THE EVOLUTION REVOLUTION

The lastest NEWSWEEK carries a feature article by Sharon Begley regarding "The New Science of Human Evolution". This field is changing dramatically with the advance of DNA technology. Up until very recently, anthropologists thought in terms of "begats" like the Old Testament. This species of hominid begat this species which in turn begat that species, etc. etc. etc. They are now finding that distinct lines of lineage like this are not the case. Anthropologists are finding that "nature" has tried experiments several times before one of them caught on. They have discovered a homonid which anatomically looked a lot like homo sapiens that lived several million years before our current line of humans split from the chimpanzees. But this older hominid was a dead end ..... he didn't make it.

It's only been since the science of DNA research has developed that scientists have discovered the many paths that life takes until it finds a "successful" line, or at least successful for that time. The visual I have with this post is a photo of a new exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History. The new display talks as much of DNA as it does of "stones and bones" in anthropological science.

The full article which appeared on MSN today can be viewed at ....... http://www.msnbc.com/id/17542627/site/newsweek/?GT1=9145

Look for the extensive article in the Tech/Science section in the left tool bar.

Sharon Begley will be on a live broadcast on MSNBC tomorrow, 3/14, at 11:00 AM CST. She will be answering questions submitted by viewers. You can submit questions to her today by accessing the website.