Washington,
DC (6/25/99)- Since the publication of the "Origin of the Species"
by Charles Darwin in 1859, the science of evolution has itself evolved beyond
a general theory to an enhanced understanding of the synergistic processes
of life on Earth and to a tool used in modern molecular medicine. Yet, there
appears to be a widening chasm between public understanding of evolution and
its application in the science world.
"What strange set of historical circumstances, what odd disconnect between
science and society, can explain the paradox that organic evolution--the central
operating concept of an entire discipline and one of the firmest facts ever
validated by science--remains such a focus of controversy, even of widespread
disbelief, in contemporary America?" asks Stephen Jay Gould Ph.D., in
an essay in an issue of the journal Science dedicated to the science of evolution.
Gould is a professor of zoology at Harvard university and author of numerous
books on evolution including the Flamingo's Smile and the Panda's Thumb.
Gould calls for renewed efforts in education to "end the embarrassing
paradox of a technological nation entering a new millennium with nearly half
its people actively denying the greatest biological discovery ever made."
He proposes three principles to guide educational outreach efforts. The first
principle he proposes is "Evolution is true--and the truth can only make
us free." The second is "Evolution liberates the human spirit."
He notes that science can forge partnerships with philosophy, religion and
the arts, but only after it is freed from the demand to provide answers to
questions it cannot address. The final principle is "For sheer excitement,
evolution, as an empirical reality, beats any myth of human origins by light-years."
Teachers and scientists may forget how much of a challenge Darwin's ideas
pose to many personal belief systems. Focusing on a 4 billion year old genealogical
history and encouraging study of the diversity of life can impart a sense
of "thrill" and "grandeur" to the study of biology, he
emphasizes.
The ongoing study of evolution has become increasingly an interdisciplinary
pursuit. Collaboration among researchers in the fields of organic chemistry,
genetics, developmental biology, ecology, paleontology, and the earth sciences
are creating a new synthesis of understanding of the process of evolution
on the microscopic and macroscopic scales. Most recently, rapid progress in
the field of genomic science is confirming the basic tenets of evolution,
while revealing a few surprises along the way,
"The breadth of evolution's contribution to research and our daily lives
remains grossly unappreciated--and sometimes deliberately denied--in the public
realm. Evolutionary methods and concepts have been brought to bear on key
questions in contemporary medicine, such as AIDS research and the biology
of malaria, and are an important element in the current controversies surrounding
genetically modified foods," notes Brooks Hanson, deputy editor of Science,
in a related essay.
Back to the Future
Dinosaurs have probably done more to popularize evolution than Darwin. Dinosaur
fossils continue to be essential to the study of evolution, according to University
of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno, who reviews the science of dinosaur
evolution in the same issue of Science (June 25, 1999). Questions on the grand
scale can often not be answered with data gleaned from the anatomy and genes
of animals living today, he notes, adding:
"Certain questions about evolution can only be investigated at the grandest
scales using the fossil record."
Calling the the Mesozoic era (248 to 65 million years ago) "one of the
grandest experiments in the history of life," Sereno notes that during that
period all the land animals more than one meter long were dinosaurs. A review
of the record appears to support the idea that evolution has a more opportunistic
aspect to it it in addition to the slow, gradual quality that defines the
overall process. He cites research indicating that the dinosaurs didn't dominate
until 15 million years after first appearing on Earth, coinciding with a mass
extinction that killed off many other reptiles.
The time scale of the fossil record also allows for a better understanding
of the evolution of birds. Fossil studies track the appearance of winged dinosaurs,
and then a gradual reduction in body size and the appearance of feathers until
the appearance of modern day birds.
The special evolution issue of Science also includes articles on the complete
spectrum of research in the field. At one end of the timeline, researchers
are gaining new insight into how RNA evolved and became the key molecule of
life. Closer to the human family, new research shows for the first time that
independent groups of chimpanzees demonstrate grooming and tool use practices
that could represent primitive form of culture. Molecular phylogeneticists
are also shaking the tree of life somewhat, by proposing a new hierarchy of
living things that is based on comparative analyses of the nucleotide sequences
of genes encoding ribosomal RNAs,to the chagrin of traditional taxonomists.
Finally, completing the circle, resurgent interest (and funding) for the field
of exobiology, life beyond our own planet, is producing remarkable information
on the earliest traces of life on Earth found in rocks that are billions of
years old.
The June 25,.1999 issue of Science is dedicated to research in the field
of evolution.
Copyright 1999© Info
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