Evolution

“There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” – Charles Darwin

A Galapagos finch perched on a branch. Taken from https://travelblog.goaheadtours.com/9-animals-youll-only-find-in-the-galapagos/.

Evolution may rightfully be considered the backbone of all modern understanding of biology. Early ideas put forth by Alfred Wallace and Charles Darwin have laid the foundation for how we biologists see the world around us. In the famous words of Ukrainian geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky: “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution.” Nature has produced a breathtaking array of forms and functions, each carefully selected over 4.5 billion years.