The Gaps of the Story of Evolution - Book Report/Review Example

?Carl Zimmer’s appears to attempt to fill in the gaps of the story of evolution. He believes that macroevolution is the reason for the evolution of species, particularly cetacean and arthropods. Macroevolution as compared to microevolution entails that his study is more generalized and broader in its scope. One of the main differences between the two is the small changes from one generation after another as produced by natural selection. Like Charles Darwin before him, he also believes that the changes are brought about by genetic mutation and adaptation to different environments, but he attempts to answer the gap in the story as to how land animals went back to water and how water animals went back to land. He offered to explanations as to why evolution came about. The first one, of course would be exaption or what we refer to as the evolutionary change which involved the mutation of certain body parts in order to adapt. The second one is the correlated progression which pertains to the mutation of one part and the rest of the morphological structure will also mutate in order to adjust to the changes of that part. He provided theories and new discoveries pertaining to the evolution of tetrapods as water animals with gills into tetrapods travelling on land and breathes air and for some yet unknown reason, returned of some back into the water. He used a prose form for the book wherein the stories of the scientists are intertwined used as a basis for the chapters of the book as the story of evolution is studied by scientists and research would be later on be picked up by the next generation of scientists who would further aid the development of the story of evolution. Zimmer aimed to answer the puzzles in the gap of the story of evolution and find the cause of why our “fishy ancestors” climbed out of the water to migrate to the dry land, and why, for some reason, the whales went back into the water. The actual transition, up to date, is still what we find the major hole in the account of evolution. Zimmer also cited a series of noteworthy discoveries in a variety of places, wherein paleontologists discovered fish phalanges and whales with limbs. They were also able to record the ecological forces that resulted to the manifestation of the new body plans which geneticists were able to identify essential genetic changes that were directly involved. He elaborated on how different fields of science work together into contributing information to the evolution story. He attempted to show how a hand is made, or rather, how it came about. It used the bones of a bat, mole and dugong to show the correlation between them. He also used the concept of embryology and the study of how embryos formed hand bones. Based on one of the scenes, particularly with Richard Owen publishing a paper stating something only to be contradicted by another scientist who published an article on the same topic only to realize after re-examining his work that he made a mistake anyone could have made, Owen palpably ignored the facts in order to get his theory fit the mold exactly the way he planned it, Zimmer is apparently of the point of view that scientists are just as human as everyone else who are well capable of committing mistakes but are culpable culprits in capable of altering data. He also claims that evolution occurs when individuals with a specific genetic variation have more children than the others. Over the course of many generations, some genetic variations will be sure to dominate and continue to exist. Changes in the DNA are also known as the source of genetic variation which leads to mutation. He discussed the three sections, "Genes and Morphology," "Limb Development," and "Internal Controls in Developing Systems," where he tried to explain the role of genes in controlling the physical attributes of the whole organism. Utilizing the different concepts explains how morphological evolution happens. Change in the DNA or genetic mutation can cause the functions of a protein to change if the mutation will happen in the area of the gene where protein code is located. Mutation plays a role in how the changes in the time or places of the activation of that gene are located, particularly if it will happen in the control elements of the genes. Any one of these sort of mutation can lead to the alteration of the morphological aspects of the organism. However, the internal controls of development of the organism will make sure that the changed in the body part will work properly with the other parts of the organism. This, up to now, is one of life’s greatest architecture, metaphorically speaking. Based on his theory, the morphological evolution can happen in the course of the mutation of single genes and does not require all genes to mutate all at once. Fossil substantiation proposes that land animals are indirect descendents of lobe-finned fish akin to the coelacanth. Disparate to most fish today, these fish exhibit bones in their fins that are astonishingly comparable to the bones found in modern animal limbs. Using the molecular and development biology of limb development as a basis, Zimmer goes to prove that mutation that could have lasted for millions of years; the specimens found could have well developed limbs similar to what we can find on amphibians. Personally, I find that the book was not as impressive as I expected it to be. The book, though, is very technical and uses a lot of jargons which any layman would find hard to understand. The use of story form or prose form leaves me wondering as to which parts are actually real and which parts are fictional. Which of the incidents actually happened and which character actually exists? The idea of mutation is quite familiar. Human Immuno Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are known to be caused by retrovirus which means that it can replicate itself as well as mutate inside the cells. SARS was a chicken virus that mutated into a virus that can affect humans causing a lot of disturbance in a lot of countries. Mutation is indeed very familiar. Zimmer’s arguments were very interesting, but not entirely original. We were told that we are the highest form of animals before, by Charles Darwin, so the concept of whales having legs is entirely feasible and putting into consideration that whales are mammals, it is quite possible that they used to be land animals. He also used parasites as grounds for his arguments, which is also feasible. His implication, however, pertaining to scientist quite capable of manipulation of data is in contrast with his claims of how information recorded could be interconnected followed and used by one generation into another. How can you base your research with this uncertainty in mind? There is no such thing as a perfect research. The research, however, is the continuous process of digging up information, demolishing them and perfecting it, or at least try to. Despite the new discoveries of fossils and theories he presented, the book still leaves me wanting. I feel that the information is still inept and the theories not quite so different from the ones we have learned in the past. I have experienced dissecting frogs just like everyone else, and despite their amphibian classification, the exhibit such unnerving similarities to human structure, probably in a less complicated pattern, but still the same. We also learned that monkeys are the closest to human morphology, possibilities are endless. We know that we should change whatever disinfectant we are using every now and then due to specimens with different sets of genes and gene will be transferred and propagate and the new set of specimens will be immune to whatever disinfectant we are using. Zimmer wasn’t able to properly resolve whether baleen whales are descendants of toothed whales or if they emerged separately, also he wasn’t able to say whether lungs developed from swim bladders or if it’s the swim bladders that developed from lungs. What if the research is wrong? What if it all started on the land and not from the water? I will probably encourage some of my college friends and family to read the book. It is still entertaining. However, I will not encourage an individual who is not familiar with the jargons to read it. Read More