The California Academy of Sciences released this statement on evolution last March, but is well worth posting after the National Center for Science Education reposted it yesterday.
Evolution is a central concept in modern science, including biology, geology, and astronomy. The California Academy of Sciences, with its broad mission to explore, explain, and protect the natural world, recognizes that evolution is fundamental to understanding biological diversity and is a critical organizing principle for both scientific research and science museums.
In biology, the basic facts of evolution, including the extinction and emergence of new species over time, were understood and accepted by the end of the nineteenth century. Charles Darwin identified natural selection as a primary mechanism driving evolution (that some organisms are more likely to survive and reproduce, thus their genetic traits will be inherited by future generations while other traits will be lost). Through selection, some life-forms thrive, reproduce, and adapt as conditions change, whereas others disappear. The detailed processes that create variation and drive natural selection became evident during the twentieth century with the discoveries of DNA and molecular inheritance. Twentieth century geologists also learned to use radioactivity to determine the age of the Earth (4.5 billion years), and astronomers discovered the expansion of the universe, measuring its age as approximately 14 billion years. Change is an inherent property of stars, planets, and life.
Scientists in many fields use evolutionary concepts daily in their research. In pharmacology and agriculture, these concepts are central to efforts to overcome the evolution of harmful organisms that have become resistant to antibiotics or pesticides. Evolution as the organizing principle for science museums has transformed the eighteenth-century collections of “curiosities” into modern museums of natural history. The California Academy of Sciences recognizes the importance of understanding evolution for both scientists and the public, and we emphasize that evolution belongs in school curricula and textbooks as one of the fundamental concepts of modern science.
Did you see where they sequenced the DNA of mitochondria — you know those weird organelles in our cells that carry their own genes, and which create all the ATP in our bodies? It ends up, they are genetically most related to a parasite. Creationists like to say evolution is untestable, but this is profound evidence. Mitochondria are probably parasites that (at some point) found it easier to cooperate with other cells (E.g., ATP for shelter) than the kill them and have to search for more hosts. Creationism would not predict this finding, nor does the finding bolster their theory.
Creationists tend to avoid the molecular evidence for evolution. Not only would they be on weak ground (as is the case with the rest of their arguments) but it might be less necessary for them to refute such evidence. Those without a science background are probably unaware of such evidence and do not have the knowledge to understand it, making it unnecessary for creationists to address this among those who are prone to believing the creationists.