misconceptions and the central dogma

Question 1

terminology

Answer 1

should use natural preservation or differential survival rather than natural selection.
if fitness is defined by evolutionary outcomes, it cannot be used to explain evolutionary outcomes

Question 2

social darwinism

Answer 2

survival of the fittest: Herbert Spencer, not Darwin.
if gvmt helps week survive, their characteristics pass on, society weakens
eugenics: control development of human race by organised breeding programmes

Question 3

replacement of religion

Answer 3

abolition of god
loss of free will
loss of purpose
some view it as a strengthening of religion
the blind watch maker
nature red in tooth and claw

Question 4

evolution results in increased complexity

Answer 4

no because tape worm is better adapted but less complex than ancestors.
also vestigial organs.
fitness depends on environment.

Question 5

all adaptations are advantageous

Answer 5

genes can effect many characters: pleiotropy.
as long as overall fitness increases, neutral or negative adaptations can occur
antagonistic pleiotropy: testosterone increases reproductive fitness when young but increase prostate cancer when old.

Question 6

natural selection is the only mechanism

Answer 6

role of chance: founder effect
genetic drift: small populations

Question 7

initial stages of organ development

Answer 7

what use is half an eye? more use than 49%

Question 8

age of the earth

Answer 8

bible: 6,000 years old
really: 4.5 bil years old
therefore enough time for evolution

Question 9

fossil record: punctuated equilibrium or gradual change

Answer 9

may be punctuated, unlike Darwin’s belief
still debated
some missing links have been found.
examples of transitional fossils: cooksonia (emergence of vascular tissue in plants)