[Closed] evolution,how did it actually happen?

I think google is your friend... unless someone wants to write very long posts

None of the things you mention there are lifeless

it's very gradual changes over millions of years

cause the universe would be rubbish without it.

change happens because of necessity and from those with a certain atribute replicating and those without that atribute don't.

Chance. Life is changing all the time through random mutations in genes. Some of these are bad, the creature dies. Some of these are good/neutral and are carried on. Over time these offer advantage so the creatures from the line with the mutation thrives.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but the original start was the random creation of RNA, a molecule which can replicate itself. Once you get replication, you get mutation and some of the molecules would have been better at being replicated than other.

Very short [ simplified] answer we dont know but [complex] chains of molecules evolved that could replicate themselves and then these organised to create life

The molecules either developed on earth [ by chance given a long enough timespan- a thousand million years roughly] or they came from outer space [ even longer timescales] no one can be certain

some guy dropped his fluid in the river didn't he? and then withered.

apologies northwind you are right.

it is a complex question no doubt,life beginning from lifelessness.

i must admit to being partial to the idea of a meteorite impacting the earth,which was carrying some sort of organic life,thus starting the chain reaction of life,where there once was nothing.

the other idea of life starting from lifelessness just does my head in tbh just being a numpty not a scientist (with scientist type I.Q).

The origins of life are uncertain. But somehow or other, with the right organic chemicals and perhaps a lightening strike or two, a molecule formed that in an ongoing slow reaction could replicate itself.

There was lots of this molecule as it's self replicating but keeps changing, so part of it caused another reaction that caused other checmicals to form a sort of skin around it, that let other chemicals through, and it became a cell.. for a billion or so years that's all there was - reproducing chemicals in the shape of cells.

Then it starts to get complicated because these chemicals evolved into patterns that would replicate good copies of each other and became single celled organisims - of course with reliable reproduction you'll get lots of copies so you'll spread. But there's a chance of mutation each time, so occasionally some mutation results in a cell that lives longer or can absorb different nutrients or whatever. Then there's another chance mutation that creates cells that can stick together and work with each other - multi celled organisms. A jellyfish could be considered not a single animal but a loose aggolmeration of cells that all do different things for mutual benefit (or so I've heard).

This is evolution - mutation causing the next generation to work a bit better in some situation. Fast forward a billion years and you have.. cats with bread on their heads and STW.

Chance, variation, survival of the fittest, time. That's about it.

Fast forward a billion years and you have.. cats with bread on their heads and STW.

TBH, I'm not convinced that STW is a good argument for evolution but it does make wonder whether Darwin made a typo and really meant to say something about survival of the fattest.

Martin Brasier has written about this in a book called 'Secret Chambers'. It would be as up-to-date as you're likely to find, and fairly accessible. I was sad to read recently that he'd died, for I hoped to read more of the continuing research.

its not really 'survival of the fittest' , but 'removal* of the least fit'

(*removal via death)

Edit: a bit of both.

And it's worth pointing out that most mutations are not beneficial. It's that 'survival' thing that serves as the ultimate test of a mutations value.

it was aliens wot did it

We were designed by a creator using DNA as the coding...
Or we evolved very slowly by luck, chance and selection.

It's a bloody good question and one that shows we shouldn't be too content in our knowledge of any damn thing... so much of our understanding of life, the universe and everything is based on conjecture.

The way I see it, evolution is a smaller branch of ecology, though it's all pretty humbling.

(I've just started thinking how in some instances, different soil types may be a result of minerals deposited by asteroids, meteorites and the like, meaning that ecology and thus evolution goes beyond just earth and is potentially due to interaction throughout the universe n stuff... my head will probably melt soon, or I'll evolve into a fat headed ****)

Archaea: Early singled celled lifeforms formed in mats that slowly formed in hot springs and salt lakes, they fed on chemical processes rather than external sources, one of the more successful ones produced oxygen as a chemical by product (others produced things like sulphuric acid and so on) the oxygenation of the atmosphere enabled the development of bacteria and early eukaryotes (multi celled creatures)...and you're off.

Is that OK, or d'you want more detail?

ts not really 'survival of the fittest' , but 'removal* of the least fit'

Thats the same thing. But mostly its survival of the lucky and then most fairly rapid explosions of speciation in response to mass extinction events.

Didn't God do it to distract the scientists and give the God Squad fans something to rant about and be fanatical?

No-one has ever proved me wrong and not been smoted (apparently)

Early singled celled lifeforms

Where did they come from?

and, though I know how babies are made, how are babies made?

'Life' is bonkers

Just take a look at the Darwin Awards, you can clearly see evolution in action.

One interesting question to consider is that if an asteroid hadn't wiped out the dinosaurs would they have evolved into a higher species or would their presence on the earth have inhibited the evolution of man in some way? or if the asteroid hadn't hit the earth would we have dinosaurs around today? like cows in a field....

What if our ancestors were in the asteroid?

survival of those with the most favourable adaptations to their local environment so that they last longer so that they can pass on their genes.

[i]Where did they come from?[/i]

biogenic graphite (about 3.5mYa)

Observational bias - we just happen to live on the world where intelligent beings evolved from the slime due to random mutations caused by cosmic radiation. Other worlds where that hasn't happened don't have beings to ask how evolution happened.

biogenic graphite

Does that mean the recent expansion of carbon in bicycle manufacture could be the undoing of the human race?

Will a scratch to the lacquer, an errant bead of sweat and a murky garage herald the dawn of a new era?

sorry, that should be 3.5 billion, not million Ya

apologies

Enjoy this, especially the bits about dinosaurs:
http://www.salon.com/2015/06/17/5_completely_insane_things_christian_fundamentalists_are_teaching_their_kids/

As far as origin of life research goes, the RNA world hypothesis is still top dog. Few years ago, a guy in Manchester published the most convincing picture yet of a nucleotide synthesis under prebiotic conditions. Approaching from the other end, there's a lot of progress in demonstrating oligoRNA self-replication. So if we can meet in the middle, with some plausible prebiotic assembly of an oligonucleotide, we could have all the pieces in place.

Seems crazy to say, but origin of life research is not that interesting in the main. Very hard to do good science in such an open ended area, where it's hard to be wrong. It does attract some phenomenal minds, though.

One interesting question to consider is that if an asteroid hadn't wiped out the dinosaurs would they have evolved into a higher species or would their presence on the earth have inhibited the evolution of man in some way?

I studied genetics as a degree, it took most of us a while to abandon the logic that there is a continual sort of higher species end game with evolution. Once you accept that a bacterium that exclusively inhabits the lower intestine of a spider monkey is 'as evolved' as a dolphin it makes a bit more sense.

Some dinosaurs were around for a VERY long time from a species point of view, if they'd evolved to perfectly fill a niche, then, unless there was an outside pressure then mutation would not confer advantage.

it took most of us a while to abandon the logic that there is a continual sort of higher species end game with evolution. Once you accept that a bacterium that exclusively inhabits the lower intestine of a spider monkey is 'as evolved' as a dolphin it makes a bit more sense.

This. If dino's hadnt been wiped out something else may have happend differently. Flowering plants only evolved duringvthe time of dino's which always amazes me

We don't know, basically.

Anyhow, have you booked in with the bloody doctor yet??

Don't make me bump that post again 🙂

Flowering plants only evolved duringvthe time of dino's which always amazes me

Yes, if you watch Dinosaur Train you'll see that some of the time periods the ground is just covered in dirt instead of grass.. cos grass is a flowering plant (angiosperm)

The ones that missed the ark died out. That's why there are no unicorns. Apparently.

They exist, they're just ring-fenced.

What blows my mind is that each individual (no matter how stupid) is the pinnacle of billions of years of evolution!

What blows my mind is that each individual (no matter how stupid) is the pinnacle of billions of years of evolution!

And back to asteroids, no-one knows if that was the cause of dino-demise, it's just one theory. Super-volcanos, disease and other things in my little girls dinosaur book mention that I can't remember right now.

Ummmm...
[img] [/img]

Evolution is not actually that effective a mechanism in terms of preserving a specific species in that 99.9% of all the species that have ever lived are now extinct.

I think the dinosaurs were already well on their way out before the meteor struck. It was global climate change that did it - the meteor strike just finished them off.

I wouldn't say that every individual is the peak of evolution. In nature not many individuals get the opportunity to pro-create as the females select only the best individuals, so usually only a small percentage of individuals from each generation get the chance to continue their gene line and an even smaller percentage of those will survive to pro-create their gene line. Hence over many generations the species as a whole develop more of the attributes the female of the species find so appealing. So the majority of individuals are not at the peak of evolution. Humans are obviously different. Plenty of ugly and 'inferior' people get to continue their gene lines - usually at 3am on a Saturday morning down some alleyway next to a local Wetherspoons. So the human species in theory is being diluted with lower quality genes - so not survival of the fittest, but then again we don't have to fight Sabre Toothed Tigers anymore so no need for us to be the best specimens of our species. Of course Sweden is an exception where everyone seems to be perfect physical specimens. Maybe the Swedes will inherit the earth when the next big Meteor strikes.

What blows my mind is that each individual (no matter how stupid) is the pinnacle of billions of years of evolution!

What blows my mind is that each individual (no matter how stupid) is the pinnacle of billions of years of evolution!

...and that we are all built from products of the big bang.

Or we are all made from star dust.