-
Period: to
Linnaeus (Taxonomy)
Carolus Linnaeus developed the two-part, or binomial, system of naming organisms according to genus and species. In addition, Linnaeus adopted a system for grouping similar species into a heirarchy of increasingly general categories. -
Period: to
Hutton (Gradualism)
-
Period: to
Lamarck (Evolution)
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, a French naturalist, published the first theory of evolution. His theory was that evolution occurred through the inheritance of acquired characteristics. -
Period: to
Malthus (Populations)
-
Period: to
Cuvier (Paleontology)
Georges Cuvier recorded the history of life and discovered that it is contained in fossils which he doccumented while examining species in the Paris Basin. -
Hutton Proposes His Theory of Gradualism
Hutton explained Earth's geologic features by the theory of gradualism, which holds that profound change is the cumulative product of slow but continuous processes. -
Malthus Publishes "Essay on the Principle of Population."
-
Period: to
Lyell (Uniformitarianism)
Charles Lyell incorporated Hutton's gradualism into the theory of uniformitarianism. Lyell believed that deologic processes have not changed throughout history. -
Lamarck Publishes His Theory of Evolution
-
Period: to
Darwin (Evolution and Natural Selection)
Darwin's Origin of Species developed two main points: the occurance of evolution and natural selection as its mechanism. Darwin's theory of natural selection unified biology and placed it in the realm of science. -
Period: to
Mendel (Inheritance)
Mendel's works with pea plants published, setting the background for the basis of natural selection. -
Period: to
Wallace (Evolution and Natural Selection)
Alfred Russel Wallace publishes a paper coming to some of the same conclusions as Darwin, including natural selection. Darwin's friends present both Wallace's and Darwin's theories at the Linnean Society. -
Lyell Publishes "Principles of Geology"
Darwin read Lyell's Principles of Geology while on board the HMS Beagle. Lyell's ideas, together with his own experiences on the Galapagos, had Darwin doubting the traditional view that Earth was static and had been created only a few thousand years ago. -
Period: to
Darwin travels arround the world on HMS Beagle
-
Darwin Begins His Notebooks On the Origin of Species
The Origin of Species developed two main points: the occurance of evolution and natural selection as its mechanism. Natural selection is based on differential success in reproduction, made possible because of heritable variation among the individuals of any population and the tendency for a population to produce many more offspring than the environment it can support. Natural selection results in adaptation, the presence in living things of heritable traits well suited to the local environment. -
Darwin's Theory
Acording to Darwin's Theory Evolution is validated by evidence from homologies, similarities between species that are due to common ancestry. Biogeography and the fossil record generally support the evolutionary deductions based on homologies. -
Wallace Sends His Theory to Darwin
-
Human Genome Project
The Human Genome Project was started in 1990 with the goal of sequencing and identifying all three billion chemical units in the human genetic instruction set, finding the genetic roots of disease and then developing treatments. It is anticipated that detailed knowledge of the human genome will provide new avenues for advances in medicine and biotechnology. -
Human Genome
The haploid human genome contains approximately 20,000 protein-coding genes, significantly fewer than had been anticipated. Protein-coding sequences account for only a very small fraction of the genome (approximately 1.5%), and the rest is associated with non-coding RNA molecules, regulatory DNA sequences, LINEs, SINEs, introns, and sequences for which as yet no function has been elucidated. -
DNA Switches at U of Washington
The locations of millions of DNA ‘switches’ that dictate how, when, and where in the body different genes turn on and off have been identified by a research team led by the University of Washington in Seattle. Without these switches, called regulatory DNA, genes are inert. Using a new technology developed with funding from the National Human Genome Research Institute’s ENCODE project, UW researchers created the first detailed maps of where regulatory DNA is located within different cells.
