Question

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listing 20 events make a timeline by using the Internet to research the significant events leading up to the modern theory of

evolution. Document contributions dating the 1400s through to today. Be sure to include

contributions leading to the introduction of comparative anatomy, genetics, and natural

selection.

Answer 1

1735 - A new naming system - the binomial nomenclature system - was given by Carolus Linnaeus. He is known as the 'Father of Modern Taxonomy'. He also developed the hierarchical classification system - wherein the highest place was the Kingdoms, which were further divided into classes, followed by orders, genera and then finally the species.

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1809 - In the theory of the transmutation of species, Jean-Baptise Lamarck proposed that spontaneous generation created simple life forms, but with time they became more complex as species adapted to their environment. He said that the use and disuse of organs brought about changes which would be passed on to the next generation and thus bring about evolution slowly.

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1859 - Charles Darwin publishes his book 'On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life', which introduces the concept of natural selection. This theory suggests that over a period of time, organisms change in a way that allows them to better adapt to their surroundings and have more offspring, and that these changes are heritable.

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1866 - Gregor Mendel published his work - Experiments in Plant Hybridisation - on the laws of inheritance. This remained unknown until it was rediscovered later in the 1990s. His work shows the role the genes (known by Gregor Mendel as 'invisible factors') play in determining the characteristic (genetically determined) of an organism.

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1868 - The theories of evolution were applied by Ernst Haeckel to embryology. This would actually be the basis for the evolutionary developmental biology field.

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1893 - The germplasm theory was put forward by August Weismann. This theory states that the germ cells, i.e., the gametes (egg cells and sperm cells) are responsible for showing heredity in a multicellular organism and that the somatic cells do not play any role in inheritance.

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1930-1932 - The work of R.A. Fisher, J.B.S. Haldane and Sewall Wright in the field of population genetics integrated the principles of Mendelian genetics with Darwinian natural selection. Population genetics played a pivotal role in the formation of neo-Darwinism synthesis.

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1937 - Genetics and the Origin of Species was published by Theodosius Dobzhansky which showed the varying amounts of genetic diversity that existed between the wild populations as well as the distinct differences between the sub-populations.

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1942 - Ernst Mayr in his book Systematics and the Origin of Species, takes inspiration from the work of Bernhard Rensch which says that 'local environmental factors have an influence on the geographic distribution of subspecies and closely related species'. In his book, he emphasizes the 'importance of allopatric speciation in the formation of new species'. Allopatric speciation is defined as the arising of different kinds of plant or animal species when two populations of the same species become geographically isolated from one another.

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1953 - Francis Crick and James Watson broke new ground with the identification that DNA exists in the form of a three-dimensional double helix structure. Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins also contributed to the establishment of this three-dimensional structure of the DNA.

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1990-2003 - This 13 year-long publicly funded project, the Human Genome Project, sequenced the entire human genome which gave rise to a new era in medicine as well as to several other scientific advancements.

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