Evolution Blog

Phylogenies are representations of relationships . They are a map of evolutionary history. Phylogenic trees can be used to show the similarities and differences between species. This can explain how closely a species is related to one another and why. For example, if a tiger is more closely related to a lion or a cheetah. In phylogenies, there are different types of groups you can see in the tree. One type is called a monophyletic group. In this type of group, all the species share a common ancestor. This type of group is shown below This group circled in orange represent a monophyletic group. This                     is because all six of the species come from the dot B. This dot represents a common ancestor they share. This one way to characterize and represent relationships.  Another type of group that can be used to show different types of relationships is called a paraphyletic group.   These ...

Charles Darwin made great evolutionary discoveries with his work on the theory of Natural Selection which was shown in his publication of “Origin of Species”, in 1859. Though, he is not the sole contributor to this theory. While in the seminary, Darwin met and worked with many naturalists. It is thought that this work with them grew his understanding and theory of Natural Selection.  Thomas Robert Malthus wrote a book about how food production is a limiting resource for the increasing human population. Darwin applied this concept to nature and that anything could constitute as a limiting resource.   The planet Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago. This video demonstrated the Earth’s timeline as one endzone being the past and the other being the present. Single-cell life began 3.8 billion years ago. This is hard to fathom that single-celled organisms have been present so long compared to animals that appeared .53 billion years ago. This gap between single-celled to actua...

Learning and understanding are significant in virtually all aspects of life. There are many different approaches and techniques that individuals can use to establish the most efficient way to learn information. Challenge and repetition are pieces to effectively learn new things. I use these tools in my daily study habits. I like to make flashcards, rewrite my notes, and have someone quiz me over the information to make sure I can explain the material. Another important aspect of learning is how an individual perceive themselves. This can determine whether they are successful or not. This is why positive motivation and positive engagement is very important in the process of learning Focus and diffused modes are two different types of learning that can occur in your brain. It is shown that going back and forth from these modes can provide fresh insights and success in learning. I was surprised to learn that Thomas Edison used this technique when he was stuck on a problem. He ...

Hello Everyone!      My name is Morgan Pringnitz and I am a senior this year at Oklahoma State. I am a biology major with a minor in microbiology! I want to become a Physician Assistant and have been applying to PA schools this last summer, which has been kind of stressful but also exciting. I am from Kingfisher Oklahoma and that is where I spent the last couple of months during the COVID pandemic. I have one brother who also goes to OSU, but he spent his summer in Texas at an internship. Therefore, I spent a lot of my summer with my little cousin Carter who is six years old and has a lot of questions to ask that kept me busy.  I also love to read and spent all the summer getting to read some new books. Some of the few I read was "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Franny and Zooey", "The Alchemist", and "How Emotions are Made". I am super excited to be back in Stillwater and for this semester! Here is a picture of my little cousin Carter who I spent ...