Evolutionary Scientists Are Looking for a Way to Predict Future Events

The National Science Foundation has funded some major new studies that aim to explore evolution at the cellular and genetic levels and compare result to biological evidence and fossil records. One group will examine genetic variation in baleen whales and another will examine the progress from one-celled to multi-celled organisms. They hope to gain knowledge that will enable the development of a Model, akin to the Standard Model of physics, that will permit predictions of what is next for our planet.

Man-made influences like dioxins, phthalates and PCBs and man-made escalation and acceleration of cyclical global trends through global warming have made it an urgent matter to be able to predict what we should expect on our planet. The most readily understandable illustration of this is ocean fish.

Our oceans are overburdened by presence of alien chemical matter. For example, plastics line the bottoms of seabed's (and freshwater beds) and off-gas toxins like PCB s and dioxins; mercury is so prevalent in ocean fish that pregnant women are warned against eating tuna and other sea fish on a regular basis. Science seeks a model from which predictions of future complications from these man-made intrusions can be made.

Baleen whales are toothless whales and are thought to be the largest mammal ever to live on Earth. They feed through a baleen, which is a comb-like adaptation, that hangs down from their upper jaw and filters plankton and other food from sea water. A search for the genetic and biological variations incorporated with fossil studies is expected to lead to important evidence from which a model can be developed that will permit scientists to generalize information about baleen whales to future species changes.

A one-celled organism making up a group of algae called volvocine algae is thought to have in recent evolutionary developed a genetic pathway leading to multi-celled volvocine algae. If this pathway can be identified and understood in terms cell specialization and complexity, important information will be available for the development of a standard model.

It is expected that the world will show a great deal of interest in these studies and follow them closely. With the way global warming is accelerating and species like the polar bears and penguins are suffering, the ability to predict--and perhaps prevent--is thought to be a very important scientific step.

Resource: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111678&govDel=USNSF_51