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2.5 How Life Diversified Version 1.2 March 2012
2.5 Biological Conclusions (Statement
11) Science currently explains ● Ways in which life diversified from simple single cells
into complex cells and multicellular organisms; ● How life diversified, how complex organs like eyes
developed, how complex ecosystems developed in which the species all depend on
each other; ● How we came to have flowers and seeds, sexual reproduction,
insects, worms, fish, amphibians, reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, mammals and
primates; ● How life intrinsically involves consumers and producers,
predators and prey, competition and cooperation, pain and suffering, pleasure
and drives. ● Larger brain sizes partly reflect body size ● This explains the diversity, the complexity, and the
ubiquity of life. …more This brief summary will be updated after more work and review against the experts, and over the longer term it can be updated as science learns more, but it will only be replaced by a better story. A huge variety of different life forms
developed; many lasted only a short time, some lasted for millions of years,
and some exist today. Some cells survived better when they stuck
together and some specialized, eg for processing nutrients or responding to
stimuli, emitting or in response to different chemical signals. As the millennia passed, ecosystems became more
complex as species evolved together, and intermediate species died out. Some body parts originally used for one
purpose adapted to another, then the original purpose was lost. Some larger species survived better if some
cells carried signals to different parts of the body, evolving into nervous
systems and brains Some species developed long symmetrical bodies,
like worms, and some developed repeating segments, like centipedes. Some species developed cartilage and in some
fish species the cartilage became bony, and fins with bones were use to “walk”
on the ocean floor, then to flop (like walruses) on the edge of the ocean,
until they became legs, (like on frogs) and some species developed lungs
enabling them to breath air. Some
species produced eggs with hard casings so they could survive out of water, and
some species kept their eggs inside their bodies until their young grew
more. Some species – such as plants and fungi - obtained
their nutrients directly from the air, soil, water and sunlight that surrounded
them. Others species – such as animals -
obtained their nutrients by eating plants, and other my eating other animals. The development of nervous systems which
responded to the competition for resources introduced pain and suffering. Sexual reproduction generated greater diversity in plants and animals, and now we have flowers, seeds, grains and fruits, insects, fish, reptiles, birds, mammals and primates (monkeys and apes), and many species are now driven by sexual instincts. * * * * * * *
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