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Neo-Darwinism is a modern synthesis of Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection with Gregor Mendel's theory of genetics. It proposes that evolution occurs through the combination of genetic variation, natural selection, and genetic drift. This theory is widely accepted in evolutionary Biology today.
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Who theorized that organisms evolve by passing on advantageous traits to their offspring?
Lamarck did. Neodarwinism theorises that species evolve when gene frequencies change, not individual organisms. Larmarkism is true for epigenetic inheritance, favourable and unfavourable characteristics alike.
What are the similarities and differences between Darwinism NeoDarwinism PunctuatedEquilibrium Panspermia and IntelligentDesign?
Neo-Darwinism is an elaboration on Darwinism, a synthesis between modern genetics and classical Darwinism. Punctuated equilibrium is a model of Darwinism in which the rate of divergence is highly variable, as opposed to a gradualistic model of Darwinism. Panspermia is a model for the origin of life, specifically how life could have originated off-planet and then transported here. Intelligent Design is a religious view. So really, you're listing three entirely different things here (Evolution, Origin-of-Life, Religion).
Why do scientists call evolution a theory?
Because it cannot be proven or replicated.AnswerIn science, a hypothesis is a good idea, a possible explanation, which might be right and might be wrong. Hypotheses can be refuted by experimentation. If the expectation from the hypothesis is not met by the outcome of experiment, the hypothesis is refuted. The longer a hypothesis survives unrefuted the more confidence we have in it. Evidence can support a hypothesis. The more evidence one has in support of a hypothesis, the more grows our confidence in it. Within the philosophy of science of Karl Popper, a hypothesis cannot be proven, but one can have a mighty amount of confidence in one, proportional to the amount of evidence in support of it. Unrefuted and with backing evidence, a hypothesis is promoted to a theory! A theory is better than a hypothesis. Evolution has much evidence from comparative genetics, comparative morphology and the fossil record. Evolution was once a hypothesis. Darwin collected a large mass of evidence for On the Origin of Species and now we have evidence from Mendelian genetics and comparative genetics, which Darwin knew nothing of. We now have a greater fossil record than Darwin did. There is far more evidence these days (for what is now called Neodarwinism or the Modern Synthesis- the combination of genetics and Darwin's basic 1859 ideas) than there was in Darwin's time. Evolution now has so much evidence that it is best to call it a theory, rather than a hypothesis. Yes, theories are unproven, but in Popperian philosophy of science they cannot be proven. Theories survive refutation and have much evidence and explain a lot. Biology regards evolution as its baseline, its most important idea ever. It might only be a theory of which we can only be 99% confident, but it explains everything so well that most biologists should better call it a fact rather than a theory. Evolution is such a good theory that its pedantic differentiation from 'fact' is entirely unnecessary.
How does a gene pool relate to evolution?
Mutations of DNA can cause different characteristics to what you might consider "standard" for a particular species - This is genetics and it happens all the time. If the environment in which a particular species lives changes then a certain mutation may become beneficial. The organisms with this mutation then become better adapted to live in the new conditions than the other organisms. The unmutated organisms may then begin to die out while the mutated organisms survive. These mutated organisms, over time, become the majority through breeding and the passing on of this beneficial mutation of DNA. This is evolution.Example:What we now know as the Horse originally had cloven feet (sort of like a camel's foot but more hand like!) which was perfectly adapted to the boggy terrain on which they lived. As the Earth began to dry out, the terrain became less and less boggy. A mutation caused some of the "Horses" to have fewer extremities (their feet were slightly more hoof-like) and they were now better adapted to the surroundings and were able to travel much faster over the drier land and escape predators. This mutation then gets passed on through breeding as the cloven footed "Horses" began to die out. Successive mutations over thousands of years resulted in the hoof and the Horse that we recognise today.Read more: How_is_genetics_related_to_evolution
