Evolution

 

Evolution is a hot topic today, with enthusiastic media coverage ranging from public controversy to exciting new discoveries. The word "evolution" simply means "change over time," and scientific knowledge itself evolves as researchers add to what is already understood about the world. In the 150 years since the publication of Charles Darwin's groundbreaking book The Origin of Species, new tools and knowledge have added to our understanding of evolution and continue to do so today.

 

 

Evolution: Here and Now presents the cutting-edge research of six University of Colorado-Boulder scientists who are approaching the study of evolution from six vastly different directions:

 

  • ★ Dog-sized early mammals that survived and flourished after the catastrophic event that killed off the dinosaurs...
  • ★ A soil bacterium that has quickly evolved to break down an environmental toxin...
  • ★ A furry rabbit relative that can only live in cold mountain air--in a world that is rapidly heating up...
  • ★ An early human ancestor in Africa whose extinction is a mystery after modern science revealed new evidence in the case...
  • ★ A little striped fish that lost its teeth millions of years ago but still has the genes to grow them...
  • ★ Tiny microbes that can withstand temperatures above 200°F inside a volcano--and maybe on Mars as well!

 

Join us as we look through contemporary eyes at the study of evolution: here and now.