Everchanging Theories of Evolution
by: Joe Stone
Mention the topic of evolution, and some wise guy will likely chime in: "I'm not descended from a monkey!" While the statement may be essentially true, it demonstrates a lack of understanding about human evolution at a time when scientific knowledge has never been greater.
On the one hand, genetic research has greatly enhanced our understanding of evolution in recent years. We've known for some time that we share about ninety-eight percent of our DNA with chimpanzees, our closest genetic relatives. More recently, genetic research has documented and mapped the small mutations that creep into DNA as it is copied from one generation to the next. By analyzing those changes across generations, geneticists have established connections and relationships that reveal much about evolution, including the rate at which it proceeds. Based on the differences between human and chimpanzee DNA, geneticists believe that the two species evolved from a common ancestral species roughly 6 million years ago, with the other primates branching off earlier.
This is an excerpt from the March 2010 issue of Colorado Springs Magazine. |
