Question

In a short essay (100–150 words), explain how genetic information—along with an understanding of the process of descent with modification—enables scientists to reconstruct phylogenies that extend hundreds of millions of years back in time.

Answer 1

Genetic information and an understanding of descent with modification allow scientists to reconstruct phylogenies extending back millions of years.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to reconstruct phylogenies that extend hundreds of millions of years back in time, scientists use genetic information and an understanding of the process of descent with modification. By comparing the nucleotide sequence of a gene across different species, scientists can determine how closely related those species are. Genetic variations among species can be used as a measure of their evolutionary relationships. For example, by comparing the gene sequences of humans and chimpanzees, scientists have determined that these two species are closely related. This genetic analysis allows scientists to construct a timeline of the evolutionary history of life on Earth, known as the 'tree of life'.

Answer 2

Evolutionary biology illustrates both the pattern and processes. The processes of evolution are natural selection and other mechanisms, which modifies the genetic structure of the populations. These processes result in evolutionary patterns, that is, the products generated by evolution with time.

Phylogeny refers to the evolutionary history of a species or a group of species. In order to redevelop phylogeny, the scientists use systematics, that is, an analytical method to categorize the diversity and finding the evolutionary associations between the extinct and the living species.

The evidence used to redevelop phylogenies can be attained from the fossil record and from the biochemical, morphological, and genetic similarities between the species. The scientists are functioning to develop a universal tree of all life, which will get refined with the gathering of new information.