The Origin of Species

Introduction The Origin of Species: A Scientific Work of Constant Relevance The Origin of Speciesis arguably the most important biological work ever written. It was the first in which a theory of biological evolution was fully developed, along with an explanation of its principal means and motivating forces. Charles Darwin had a broad grasp of many scientific disciplines that is almost impossible to imagine in today's age of specialization, and he developed an inclusive theory of biological evolution that today runs like a thread through all areas of biology, including anatomy, physiology, genetics, taxonomy, and ecology. The general idea of evolution is also central to other fields of science, including paleontology, geology, and cosmology. The practical outgrowths of biological evolution theory range from transplanting organs to combating harmful viruses. And the theory of evolution has continued to develop, in part because of important advances in our understanding of genetics, techniques for estimating the age of Earth, the biochemistry of the origin of life, electron microscopy, population studies, and other disciplines. While Darwin's work had an immense and electrifying impact, first on mid-nineteenth-century Britain and then spreading around the world, it is all too true that its dissemination has hardly been one of uninterrupted advance. In the United States, it continues to meet religious opposition. In the mid-1920s, the trial of John Scopes made headlines around the country. Scopes, a Tennessee schoolteacher, was brought up on criminal charges for teaching evolutionary theory. Although the decision was later reversed (on a technicality) by the Tennessee Supreme Court, Scopes was convicted and fined one hundred dollars, and in the wake of the case there was overall backward motion in terms of evolution's place in the nation's curricula. Toward the end of the 1950s there was a spurt of interest in, and backing for, research and teaching in evolution as a result of concerns about an "education gap" following Russia's launching ofSputnikin 1957. The centennial ofOrigin's publication in 1959 also provided an impetus. The popularization of evolution theory and training students in at least its elements as part of the general promotion of careers in science continued through the 1960s until the mid-1980s. In the last couple of decades, however, there has been renewed resistance to Darwin's theories, most notably with the rise in popularity of the idea of intelligent design. Yet Darwinian theory remains a subject of vigorous scientific work, and the core of Darwinian theory has been upheld again and again, albeit with some modifications. Evolution theory is founded on an enormous body of facts. While a theoretical understanding of the evolutionary process continues to develop, there is no scientific doubt about the fact that evolution has occurred. Some 150 years after Darwin wrote his classic, it has proven to be central to our understanding of nature. The Life and Work of Charles Darwin Charles Darwin was born into a wealthy family in Shrewsbury, England, on February 12, 1809. His paternal grandfather, Erasmus Darwin, was a medical doctor whose writings extended beyond health and human physiology to natural history. Erasmus was also one of the early proponents of evolution. Charles's mother was the daughter of Josiah Wedgwood, owner of a famous pottery-making concern. The home that Charles grew up in was filled with lively conversation, dedicated to scientific inquiry, and active in the movement to abolish slavery. As a boy Charles demonstrated a great interest in science, collecting beetles and other animals and plants, conducting chemistry experiments, and reading whatever he could find about nature. But in school, he was an indifferent student. His father, displeased by his lack of progress in his stDarwin, Charles is the author of 'The Origin of Species' with ISBN 9781416561477 and ISBN 1416561471.