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Jonathan

Evolutions Merit

Evolution is a topic that is debated constantly. The theory of evolution was created by
Charles Darwin an English naturalist and geologist. Charles Darwins theory of evolution upset
most Christians of the time because they all took the Bible very literally. The theory of evolution
says that we came from common ancestors, and we probably all came from some single cell
organism that was alive a long time ago. This upsets many Christians who take the Bible
literally because the Bible says that God created all the animals separate not from several
common ancestors. I will be discussing what scientific facts give the theory of evolution merit,
but I will not be sharing my beliefs on evolution. Evolution has been a sensitive topic since the
1800s but it does have some good evidence to support it. The evidence that supports evolution
falls into three main categories which are DNA similarities, fossil records, and natural selection.
One of the main reasons that the theory of evolution has merit to it is because of the DNA
similarities in our genetic sequence. If two species share most of their genetic code they are
probably related to one another in some way, whether it is from evolution or something else.
Whales, which are sometimes thought to have evolved from land mammals, have the closest
DNA to, surprisingly, hippopotamuses over any other animal even fish. This is strong evidence
that is used to support evolution. Since whales have more genetic similarities to hippopotamuses
rather than a fish it seems that whales evolved from land mammals like hippopotamuses rather
than other fish and sea animals. The same is true for humans. 99% of our genetic code is shared
with other primates like chimps and bonobos. The similarities between humans and primates in
the genetic sequence seem to prove that humans had to come from a common ancestor that
evolved into chimps and humans. Some people disagree with the fact that we share common
ancestors with chimps by saying that we share 50% of our DNA with bananas, but we didnt

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evolve form bananas. Though this is true, since humans share 99% of the genetic sequence with
another species; humans probably evolved along the same path that the other species did.
Another solid piece of evidence for evolution is the fossil record. If you go down and dig
the farther down you dig the older fossils you will find. So if you dig down a little ways into the
earths crust you will find fossils of all sorts of different animals. Scientists often use these
fossils to prove the theory of evolution by looking at fossils in their respective times and judging
how they have evolved. At the natural history museum in the Smithsonian there is a section
devoted to human origins. There are many fossils there showing tremendous proof that we have
evolved from ancestors like the Homo Habilis and other early primates. One display in the
museum shows cast poured from the cavity in skulls scientists had found from different species
in the Homo genome. In this display it is clear that the more recent the fossils become the bigger
the brain becomes. This is clear cut proof of evolution since the fossils that are real and found in
the ground, not made in some lab, clearly show a progression to us.
Lastly the theory of evolution has merit because we see the process of natural selection
happen all around us. Natural selection is when a mutation occurs in a gene which makes that
animal better than the others. Since that animal is better than the others in its species it survives
and they die out. One example of this is evident in the adaptation of brown bears to polar bears.
According to scientist, during an ice age one polar bear had a mutation in its gene for fur color.
As a result of this the bear had white fur which blended in with the snow and ice. When the bear
went hunting, it could much catch prey much easier than the brown bear. Since the bear could
eat easier it survived longer and had more offspring with the same genetic mutation. This led to
the polar bears becoming more prominent in the artic than the brown bears because they could
survive there much easier. This is a perfect example of natural selection, or adaptation. This

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occurs whenever any species survives over another because of a difference in its genetic code.
Natural selection is major evidence for evolution because it has been seen in several species
today. Adaptation is not just a theory any more it is a fact that strongly suggests that evolution
really does occur.
To conclude, evolution has merit to it because of DNA similarities, fossil records, and
natural selection. The theory of evolution is something that seems like it might never be agreed
upon but we need to look at the bigger picture to get over our arguments over evolution. A long
time ago everyone believed in geocentrism, the belief that everything revolves around the earth.
People often denied heliocentrism, the belief that we now accept as true in our solar system and
other stars, because they just would not accept it. The same thing may be true with evolution.
One day we may look back and see that evolution is correct or wrong and talk about it as pure
fact. Really the theory of evolution is a theory which means it could be completely correct,
slightly accurate, or just downright wrong. Most of the time people argue against evolution but
realize they dont understand it enough to argue against it. If people want to understand and
argue for or against evolution they need to objectively look at the facts and decide what they
believe.