Genetics of Darwin’s Finches


 
Darwin's FinchesThe finches Charles Darwin encountered on the Galapagos Islands have served as one of the most enduring examples of evolution throughout the twentieth century. As  Darwin explains in The Origin of Species, “one [finch] species had been taken and modified [changed] for different ends” – the essence of natural selection. However, the technology to scientifically validate these changes in the genetics of Darwin’s finches was inconceivable in the nineteenth century.

Since then, advances in molecular technologies now allow for the testing of evolutionary genetic changes, including the genetics of Darwin’s finches. In the most comprehensive investigation to date, a team of scientists led by Sangeet Lamichhaney (pictured right) of Uppsala University in Sweden published their paper entitled “Evolution of Darwin’s finches and their beaks revealed by genome sequencing” in the prestigious journal of Nature.

 

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