Top 5 Carnivorous Plants

People got used to the fact that animals, bird and fish are the only carnivorous species on Earth. In real certain plants can associated with this group of predatory natural beings. Sometimes they even referred to as miracles of Mother Nature. Specifically, the cause of their existence is usually related to the environment plants are distributed in; lack of certain components in the ground preconditioned necessity of hunting and catching flash species, including insects or small animals. There are 450 species of carnivorous plants belonging to 6 families, which can be found all over the world in many different habitats.

1. Nepenthes is famous for its ability to eat insects. It is a native species of Sumatra and some other Malaysian Islands. There are many species that differ in size and shape of the pitcher traps. Recently discovered Nepenthes attenboroughii is so strong that it can hold and digest a mouse or a medium-sized rat, including their bones and teeth!

What Living Evidence Do We Have of Prehistoric Animals?

The other day, I was having an interesting debate with a biblical scholar friend of mine. You see, he doesn't buy into the whole evolutionary theory, and whereas I admit there are holes in it, that is to say the exact timeline - we cannot know for sure because we just don't have the fossil records for everything - still, that doesn't mean we can deny evolution because we can see it in real-time, we can see the changes, not only in our own species, but in all the others as well. There is enough fossil record to see those changes, and they can't be denied.

Then of course we have dinosaur bones, and despite popular biblical mythology, as was told to me by more than one person over the years, God did not put dinosaur bones on the planet to trick humans and to test their faith. To insist that God put dinosaur bones out there to trick us, or the devil did to get us to move away from God, is about the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. I hope you don't buy into any of those fantasy theories. My acquaintance asked me; what living evidence do we have that prehistoric animals ever existed?

May a Theory of Evolution Ever Be 'Complete'?

Ever since human beings became sapient, we have wondered where we came from, and in the absence of obvious solutions, we settled on the simplistic explanation of a divine origin. Then came 'On the Origin of Species' by Charles Darwin, which tried to offer a scientific explanation to the variety of creatures on Earth, and their origins.

The basic principle of his theory of evolution simply put is this: species have originated from a single common ancestor, and have evolved into what they are today through changes in inherent characteristics that have been passed down through numerous generations.

Although, at the time it was first propounded, evolution as an explanation for origin of species attracted great controversy, it is far more widely and commonly accepted today. However, there is agreement on the fact that there are still gaps in the theory, primarily due to the shortage of tangible evidence on which evolutionary theory depends. This material evidence primarily takes the form of fossils, which are remains, or impressions, preserved in rocks, of plants or animals that lived in a past geological age. Over the years, billions of fossils of different species have been found, which are like pieces of a giant puzzle that, when complete, would present the picture of how life has originated and evolved. The problem with fossils is that not all organisms fossilise well. Besides, fossils are often buried deep beneath the earth's surface and frequently remain undiscovered for decades. Therefore, while fossils clearly demonstrate evolutionary connections between species, there are sometimes missing links due to the unavailability of sufficient remains.

New Biotechnology, New Controversies

Genetically engineered nutrients saturate our eating habits nowadays: in the USA alone, over 80% of commercially-processed foods contain modified organisms, although buyers don't realise what they're actually consuming. However, there are risks associated with these foodstuffs.

These GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are mostly soy and corn crops, engineered to contain innovative pesticide residues, as they have been altered to be herbicide-tolerant or to produce mutated Bt toxins. Serious potential risks associated with the consumption of GMOs may derive from unforeseeable insertion mutagenesis effects, metabolic effects, or even from the introduction of newer, untested pesticide residues.

The most meticulous regulatory tests on the GMOs are three-month long feeding tests on laboratory rats. However, these kinds of procedures are neither obligatory, nor independently performed. Moreover, the test data, along with the related outcomes, are kept confidential by the companies.

Does the Theory of Evolution Fully Explain Our Natural Origins?

The clash between science and religion was partly because religion got something badly wrong. This was religious people claiming that the Bible is literally true as a source of knowledge about our natural origins. The Darwinian view easily saw off the creationists within conventional academia. So, how do you answer the question about your natural origin? Have the scientists got it completely right?

Prevailing scientific opinion
Much of how evolution works is now biologically clear. Genetic information is stored in the DNA. The genes in the population of offspring are a random sample of the genes present in the parental population. This sampling causes variability in adaptability. There are also tiny changes in genetic material caused by random mutations.

Natural selection is said to come about from the reproduction of those organisms best suited to their environment. This is the survival of the fittest. Mainly successful characteristics are passed on at each generation. The features of the offspring of the successful parents will differ in a tiny way from the characteristics of the previous generation. Over a long time, this results in the gradual evolution of plant and animal species.

Humans and animals
One historical difficulty with this account is that there is no fundamental difference between humans and animals, which differ only along a continuum. In other words human beings are not unique according to science.