What evidence is there for evolution?

Question

What evidence is there for evolution?

Answer 1

-the modern cell phone/ipod/pda

Answer 2

Start with fossil evidence.  Tons of that and more found daily.

Next, look at comparative anatomy.  You can compare different animals from different parts of the world and see the similarities and differences.  A great example would be Darwin's finches on the Galapogos versus those from South America.

Look at DNA.  A tool that is very new is allowing comparison to show how closely animals relate to each other.

Also, look at genetic research.  Mendel's work with peas showed how genes are passed from one generation to another and how differences in these genes can cause plants to have different qualities.  Mutation research has shown how these genes can be altered.

Now look at the practical application.  Selective breeding has been done for thousands of years.  The concepts that allow selective breeding to work are the same concepts that allow evolution to work.

Answer 3

Your not an ape are you.

Answer 4

There's a tremendous amount of evidence, just type evolution into a search engine near you. Have a look at the link below. You will unfortunately also get hits for "intelligent design" which claims to be an alternative explanation for life but it isn't science.

Answer 5

Quoting from another answer I gave on this subject:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

There are several branches of evidence for evolution:

[1] fossil evidence - such as the almost-complete record of the evolution of the horse, the fact that different organisms appear and then disappear at different times through the fossil record (no rabbits in the precambrian era, and no veloceraptors nowadays)

[2] comparative genetics - organisms have genes that are closer in sequence to more closely-related organisms; even "junk DNA" shows evidence of the "relatedness" of organisms

[3] comparative biochemistry - all life-forms use the same 5 nucleotides, and the same 20 amino acids; organisms that are more closely related will have similar biochemical pathways (Old World primates have 3-colour vision, New World primates only have 2-colour vision)

[4] geographical distribution - organisms which are more closely related are often found closer to each other (marsupials in Australia, for example), historical migration patterns, etc.

[5] comparative anatomy - the pentadactyl limb, insect mouthparts, snakes with atavistic hindlimbs, etc.

[6] observed evolution - emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria and pesticide resistance in mosquitoes, industrial melanism of the peppered moth, diversification of Cichlid fishes in African lakes; also actual observed speciation events like reproductive isolation of laboratory strains of Drosophila fruitflies, and emergence of the ability to metabolise citrate in a long-term E. coli evolution study.

In all seriousness - there is *far* too much evidence to sensibly list in one answer here. Check the links below for some more evidence.

Answer 6

Galapogos finches.

(Dasha)