Theory of Evolution is about to change a bit

[The Grand Nudger]

There is an entire chapter devoted to this (not evolution, the march of scientific progress) in a very approachable and easy to read book. The Universe in a Nutshell. It's a recap (with some additions -ironically-) of what got a short mention in A Brief History of Time. The idea that our scientific understanding of the world around us is constantly in flux, awaiting some new earth shattering discovery is largely one of popular myth. Consider, for example, that the vast majority of the technology you use today is based on Maxwell's Equations, first published in 1861. The article you cited does not have sweeping or dire implications for our most successful theory of evolution (1859), but for taxonomy (1735), specifically our family tree. Science does not actually move forward by leaps and bounds. Leaps and bounds get publicized, but they only appear to be leaps and bounds by ignoring everything that has happened in the interim. To be fair to all of those involved, while some discoveries seem to pierce the veil more than others, those discoveries are just another step in a long line of people standing on each others toes (some people like to use the phrase -standing on the shoulders of giants-...but that's entirely too much altitude for the way that science actually operates) hoping to reach just one more inch into the unknown. We like genius, perhaps we like to exaggerate its role in our progress. For every Einstein that brought you whatever it is you fancy, there were dozens of "Phil the Nobodies"..people who worked tirelessly, never getting a much broader or more focused picture than they began with, but making incremental progress nevertheless. Ditto for their discoveries.