Patterns of biological evolution
Divergent evolution is a pattern in which (according to mainstream evolutionary thought) two groups develop into distinct species due to differences in the demands driven by the environmental circumstances. Divergent evolution occurs (it is theorized) when a character is subject to different selective pressures or sufficient genetic drift. Thus the two characters gradually become increasingly different.
Nearly half of Americans reject the common ancestry of life predicted by the theory of evolution (in which divergant evolution is thought to play a role), on Biblical grounds. Other Americans would be willing to believe the theory, if any proof were shown to them{fact}.
A recent article in Nature supposedly has demostrated the existence of this mechanism in a labratory setting.[1]
Notes
- ↑ Yoshikuni Y, Ferrin TE, Keasling JD. Designed divergent evolution of enzyme function. Nature. 2006 Feb 22