One of science’s greatest theories: evolution.  Although there is evidence to support this theory, it is still one of the most debated topics in the world.  It is debated in every country, everywhere.  Did we evolve from a single speck of dust, or were we created by a high being?  It has been debated for decades and will continue to be debated for probably the rest of eternity.  Of course there is evidence supporting the theory of evolution, but do we really know what this evidence is?  We are all probably familiar with Darwin’s theory of Evolution, or maybe not.

Charles Darwin was a scientist was an English naturalist and geologist, born in 1809.  He is most famous for his works in natural selection.  Natural selection is a process that is key to understanding evolution.  I was going to include the actual definition of natural selection, but I feel it would be more beneficial to explain it in simple terms.  If there is a species of animals, for example, and some of these animals develop different traits and characteristics that better help them to survive, they will live longer than those without this trait.  So this new trait will take over, and the animals will evolve to have this new trait.  This process, Darwin believed, is why species evolved.

There are other examples of evolution, some that we are not familiar with.  Some scientists believed that they could predict what early whales looked like.  They had trouble finding tangible evidence to support this claim, so many ridiculed them and said they couldn’t possibly know.  In 1994, paleontologists found the fossilized remains of Ambulocetus natans.  This creature’s name literally means “swimming-walking whale.”  It clearly was able to swim, but was also suitable for walking on land as well.  This creature swam somewhat like an otter, using its hind feet.  This suggests that animals evolved from water creatures, to living, roaming land animals.

One type of evolution that is very interesting is embryology (the study of embryos.)  It is crazy to imagine that the embryo of a human is almost identical to that of a hippo. Embryos of many different kinds of animals look very similar and it is often difficult to tell them apart.  The fact that reptiles, fish and mammals can look the same as an embryo suggests that they all come from a common ancestor.  They gradually evolved from different traits, perhaps by the theory of natural selection.  The basic concept for these creatures however is almost identical.