L_042_03.pdf. New Fossil May be ‘Missing Link’ in Human Evolution. The fossils of the species, dubbed Australopithecus sediba, were among an extensive collection found in newly-exposed cave sediments at the Malapa Cave site, about 28 miles northwest of Johannesburg. They are the most complete early hominid fossils ever found. The finds shed light on a sparsely documented era of evolution when four or more ape-like hominid species lived in Africa. Because the skeletons are nearly complete, scientists can relate the face to the hand, the body, and the brain of a single individual. Consequently, this is the most complete hominid skeletons we have until the Neanderthals.
According to the in depth study published in the journal Science, while the tiny skulls, long arms, and diminutive bodies were all quite chimp-like, the ankles, hands, and pelvis were surprisingly modern. About 4 feet tall, the fossils of Australopithecus sediba (southern wellspring ape) were discovered in 2008 and first reported last year. So far Dr. "MISSING LINK" FOUND: New Fossil Links Humans, Lemurs? May 19, 2009—Meet "Ida," the small "missing link" found in Germany that's created a big media splash and will likely continue to make waves among those who study human origins.
In a new book, documentary, and promotional Web site, paleontologist Jorn Hurum, who led the team that analyzed the 47-million-year-old fossil seen above, suggests Ida is a critical missing-link species in primate evolution (interactive guide to human evolution from National Geographic magazine). (Among the team members was University of Michigan paleontologist Philip Gingerich, a member of the Committee for Research and Exploration of the National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News.) The fossil, he says, bridges the evolutionary split between higher primates such as monkeys, apes, and humans and their more distant relatives such as lemurs. "This is the first link to all humans," Hurum, of the Natural History Museum in Oslo, Norway, said in a statement.
More on Missing Links —Brian Handwerk. Evolution is a Fact and a Theory. Copyright © 1993-2002 [Last Update: January 22, 1993] hen non-biologists talk about biological evolution they often confuse two different aspects of the definition. On the one hand there is the question of whether or not modern organisms have evolved from older ancestral organisms or whether modern species are continuing to change over time. On the other hand there are questions about the mechanism of the observed changes... how did evolution occur? Biologists consider the existence of biological evolution to be a fact. In the American vernacular, "theory" often means "imperfect fact"--part of a hierarchy of confidence running downhill from fact to theory to hypothesis to guess. Gould is stating the prevailing view of the scientific community.
Let me try to make crystal clear what is established beyond reasonable doubt, and what needs further study, about evolution. Also: Today, nearly all biologists acknowledge that evolution is a fact. Five Major Misconceptions about Evolution. Five Major Misconceptions about Evolution Copyright © 1995-1997 by Mark Isaak[Last Update: October 1, 2003] large part of the reason why Creationist arguments against evolution can sound so persuasive is because they don't address evolution, but rather argue against a set of misunderstandings that people are right to consider ludicrous.
The Creationists wrongly believe that their understanding of evolution is what the theory of evolution really says, and declare evolution banished. In fact, they haven't even addressed the topic of evolution. (The situation isn't helped by poor science education generally. Even most beginning college biology students don't understand the theory of evolution.) The five propositions below seem to be the most common misconceptions based on a Creationist straw-man version of evolution.
Evolution has never been observed. "Evolution has never been observed. " Biologists define evolution as a change in the gene pool of a population over time. Conclusion.