Evolution Diary

Why the eye?

Everywhere you look — even in the mirror — you see them staring back at you: eyes. All sorts of animals rely on their eyes for sensing their environments — from the hawk honing in on a field mouse far below, to a butterfly picking out its brightly colored mate, to an octopus jetting away from the predator it has just spotted. But why the eye? Eyes are clearly incredibly useful, but where did the eye come from? How did so many animals evolve eyes and why do they look so different?

Here you will investigate how eyes evolved and why the eyes of different organisms are similar in some ways but not others. Specifically, you will see how the concept of homology — similarities inherited from a common ancestor — can crop up in surprising places, and how homologies illustrate both the diversity and unity of life.

Continue reading this introductory course on evolution of the eye at University of Berkeley