Evolution Current Events Journal
Evolution is a subject that has been highly debated all over the world, with different scholars presenting varying theories on the subject. Some of the theories have stood up more than others, thus becoming highly adopted when it comes to explaining evolution. Among the theories is Darwin’s evolution mode, which has been highly accepted, particularly by other scientists, despite some people rejecting it based on its contradiction with their religious convictions. However, studies regarding evolution are still being conducted, and in the past two years, researchers have stepped up to study and emphasize evolution theories, concepts, and trends, and review previous studies. The scholarly materials from the researchers can be utilized to comprehend evolution better and apply the concepts in the current research subject. This is an analysis and critique of some outstanding evolution articles written in the past two years.
#1. Faith, J. T., Du, A., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Davies, B., Patterson, D. B., Rowan, J., & Wood, B. (2021). Rethinking the ecological drivers of hominin evolution. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36(9), 797-807.
This article discusses the ecological hominin evolution drivers. The reason for choosing this article is that it comprises various educative evolution concepts. Typically, the major concept is comprehending the role of ecological transformation in hominin evolution. Scholars have extended the hominin fossil record in the previous decades and gathered comprehensive late paleoecological, paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and Cenozoic archives (Faith et al., 2021). Nevertheless, the restrictions of pattern-matching methods for deducing causal relations between evolutionary and ecological have prohibited the successful utilization of the data. As such, this article explores various hindrances that have prevented progress, underlining the current studies addressing them.
This is one of the most informative and credible sources. Typically, the article was written to inform the reader and has effectively attained this purpose. The journal is Trends in Ecology & Evolution, and since this is a major article, it has been peer-reviewed. The material is well organized and focused on addressing the significant ideas in the topic. Additionally, the concepts are easily comprehensible, and a standard language has been utilized, thus making it easier for the audience. The article is pertinent to the current research because it gives information on hominin evolution and adds to the evolution theories. In addition, the authors are experts in the field. The major author, Faith Tyler, is an Archaeology Curator at NHMU. However, the topic has been partially covered just because much more information is required on the subject. The content is for researchers, teachers, students, and anyone who may require the information. All the same, it lacks illustrations, but the information is very contextual. Ultimately, the utilization of various past studies in the research makes it dependable.
#2. Fraser, D., Soul, L. C., Tóth, A. B., Balk, M. A., Eronen, J. T., Pineda-Munoz, S., … & Lyons, S. K. (2021). Investigating biotic interactions in deep time. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36(1), 61-75.
This article comprises major evolution elaborations that are worth noting and applying in the research. One of the highlights is that challenging the prevalent view that climate shapes the long-term diversity designs is probably not devoid of utilizing biotic interactions function. Typically, significant current development and application theories that use extinct and living species’ data have facilitated investigation to move past merely discounting probable abiotic drivers to biotic drivers initially. Paleontological data examination depicts that biotic exchanges tend to shape temporal diversity trajectories, extinction, and origination rates for various taxa (Fraser et al., 2021). Additionally, keystone species extinction has disproportionate effects on biotic relations among living species.
The article is credible, dependable, and very informative, which is very useful for the research. Notably, the article’s role is to inform the reader regarding life evolution and climate change. The journal at hand is Trends in Ecology & Evolution, and since this is a major article, it has been peer-reviewed. The article is well organized and focuses on addressing the major notions on the topic. Furthermore, the concepts are easily comprehensible, and a standard language has been utilized, thus making it easier for the audience. The article applies to the current research because it gives information on evolution and climate change, thus adding to the evolution concepts. Additionally, the authors are experts in the field as the major author, Fraser Danielle, is an evolutionary and palaeoecologist biologist. The audience comprises teachers, students, researchers, and any other person who could be interested in the subject. In addition, it has picture illustrations showing fossil records and underlying biology, and the information is very contextual.
#3. Harman, O. (2022). A Conversation with Darwin on Man Revisited: 150 Years to the Descent of Man. Journal of the History of Biology
This article’s purpose is to prove some of Darwin’s concepts; it is basically an evaluation of the conversation with Darwin (Harman, 2022). The journal of the article is History of Biology, which is a periodical peer-reviewed journal covering biology history and the social and philosophical matters facing biology. The content is well organized, comprehensible, and focused on the main topic as it addresses the conversation with Darwin and expounds on it. This article is vital to the current research project because it provides Darwin’s direct opinions and explanations regarding human evolution. He expounds on different questions that present clarification in various Darwinian evolution concepts. The information applies to the research project. The author is an expert in the field: he is a philosophy and history of science professor and an award-winning writer.
The author writes evolution, biology, and history of science articles. The article covers the topic comprehensively. Pictures have been used in the article, and they are pertinent, clear, and seemingly professional. The audience is historians, researchers, students, and any other person who could be looking for the information. The information is also contextual as it pertains to the subject and does not waver from the topic. Typically, some agreeable and outstanding concepts from the article are that in the future, which is not very far, the civilized male races will nearly eradicate and replace the savage races throughout the globe. Altogether, the anthropomorphous apes will certainly undergo extinction. Then, the break would be declared wider since it would interfere between humans in a highly civilized state as hoped, than some apes, as low as a baboon and Caucasian.
#4. Milam, E. L., & Seth, S. (2021). Descent of Darwin: race, sex, and human nature. BJHS Themes, 6, 1-8.
This article was written to critique and give opinions regarding Charles Darwin’s published work. Darwin’s work under analysis is ‘Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex, ‘ which was printed in 1871 (Milam & Seth, 2021). In this work, readers found clarity in the assertion that human beings evolved from apes and the investigations of the likenesses and obvious gulfs between people and other animals. The journal is BJHS Themes, which is a peer-reviewed journal for science history. The material is very organized, laying out the critiques and opinions of each chapter chronologically. It is also extremely focused on the topic at hand and concentrates on the book’s concepts from beginning to end. The presented arguments are also understandable, and the audience would not strain to understand the writer’s ideas and intentions.
Moreover, this article is a review of previous research. The author has also integrated the concepts of past studies, thus making the work credible and dependable. Besides, the authors are experts in this field. Accordingly, Erika Lorraine Milam focuses on modern life sciences history, especially evolutionary ecology and theory. At the same time, Suman Seth is a professor working on cultural, social, and intellectual science and medical history. Suman Seth is interested in the history of colonialism and race, physical sciences, medicine, science, and gender. The article has been written for evolution historians, students, and anyone interested in the subject. No photographs, graphs, or charts have been used to illustrate the concepts. Nonetheless, the information in the article is contextual. Therefore, this material is very resourceful to me and the subject at hand because it addresses the Darwin themes, which are extremely informative.
#5. Richerson, P. J., Gavrilets, S., & de Waal, F. B. (2021). Modern theories of human evolution are foreshadowed by Darwin’s Descent of Man. Science, 372(6544), eaba3776.
This source talks about how Darwin’s Descent of Man foreshadowed the contemporary human evolution theories. Typically, Darwin’s book is said to have laid the ground for scientific research into human origin and evolution. The modern speciation theory has been used in comprehending the processes. Basically, an application of the theory to precise cases necessitates a person to recognize and comprehend the ancestors’ nature and the numerous pre-existing adaptations and possessed features that simplified and reduced the speciation procedure (Richerson et al., 2021). Accordingly, the reason for choosing this source is that it directly addresses the evolution process and expounds on Darwin’s theory.
The article is meant to inform the audience. In addition, the article is credible and dependable. This can be explained by various facts, beginning with that it has been well organized and focused on addressing the major concepts in the subject. Besides, the concepts are easily understandable, and the audience can easily understand the language that has been used, thus inviting different types of audiences. Additionally, the journal of the article is named Science, a peer-reviewed academic journal for AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) and a leading academic journal around the globe. The authors are experts in the field, with the major author, Richerson Peter, being an American biologist. In addition, Richerson is a prominent professor at California University. The article has picture illustrations such as that of juvenile chimpanzees. The application of past studies in the research shows the accuracy and dependability of the information. The audience comprises the students, instructors, researchers, and other individuals who could be interested in the research. Additionally, the authors cover the topic comprehensively, and the information is contextual. Essentially, the article applies to the current studies because it provides information on evolution theories.
#6. Sambataro, S., Fiorillo, L., Bocchieri, S., Stumpo, C., Cervino, G., Herford, A. S., & Cicciù, M. (2022). Craniofacial Evolution: From Australopithecus to Modern Man. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, 33(1), 325-332.
This article is about Craniofacial Evolution and presents great information regarding human evolution. Differentiating animal species, counting man tends to be possible via scrutiny and valuation of the teeth and jaws’ morphology and size. This facilitates the establishment of the human evolution theory. Two primary features, including brain size increase and bipedality, characterize hominin evolution (Sambataro et al., 2022). Subsequently, this has a significant effect on hominine skull structure and purpose. As such, the article retraces the evolutionary phases that resulted in Homo sapiens, the direct modern man’s ancestor.
The article is intended to inform the reader. Notably, it is credible and dependable owing to various aspects. The article’s journal is named Journal of Craniofacial Surgery which tends to be a peer-reviewed journal directed to craniofacial surgeons’ audience. The article is well organized and focuses on addressing the significant ideas on the topic. Furthermore, the concepts are easily understandable, and a standard language has been utilized, thus making it easier for the audience. The article applies to the current research because it gives information on human evolution and evolutionary phases. In addition, the authors are experts in the field, with Sambataro Sergio, the primary author, being a highly equipped professor in the subject. The article has been comprehensively covered. The audience of this research comprises scholars, educators, and other individuals who could be interested in the study. However, the article does not present charts, graphs, maps, and photographs. Nevertheless, the information is contextual, and the authors present a high level of correctness for the elaborated concepts. This is one of the most resourceful articles.
#7. Sommer, M. (2021). The meaning of absence: the primate tree that did not make it into Darwin’s The Descent of Man. BJHS Themes, 6, 45-61.
The article was basically written to inform the reader regarding Darwin’s tree of the primates. Typically, in 1868, the image was sketched in ink, but it never made it into The Descent of Man pamphlet (Sommer, 2021). As such, an explanation is necessary because it has been shown that Darwin highly depended on the familial genealogy concept in the organism evolution theory development. The journal is BJHS Themes and is a peer-reviewed journal for science history. Additionally, the material is very organized, understandable, and focused on the topic at hand; every point is intended to meet the article’s intention. In addition, this article is a review of previous research. The article is pertinent to the current research project because it provides more information regarding the Darwinian evolution theory. The author is an expert in this field because she is a cultural and science studies professor at Lucerne University.
The article has covered the topic comprehensively, providing extensive explanations and concepts. However, no photographs, graphs, or charts have been used to illustrate the clarifications. Even so, the information in the article is contextual as it is pertinent to the topic and thesis. I agree with the author’s concepts because considering the tree’s inherent teleology and influence in suggesting the human population’s status, Darwin’s tree of the primates’ non-inclusion in The Descent of Man ought to be evaluated. Typically, the evolution of life on earth was from ancient species whose divergence took place with time, just like tree branches from one trunk. Generally, at large, Darwin’s work proposes that he regarded a branching arrangement rightly drawn could, in significant means, capture the natural order up to the species’ extent.
#8. Stanley, S. (2021). Cultural Evolutionary Theory and the Significance of the Biology-Culture Analogy. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 51(2), 193-214.
This article primarily talks about the Cultural Evolutionary Theory. Throughout the cultural evolutionary theory literature, concentration has been on the presence and essence of correspondence between socio-cultural phenomena and biological occurrences (Stanley, 2021). Notably, the Cultural Evolutionary Theory’s antagonists tend to raise complaints emphasizing the weakness of the biology-culture analogy. As a result, the opposition receives regular responses in the literature that help to reinforce the biology-culture analogy’s realism. The reason for choosing this source is that it comprises vital information regarding Darwinian evolution through natural selection, which could be used to expound on the evolution subject.
This article tends to be credible, with a lot of educative information. The article’s information is certainly accurate, primarily the high integration of past research used to prove various assertions. Worth noting is that the article’s purpose is to inform the audience regarding the Cultural Evolutionary Theory. The article’s journal is the Philosophy of the Social Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal. The journal concentrates on the major social sciences matters comprising philosophy application, particularly individualism versus holism, general methodology, and rationality nature, not forgetting the history of conceptions and theories. The material is well organized, with various subsections thoroughly discussed and focused on the subject, revealing as much information regarding the topic as possible. However, the concepts in the articles may not be easily understandable, particularly for average learners, because of the language used. This article is pertinent to the current research project, owing to various evolution concepts, particularly the Darwinian evolution through natural selection. Additionally, the author is an expert in the field, and the audience includes learners and any other individual seeking the information. No photographs, maps, graphs, or charts are presented, but the information is very contextual.
Overview
All the above articles have a vital concept regarding evolution and expound on evolution themes and theories. Gathering the ideas of each article adds to the evolution of knowledge and comprehension. Darwin’s evolution theory and concepts are predominant in the articles. Typically, Darwin’s evolution theory comprises two major themes. The first one is that different animal groups evolve from one a few or more ancestors, and evolution occurs through the natural selection mechanism.
Article #5 talks about Darwin’s Descent of Man and how it foreshadowed the contemporary human evolution theories. This is because Darwin’s evolution theory is highly accepted in the world. In addition, Darwin’s book laid the ground for scientific research into human origin and evolution. The modern speciation theory has been used in comprehending the processes. As such, article #5 expounds on the speciation theory, which is Darwin’s concept whereby the formation of species could occur through the evolution of a single species dividing into two or by a population separating from its existing ancestor to the extent of it becoming an original species. Article #4 analyzes the Descent of Man and Selection concerning sex. In this work, readers find clarity in the assertion that human beings evolved from apes and the investigations of the likenesses and obvious gulfs between people and other animals.
Additionally, article #3 intends to prove some of Darwin’s concepts; it is principally an evaluation of the conversation with Darwin. The first article presents information that facilitates the comprehension of the role of ecological transformation in hominin evolution. Typically, researchers have extended the hominin fossil record in the previous decades and gathered comprehensive late paleoecological, paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic, and Cenozoic archives. This article and several others link to Darwin’s evolution theory and themes.
Furthermore, Darwin’s great discernment and a uniting biological principle today are that all species are connected: cousins, sisters, and distant relatives in a massive life family tree. In article #7, the author informs the readers about Darwin’s Tree of the Primate and how it never made it into The Descent of Man pamphlet by Darwin. This is a vital discussion considering Darwin’s principle regarding all species being linked in a massive life family tree. Darwin’s tree of the primate could be used in elaborating evolution. Notably, if people were to travel far enough, they could realize shared ancestors between themselves and all the other living things, including cactuses and flamingos. The close evolutionary family comprises hominoids, the primates group constituting great and lesser apes. Further, article #6 addresses the concept; it gives some characterization of hominin evolution. The scrutiny and valuation of the teeth and jaws’ morphology and size of discerning animal species facilitate the establishment of the human evolution theory. Two primary features, including brain size increase and bipedality, characterize hominin evolution
Moreover, Darwin proposed natural selection, where resources are limited in the environment. As such, organisms possessing heritable traits in favor of reproduction and survival leave a high number of offspring compared to their peers. Subsequently, this causes the traits to upsurge in rate in upcoming generations. In relation to this perspective, article #2 highlights that challenging the prevalent view that climate shapes the long-term diversity designs is not probable devoid of utilizing biotic interactions function. Moreover, article #8 details Darwinian evolution through natural selection.
In conclusion, the ideas from the articles all expound on evolution. Mostly, Darwin’s evolution concepts have been revealed, and the articles have proved and expounded on the theory. The different ideas of all the authors affirm the actuality of evolution theories. All these concepts highly contribute to the current research.
References
Faith, J. T., Du, A., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Davies, B., Patterson, D. B., Rowan, J., & Wood, B. (2021). Rethinking the ecological drivers of hominin evolution. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36(9), 797-807. https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10281768
Fraser, D., Soul, L. C., Tóth, A. B., Balk, M. A., Eronen, J. T., Pineda-Munoz, S., & Lyons, S. K. (2021). Investigating biotic interactions in deep time. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 36(1), 61-75. https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/pdf/S0169-5347(20)30250-0.pdf
Harman, O. (2022). A Conversation with Darwin on Man Revisited: 150 Years to The Descent of Man. Journal of the History of Biology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359308439_A_Conversation_with_Darwin_on_Man_Revisited_150_Years_to_The_Descent_of_Man
Milam, E. L., & Seth, S. (2021). Descent of Darwin: race, sex, and human nature. BJHS Themes, 6, 1-8. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/9C3B471326CE177DA4D33974D59D1991/S2058850X21000096a.pdf/div-class-title-descent-of-darwin-race-sex-and-human-nature-div.pdf
Richerson, P. J., Gavrilets, S., & de Waal, F. B. (2021). Modern theories of human evolution are foreshadowed by Darwin’s Descent of Man. Science, 372(6544), eaba3776. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351777535_Modern_theories_of_human_evolution_foreshadowed_by_Darwin’ s_Descent_of_Man
Sambataro, S., Fiorillo, L., Bocchieri, S., Stumpo, C., Cervino, G., Herford, A. S., & Cicciù, M. (2022). Craniofacial Evolution: From Australopithecus to Modern Man. Journal of Craniofacial Surgery, 33(1), 325-332. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353315462_Craniofacial_Evolution_From_Australopithecus_to_Modern_Man
Sommer, M. (2021). The meaning of absence: the primate tree that did not make it into Darwin’s The Descent of Man. BJHS Themes, 6, 45-61. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C294250D24E41516873CBB87CA83DA2F/S2058850X20000144a.pdf/the-meaning-of-absence-the-primate-tree-that-did-not-make-it-into-darwins-the-descent-of-man.pdf
Stanley, S. (2021). Cultural Evolutionary Theory and the Significance of the Biology-Culture Analogy. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 51(2), 193-214. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0048393120971554
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Question
SCI-115sc: YOUR INNER FISH: IS EVOLUTION TRUE?
Evolution Current Events Journal
Find 8 current articles related to evolution (no more than 1 year old), copy or provide a link, and write a one-page analysis and critique of the article. Each article should begin on a separate page (or be turned in separately for each module); number your articles #1, #2, etc. Use APA style. Combine all of your article evaluations together as a single document, and add an overview paper (at least 600 words) that ties them all together using the overarching themes of the theory of evolution. The whole project will be due during week 6 of the course, turned in to the course dropbox on our website.
Rubric for Journal Evaluations
EVOLUTION CURRENT EVENTS JOURNAL
Each student will analyze and critique an Evolution Current Events article for each week (8 articles total). The articles MUST be published during the semester that the course is taken. The journal articles & summary page should be saved as one document & placed in the dropbox provided online (no emailed journal articles will be accepted).
The student will copy or provide a complete LINK (and citation) for the article in the reference page, complete a title page (for the overall document), and write a 1 page ANALYSIS and CRITIQUE of the article.
After ALL 8 articles are evaluated by the student, the student will write a 1 page overview of the 8 articles, tying them together with overarching themes of the theory of evolution
How to Evaluate Journal Article
[Detailed version of How to Evaluate Journal Articles] Go to: http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/evaljrl2.html
To evaluate a journal article look for:
• Purpose of Article: Why was the article written? To: persuade the reader to do something? inform the reader? prove something?
• Type of Journal: For college-level term papers, information should be obtained mostly from scholarly journals. See also Evaluation Clues for Articles Taken from the Web
• Organization and Content: Is the material organized and focused? Is the argument or presentation understandable? Is this original research, a review of previous research, or an informative piece?
• Bias (of the publisher)
• Date of Article
• Bibliography
• Usefulness: Is the article relevant to the current research project?
• Authority/author: Is the author an expert in this field? Where is the author employed? What else has he/she written? Has he/she won awards or honors?
• Coverage: Does the article cover the topic comprehensively, partially, or is it an overview?
• Audience: For what type of reader is the author writing?
• Illustrations: Are charts, graphs, maps, photographs, etc. used to illustrate concepts? Are the illustrations relevant? Are they clear and professional-looking?
• Context: Information is contextual. Who, what, when, where, why, and how will impact whether or not a resource is useful to you. If you are doing a survey of popular culture, for example, popular magazines would be a useful primary source.
Source: http://lib.colostate.edu/howto/evaljrl.html
Checklist
1. double spaced
2. 1 page for each journal article + summary (9 pages)
3. 1 reference page
4. 1 title page
Title Page
1. Heading
2. Name
3. Course # & name, university, professor’s name, date
Body: Structure and Content
1. Appropriate reader-based introduction
2. Clear statement of thesis
3. Logical organization
4. Smooth, logical transitions used in paragraphing
5. Development of topics with examples/explanations
6. Good conclusion
Body: Documentation
1. Quotation marks for quotes
2. Parentheses for documentation
3. Complete information
Body: Mechanics
1. No sentence fragments
2. Punctuation correct
3. Spelling
4. Capitalization correct
5. No contractions (spell them out)
6. No vague references
7. Pronoun/antecedent agreement correct
8. No unnecessary shifts of verb tense
9. Correct subject/verb agreement
10. Correct prepositions
11. Formal: no “you”, limited or no use of “I”
Works Cited Page
1. Title: References
2. No extra spaces between entries
3. Entries not numbered
4. Entries correctly alphabetized
5. URL given for internet work
6. Complete information
7. Everything on reference page is cited in the essay