Posted by Lemma on March 11, 19101 at 20:24:32:
In Reply to: I am doing a research paper, and I need information on Darwnis thoery posted by Tootie on May 10, 19100 at 11:37:24:
Darwin didn't discover his theory, he made it up. It's not like he discovered the new world or anything like that. Basically the theory is that the higher species evolved from lower species through a process of natural selection. Natural selection is defined as occuring when an animal that is less adapted to its environment than the animals around it dies off, leaving the animals that are more adapted to the environment continue to live. Since the animals that survive are more adapted to their environment their descendants are more likely to survive as well. The theory suggests that in time the more adapted animals (and plants actually) will eventually evolve to become better suited to their environment. The differences that naturally occur in successive generations will eventually lead to the formation of new species. The method through which the natural selection occurs is generally predation and disease, although others are also possible. Darwin based his ideas on patterns seen through the breeding of animals such as dogs and horses. He noticed that many different types of dogs could be bred from a single ancestor (such as the wolf.) By successively breeding dogs with one another that have the same types of characteristics, dogs could be bred which look less and less like each other, and less like their common ancestor. There are problems with this though. All dogs bred from the same ancestor are still of the same species as each other and of that ancestor. There was no way to bridge the gap between species. Since this is not possible, scientists now hold to the Neo-Darwinian theory of Evolution. The mechanism employed in this theory is that of substitutions in the genetic code (in the DNA) caused by copying faults. The substitutions, it is said, create variation in the genetic code. This variation over time produces differences in the offspring of animals and these differences, coupled with natural selection, would then supposedly account for the ability for new species to develop. (There are problems with this theory as well. Personally I do not believe the theory myself.)
Anyway, here's a small biography of Darwin:
http://www.lib.ia.edu/science/parshall/darwin.html
And if you want to read the book, you can go to:
http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/origin.html
Like I said, I don't believe the theory myself, but there's a summary. Don't believe everything you read, some people have ulterior motives behind what they say - this is one case where some tend to overlook facts and rush into conclusions without seriously yzing the information.