Evolution Library: Topic Page

Evolution Since Darwin

Mendelian genetics | Modern synthesis | Molecular evolution

This set of resources charts the history of evolutionary thought (including key works of Darwin) and its opposition, the social history of public controversy surrounding evolutionary biology, and misapplications of evolutionary thought in the social, political, and economic realms.

Featured Multimedia Resources

Theodosius Dobzhansky: Integrating Genetics and Evolution One of the founders of the modern synthesis of evolutionary theory, Dobzhansky provided laboratory evidence for natural selection and variation as the major forces driving evolution. Resource Type: Image	The Nuts and Bolts of DNA Replication A silent animation illustrates DNA replication, mutation, and base pairs. From Secret of Life: "Immortal Thread." Resource Type: Video Length: 2 min	Genetic Drift and the Founder Effect This image of polydactyly illustrates one symptom of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, which is commonly found in the Amish. Ellis-van Creveld is one example of the founder effect and genetic drift. Resource Type: Image

Mendelian Genetics
	Resource	Type	Format	Topics Covered

	What Darwin Didn't Know: Gregor Mendel and the Mechanism of Heredity A portrait of Johann Gregor Mendel, the Austrian monk whose experiments breeding pea plants provided evidence for what we now call "genes," the mechanism by which hereditary characteristics are passed down through generations.	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	Experiments in Plant Hybridization This English translation of Gregor Mendel's original 1865 paper also provides a glossary of troublesome terms, additional notes, discussion questions for classroom use, a fairly current bibliography, and a "live" annotation page where you can post your own remarks.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Genetic Science Learning Center A comprehensive genetics site with educational Flash presentations and instructions for hands-on activities, such as "How to Extract DNA from Anything Living," this site includes sections targeted toward middle and high school students, teachers, and families.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Genotype and Phenotype This site provides a concise explanation of the relationship between genotype and phenotype, accompanied with good visuals. Be aware there is no mention of the role of environment in shaping phenotype. Hosted by CUNY, Brooklyn College.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Mendel This site includes a challenging game which helps develop an intuitive understanding of genetic inheritance, just as Mendel did more than 130 years ago. Follow the "All About Genes" link for an explanation of the processes that underlie inheritance. Designed by Agon Design, hosted by the University of Birmingham.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Mendelian Genetics This site explains the genetic mechanisms, originally discovered by Mendel, that underlie all patterns of heritability and includes a helpful glossary for technical terms. Hosted by North Dakota State University.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Online Mendelian Inheritance In Animals (OMIA) This up-to-date searchable catalog describes the genes that influence phenotypic traits of animals, from alpacas to zebrafish. Search by species or traits/disorders. Hosted by the Australian National Genomic Information Service.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Online Mendelian Inheritance In Man (OMIM) This searchable catalog offers highly technical and detailed information about human genes and genetic disorders. Search results are summaries of recent scientific publications that provide information about the genes influencing a phenotypic trait, and accompanying links lead to maps of the chromosomal location of the genes of interest. Hosted by the National Center for Biotechnology Information.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	What Does "Genetic" Mean Use Punnett squares to determine what combinations of traits and genes offspring can inherit from their parents. Run the heredity calculators for human eye color and Sheltie dog coat color to see inheritance in action. Hosted by Anthro, Ltd.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Gregor Mendel: The First Geneticist A comprehensive biography of Mendel, this book provides insight into his life and the beginnings of genetics research. By V�taslav Orel [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Monk in the Garden: The Lost and Found Genius of Gregor Mendel This book gives an account of the life and work of Gregor Mendel and stresses the importance of his contribution to the field of genetics. By Robin Marantz Henig [Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

Modern Synthesis
	Resource	Type	Format	Topics Covered

	Theodosius Dobzhansky: Integrating Genetics and Evolution One of the founders of the modern synthesis of evolutionary theory, Dobzhansky provided laboratory evidence for natural selection and variation as the major forces driving evolution.	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	Ernst Mayr and the Evolutionary Synthesis View a portrait of evolutionary theorist Ernst Mayr, one of the founders of the modern synthesis of evolution. Mayr proposed that speciation is a mark of evolutionary progress.	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	George Gaylord Simpson: Natural Selection and the Fossil Record View a portrait of paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson, one of the founders of the modern synthesis of evolution.	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	John Maynard Smith: The Evolutionary Stable Strategy View a portrait of evolutionary biologist John Maynard Smith, best known for applying game theory to natural selection and discovering the "evolutionary stable strategy."	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	Basic Population Genetics This site explores the mathematical basis of population genetics discovered by G.H. Hardy and W. Weinberg in 1908, discussing when a population should exhibit Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and how to interpret deviations. By M. Tevfik Dorak.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Introduction to Evolutionary Biology The suggested starting point for joining the Talk.Origins discussion group, this article provides a clear and thorough summary of the contemporary understanding of concepts, mechanisms, and consequences of evolution.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Natural Selection: Modes of Selection This tutorial offers definitions of directional, disruptive, and stabilizing selection, as well as a simulation that shows how each selection type affects a population of colored dots over time. Hosted by EvoTutor.org.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection This site offers the full text of the first edition of Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, and includes his preface from the third edition. Hosted by Talk.Origins.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Population Biology Simulations For advanced students of population biology, these links lead to computer simulations of evolutionary changes in a population's allele frequencies by mechanisms such as natural selection, genetic drift, and mutation. Hosted by the University of Connecticut.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Population Genetics Terminology in a Nutshell This site provides written and diagrammatic explanations for misunderstood terms and concepts in population genetics, such as "genetic drift" and "founder effect."	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Random Genetic Drift This article is an excellent summary of current knowledge on genetic drift, a major omission from Darwin's original theory and an important mechanism of evolution. Hosted by Talk.Origins.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Modern Synthesis of Genetics and Evolution This article summarizes advances in evolutionary theory since Darwin and is a good place to start an investigation of the modern synthesis theory. Hosted by Talk.Origins.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Road to Modern Evolutionary Biology A brief but complete history of evolutionary thought and its thinkers, beginning with the ancient Greeks and culminating in the modern synthesis. Hosted by the University of Evansville.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Adaptation and Natural Selection This classic book rebutted the notion of group (versus individual) selection, which had become a serious challenge to Darwinian theory. By George C. Williams [Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1966].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Darwin's Ghost: The Origin of Species Updated This book answers many of the questions Darwin, with his pre-Mendelian understanding of evolution, could only ask. By Steve Jones [New York: Random House, 2000].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Evolution and the Theory of Games In this book for advanced readers, the author applies game theory to population genetics, examining evolution through new mathematical analyses. By John Maynard Smith [New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Evolutionary Biology, 3rd ed. An excellent college-level textbook for the serious student of modern evolutionary theory. By Douglas J. Futuyma [Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 1998].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Fly Pushing: The Theory and Practice of Drosophila Genetics A comprehensive guide for genetic experiments and crosses with fruit flies, the favorite organism of geneticists. Includes concepts and classical procedures. By Ralph J. Greenspan [Plainview, N.Y.: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1997].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Genetics and the Origin of Species This influential work provides an exceptionally clear, though technical, synthesis of the early theory of population genetics, along with data showing genetic differences between species. The book provided evidence for the genetic basis of evolution. By Theodosius Dobzhansky [New York: Columbia University Press, 1937].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	On the Origin of Species This reprint of Darwin's classic outlines the theory of evolution by natural selection. By Charles R. Darwin [1859. Reprint, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	One Long Argument: Charles Darwin and the Genesis of Modern Evolutionary Thought In this book, the author provides a critical analysis of both Darwinian theories and the history of their gradual acceptance among scientists. By Ernst Mayr [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1991].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Punctuated Equilibria A thorough explanation of a then-new hypothesis, which suggested evolution has not one, but two tempos: long periods of gradual change and relative stasis punctuated by spurts of radical changes. By Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge [Paleobiology 3 (1977): 115-151].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Tempo and Mode in Evolution Bringing a paleontological perspective to the modern synthesis, the author of this book explains how population-level changes can lead to the evolution among species and higher taxa that one sees in the fossil record. By George Gaylord Simpson [New York: Columbia University Press, 1944].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Beak of the Finch This book is a beautifully written chronicle of more than three decades of study of evolution observed firsthand among the Galapagos finches. By Jonathan Weiner [New York: Vintage Books, 1999].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Causes of Evolution This classic text is one of the earliest explications of the modern synthesis and, by many accounts, the most clearly written. By John Burdon Sanderson Haldane [London: Longmans, 1932].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Evolutionary Synthesis: Perspectives on the Unification of Biology, 2nd ed. A collection of essays by the scientists who forged the modern synthesis, this work discusses how the modern synthesis unified all of biology, not just the evolutionary field. By Ernst Mayr [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1998].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Origins of Life: From the Birth of Life to the Origin of Language In this book, two scientists update their classic work, The Major Transitions in Evolution, for a wider audience. They focus primarily on the increasingly intricate mechanisms by which life's information has been passed from generation to generation -- from life's tiny origins to the formation of cooperative societies and the birth of language. By John Maynard and Eörs Szathmáry [Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm This paper is an argument against the notion that all phenotypic variation is the result of adaptive changes. By Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Lewontin [Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 105 (1979): 581-598].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

Molecular Evolution
	Resource	Type	Format	Topics Covered

	The Nuts and Bolts of DNA Replication A silent animation illustrates DNA replication, mutation, and base pairs. From Secret of Life: "Immortal Thread."	Video	QuickTime or RealPlayer get plug-in	Evolution Since Darwin

	Genetic Drift and the Founder Effect This image of polydactyly illustrates one symptom of Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, which is commonly found in the Amish. Ellis-van Creveld is one example of the founder effect and genetic drift.	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Discovery of DNA's Structure Images of the first X-ray picture of DNA and of scientist and crystallographer Rosalind Franklin. Franklin's crystallography led to the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.	Image	Graphic	Evolution Since Darwin

	NOVA Online: Cracking the Code of Life Watch the entire two-hour NOVA presentation (first broadcast on April 17, 2001), explore current research topics, and participate in a survey that asks questions like "Who should have access to your genomic information?"	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	You Try It: DNA Workshop This virtual molecular biology lab provides opportunities to perform DNA replication and protein synthesis by clicking and dragging the appropriate molecules into place. At the end of each activity, a text box pops up to explain the results. From A Science Odyssey Web site.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Are Mutations Harmful? This site presents the current understanding of genetic mutations, including types, mechanisms, and effects. The bibliography of original research papers is extensive. Hosted by Talk.Origins.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Dolan DNA Learning Center: Gene Almanac Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory's site teaches users about all aspects of the study of DNA. Flash animations illustrate topics in genetics, from classical to modern, in "DNA from the Beginning."	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Fossils cast doubt on Molecular Clock This Web page provides a summary of an original scientific paper that questions the concept of the so-called "molecular clock," used to calculate how long ago two or more species diverged. Hosted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, News in Science.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	GeneLetter GeneLetter is an online magazine of daily news and monthly features that discuss contemporary scientific, medical, and ethical issues surrounding advances in genetics research.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Human Genome Landmarks This site provides opportunities to explore how your genes are mapped onto your 23 pairs of chromosomes. Click on a chromosome of interest, then zoom in to see where the genes that influence particular traits (especially diseases) are located. Hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Human Genome Project Information This site provides useful information about the project and its implications for society at large. Hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Introduction to Chromosome Abnormalities A well-written and well-illustrated introduction to chromosome structure, function, and possible abnormalities, including deletions, duplications, ring formations, translocations, and inversions. Hosted by Chromosome Deletion Outreach, Inc.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Molecular structure of Nucleic Acids Visit this site for the full-text version of Watson and Crick's original 1953 paper, in which they explained the double-helix structure of DNA. They received a Nobel Prize for their discovery, which spawned the field of modern genetics. Hosted by Nature.com.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Nature Genome Gateway This site is a comprehensive, frequently updated source for fairly technical news and recent scientific papers about genome studies, in humans and other organisms alike. Hosted by the science journal Nature.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Primer on Molecular Genetics This educational site explains the principles and technical processes of genomic sequencing. Hosted by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Human Genome This site provides a comprehensive description of the Human Genome Project and includes the human genome itself. Hosted by The Wellcome Trust.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Molecular Anatomy of an Ancient Adaptive Event This article explains how molecular phylogenetic and other biochemical techniques were used to determine that one key enzyme evolved into two distinct forms billions of years ago. Hosted by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	The National Human Genome Research Institute This site links to detailed information about the Human Genome Project and its implications, related conferences and workshops, a genomic information hub, and more. Hosted by the National Institutes of Health.	External Link	HTML	Evolution Since Darwin

	Evolution in Mendelian Populations In this ground-breaking theoretical paper of the modern synthesis, the author first proposed the controversial notion of random genetic drift as an evolutionary mechanism. By Sewall Wright [Genetics 16 (1931): 97-159].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	It Ain't Necessarily So: The Dream of the Human Genome and Other Illusions Lewontin is a noted and thoughtful critic of much of modern evolutionary research. This book is a collection of his book reviews, along with replies and rebuttals from the authors. By Richard C. Lewontin [New York: New York Review of Books, 2000].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Molecular Evolution This comprehensive textbook begins with a thorough discussion of genetics then moves on to explain more complex concepts, such as molecular clocks and transposable elements. By Wen Hsiung Li [Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, Inc., 1997].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	Molecular Markers, Natural History and Evolution This book is a valuable treatise on using molecular data as a tool in evolutionary studies, including descriptions of methods. This text also covers evolutionary history and conservation biology. By J.C. Avise [London: Chapman and Hall, 1994].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Blind Watchmaker In this book, the author refutes the creationist claim that living things are so complex that they must have been purposefully designed, showing instead that they have been produced by a "blind" watchmaker -- natural selection. By Richard Dawkins [1986. Reprint, New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution This classic book describes the author's hypothesis that most observed molecular variation is the result of random genetic drift. By Motoo Kimura [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Selfish Gene In this book, the author questions the foundations of the modern synthesis by suggesting genes use organisms to get from one generation to the next instead of the other way around. By Richard Dawkins [New York: Oxford University Press, 1990].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin

	The Triple Helix: Gene, Organism, and Environment These lectures challenge the notions that genes are complete blueprints for organisms and demonstrates that random and environmental factors also exert important influences on phenotype. By Richard C. Lewontin [Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000].	Other Resources	Print	Evolution Since Darwin