Wolf to Dog: Scientists Agree on How, but Not Where

Summary

It has been agreed for a long time that dogs evolved from wolves, but lately there has been some debate over where dogs originated. Originally, scientist assumed dogs originated in Europe because of the evidence left by fossils, but then new techniques started being used. By sequencing parts of DNA from living dogs and wolf breeds all over the world, scientists found different results than expected. The problem is that two groups of scientists have come to different conclusions. To find more evidence, these scientists are now able to extract DNA from the fossils. This shows how much scientific tools have developed, and how they are allowing scientists to discover much more about evolution than ever before.

Connection

This article directly relates to evolution. The scientists use fossils of wolves/dogs, relatives of the modern day wolves and dogs, to asses where the dog species originated. The modern day wolves and dogs are descendants of the fossils mentioned, and this is proved by gene sequencing. Gene sequencing in fossils has helped prove that certain things evolved from others. In the article there was also a mention of how some wolves adapted to being with humans, thus making them domesticated. Human's then started to breed these domesticated wolves into many forms. That is an example of artificial selection.

Source: The New York Times
Author: Carl Zimmer
Date: November 14, 203
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/14/science/wolf-to-dog-scientists-agree-on-how-but-not-where.html?ref=evolution