Hello Darwin, my old friend. I’ve come to read from you again. You comfort me when I grow weary, of people saying “ ‘tis just a theory.”

The truth of evolutionary adaptation is stranger than the fiction of creation. As Darwin wrote in his “Origin of Species” in 1859, “... from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”

In this lecture, I will explain evolution by both natural and artificial selection. There are misconceptions about both, e.g., intelligent design for natural selection and GMO foods for artificial selection.

Some fun and important examples of evolution include:

• Human evolution — We share 7% of our DNA with bacteria, 36% with fruit flies and 98% with Chimpanzees. We were evolved to run and sweat. Our vestigial wisdom teeth and appendix are examples of unintelligent design.
• Evolution of our enemies — Sadly, overuse of antibiotics continues to lead to resistant bacterial superbugs, crop pests and weeds.
• Coevolution — Spectacular examples are insects that pollinate plants and many animals, including humans, that eat plants.
• Biomimicry — We can benefit by imitating nature’s adaptations.
• Astounding animal adaptations — My favorites are anatomy and physiology of birds and leatherback sea turtles, and highly social honeybees and naked mole rats.
• Amazing plant adaptations include air plants and carnivorous plants.

Register Early! There is a $5 charge for registering on the day of a one-time lecture or event.

Course # W1F1 — One Time Event
Place:	Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus
Dates:	Friday, February 12 2016
Time:	11:15 - 12:45 PM
Fee:	$25 / member; $35 / non-member

Register Now