Evolution
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Evolution
Evolutionis a vital process that every scientist must understand. Everythingthat has life in this world has undergone or is going throughevolution. Understanding evolution needs one to have an intensivestudy on something to know each stage that takes place. Each stageinvolves various processes which are widely referred to asmechanisms. Evolution is the only scientific account for the varietyof life. It describes the striking similarities among enormouslydiverse forms of life, the variations that transpire withinpopulations, and the development of new forms of life. This briefpaper outlines lessons I have got through reading the article on theprocesses of evolution. Reading through the article hasenabled me to have an immense real value that spreads beyondunderstanding our world. The mechanisms of evolution underlie descentwith modification, mechanisms of change, genetic variation, geneticdrift, natural selection and co-evaluation. Natural selection isresponsible for the rise in insecticide resistance among agrarianpests and updates the design of new machinery to protect crops fromdisease and insects ("Mechanisms: the processes of evolution",2016). Through the article, I have full knowledge thatnatural selection is part of evolution. Natural selection isimportant since it is the only mechanism of evolution that producesthe adaptation. Nevertheless, other processes such as genetic drift,mutation, and gene flow, can alter frequencies of a different formsof a genetic factor in a population over time and hence lead toevolution ("Mechanisms: the processes of evolution", 2016).The random change in the frequencies of the variant form of a gene(allele) in a population is what is referred to as genetic drift. Itis called a drift because the pattern indicates the drift of allelefrequencies and there is no foreseeable directional element to changefrom one generation to the other. Genetic variation is also asignificant mechanism of evolution. It gives the diversity in genefrequencies, and that is the reason for uniqueness in every livingthing. There are various sources of genetic variations, but mutationis the ultimate source. Other mechanisms that contribute to geneticvariations include sexual reproduction and genetic drift. Mutation iscaused by the failure of DNA to copy accurately and the exposure tospecific chemicals or radiation. Sexual selection is also anotherlesson that comes out clearly in the article. It acts as the abilityof an organism to obtain or effectively copulate with a mate. Theselection is said to be powerful enough to generate features that areharmful to the survival of an individual. Lastly, the issue ofco-evaluation also leaves a mark on the mechanisms of evaluation. Itis when two or more species reciprocally affect the evolution of eachother. Insect symbioses provide spectacular evidence of co-evaluationwith major costs for the health and welfare of the host animal orplant ("Mechanisms: the processes of evolution", 2016).Co-evolutionary interactions have been concluded from projects ofgenome sequencing on plant sap-feeding beetles along with theirbacterial amino acid metabolism through diverse loss of a gene in thepartners entailed in the association.
Conclusion Readingthrough the article on evolution has been an excellent way for me tolearn about the process of scientific inquiry, in particular, theprocesses of evolution. Evolution provides numerous and diverseexamples of the ways biologists gather and analyze information tocome up with explanations for natural happenings. Understandingevolution is significant for making decisions that are informed.Without this understanding, there is a lack of a basic principle ofbiology and medicine thus undermining the understanding of the waysuch knowledge is accumulated.
Reference
Mechanisms:the processes of evolution.(2016). Evolution.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 20 May 2016, fromhttp://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/evo_14