SCIE 2010U Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Louis Pasteur, Her Majesty'S Ship
1. Science of Pop Culture
Biology II - Evolution
The Origin of Life
For thousands of years, people believed that life was created through spontaneous
generation, the sudden emergence of living organisms from nonliving materials.
Louis Pasteur demonstrated that life did not arise from nonlife.
For thousands of years, people believed that species on Earth did not change.
But then what are fossils?
Jean Baptiste Lamarck argued that modern species were descended from ancestors that
had evolved to become better adapted to their environments.
Lamarck believed
that organisms
acquired new traits
over their lifetimes
and then passed
these traits to their
offspring. He called
this the inheritance
of acquired characteristics.
Charles Darwin argued that evolution—inherited changes in populations of organisms
over time—had produced all the living forms on Earth.
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Document Summary
For thousands of years, people believed that life was created through spontaneous generation, the sudden emergence of living organisms from nonliving materials. Louis pasteur demonstrated that life did not arise from nonlife. For thousands of years, people believed that species on earth did not change. Jean baptiste lamarck argued that modern species were descended from ancestors that had evolved to become better adapted to their environments. Lamarck believed that organisms acquired new traits over their lifetimes and then passed these traits to their offspring. He called this the inheritance of acquired characteristics. Charles darwin argued that evolution inherited changes in populations of organisms over time had produced all the living forms on earth. Darwin was inspired by the observations he made as the naturalist aboard the h. m. s. Beagle as it sailed around south america from 1831 to 1836. For example, the 13 species of finches on the gal pagos islands varied in beak size and shape, depending on their diet.
