Evolution Scientists

Question 1

Francesco Redi

Answer 1

(1668) - During the time of Redi, the theory of spontaneous generation was widely accepted by the scientific community and the public. Redi was the first to oppose this theory, using maggots on meat to prove his point. He covered the meat to prevent any external contamination, and noticed that no maggots appeared. They weren’t merely “appearing”.

Question 2

Lazzaro Spallanzani

Answer 2

(1768) - Spallanzani unfortunately set the movement for evolution back many years. He attempted an experiment to contradict Redi, boiling broth and then covering one (which did not get contaminated), while leaving the other uncovered (which did get contaminated). His conclusion was that the “vital force” was necessary to create life.

Question 3

Louis Pasteur

Answer 3

(1859) - Pasteur tried an experiment similar to that of Spallanzani, boiling broth to sterilize it and further eliminating the chances of any bacterial contamination (with his invention of the swan’s neck glass) – yet still allow air to flow in. His experiment manages to permanently disprove the spontaneous generation theory.

Question 4

Miller & Urey

Answer 4

(1953) - Miller and Urey simulated ancient Earthly conditions to determine how RNA formed at the beginning of life. At the time, people knew that DNA and RNA existed, but they were unaware of how they actually came to be. RNA came first.

Question 5

Charles Darwin

Answer 5

(1859) - This scientist is credited with the concept of evolution by natural selection. He published, ‘On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,’ which proposed that 1) species change through time, and 2) species are related by common ancestry.

Question 6

Alfred Russel Wallace

Answer 6

(1858) - Wallace came up with the idea of evolution by natural selection entirely independently of the better-known Charles Darwin. He co-published with Darwin on this subject.

Question 7

Alfred Russel Wallace

Answer 7

(1858) - Wallace came up with the idea of evolution by natural selection entirely independently of the better-known Charles Darwin. He co-published with Darwin on this subject.

Question 8

J.B. Lamarck

Answer 8

(1809) - This man proposed a formal theory of evolution. He turned the previously-thought-of “ladder of life” into an escalator. He recognized that species will change through inheritance of acquired characteristics. His two main thoughts were that 1) individuals change in response to their environment, and 2) changed traits are passed onto offspring.

Question 9

Lyell

Answer 9

(1830) - Lyell is known for many geographic epiphanies. He popularized the notion of uniformitarianism. He managed to relate the chronology of the Tertiary period to rock strata. (draw rock)

Question 10

Thomas Robert Malthus

Answer 10

(1798) - Malthus brought about a theory that said that population growth tends to outrun the food supply. He published his Essay, ‘Principle of Population,’ in 1798.

Question 11

Cuvier

Answer 11

(1795) - Cuvier managed to demonstrate the concept of extinction with mammalian fossils. He believes them to have occurred due to large floods. He recognizes that the geological record is not continuous. (draw large wave)

Question 12

Carolus Linnaeus

Answer 12

(1735) - Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist and biologist, is known for his development of the modern hierarchical classification system. This system is a binomial naming system, and we still use it today!

Question 13

Nicolas Steno

Answer 13

(1669) - Steno was the first to recognize that the Earth’s crust contains a chronological history of events. Furthermore, he realized that said history can further be deciphered via the strata and fossils discovered within.

Question 14

Hardy & Weinberg

Answer 14

(1908) - Godfrey H. Hardy and Wilhelm Weinberg are known for analyzing a change in allele frequencies. The Hardy-Weinberg principle outlines the mathematical relationship between genotypes and those allele frequencies. It is used as a null hypothesis for other research regarding evolution.

Question 15

Gregor Mendel

Answer 15

(1865) – Mendel is credited with discovering the fundamental laws of inheritance with his pea plant experiments. This was long before the discovery of DNA and genes.

Question 16

Thomas Hunt Morgan

Answer 16

(1909) – Morgan demonstrated that genes are carried on chromosomes and are the mechanical basis of heredity and also that some genes are sex-linked. He used fruit flies as his subjects.

Question 17

Aristotle

Answer 17

(300 B.C.) - Aristotle, a famed philosopher, came up with the revolutionary idea of the “Great Chain of Being,” which is a linear chain of types of organisms. This concept was very popular in the 1700s. It perpetuated the idea that 1) species are fixed types, and 2) some species are more complex and better than others.

Question 18

Hershey & Chase

Answer 18

(1952) – These two scientists (who despised each other) discovered that DNA is the genetic material – not proteins. They used bacteriophages on E. coli and radioactively tagged the DNA and proteins within the cells. (draw bacteriophage)

Question 19

Watson & Crick

Answer 19

(1953) – The two scientists discovered the structure of DNA. They determined that it is double-stranded and forms a “helix” shape by taking previously-discovered data and reinterpreting it. (draw DNA)

Question 20

Sewall Wright

Answer 20

(1931) - Wright is credited with being the chief developer of the theory of genetic drift. Additionally, he is known for developing the F-statistics.

Question 21

Carl Woese

Answer 21

(1977) - Woese is the American microbiologist who is credited with discovering archaea. Archaea are single-celled prokaryotic organisms, and have their very own domain.

Question 22

Louis Leakey

Answer 22

(1948) - Louis Leakey was a promoter of the study of human origins. He discovered one of the first ape fossils to ever be found. His discoveries were important because they displayed the fact that humans evolved in Africa.