Evolution scientists believe that man arose from fish; a belief that could have led to their death during the dark age era of the history of science because the churches were quite powerful back then. Anyone that held a belief or set of beliefs that is contrary to what the church preaches was either beheaded or excommunicated.
Scientists generally believe that life arose from a chemical soup that was formed on the surface of primitive earth through evolution - chemical evolution. From the formation of the first heterotrophic cell to the most complex living organisms, organic evolution took charge. Science as a subject only works with evidence and has zero belief in the supernatural. Hence, when science says that all living organisms arose, with modification, from common ancestors, it did so with a wide array of evidence.
Evidence in the support of evolution
The evidence used by scientists to back up their claims that every living organisms arose from common ancestors can roughly be grouped into 3, namely:
- Morphological evidence
- Molecular evidence
- Anatomical evidence
Morphological evidence
Morphology generally refers to the physical appearance of organisms. The morphological evidence availableto evolution scientists falls into three categories. These include:
- Paleontological evidence: The theory of organic evolution is backed by various fossilized remains of organisms. Paleontology is the branch of biology that studies these fossilized organisms. The study of these remains have given credence to some of the hypothesis that have been formed concerning the evolution of living organisms. Fossils may give an indication of the organism's life and its environment - how it lived, for how long, in which kind of environment or climate, and more specifically, the evolutionary history of an organism. For example, evolutionists believe that the biggest mammal, whales, evolved from terrestrial animals. This might sound absurd until fossil evidence emerged of animals with paddle-like front limbs similar to the fins of whales, this, in addition to tiny back limbs.
- Degenerate organs: These are also known as vestegeal organs. They are small, degenerate or primitive organs with no known functions found on the existing living organisms but known to be well developed and functional in their ancestors. This organ, some ways, seems to obey the law of Jean Larmarck on the disuse of organs. As the environment keeps changing, organisms outgrow the use of certain organs and these organs become less developed as generations pass. The existence of these functionless organs point to the fact that the organism evolved. Examples of vestigeal organs include the wisdom teeth, caudal vertebrae and the appendix in man.
- Connecting links: In evolution, connecting links are organisms that posses morphological attributes that are characteristics of two adjacent taoxonomic groups of plant or animals. There are several connecting links to actually prove that a taxonomic group evolved from another taxonomic group. For example, Archaeopteryx is an animal that represents a connecting link between reptiles and birds. Thus, the hypothesis that reptiles gave rise to birds has some backings to it when it comes to the morphology of the two taxonomic groups. Another example is the animal known as Peripatus that posses the attributes of both annelids and arthropods.
Molecular evidence
Molecular biology is a branch of the subject that deals with the study and analysis of molecules/chemicals that constitute life. Scientists believe that it cannot be a mere coincidence that a large percentage of living organisms have the same biomolecules in their body. For example, all living organisms have Deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA) as their genome except for some viruses that have Ribonucleic acid (RNA) as theirs. Protein synthesis follow the same steps from DNA to RNA proteins, the genetic code is universal for all living cells and the energy currency of the cell is Adenosine Triphosphate. Also, the closer organisms are when it comes to evolutionary relationship, the more similar their DNA sequence.
Anatomical evidence
Anatomy is a branch of biology that is concerned with the study of the body structure of living organisms beyond the physical appearance. Anatomists dissect and study the inner characteristics of tissues,cells, bones, etc. The study of these structures reveals informations that are often used to back up the evolution theory.
Many organs found in different organisms look the same anatomically even though their functions are different. Such organs are referred to as homologous organs. Some other organs, even thoough do not look similar in any way, perform similar functions. Such organs are known as analogous organs. Scientists believe that organs cannot have similar structures or functions unless they have similar roots, that is, unless they originate from the same ancestors. A typical example of homologous organs are the limbs of mammals. The limbs in different mammals are adapted for different functions but built on the same pentadactly plan. Analogous organs is exemplified by the wings in bats and that of birds. These wings have nothing in common when it come to anatomical structures but are both used for flying in the animals.
Conclusion
Many who believe in creationism would think of those who believe in evolution as nuts. Science, however, works with evidence. Tons of evidence exist to back up the theory of evolution and more are still emerging as time passes. It would be insane to scientists to ignore all the arrays of evidence in favour of creationism. Evolutionists are different from those that belief that life arose from nothing (spontaenous generation) as this has been disproved a countless times. There will always be a continuous argument between the two groups of people. Would there ever be a meeting point for evolutionists and creationists?
Final words
Dear readers/students, this write is meant purely for educational purpose and does not reflect the partisanship of the writer. The subject of evolution is a rather tricky one even among scientists, especially the religious ones that always tend towards creationism. Knowledge is very important to human existence and a little education, even in what we do not believe in, sometimes do not hurt. Thank you for taking your time to read and upvote my contents always. I do not take these supports for granted.
Till my next article. Stay safe!