Concluding Remarks - How Science Works: Evolution - page 96

natural selection changes in the genetic composition of a population due to
differences in survival and reproduction.
naturalism the assumption that everything there is belongs to the physical world
we all aware of and which behaves according to unvarying regularities.
NOMA an acronym for “non-overlapping magisteria”, an idea suggested by
Steven Gould that asserts that religion and science deal with different areas of human
experience and thus cannot comment on each other's concerns.
Occam's razor When several different explanations of a body of evidence are
possible, prefer the one with the smallest number of assumptions, not because it
is more likely to be correct but because it is the best way to proceed; the defining
principle of science, also known as the law of parsimony.
occasional theism the ability of some scientists to switch between naturalistic
and supernatural types of explanation.
photosynthesis the conversion of absorbed light energy to chemical energy.
plastid a type of membrane-bound organelle found inside all plants, the most
obvious and the most studied being the chloroplast.
polypeptide a chain of amino acids in a defined sequence.
polysome a molecule of RNA bound to more than one ribosome.
polytheism belief in more than one supernatural agent.
prokaryotes organisms whose genome is not surrounded by a nuclear membrane,
enabling translation to be coupled with transcription.
protein a molecule consisting of one or more polypeptide chains.
pseudogenes genes that have lost their original function due to mutation.
random mutation the observation that which particular mutations occur is unre-
lated to their effects on evolutionary fitness.
reason the intellectual faculty by which conclusions are drawn from premisses.
regulatory gene a gene that encodes either a protein or RNA molecule that binds
to another gene or genes and controls it or their expression.
religion belief in a superhuman controlling power or powers, existing in an
invisible supernatural realm and entitled to obedience and worship.
rhodopsin a membrane-bound protein-retinal complex that absorbs light.
ribosomes universal intracellular structures that synthesize proteins.
RNA ribonucleic acid.
science A set of ideas about the Universe based on empirical evidence, the use of
Occam's razor, and the assumption that natural events have only natural causes.
secularism the assertion that governmental institutions and policies should exist
separately from religious beliefs and practices.
separate creationism the hypothesis that species arose separately and indepen-
dently by natural means: should not be confused with “creationism”, “creation
science” or “intelligent design”, which are religious assertions.
species a population of organisms that can potentially or actually interbreed;
applies principally to eukaryotes.
supernaturalism the assumption that beyond the obvious physical world there
lies another invisible world containing one or more active agents.