1. Although we teach natural selection using a single allele, werecognize that natural selection works upon the entire phenotype ofan organism, not an individual loci.
About 85% of the human population has a muscle in the forearmcalled the palmaris longus.
a) What is this feature, and what benefit does it provide?
b) Respond to this common criticism of evolution, providingevidence to back your statement:  “If natural selectionis truly working, we should be perfectly adapted to ourenvironment. Thus, if evolution were true, this muscle would not bepresent. Thus, evolution is not true and we should teach scientificcreationism (intelligent design) instead.â€
c) Respond to this common fallacy of evolution, providingevidence to back your statement, “If most humans have this muscle,then obviously there is a benefit for the individuals. We would notwaste energy in making useless structures. Evolution would removethe useless structure from the population.â€
d) Explain the advantages of NOT having this particularfeature.
