The remains or traces of living things that existed thousands or millions of years ago.
Fossils
Similarity in structure resulting from common ancestry. Parallel structures in diverse organisms that share a common ancestor.
Homology or homologous structures
The mechanism in which humans modify species over generations through selective breeding of individuals with desired traits.
Artificial selection
An example of evolutionary adaptation that enables an Organism to blend into its environment.
Camouflage
These species are not found anywhere else in the world, except on the island that they evolved on.
Endemic species
A heritable trait that helps an Organism survive and reproduce in its present environment.
Adaptation
The British economist that stated that a population would outgrow the resources in a given place over time.
Thomas Malthus
The fact that nearly all organisms use a common genetic code is an example of this tenant of biology.
Unity of life
Organisms that have been genetically engineered by inserting genes of the same Organism or a different Organism into its genome.
Genetically modified organisms GMOs
Evidence that supports that all organisms evolved from a common ancestor is an example of this tenet of biology.
Unity of life
A protein that binds to the operator of prokaryotic genes to prevent transcription.
Repressor
A type of regulation in which the access to genes of the DNA is controlled by modifying histone proteins or DNA by adding methyl, phosphate, or acetyl groups.
Epigenetic control or regulation
Remnants or features that served important functions in an organism's ancestor but served no current purpose. For example, some snakes retain the pelvis and leg bones of their ancestors.
Vestigial structures
The scientist that suggested geological changes resulted from gradual processes that occurred over extremely long periods of time.
James Hutton
A protein that regulates gene expression by binding to a prokaryotic operator to increase transcription.
Activator
A molecule added to a protein that marks it for degradation.
Ubiquitin
Provide an example of a direct observation that supports the theory of evolution.
The evolution of drug-resistant bacteria
A process by which groups of organisms evolve in diverse directions from a common ancestor.
Divergent evolution
Evidence that supports the theory of evolution related to the development of embryos of diverse species.
Anatomical homology
Traits that arise when groups independently adapt to similar environments in similar ways. For example, the wings of a butterfly and the wings of a bat: both function to fly but they do not share a common ancestor.
Analogous structures or analogous traits
Some cells express certain genes and not others, and other cells express other sets of genes.
differential gene
A type of epigenetic control in which the DNA is packed loosely, allowing for gene expression.
DNA or histone acetylation
Genes that are shared in all organisms because of their importance to metabolic processes such as cellular respiration.
Homologous genes
A type of epigenetic regulation in which genes are silenced.
DNA or histone methylation
These genes code for negative regulator proteins such as RB, P53, P21.
Tumor suppressor genes