Evolution

No, reproduction is a key component of evolution as it allows for genetic variations to be passed on to the next generation. Without reproduction, there would be no way for species to introduce genetic diversity and adapt to changing environments over time.

An oxygen-based metabolism provides more energy than an anaerobic metabolism, allowing for a larger volume-to-surface ratio of organisms. So organisms could grow larger, allowing their tissues to specialize in various ways, which means increasing complexity.

Gregor Mendel's discoveries in genetics, particularly his principles of inheritance, laid the foundation for our understanding of how traits are passed down from one generation to the next. This understanding is crucial in studying how genetic variations contribute to evolution and speciation through processes like natural selection and genetic drift. Mendel's work provided a framework to explain how new traits arise and diversify within populations over time.

The bottleneck effect in natural disasters occurs when a large number of individuals are eliminated from a population, resulting in a significant reduction in genetic diversity. This reduction makes the population more vulnerable to future environmental changes, as there is less genetic variation available for adaptation. Over time, genetic diversity may recover through mutation and natural selection, but in the short term, the population may face increased risks of inbreeding and reduced fitness.

Rather more easily than mutations in your genome! A virus which may have only a few hundred genes can have large changes in function from just one mutation and can be then accounted a new "species " as progeny inherit the mutation. ( as much as one counts viruses as species )

Yes, enzymes lower the activation energy of a reaction by stabilizing the transition state complex, making it easier for the reaction to occur. This allows the reaction to proceed more rapidly at physiological conditions.

No, natural selection is a mechanism that drives evolutionary change by favoring traits that increase an organism's chances of survival and reproduction. It is not a raw material but a process that leads to the adaptation and diversification of species over time.

Organic evolution involves four main steps: variation in a population due to genetic mutations or recombination, natural selection where certain variations are favored based on their fitness, adaptation leading to changes in a population over time, and speciation where new species arise due to accumulated changes.

Big brains seem to be pretty rare in the evolution of animals on this planet. One of the reasons for this is cost. Keeping our brain running is expensive. Just consider these facts.

750-1000ml of blood flow through the brain every minute. (3 soft drink cans worth)

In that minute the brain will consume 46cm3 (1/5 cups) of oxygen from that blood.

Your brain is about 2% of your total body weight but uses 20% of your body's energy.

The energy used by the brain is enough to light a 25 watt bulb.

In evolutionary terms this would make a big brain pretty rare. Think of any struggle between predator and prey. Say a lion and a gazelle for example. There's camouflage in their colouring so they are harder to see in long grass and there's speed and agility. The gazelle's ability to jump high. Now in this struggle the cost of either lion or gazelle to evolve a big brain is too big compared to what they'll lose in speed or agility before that brain would develop enough to make a real difference. This is true of most predator/prey relationships.

the other problem of developing a big brain is what do you use it for. You need a good way of manipulating the world for a brain to make use of it's abilities. Look at your hands, look at your thumbs. Brilliant for manipulating anything you come across. Perfect for grasping a stone or a stick to throw at or hit any approaching predator. Something to make up for what you lose running that expensive lump of grey matter.

Lots of the larger brained animals also tend to be social. Managing complex social relationships in a pack, group or family tends to increase the selective pressure on a larger brain.

So it has to be a situation in which there's a good selective pressure for a brain to grow to a large size in a body that has a good starting shape to take advantage of it.

Dolphins are pretty smart (and self aware) and so are parrots. They don't have a good body structure to really take advantage of it. A parrot can use it's beak and legs to manipulate simple odjects in a basic way, but it's nowhere near what a primate has.

Now for a creature that has a pretty big brain and decent limbs for manipulating objects other than primates look at the octopus. That is one smart animal. If humans were to become extint, that's the animal other than chimps and gorillas that might be a candidate for becoming super smart given the right selective pressures

There are other costs to a big brain. One is probably Schizophrenia (see link in the source section). It's also likely that our brain is as big as its going to get. Any further increase in size may well be disadvantagious due to the problems our brain has been left with growing to this size in the first place.

DNA is called a polynucleotide because it is composed of multiple nucleotides linked together in a chain. Each nucleotide consists of a sugar molecule, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, and when these nucleotides join together through phosphodiester bonds, they form a long chain called a polynucleotide.

This idea is central to the theory of natural selection, proposed by Charles Darwin. Natural selection suggests that organisms that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on their beneficial traits to the next generation. Over time, this process leads to the evolution of populations that are well-suited to their surroundings.

Photosystem II is older in terms of evolutionary history compared to Photosystem I. Photosystem II is thought to have evolved before Photosystem I as it evolved to oxidize water in order to provide electrons for the electron transport chain, which Photosystem I then uses to reduce NADP+ to NADPH.

Divergent evolution occurs when two or more species that originated from a common ancestor evolve and accumulate differences over time, resulting in them becoming more dissimilar. This process leads to the formation of new species and contributes to biodiversity by allowing organisms to adapt to different environments and niches.

It is believed to have taken about 2 billion years for unicellular organisms to evolve into multicellular organisms. The transition from unicellular to multicellular life forms is thought to have occurred around 600 million years ago.

Scientists currently infer that endothermy likely evolved in small dinosaurs as a way to maintain a high metabolic rate needed for an active lifestyle. This trait eventually persisted and evolved in mammals and birds, providing them with the ability to regulate their body temperature independent of the environment. It is believed that endothermy provided an evolutionary advantage by enabling animals to maintain high levels of activity and inhabit a wider range of environments.

In 2008 the United Methodist Church made 3 major statements strongly in favor of Theistic Evolution. Most Methodists would identify with this position saying that evolution in and of itself does not conflict with theology. So yes, The Methodist Church does believe in evolution and is NOT considered to be fundamentalist or creationist.

Bacteria can develop resistance to antibiotics through genetic mutations or by acquiring resistance genes from other bacteria. Over time, the resistant bacteria population can grow, making the antibiotics less effective in treating infections caused by those bacteria. This can lead to treatment failure and the need for more powerful antibiotics.

Evolution does not occur at a constant pace; it can vary depending on factors such as environmental changes, selection pressures, and genetic diversity. Some periods of rapid evolution, known as punctuated equilibrium, may be interspersed with long periods of relative stability.

Scientists believe that the genetic code provides evidence of common ancestry among all living organisms and the process of evolution. The universal presence of genetic material in all living beings suggests a shared evolutionary history and the transmission of genetic information from one generation to the next.

The increase in infections in hospitals due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria is primarily caused by overuse and misuse of antibiotics. This leads to the development of resistant strains that are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics. In hospitals, where patients with weakened immune systems are concentrated, these resistant bacteria can spread easily, leading to outbreaks of infections that are challenging to control.

A black hole is the last stage of a large star having mass more than 8-9 solar masses . Reason - When a star left with very less fuel in its core that it is not able to raise its core temperature by nuclear synthesis or it receive some extra matter in such way that it can no longer raise its core temperature, in both these cases star's temperature is not high enough to prevent it from collapsing under its own weight and when it happen two beams of high energy blasting out before the collapsing of the rest of the star (these jets of high energy are called the Gamma ray burst) and finally star explodes and in just one second it will blasting out energy 100 times more than our sun will produce in its entire life . Basically gamma ray burst is the baby cry of a black hole .

Yes. Animals are composed of chemicals. Chemical evolution typically refers to stellar nucleosynthesis, the creation of elements by nuclear fusion in the cores of stars, and the synthesis of elements heavier than iron via star bursts--supernova.

Biochemical evolution would refer to the formation of more complex molecules, such as the spontaneous generation of amino acids from less complex molecular arrangements.

Central to Darwin's theory of organic evolution is the concept of natural selection, which refers to the process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and reproduce more successfully than those less adapted. This process leads to the gradual change and diversification of species over time.

Our species (Homo sapiens) is about 200,000 years old. The neandertal, a species closely related to our own, was about half a million years old. The earliest cave paintings, art work, and evidence of agriculture extend back roughly 20,000 years ago, to the neolithic (new stone age).