Snigdha+Improbable+Destinies


 * Snigdha Sompalli 4A **

 I went to the Science Cafe to listen to Professor Jonathan Losos talk about how the power of evolution. He got us thinking, how would the world be if an asteroid hadn’t hit earth and kill the dinosaurs millions of years ago? In other words, would humans and animals have evolved the same? We then watched a clip from the movie “The Little Dinosaur”, which was based on this idea.

 Professor Losos then brought up the idea of convergent evolution. He explained to us how paleontologist Simon Conway Morris believed that very different species evolve in similar ways, based on similar external factors, otherwise known as convergent evolution. However, he also explained that not every species has experienced convergent evolution. One of the examples Losos gave us had to do with kangaroos in Australia and American deer. They both have similar niches, but they look nothing alike. Another example was with lemurs and woodpeckers. Both make holes in trees to grab grubs, but they do it in different ways. Lemurs use their long fingers, while woodpeckers make use of their long, prickly tongues.

 This lecture relates to APES because we have learned about the concept of convergent evolution in class before. We also learned how evolution doesn’t take direct paths, and its based heavily on external factors and forces.