Evolution: Facts about the processes that shape the diversity of life on Earth

Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace developed the theory of evolution in the mid-1800s .

Evolution works thanks to a process called natural selection.

Life-forms that have traits that make them better suited to a certain environment have a better chance of surviving and passing that trait to their offspring.

Evolution helps explain how humans came to be, why bacteria can resist antibiotics and why new diseases are always emerging.

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution was inspired by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's theory.

Lamarck thought that traits or characteristics that were used more often would grow stronger and bigger, while those that weren’t used would gradually disappear.

He also thought that any traits that were improved through use could be passed down to offspring.

But Lamarck ’s ideas were still an essential stepping stone that inspired Charles Darwin .

Divergent evolution occurs when related populations become increasingly different as they adapt to different environments.

Tiffany Taylor is a professor of Microbial Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bath in the U.K. Her research group studies evolution in real-time in the lab using bacteria to explore how genes and genomes evolve.