Evolution, Morphology and Exobiology

I get the different dna and also the different cell around it ? make it all come out as a certain creature and how the cells moved and multiplied and what cells are which ect. But how could any enviroment or anything change most of the cells needed to all be the same and changed, or wait isn't it just the sperm that has to change, or the cells that make those!? And again how does anything, and keeping its impact of what it is, change the needed amount of most cells and the dna? Is it just the dna though also?

A few days ago I took a better look at how neurons communicate with each other, how a brain network looks like, and what an action potential is. Although some people did a good job at explaining how signals are transmitted across neurons, fully understanding it all is still proving a rather difficult task, as the system is more complex than I initially thought. Until seeing an in-depth explanation, I used to think neutons are connected by a plain conductive material (similar to wires) through which electrons travel, rather than being a chemical process. I know I was wrong now. But there's still one thing I'm confused about: Why? More precisely, why did evolution "pref…

1. How does something like this happen? http://www.bbc.co.uk...europe-26764929 2. What is the closest thing to a dinosaur now? 3. Where did humans come from? Could we have come from plant mutations? In that case, where did plants come from too?

Why are there such specializations in the genus Felis in terms of differences in size, vocal output, feeding habits, speed of locomotion etc. inspite of being so closely related in their gene pool? Please advise.

Evolution of life is a wonderful thing that fascinated me recently, and I've seen several documentaries and articles about it. I'm glad to have a better understanding of how it all works... how mutations in the DNA of a bacteria lead to larger and more complex life forms over millenia, while natural selection only allows the best designs to keep going. It all makes sense and seems to explain everything, yet there's one problem: No matter where this was discussed and no matter where I looked, I've never seen anyone trying to touch the basic pieces of the puzzle: What happened before that? How did the first bacteria, of the most simple structure and composition, came to…

Highest known regeneration-Does it keep it's brain forever regenerating without being cut off? & If a pie shape was cut out of the head would it fill in? ****This is to the highest known form of regeneration in a known animal on earth****

Hi, I'm an atheist and I believe Evolution to be true. I'm having a debate with a creationist and one of his argument is about how improbable macro-evolution is. This is a quote from his argument: Have you read about theories for the origin of the whale? Two major theories are a Hyena species and a Hippo species. Taking the Hyena into consideration, the minimum number of traits that would have to be altered BY CHANCE are: 1. Dorsal fin development 2. Bony tail into a cartilaginous fluke 3. Teeth into baleen filter 4. Hair into blubber for insulation 5. Nostrils from nose to top of head, disconnect from mouth and formation of a muscular flap 6. Fro…

There is an interesting, if a bit too lengthy, article in the New York Times about de-extinction. What do you think about it? I feel that the idea involves a lot of hard work that carries some risks and costs, and it is also mis-sold - the cloned creatures will not be the same thing as the extinct ones. But there seems to be a passionate group of advocates, and if they are keen to work on such a projects, then why not?

I've known for a while that after humans, dolphins are considered the most intelligent race. Some even say that from a biological point of view, dolphins are capable of even more intelligence and "processing power" than man! But among the many things intelligence implies, the part I'm curious about for this discussion is language. From what I understood, dolphins communicate via sonar in a way similar to the morse code. I used to think that this is an ability only them and perhaps a few undiscovered races possess. But several days ago, I saw a documentary about prairie dogs and their communication system, which revealed something surprising: They store information in the …

This is the thread where I complain about genetic and cellular evolution. One of my pet peeves with evolution is the existence of DNA and RNA. In what I've studied about evolution, what bothers me is that somehow, magically DNA, RNA, or some pre-cursor to those molecules found a way to exist on planet Earth. The reason this bothers me is because I cannot fathom conditions that would allow and enable RNA or DNA to maintain itself for long periods of time without denaturing. If the molcules were made in the ocean, I don't understand what the molecules would not have denatured over time and been destroyed. The other issue that bothers me is how exactly these molecules fo…

I have made a poster of the tree of life with extinct ancestors and relitives aswell as putting in some missing links. I was wondering if people could tell me what they think of then and what I should do to improve my next one. You can see the image better here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/EvolutionPosters https://twitter.com/evolutionposter

Someone posed this question to me and it has kind of been bothering me because I cannot find a sufficient answer. The basic question is what standard do we use to classify animals? For instance, if you have 2 birds that look very similar and have similar eating habits, but different coloring, are different sizes, what makes us decide it is a different species or not? That is the first question. The second question is if mankind are currently all considered homo sapien, why do we not apply the same tools to classify humans as we do animals? (this is based on the understanding that appearence, habits, diet, etc are things factored into establishing a classification of an a…

This is a puzzle to me. Why is it that gorillas,, who are herbivores, to the best of my meagre knowledge, have well-developed canine teeth? Are they as strong as those of carnivorous animals? If you had found a fossil of a gorilla with forward facing eye sockets and well-developed canine teeth, does that not show a carnivorous past? Any views? canine teeth

My understanding is that mammals are now not to be considered as evolved from within reptiles. So synapsids must have branched off the amniote line before the reptile common ancestor. What does the group they branched from lack (or have) that means they are not considered reptile? And does the group have a name? I think reptiliomorphs date back a bit further and are more amphibian like. EDIT - I may have partly answered my question - just found a reference to reptiles/birds having beta-keratin and mammals having alpha-keratin. If alpha-keratin is softer than beta, maybe that means mammal-like reptiles didn't have such a rigid skin as reptiles?

Some animals have been around hundreds of thousands of years before us, yet none have evolved to be as intelligent as humans. What makes us so sucessful in evolution?

Has anyone seen these documentaries about strange creatures that apparently breath water, dive deep, and resemble humanoid mermaids? They have hands with webbed fingers. The last film evidence seems compelling, and impossible to explain. Or is it all a hoax? http://www.downvids.net/real-mermaid-sighting-documentery-on-film-123-nobullshit-125--453488.html

I was watching the Breakfast Club the other day, and the line where the character Allison says, "...we become our parents, it's inevitable" really stuck with me. Since then I've begun to notice that I share some of the same mannerisms as my father, the same problem-solving strategies, etc..., but am I (and the rest of us) merely playing by the laws of evolution in that I must "act" or "behave" like my previous ancestors to survive? I'm aware that different times and environments produce various evolutionary pressures in different generations which in turn yield different adaptations..but are is there a fundamental "psyche"..or "state of mind" that each generation has …

It seems that we can piece together different "slices" of a human to arrive at a composite based on knowledge of a few variables. For instance a thick neck would be correlated with a stocky well-built individual and conversely a thin neck with a slender asthenic body structure. This is no coincidence. Even height, posture, gait etc seems to be correlated. Is this true? And if so, why? Gene expression of a set of genes seems to be correlated to the overall phenotype. Please advise. Thanks in advance.

I can understand that at the start of life (or before), RNA/DNA came into being and started to replicate. And those molecules that replicated more effectively soon became more common than those less so, and so opened the door to change by evolution. I think I can imagine the same process happening within the genes in cells - selection just blindly choosing one over the other. What I find difficult to imagine is how a living thing seems to have a desire to survive, compete and reproduce, and when and how this arose. Are there any ideas on this, or is it a bit like pondering the nature of consciousness?

Hi all, I have been able to publish finding from my research in the Russian Open Medical Journal. The paper can be accessed here: http://www.romj.org/2014-0102 In addition, I may also have identified a possible solution for Microbial drug resistance. I welcome any constructive criticism or queries. I can be emailed at melanon@gmail.com romj-2014-0102.pdf

-women dont have to find a succesful, dominant male to support them or a family... they can provide for themsevles. -premarital pregnancy has less taboo than in prior generations. -contraceptives are more and more common. what will be the result of the progeny of the coming generations since there is less pressure of selective mating forces and sexual selection between men and women? Isn't it basically recessives mating with dominants at random, instead of dominants mating with dominants, and recessive with recessive? Is this in theory random mating gone mad?..depleting homogenous genes? Im at best a laymen when it comes to evolution, so please giv…

Interesting, they look and move somewhat like jellies, eat like a whale shark, and are shaped like a fish. It is odd enough to be proposed exobiology in a sci-fi book.

Some scholars (Rushton, Lynn) say that some races, whites and east asians in particular are more intelligent than other populations and that this difference is mostly genetic. The explanation given is that these two populations evolved in harsh Eurasian climate with cold winters, which selected for such traits as higher intelligence, lower levels of aggression, more stable family structure, better social cohesion etc. It kinda makes sense but I am not entirely convinced. For example, in pretty much every country where mized white-black populations exist, blacks have lower levels of education and far higher crime rates and even in these black-majority countries in whic…

Ive always been into health and healthy living. Ive been in a phase of studying evolutionary theories for a a few months now and have some questions! The "Out of Africa Theory" makes sense and I tend to lend towards believing it. Obviously humans all spread out eventually to places all around the world but it got me to thinking... are we living in the right place? All other animals tend to stay in there natural habitat. I mean, the great apes and primates are all still in Africa! Maybe we should be there still? What would happen to a chimpanzee if you suddenly placed a group of them in the South American Rainforest... would they survive and thriv…

There is a question about evolution that has been bugging me for a while, and I will be very grateful if someone can help with an explanation. I suppose we define new species as distinct ones that cannot mate with their ancestor species. But if it was random mutation that created a new species, surely it needed to occur at the same time in a breeding pair. If it occurred in only one animal, then the mutation wouldn’t be able to procreate and start that new species. But mutations occurring in a couple (or more individuals) simultaneously seem very very unlikely. What am I getting wrong?