Evolution with the Amazing Traits it give us. Response

While rummaging through my Google reader, I came upon this quote from Mercede's Blog:

Evolution is an interesting subject, one that affects us all. Take a look at fossils you can find in almost every museum, and compare them to the knowledge we have of their current descendants. 

AHHHHHHH! Yes! And the question that comes up is why was the Brown Beetle naturally selected? What was it about that Brown Beetle that made it more attractive to the opposite gender that allowed it to multiply?! Evolution is one of the most amazing processes on Earth. To think that Darwin was able to piece it all together without the benefit of modern day scientific tools/techniques. I consider him a genius. 


The way you gave visual examples of evolution really helped make your point. Comparative Anatomy is fascinating and those scientists that can look at a set of bones in two different animals and tell how they are related really have my admiration. Developmental Biology is also a fascinating field that is providing us with tons of evolutionary knowledge. Comparing developmental stages in wombs is like watching a video on evolution. All of the stages are there in one form or another, like gill slits and tails. Amazing! 

You are right, the whole notion of evolution brings up so many more questions about species relationships and about how organisms are still evolving. How are humans evolving? There is an interesting television show called “Stan Lee’s Superhumans”. Yes, THAT Stan Lee, Mr. Comic Book writer himself. The show really makes you think about how humanity is evolving, about how our DNA might be mutating and about how some of those mutations might be naturally selected for. For instance, there is man here in the Bay Area that can run literally forever (it seems). He ran the equivalent of 10 marathons in one run back in 2008, as an experiment. When two scientists examined him they found that his body has the ability to get rid of lactic acid and in fact, it seems to use the lactic acid for energy somehow. He has some kind of mutation that allows him that Superhuman ability. Fascinating!
In the end, it is amazing to see the roads evolution is taking us down!