Okay... I am an applied Microbiologist, so.. I will try to help on the issue of evolution.
Evolution could be defined as the hierachal process where by life began on earth and from one small life form man evolved as a higher being.
Tricky area as some scientist beleive this began with a big bang, like a spontaneous reaction and others think it began by a slow process that was almost unnoticed and then single celled and multicellur organisms evolved then multicellular organisms developed specialised mechanisms and functions and so on.
From a religion based perspective, in hearing this , one could easily be quick to say hey now way did I evolve from a nematode.
That is fair.
Let us however consider the important aspects of the study and applications of evolution today.
- I can confirm that there are singe celled and multicelled organisms, I know and can confirm that there are multicelled organisms and single celled organisms who have a very complex and multidisciplinary genetic structure and functionalism. We use them and benefit from them in everyday life right down to the water we drink, the oxygen in the air we breathe, the food we eat and digestion of our food as well as waste control and management to mention a few.
- If one stops to consider the evolutionary theory in a nuclear environment, then it exists eg every individual is inherently endowed with genetic components that are selectively, randomly selected and segregated during the conception process, i.e you get half of your mum and half of your dad and your mum and dad are half their mums and dads and so on.. ..... This process is one that is random and selective and some rely on what scientists call Darwinian laws to try to expantiate on this i.e Charles Darwin. The simplicity of this is that the above is the process of evolution in todays world and it is proven to be correct within scientific parameters but because I beleive in Almighty Allah, I refer to what is known as random selection and independent assortment, independent segregation and so on as the power of Allah as no man has yet worked out how each individuals genetic makeup is selected except that some are traits that are common to women and men and this is only because women genetically inherit a different set of chromosomes to men. XX vs XY, so if you only find a genetic trait on a Y chromosome, you can easily deduce that there is high probability it does affect or influence that trait in a woman and only a man and or can only be passed to a man and not to a woamn etc.
- The advances to science mean that we are now able to pin down certain traits which are genetic and can cause disease. The thing to remember here is that although some people are more predisposed to a disease or illness due to carrying a trait which may increase their risk it does not necessarily mean they go on to have that illness and likewise others may develop similar illnesses and diseases due to other reasons sometimes referred to as environmental influences.
- Advances in science also teach us that if we all have chromosomes eg XX and XY then imagine a great big Y and a great big X that is made up of little dots, each dot is a trait, like skin colour, eye colour, hair texture, hair colour, size of hands, size of feet, ears nose shape, nose size, lip size and so on and these are independently sorted, randomly passed on by chance during conception then evolution becomes an important area of study for use in control of illness and disease.
By the way,.... interestingly, microoganisms do the same and they have powers stronger than humans as a collective to mutate at a more rapid rate, that is when they adapt and change certain genetic traits in their cellular structure to prevent them from dying out like becoming heat or anitbiotic resistant and here I should also say that microorganisms are responsible for good things too like ecosystem maintennance, food production, study of and control of disease and much more.
Overall .... I would say evolution is a viable and existing aspect of life and there is a lot of evidence to give credence to this phenomena and it is worthwhile to note that in the scientific community, there are varied and very different thoughts, ideas, philosophies and so on regarding this matter. and to be quite honest, during my first years of study, in class we were asked to indicate if we beleived evolution, genetic inheritance, Mendellian law etc, I did not put my hand up to indicate anything and no one noticed.
Now that I have finished undergraduate study, I still won't, but I will and have explained as best as I can bits of what I remember right now as I am writing of what I know.
I hope it helps those who are in the dark on the topic.
Masalaam
