Evolution

Evolution

The term evolution is used to describe heritable  changes  in  one  or  more characteristics of a population of species from one generation to the other. The present state of mankind on earth is the outcome of three kinds of evolution - chemical, organic and social or cultural evolution.

Radiometric dating of meteorites yields an estimated age for the solar system and for earth as around 4.5 – 4.6 billion years. The new born earth remained inhospitable for at least few hundred millions years. At first it was too hot. This is because the collisions of the planetesimals that coalesced to form earth released much heat to melt the entire planet. Eventually outer surface of the earth cooled and solidified to form a crust. Water vapour released from the planet’s interior cooled and condensed to form oceans. Hence origin of life can be reconstructed using indirect evidences. Consequently, biologists have turned to gather disparate bits of information and filling them together like pieces of jig saw puzzle. Many theories have been proposed to explain the origin of life. Few have been discussed in this chapter.