Origin of the Universe: The Big Bang Theory

• The most widely accepted scientific model suggests the universe began from an incredibly hot,
dense point called a singularity. This singularity created a massive explosion called “The big
bang”,
• The Big Bang took place approximately 13.8 billion years ago which was the beginning of
Space and time.
• Nucleosynthesis: Within the first minute, temperatures cooled enough for protons and neutrons
to form the first atomic nuclei (H, He).
• The universe then started to form out of the gas cloud, gathered by the gravitation, eventually
igniting the formation stars and galaxy.

Theories for Origin of Life

Life on Earth is said to be began much later of the big bang, roughly 3.7 to 4 billion years ago. The
origin of life on earth is one of the most complicated and oldest problems of biology. Different group
of people in different time line believe proposed and believed different theories about how the life
was created. Some of the major theories are:
1. Theory of special creation:
• Life formation on the earth may have been taken place due to supernatural or divine forces or
an “GOD”. There are different kinds of variation by different religions.
• HINDU CONCEPT: The whole world, plants, oceans, rivers, humans, animals are created by
Lord Brahma.
• CHRISTIAN & ISLAM CONCEPT: God created the universe, human beings, plants, oceans
and rivers in six days. All the plants and animals were created at once. All the living organisms
were created in the same form as they exist today.
2. Theory of Panspermia (Cosmozoic Theory)
• This theory suggests that life didn't actually start on Earth. “Seeds" of life (spores or organic
molecules) were brought to Earth via meteorites, comets, or cosmic dust.
3. Theory of Catastrophism
• According to the theory the life on earth was created by the destruction of the previous life.
But this theory failed to elaborate how the life came to the earth.
4. Theory of Abiotic generation
• This theory suggests that the life is created from the abiotic substances. For example, in
ancient times it was believed that the reptiles were created from the muds from the bank of
the Nile River. And Microorganism is created from the air/water.
• This theory was cancelled because it is scientifically impossible to create some thing living
out of just abiotic factors.
• There is another aspect of Abiogenesis, termed as “Chemo-genesis” where the Life is created
from the evolved chemicals available from the Primordial Earth environment.
5. Theory of biotic generation
• As per this theory the life on earth was created from a pre-existing life form. Louise Pasture
conducted a “Swan neck experiment” where he observed bacterial growth from a pre-existing
bacterial culture.
• Again, this theory also failed to explain the origin of life.
6. Theory of Chemical Generations
• The chemical origin theory is a derivation of Abiogenesis theory which also helps in
understanding the Biogenesis theory. A.I. Oparin (1923) and J.B.S. Haldane (1928)
proposed the Chemical theory of evolution.
• Earth was formed nearly 4.5 billion years ago. In its primary stages, Earth was a hot, hostile
place with volcanic eruptions, intense lightning, and high levels of ultraviolet radiation.
• The primitive earth did not have an atmosphere. It was anaerobic.
• This simple anaerobic atmosphere probably consisted of these gases including methane (CH₄),
ammonia (NH₃), water vapor (H₂O), hydrogen (H₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂), and nitrogen (N₂).
However, free oxygens (O₂) did not exist then.
a) Oparin And Haldane theory
• In 1924 Alexander Oparin proposed that life began within the "primordial soup" of Earth's
early oceans.
• J.B.S. Haldane also proposed a similar theory independently. In his view, the primitive oceans
of Earth formed a kind of "hot dilute soup" consisting of organic molecules which, after a
long series of time, led to the origin of life.
b) Phases of Chemical Evolution
• Chemical evolution is thought to have consisted of a series of steps leading to the emergence
of life:
I. Formation of simple Organic Molecules
o Miller-Urey Experiment (1953): Stanley Miller and Harold Urey experimentally
tested the Oparin-Haldane hypothesis in the laboratory by simulating the conditions
on the early Earth. Electric sparks, intended to resemble lightning, were passed
through a mixture of water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen gases. At the end of the
week, they obtained simple organic molecules, such as amino acids (the ingredients
for building proteins).
o This experiment proved that organic molecules could be synthesized under prebiotic
conditions, thereby validating the concept of chemical evolution.
II. Polymerization of Complex Organic Molecules:
o With the simple organic molecules, consisting of amino acids and nucleotides,
concentrating in the "primordial soup," they began to polymerize-that is, combine to
form large molecules. For example:
o Amino acid is polymerised into Protein which is used as a building block. Nucleic acid
is created from the nitrogenous bases which is used for the DNA and RNA creation.
Simple sugar evolving into complex polysaccharide.
III. Protocells Formation
o Some organic compounds spontaneously aggregate to form membrane-like structures,
which are called Protocell or Probionts.
o This non-cellular life form is then further evolved to 1st cellular life form.
IV. RNA world Hypothesis
 o After the formation of RNA, it became the 1st self-replicating molecule. Some
hypothesis suggests that the Life on earth began by the replication of RNA. Which led
to gradual Evolution.

Theories of Evolution
Several naturalists proposed many theories supporting their vision about the Evolution. Sow
were rejected while some were accepted with some moderate modification. Some of the most well-
known theories are
o Lamarckism
o Darwinism
o Mutation theory
o Modern synthetic theory
1. Lamarckism
A French nationalist named Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829) proposed the 1st
evolutionary theory which is called theory of Inheritance of acquired characters or Lamarckism.
The theory has a 2-part postulate.
• According to 1st postulate, as per change in environment, body tends to increase the size of
the organ which are used most frequently and continuously. It means the frequently used
organs become more developed and become stronger and larger, while the unused organs will
become vestigial organ.
• According to Lamarck 2nd postulation of evolution, the acquired characters achieved by an
organism during their life time can be transferred or transmitted to offspring. Even in the
offspring, these modifications become pronounced depending upon continuous use or disuse
of the organs. After certain generations the offsprings produced become totally different from
their original parents giving new species.
• The environment factors force the living organisms to change and adopt themselves
accordingly.
• To support his theory, Lamarck theorised about the long neck of the Giraffe, as per the theory,
evolution of long necked giraffe took place from short-necked giraffe due to continuous
stretching of the neck muscles in order to find food from tall trees. In the beginning, the short-
necked giraffe used to eat the grasses. Later on, sources of grass on land reduced and it forced
to eat the leaves of tall trees stretching of neck is continuous and is gradually transmitted to
offspring.
o Criticism of Lamarckism
• Weismann’s theory of germplasm gave a setback to Lamarckism. He proposed that any change in the
germ cells (germplasm) will only be passed on to the next generation, but not the changes in the
somatic cells (somatoplasm).
2. Darwinism or (Theory of Natural Selection)
• In 1831, Charles Darwin went on a voyage on HMS Beagle for five years noted the flora,
fauna and geology of the islands of the South Pacific and collected numerous living and fossil
specimens. He also sailed to the Galapagos Islands about 600 miles from the west coast of
America. He observed a number of variations or differences among the organisms that lived
on these islands. Among them Finches were most abundant.
• He drew inspiration from the population theory of Thomas Robert Malthus, which states that
 o Organisms are capable of reproducing infinitely but can’t due to the limitation of
resources.
o The food supply increases in arithmetic ratio while the population increases in geometric
ratio.
• At the same time, Alfred Wallace, a young English naturalist made similar observations to
Darwin. Wallace and Darwin adapted Malthus ideas about how scarce resources could affect
populations.
• In 1859 Darwin also published his observations in a book titled the “The Origin of Species by
Natural Selection”.

Theory of Natural Selection

The theory of natural selection is elaborated and separated into several points.
a) Reproductive difference and Over Production
• Every individual has different Rate, time of Reproduction.
• Living organisms have an innate capacity to produce more individuals to ensure continuity of
the race. For example, an oyster may produce over 60-80 million eggs per year. A rabbit
produces six young ones in a litter and four litters in a year and the young rabbit becomes
reproductively active in six months from birth. A single female salmon produces 28,000,000
eggs in a season.
b) Limited Resources
• The over production in population limits the resource distribution. Because while the
resources grow arithmetically, the population grows exponentially.
c) Struggle for existence
• The limited resource leads to intense competition between organisms to ensure living to obtain
maximum amount of food and shelter. There are three levels of struggle.
• Intraspecific struggle is the competition among individuals of the same species or closely
related forms. This type of struggle is very severe as the need of the population is the same.
• Interspecific struggle is the struggle between organisms of different species living together.
Individuals of one species compete with other species for similar requirements.
• Environmental Struggle means the various hazards of the nature like extreme heat or cold,
excess moisture or drought, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes eruptions, etc. also affect the
survival of various organisms.
d) Variation
• To overcome the struggle the organisms create variations with in the character. Variations may
be harmful, neutral or useful. Variations that are passed on from generation to generation are
called heritable variations and these form the raw material for evolution.
e) Survival of the fittest
• During the struggle for existence, the individuals that exhibit variations beneficial in facing
the environment will survive, while those that cannot face the hardship will be eliminated.
• Those organisms best able to survive and reproduce will leave more offspring than those
unsuccessful individuals. This is referred to as survival of the fittest.
f) Origin of species
• As a result of struggle for existence, variability and inheritance, individuals that are better
adapted, survived and became abundant. Slowly over a period of time, this group, which was
remarkably different from the original population, becomes established as a new species.
Criticism of Darwinism
• Darwin was unable to explain the mechanism of inheritance of characters.
• According to natural selection, only useful organs are favoured by natural selection. The
existence of vestigial organs in organisms could not be explained.
• Due to lack of knowledge, the source of evolution was not explained.
• Artificial Selection: The domestication of organism for breeding purposes, leads to creation
of variable characters. But it’s a deviation of Natural selection due to human intervention.
3. Mutation theory of evolution
• Hugo de Vries (1901) first used the term Mutation means sudden change in the genotype
which leads to change in phenotype.
• This theory states that the new species emerge as a result of sudden changes to their genes
which causes changes in the organism as a whole which is called as mutation. The alterations
brought about by mutations in an organism are passed on to the following generation, which
aid in their development and they eventually appear to be of a new species.
• Hugo de Vries proposed the mutation theory to explain evolution by using “Oenothera
lamarckiana” – the evening primrose wherein he observed phenotypic differences in some of
the plant offsprings of the same plant.
• When the new generation were self pollinated. Some of the resulting characters varied from
the parents, while some remained same.
• As per Mutation theory:
o Mutation don’t happen gradually, rather it occurs abruptly. (fast)
o Mutation creates new species.
o Mutation is random and directionless.
o The mutated species is called mutant.
Criticism of Mutation theory
• Natural mutations occur very rarely as opposed to how frequent Vries assumed them to be.
• Vries did concentrate on the mutations alone, but it was eventually realised that isolation,
natural selection, and mutation were all necessary for evolution to take place.
4. Modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution
• The Modern Synthetic Theory of Evolution (also called Modern Synthesis) merges the
concept of Darwinian evolution with Mendelian genetics, resulting in a unified theory of
evolution.
• This theory is a modified form of Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection, so it is also called
Neo-Darwinism, introduced by a number of evolutionary biologists such as T. Dobzhansky,
J.B.S. Haldane, R.A. Fisher, Sewall Wright, G.L. Stebbins, Ernst Mayr.
• It describes the genetic changes occurring in the population can lead to the formation of new
species causing Evolution. It also describes the changes in the Gene pool of an population or
Mendelian population, changes in gene pool frequency.
Factors affecting Evolution
a. Genetic Variation
• Change in gene called genetic variation. There are several methods to change the gene
sequence.
• Mutation: This refers to a change of the sequence of DNA in a specific location or a specific
point or a nucleotide is known as a point mutation. It can be mainly due to the addition or
deletion or replacement of nitrogenous bases.
• Recombination: Genetic Recombination can be seen when newly formed genotypes are
derived from the existing genes. Crossing over is the result of exchange of chromosomal pairs
of alleles during meiosis. Crossing over results in the formation of new forms of gene
combinations.
b. Genetic Drift
• Any sudden change in the gene/allele frequency of a population due to natural or man-made
disaster is referred to as genetic drift. It occurs due to chance events. Genetic drift is more
prominent in a small population.
• This theory was proposed by Sewall Wright. The genetic drift has 2 separate theories
c. Gene Flow
• Gene flow is due to the migration of individuals from one population to another. If the
migration occurs multiple times it leads to gene flow and changes the allele/gene frequency
of the populations.
d. Natural selection
• Organisms that are better adapted to the environment are selected by nature. Natural selection
produces a change in the frequency of the genes from one generation to the other favouring
the differential form of reproduction.
• Stabilising Selection- Stabilising selection is a natural selection where the intermediate trait
is selected against two extremes of traits.
• Directional Selection- Directional selection is natural selection that occurs when selective
pressures favour a single extreme phenotype.
• Disruptive selection- is a type of natural selection that doesn’t occur commonly. Disruptive
selection drives speciation when environmental changes favour extreme phenotypes over
intermediate ones.
• E.g. The peppered moth Biston betularia [Link] is a light-coloured species with dark
patches, that help them to camouflage against the lichens on the barks of the
trees. [Link] which is a sub-species of [Link] had undergone some mutation and
changed to a dark-coloured moth having light-coloured patches. In the polluted areas
e. Reproductive Isolation
• It is one of the significant factors responsible for the synthetic theory of evolution. The
isolation helps in preventing the interbreeding of related organisms which is a reproductive
form of isolation.
Hardy-Weinberg’s Principle
The Hardy–Weinberg principle, also known as the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, model,
explains that allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to
generation in the absence of other evolutionary influences.
The law was proposed by a British mathematician Hardy and a German physician Weinberg
(1908) independently.
1. Conditions
• The population must be large.
• Mating must be random, with no selection for certain genotypes.
• There must be no geneflow or genetic drift.
• There may be no mutations or recombination.
• There may be no incestuous mating.
2. The equations
Suppose in a population of plant species, a gene has two allele, ‘A’ having frequency ‘p’ and ‘a’
having frequency ‘q’.
The frequencies of their genotypes AA= p2, 2Aa=2pq and aa=q2
According to this law, the frequency of p and q in a population remains constant generation after
generation unless there’s any factor’s influence.
The equations are:

p + q= 1 -------- eq 1

p = frequency of ‘A’ allele

q = frequency of ‘a’ allele

p2+q2+2pq= 1 ------ eq 2

p2 = frequency of AA genotype
2pq = frequency of Aa genotype
q2 = frequency of aa genotype

Adaptive radiation
• According to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, living organisms change their physical and
anatomical structures over a long period of time for better adaptations to the changing
environment.
• Adaptive radiation is the evolutionary process by which many species originate from one
species in an area and radiate to different species.
• Examples:
o Darwin’s Finches: - The phenomenon of adaptive radiation was first observed by
Darwin when he travelled to a place called Galapagos Island. There he observed that
there were finches with different types of beaks. So, he concluded that all of these
inches radiated on the same island from a single ancestor Finch.
 o Another example of adaptive radiation is the development of different Australian
Marsupials (pouch bearing) from a single ancestral stock in the Australian
subcontinent.

Evidences of evolution
The evidence of evolution is one of the fundamental keystones of modern biological theory.
It is the only way which can prove all the proposed theories of evolution. We have number of
evidences to prove the biological evolution namely:
• Morphological and physiological
• Biochemical
• Embryological
• Geographical
• Paleontological
1. Morphological and Physiological Evidences
• Homologous organs: These organs have the similar structure in different organisms but
perform different functions. Thus, it clearly shows a common ancestry. This type of evolution
is called divergent evolution. For example, the limbs of human, cheetah, whale, and wings
of a bat. They all have different functions but have a similar structure indicating a common
ancestor.
• Analogous organs: These organs have different anatomy but perform similar functions. This
type of evolution is called convergent evolution. For example, the wings of different birds
and bats. The wings of birds have feathers for flight whereas, bats have wings made up of
stretched skin and lack feathers. But both serve the function of flight.
• Vestigial Organs: Some structures in animals are present in reduced form and these
apparently do not perform any function. Such organs are known as vestigial organs. For
example- the vermiform (worm-like) appendix used for starch digestion. coccyx (degenerate
tail bone), rudimentary muscles in the ear pinna, wisdom teeth.
• Atavism: The process of reappearance of some vestigial characters in the present-day
organisms is known as atavism. Example: Canine tooth in humans
• Connecting link: These are organisms possessing characters of two different groups
indicating evolution of one from the other. They are also called transitional forms. Example-
Archaeopteryx is a connecting link between reptiles and birds.
2. Biochemical Evidences:
Evidences are also found after the study of the biochemical and physiological activity which explains
about the process of organic evolution. Some of the examples are-
• Protoplasm: The cells of all organisms, from bacterium to human, contain a mass of the living
substance called protoplasm.
• Universal hereditary material: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the genetic material in all
organisms.
• Haemoglobin: Haemoglobin, the red colour pigment present in RBC of blood, is found to
have similar structure and function (transport of O2)
 3. Embryological evidences
The similarities in the process of embryonic development of various groups of animals and their
embryos provide most conclusive evidences in support of organic evolution. For example
• In the process of sexual reproduction, all multicellular animals produce a diploid zygote after
fertilization, which undergoes cleavage to form a solid ball of cells called morula. The morula
then forms a single-layered embryo called blastula (with a hollow central cavity termed
blastocoel), which then develops into a two-layered or three-layered gastrula.
• A comparative study of the early embryos of different vertebrates, such as fish, salamander,
lizard, Opossum, monkey and human, provides striking similarities in the early embryos. They
all possess external gills, notochord, tail-like structures and other similar organs.
4. Geographical evidences:
The presence of related organisms across continents indicates when these organisms may have
evolved. For example,
• some flora and fauna of the northern continents are similar across these landmasses but
distinct from that of the southern continents.
• Elephant species from the Africa and India, have some different character due to the
continental drift and evolution.
5. Paleontological evidences:
Fossils provide solid evidence that organisms from the past are not the same as those found today due
to evolution, and fossils show a progression of evolution. Scientists determine the age of fossils and
categorize them from all over the world to determine when the organisms lived relative to each other.
The resulting fossil record tells the story of the past and shows the evolution of form over millions of
years. For example, scientists have recovered highly detailed records showing the evolution of
humans and horses.

Human evolution
Human evolution has taken many forms, but seven time periods of humanity are mentioned
frequently, and more evidences are being found by paleontological survey, thus the timeline’s
specifics may change in the future, while the overall scheme is generally understood and accepted.
Evolution of human, Homo sapiens, has occurred through a lengthy process of changes over
a long period of time, approximately six million years (60 lakh). Two characters were ideally studied,
i.e. Brain cranial capacity, and bipedal (ability to walk on two legs) straight posture.
Human have a very close relationship with another group of primate species, the apes.
Scientific evidences show that the physical and behavioural traits possessed by present day human
originated from ape-like ancestors.
They first originated in Africa, and the progress of evolution continued there. Then they
migrated into Asia and later to Europe and other parts of the world.
• Ramapithecus - These are ancestral forms (apes) living approx. 7 – 14 Mya.
• Australopithecus- The famous fossil of a female ape-man called Lucy was recovered
from Ethiopia. This group lived 1.5 – 5 Mya. They had a flattened face, an slight
upright posture, a heavy skull and dentition.
• Homo habilis – Also known as the “handy man” found 1.5 – 2 Mya. Erect posture,
relatively large brains, tool users, fabricated crude tools out of pebbles and used to
gather a variety of plants and small animals.
• Homo erectus – upright walking man, found 1 Mya. They used tools of bone and stone
and used fire. They had a cranial capacity of 775 – 1000 cc.
• Homo neanderthalensis- Fossils were first discovered in 1856. They were 1.5 lakh
years old cave dwellers. Short (5 feet), powerfully built, prominent facial brow ridges,
large brains (1450 cc). Used complex stone tools, were accomplished hunters, used
animal hides as clothing.
• Homo sapiens - also known as Cro-Magnons man or Modern man. Earliest Fossil
remains were unearthed from a French rock shelter. They are theorised to be 35,000
years old. They have the cranial capacity of 1300-1500 cc. Their origin is expected in
Asia and Africa.