Life and Natural Selection Essay example

Submitted By Genesis-Bernat
Words: 1109
Pages: 5
Open Document
Genesis Bernat

University of Phoenix

SCI 151

Astronomy Research and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Prof. Jorge Espinosa

Everyday life is born into our home planet, Earth. Just the same as life comes to be, it can take its last breathe in the same day. Life is brilliant and fragile. On Earth we can find living organisms as small as microscopic bacteria, medium sized, like us humans, and as big as an elephant. We humans boast to be the smartest living creatures on this rock. We share many instincts as many other animals with lesser brain capacities do. Our instincts push us to survival and curiosity. Human intelligence has unlocked many answers about life and our planet. We discover new species constantly. We are definitely not alone here on earth. Scientists have done well to answer how and where we began. The theories of the genesis of life and theory of natural selection give great scientific explanation to how life on this planet functions. Life is defined as “the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally (2015).” Human life on Earth depends desperately on oxygen and water. Without these resources human life and many other forms of life would cease to exist. Life on Earth ranges in many forms. We have small insects, mammals, and reptiles. Plants also go through life cycles. Every animal has different habitats, functions, defenses, and attack methods. Three billions years ago life began to evolve in a primordial soup. Life started as basic single celled microbes and evolved into an astounding array of complex multi-cellular entities. There is no definitive answer to our beginning. Many theories try to explain our origins. A theory of a violent world with constant electrical sparks generated through our atmosphere generated amino acids and sugars, the essential building blocks of life, through interaction with atmosphere rich in water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen as present on this primitive planet. A deep-sea vent theory suggest that life began to be around deep submarine hydrothermal vents. These hydrothermal vents give off hydrogen-rich molecules. The geography of the ocean floor could have trapped these molecules allowing build up. The vents also giving off rich thermal and chemical energy allowing reactions that could give birth to life and a sustainable ecosystem. The most interesting and “outside of this world” theory is that of Panspermia. The theory of Panspermia details the possibility that life did not begin on Earth at all. Life frozen or present on rogue rocks that were blasted off of Mars by violent impacts became vessels of Martian life that were transported by chance and struck Earth. The same theory encompasses the possibility of the same situation but coming from comets and asteroids from different star systems. “However, even if this concept were true, the question of how life began on Earth would then only change to how life began elsewhere in space (2011).” Given that life originated from a great primordial soup as minute molecules. It brings up the question of how our current life form exits. Enter the theory of natural selection. We can give thanks to Charles Darwin for this brilliant theory that best gives answer to our existence. Natural selection’s main point is that of all the species that every existed on the strongest survive. Character traits of animals that are best suited for survival will continue to be passed on and those that do not, will phase away. Darwin also contemplated that a species that eventually changed enough traits through selection could also possibly become a different creature. “There are plenty of proven cases of adaptation, which involves non-genetic changes. There are examples of natural selection changing the balance of populations within a species.
Show More

Related Documents: Life and Natural Selection Essay example

Charles Darwin's Theory Of Natural Selection

Charles Darwin, born into a free-thinking family, created a theory to which many continue to study today. The theory of natural selection is a notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor; from plant life to the animal kingdom. This specific theory states as if all complex creatures evolved and matured over time from simple creatures who adapted with the environment. Said theory suggest beneficial mutations, the dying of weaker fractions of the species; while stronger…

Words 988 - Pages 4

Why Natural Selection Is Important In Understanding Human-Environment Relations

relations, the most significant would have to be natural selection. Before explaining why that is, understanding what natural selection is will help give a better understanding to its’ significance. Within its’ definition, one can understand why natural selection is so important in understanding the interaction between humans and their surroundings. It can be difficult to understand natural selection without understanding evolution, natural selection is defined as “the process by which species adapt…

Words 1079 - Pages 5

Lamarck's Theory Of Natural Selection

term natural selection is a something that I’ve been familiar with for some time. Natural selection is the process where organisms learn to adapt to their environment in which they fight to survive and reproduce. Charles Darwin’s first exposed his idea on natural selection in On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. In this paper I will discuss what elements have to be in place for natural selection to operate and how it exactly works. Then I will compare and contrast natural selection…

Words 645 - Pages 3

Natural Selection Vs Artificial Selection

By definition, human evolution is, in a biological context, “the process of descent with modification that is responsible for the origin, maintenance, and diversity of life” (Bergstrom, 2012: G-3). This interest in the investigation of, human origins and human variation goes once more to vestige. Proficient works on these themes are said to have begun with the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century. The Enlightenment was also a period when the concept of ‘race’ was formalized and various racial…

Words 735 - Pages 3

Grey Wolf Evolution

highly important for us to understand that these materials for natural selection can accumulate in any direction from individual differences in domesticated productions. The Origin of Species has been transferred through the process of evolution and Natural Selection. It is recently asked, how have varieties become ultimately converted into good and distinct species? This may result in the struggle of life. Through the struggle of life, an individual of a species is put into…

Words 678 - Pages 3

Essay on Natural Selection

Natural Selection: Survival of the Fittest Courtland Blanding BIO-111C-01 Abstract: Natural selection is the theory that competition exists within species, determining which species live to have off spring, and pass their traits on to those offspring allowing them to have the necessary traits to live. This theory was founded by Charles Darwin over 150 years ago and is now one of the basis for understanding how species change over time and adapt to their surroundings. Natural selection…

Words 1430 - Pages 6

ANALYSIS OF BEHE'S PAPER

A. CENTRAL PHILOSOPHICAL PROBLEM, QUESTION OR DEBATE: Behe points out that the Darwinian theory of evolution through natural selection is invalid because the existence of molecular Behe, on the other hand, uses an example of cilia along the lining of our lungs to explain his property of irreducible complexity. First there’s the question of why the cilia beat sideways which can be understood by looking at their structure. Cilia are made of two microtubules which are kept apart by dynein, however…

Words 329 - Pages 2

evolution paper

mainly as a result of natural selection, so that descendants differ morphologically and physiologically from their ancestors”1 Biological evolution is a powerful and important process. It is a process which, over time, slowly selects the organisms that are better adapted to their environments, and takes advantage of random mutations to continuously change life and make all living organisms in existence be the way they are. Darwin's Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection is divided into the following…

Words 2069 - Pages 9

Essay on Anth: Evolution and Natural Selection

theories about natural selection has brought confusion to several scientists’ minds, debating whether these theories are true or not. As for Jonathan Weiner, he completely agrees with Darwin. In his article, Evolution in Action, he states how the biological life is quickly changing right in front of our eyes and claims that though there are arguments about whether Darwin’s theories are true or not, there has been evidence of natural selection. Weiner includes several examples of natural selection in his…

Words 492 - Pages 2

Pros And Cons Of Natural Selection

Evolutionary Misconceptions of Natural Selection 2: Natural selection always works for the good of the species. Natural selection doesn’t mean perfection; hence we cannot assume that “the best” traits are always the ones that are going to be selected for in a population. Contrarily to the popular misconceptions, the way natural selection works is by producing more of the better genes (although better doesn’t necessarily mean not harmful), in other words, if an organism’s genes are strong enough,…

Words 547 - Pages 3