I am asking this question out the my personal desire to search for understanding. I realize there are other sources for evidece of biological evolution aside from the genetic code.
Granted, all living organisms are made up of DNA and species seem to have very similar codes. Does this necessarily have to mean that they all have a common ancestor? Maybe DNA is the essential structure of life, but all species are still independent of one another.
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Since the publication in 1859 of Darwin's Origin of Species, debate over the theory of evolution has been continuous and often impassioned. In recent years, opponents of "Darwin's dangerous idea" have mounted history's most sophisticated and generously funded attack, claiming that evolution is "a theory in crisis." Ironically, these claims are being made at a time when the explosion of information from genome projects has revealed the most compelling and overwhelmin... More >>
Relics of Eden: The Powerful Evidence of Evolution in Human DNA
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DNA evidence not only solves crimes—in Sean Carroll's hands it will now end the Evolution Wars.DNA is the genetic material that defines us as individuals. Over the last two decades, it has emerged as a powerful tool for solving crimes and determining guilt and innocence. But, very recently, an important new aspect of DNA has been revealed—it contains a detailed record of evolution. That is, DNA is a living chronicle of how the marvelous creature... More >>
The Making of the Fittest: DNA and the Ultimate Forensic Record of Evolution
How is DNA used to provide evidence that evolution has occurred?
A. The degree of similarities or differences in two organisms' DNA sequences can provide clues about how long ago they diverged from a common ancestor.
B. All organisms have the same DNA sequence.
C. It isn't. Scientists study protein sequences to learn about evolution.
D. The greater the number of differences in DNA sequence, the greater the likelihood that two organisms belong to the same species.