The naming of species, beginning in Genesis, is a continuing challenge.

A name is like a calling card, conveying the carrier’s character. The commonly known Lionfish (pictured left) was first named by German naturalist Lorenz Oken (pictured right) in 1817 from the French name “Les Pterois,” meaning “fins,” referring to the high dorsal and long pectoral fins. Continue Reading

Mendel Rescued Darwin – To a Point

 

Pisum sativumMendel rescued Darwin’s theory – to a point. By the end of the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin’s influence continued to deteriorate primarily due to his obsolete inheritance theory. In the search for a scientifically valid inheritance theory, evolution scientists in 1900 rediscovered Gregor Mendel’s genetic inheritance theory, published thirty years earlier.

Mendel’s theory delivered what Darwin was missing – a scientifically valid theory of inheritance to drive evolution forward. Inheritance is the second topic of the V.I.S.T.A. acronym (Variation, Inheritance, Selection, Time, Adaptation) developed by Niles Eldredge of the American Museum of Natural History to describe Darwin’s theory – the second of natural selection’s five pillars. Not surprisingly, even Darwin was skeptical of his model of inheritance, noting –

 “The laws governing inheritance are, for the most part, unknown.”

Mendel, a contemporary of Darwin, unwittingly solved Darwin’s inheritance problem. In 1866, Mendel, a German botanist and mathematician, uncovered the laws governing inheritance in the published paper  Experiments on Plant Hybridization by studying the inheritance patterns in pea plants (pictured left).

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Inheritance By Darwin

 

Darwin Tree of Life Names AInheritance carries evolution forward, theoretically, and is the second topic in the V.I.S.T.A. acronym (Variation, Inheritance, Selection, Time, Adaptation) developed by Niles Eldredge of the American Museum of Natural History to describe the mechanisms of  Charles Darwin’s theory – the second of the five pillars of natural selection. In 1837, Darwin drew his first tree of life sketch (pictured left), nearly twenty years before the Origin of Species.

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 the Origin of Species

“The most important consideration is that the chief part of the organisation of every being is simply due to inheritance.”

 

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Variations Drive Evolution

 

Variation Birds

Variations drive evolution, theoretically. In Darwin Discovering the Tree of Life, evolution scientist Niles Eldredge at the American Museum of Natural History applied the V.I.S.T.A. acronym to explain Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. The “V” signifies variation followed by inheritance, selection, time, and adaptation, known as the five pillars of natural selection.

The selection of variations plays a pivotal role in driving Darwin’s theory of evolution. In the sixth edition of the Origin of Species, while “natural selection” appears 408 times, the term “variations” appear 303 times.

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Logic and Science

 

Logic and ScienceThe intersection of logic and science is tricky to navigate. While science at Christ’s College was not Charles Darwin’s major, as the “father” of evolution with ministry plans, navigating this intersection with conflicting forces determined the course of his theory of natural selection.

In a recent British poll, only the Bible was narrowly voted as more valuable to humanity than the Origin of Species. Darwin argued that life on Earth is united into a single tree of life by common descent – all organisms are from one common ancestor.

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Phylogenetics of Coronaviruses


 
CoronavirusThree 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.

 

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Platypus Paradox Dilemma


 
Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) diving, Tasmania, Australia

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 Nature reports on the most comprehensive investigation of the platypus genome ever performed.

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Consensus on Evolution

 

Evolution 2.0Public schools are required to teach evolution as a valid scientific theory. Interestingly enough, not a single science organization in the twenty-first century has successfully developed a scientific consensus on evolution.

Consensus development is a privileged responsibility of science organizations. A scientific consensus, while not synonymous with absolute truth, gives non-scientists guidance to gain scientific understanding.

Eighteen science organizations currently have a consensus statement on climate change, spanning from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to the American Medical Association (AMA). A scientific consensus on climate change, from leading science organizations, while silent on a scientific consensus on evolution, is rather telling.

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Fate of Darwin’s Finches


 
GalapagosThe 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.

 

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Evolution Vestiges Fact, or Fiction?


 
Jerry Coyne“We humans have many vestigial features proving that we evolved,” argues Jerry A. Coyne, Ph.D. (pictured left), biology professor at the University of Chicago. Coyne is the author of the book Why Evolution is True. Vestiges are biological features thought to be evolution relics. Scientific evidence, however, is critical; are evolution vestiges fact, or fiction?

Aristotle (384–322 BC) originated the vestiges theory. Even though WIKIPEDIA considers the theory as “controversial and not without dispute,” the carte blanche use of vestiges continues as supporting evidence for the popular “evolution is true” argument.

Recent advances in biotechnology, however, are challenging the scientific validity of the evolution vestiges theory.

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