Evolution Final Exam
Synapomorphies
A shared, derived character in a phylogenetic analysis; synapomorphies are used to define clades and distinguish them from other groups This creates 100s to 1000s of more species (an issue) All birds have a synapomorphy of feathers
What kinds of cells are most vulnerable to toxins?
Actively metabolizing tissues are more vulnerable to toxins than dormant ones, cells that divide rapidly more than quiescent ones, and cells that differentiate into specialized types more than those that merely reproduce ore of the same, embryonic and fetal tissues may be harmed at lower concentrations of toxins than adult tissues are.
What is the difference between being adaptable and having a good adaptation?
Adaptable: Being able to change during their life time; being flexible Ex: sunlight → skin color changing Good adaptation: something that evolved that helped you survive, or reproduce. Evolve this trait because it helped you in the past. Ex. Jack rabbits have big ears to help them thermoregulate.
What is the Cambrian explosion (why is it called that), and what may have allowed/caused the Cambrian explosion (most likely more than one reason)?
All of a sudden we see lots and lots of fossils during this period of time. Environment changes allows shells to be formed, the oceans were the wrong ph before so shells couldn't form. Most animal phyla appear because of a mass extinction and this opens up niches. Oxygen keeps increasing and with oxygen you get a higher metabolism.
allopatric speciation
Allopatric speciation refers to speciation when part of a population is physically separated from the rest by a geographic barrier and therefore they cannot interbreed.
Who was Lysenko? When and where did he live?
An man unschooled in science but well attuned to political currents. Presenting not scientific evidence but Marxist rhetoric, he won the support of Stalin for his genetic theories.
What is the (hypothesized) adaptive value of anxiety? depression? child abuse?
Anxiety: survival instinct, useful during a face of a threat, so anxiety alters our thinking. Depression: A loss can be an adaptive trait, it will signal the loss of reproduction: reassess goals, stop activity. Child abuse= male monkey will kill baby so the mom can reproduce with their child, this can be seen in stepfather treating a child that is not theirs less than his own child.
If the appendix serves no purpose (except to produce appendicitis), how is it possible for natural selection to act to maintain it?
As the appendix shrinks, it will be more prone to appendicitis, thus never actually be selected out.
Assume that the two populations can interbreed, but produce "inviable" offspring. What (theoretically) would happen next? (Why will they evolved different physical traits? - hint: two reasons)
Because you cant have 2 species in the same niche: competitive exclusion principle. 1. better competition from one causes the other to go extinct 1. they evolve and decrease competition between two species: character displacement
What are the costs and benefits of a selfish group as opposed to a cooperative - or altruistic- group?
Benefit GS- Low extinction rate Cost GS-Can be invaded by the selfish group. Benefit Selfish-ESS (evolution stable strategy) Cost Benefit- High extinction rate
Use his example of the bacterial flagellum to explain Behe's ideas.
Biochemical example of design: bacterial flagellum. It is an outboard motor bacterium used to swim and in order to accomplish this function it has parts ordered to that effect. These parts are ordered for a purpose which implies design. If any of these parts is missing from the motor it won't work=irreducibly complex (a term he coined) so it couldn't have evolved naturally. This had to come about as a whole, not as a combination of parts developing overtime. Flagellum looks like it was designed by a human according to other scientists. Its parts have no function for natural selection to act on unless its parts are assembled.
What is biological determinism? What is the misconception incorporated into biological determinism?
Biological determinism: you're doomed by your genes This is a misconception because the environment plays a role in if certain genes are expressed or not.
If the human eye was designed by a modern-day engineer, how might it differ (in order to improve its efficiency and resistance to damage)?
Blindspots in the eyes: Blood and nerves in front of retina (retina can detach) Blood vessel bleed, pressure in the eyeball increases and so go blind. Eyes twitch so it can "take pictures" and see the whole image.
character displacement
Character displacement: the tendency of closely related, sympatric species to diverge rapidly in characteristics that will: 1. minimize competition between the two groups and/or 2. minimize the chance of matings between the two groups (premating isolating mechanisms will tend to evolve) it happens because Competitive exclusion principle: no two closely related species can coexist in the same niche for long - one is bound to be slightly better in that niche and out-compete the other. So, if the two populations come into contact and can't interbreed successfully (they are separate species) then: 1. One causes the extinction of the other -or - 2. They diverge via character displacement
Describe coacervates.
Coacervates -colloidal (jelly like) made of protein-carbs or protein-protien or protein-nucleic acid -incorporate enzymes if they are added to environment and release products of reactions catalyzed by these enzymes
What are the costs of high virulence (from the point of view of the pathogen)? What are the benefits of high virulence (from the point of view of the pathogen)? What factors will influence the evolution of virulence in pathogenic organisms? What conditions would select more benign forms of these pathogenic organisms? What is a vector? Give some examples of cultural vectors.
Cost of high virulence: could knock the host down before transmission to a new host occurs Benefits of virulence: out-reproduces other strains in the host (virulent forms reproduce faster); when their transmission is host to potential-host, transmission is more likely with higher pathogen loads A vector is how the pathogen spreads (?) pathogen carrier A cultural vector is things humans do to promote the spread of pathogens: ex; hospitals, going to work even if you don't feel well
Why is child abuse more common than in the past and what evidence supports this claim? Hint: do not answer "because unwanted children were killed as infants in the ancestral environment." What might be the other explanations?
Due to this stress put on mothers in this new environment with no help from others they react poorly and don't have others around them to check them or help them Evidence: they looked at bone bruising. Stone age remains have basically no bone bruising, there's a lot in children today.
Explain how the endosymbiotic theory describes the evolution of eukaryotic cells.
Endosymbiotic theory: if one cell engulfs another and doesn't decompose it, the little one can live inside the big one and they can exist together. If you get engulfed you have 2 membranes, the one of the little one and the one of the big one. Mitochondria have 2 membranes. Mitochondria also has its own DNA.
What is a phylogeny? Summarize the basic kinds of data that can be used to determine a phylogeny (it is the same as the evidence for evolution.)
Evolutionary history Seeing what data is out there and how the data fits into different trees you might construct Constructing evolutionary trees We don't have to designate species Trees=interested in clades: set of species from one common ancestral species
How else might the bacterial flagellum be explained (without using ID)?
Example given: syringe that injects poison in nasty bacteria (the one that causes bubonic plague). It turns out these two bacteria look similar because they have the same protein types in their base but this one is missing proteins found in the motor so it can't move around however this shape makes it perfect for transmitting disease. So, this refutes the bacterial flagellum argument because it shows it is reducible. It is not useless when missing a protein, it's just different but still functions. Also used the mouse trap as a tie clip example.
If an average trait is polygenic, then when stabilizing selection occurs - maladaptive extremes will appear in each generation. Explain this statement.
Example: AaBb is the optimal size AABB <---> aabb Because you go through independent assortment you get the ends of the bell curve back into the populations.
What is the difference between fitness and fittest?
"Fittest" is being the best suited for one's current environment (out of what's available) "Fitness" is the actual number of gene copies an individual sends on to the next generation compared to others of its group/type. NOTE: this refers to the actual relative number sent on, not the potential relative number - what does that mean? they could die and pass on none even if they're most adapt to environment)
According to Ken Miller, what is science, what is a scientific theory (and what is not a theory), and should ideas about evolution be presented as absolute truth and unchangeable, or as conditional, and subject to change. Give Miller's position.
- Evolution is a process of change over time that contributes to natural science; explained Darwin's natural selection, evolution should be shown through transitional fossils - Science is about discovering the unknown o Darwin was convinced natural selection acted on inherited traits but didn't know how, this is how genetics came about - A scientific theory is a large body of information that has withstood a lot of testing which consists of many hypotheses and many lines of evidence o A fact by itself can be right or wrong but a theory is something that has been tested over and over again built on and revised - They should be subject to change, no theory is regarded as absolute truth
What was the statement produced by the school board - how did the science teachers react to the statement - and who eventually read the statement?
- The intelligent design statement was read to students in 9th grade biology: a one-minute statement saying that Darwin's biology is not a fact and had gaps then offered pandas as a reference for why - The science teachers also opposed this statement and didn't want to read it, they all met and said none of them were going to read it and gave the board a refusal - Assistant superintendent read it
Why do many scientists believe that RNA was the earliest life form (other than the fact that RNA is simpler than DNA)? (Why believe RNA predates DNA? Give several reasons mentioned in the reading.)
-1980s scientists fond small enzymes that could break down bonds the hold nucleic acids together -enzymes were not made of proteins but RNS (ribozymes) -found RNA had capability to store genetic info like DNA but also performed biological work to produce DNA like proteins -DNA is more stable than RNA -RNA is involved in early life forms machinery cells for replication and metabolism (the ribosomes specifically) -RNA portions of ribosomes carry out catalytic steps in protein synthesis
Be familiar with Kettlewell's research on the evolution of melanism in the peppered moth. What were the observations that led to the hypothesis Kettlewell tested? What was this hypothesis?
-2 color morphs in some populations of the moths (light grey with dark spots and dark aka melanic) -in museum collections moths from england prior to 1848 had no melanic moths -1848= first melanic specimen, by 1895 over 90% were melanic -in unpolluted forests lichens grow on tree trunks making them light grey -pollution caused lichens to die causing tree trunks to be back to dark -industrial revolution begins about mid 1800's in manchester area -birds hunt during the day and eat the moths if they can be found What was this hypothesis? The moth population evolved from light to dark because of natural selection of predators and the changing environment. In the new environment, melanic moths were more cryptic (and thus more fit), so they are more likely to reproduce
Why do we believe that nitrogen fixation evolved before the oxygen atmosphere? Give more than one reason. Why is nitrogen fixation necessary or helpful? If it is so important, why haven't plants and animals evolved to fixate on their own nitrogen?
-Ability to fixate nitrogen evolved before an oxygen environment because the enzyme that fixates nitrogen is destroyed by O2. -All lifeforms need fixated nitrogen but there are a few bacteria that can take nitrogen out of the atmosphere and combine it. We need nitrogen to make nucleic acids in DNA. Humans can't fixate it, bacteria need to fixate it for you. Plants have fixated nitrogen and we eat plants. When the plant dies and we die this puts fixated nitrogen back into the environment, once you fixate it it cycles this way. -If you didn thave the oxygen environment ultraviolet light will fixate nitrogen so any lifeform that can fixate it will have an advantage. Any process that can fixate nitrogen increases growth and reproduction. -Only prokaryotes can fixate nitrogen; plants and animals don't fixate their own because they have always had a source of fixated nitrogen. This is similar to the vitamin c thing- if you eat fruit you don't need the machinery to make vitamin c because you eat it so you lose it. Our ancestors evolved in the tropics with fruit so they always had a source of vitamin c.
Describe some of the health problems created by our current environment. Briefly explain why humans have not evolved solutions to these problems.
-Fake sugar is created but much more disadvantageous than real sugar because our body does not recognize it so we tend to slowly metabolize it more, now we can't use the excess nutrition from real sugars compared to the past by eating fake sugar. -Lack of exercise
Explain what SINEs and LINEs are and why they can be good to consider when trying to determine evolutionary relationships - more so than simple DNA sequences?
-Short/long interspersed elements are a random sequence of DNA that is occasionally randomly inserted into the genome. -DNA has a habit of copying itself. If it copies itself randomly and floats somewhere random once it's there the piece of DNA it attached to copies itself with the random part (SINE or LINE) included. This is rare so you can look for it and if two life forms have it they are closely related. This eliminates some noise - DNA is good at copying itself, random hunk gets interested into another random location in the genome you can look for these hunks little Q's and look for the base sequence. It's very unlikely that this happens in 2 unrelated individuals.
Describe protobionts (4)
-aggregates of abiotically formed molecules -not yet capable of precise reproduction -can maintain an internal environment different from the external -have metabolism and self replicating without genetic systems
What were the first cells probably like? (3)
-anaerobic because there was no oxygen in the atmosphere -below water surface to protect from UV -prokaryotic
What abiotic processes could form polymers? In what way might clay have been involved in this process?
-dehydration and rehydration or heating and cooling solutions of monomers could cause them to react with each other and form polymers -dehydrating synthesis, hydrolysis, FOX( forms thermal proteinhoids by linking amino acids in to polypeptides) -clay acts as a lattice to concentrate monomers on charged sites on the clay -some binding sites have metal ions such as Fe or Zn that can catalyze dehydration reaction or charged in the clay that can catalyze reactions -ATP can be trapped in clay and stimulate reactions -clay can absorb energy from radioactive decay and then discharge energy when the clay changes temp or degree of hydration
Brett and Niermeyer notice that most babies are jaundiced (compared to adults) when they are born. Explain how they applied the adaptationist program to this observation. (According to their hypothesis - why haven't humans evolved to have lower bilirubin levels at birth?)
-observation= babies are jaundice at birth, it is recognized the dangers of increased levels of bilirubin in those babies whose blood cells had an rh antigen that is attacked by mothers antibodies -bilirubin levels at birth are under partial control therefore could be lowered by natural selection if beneficial -researchers suspect that increased levels is adaptive because it seems unlikely that so many babies would have this and something be wrong with them -futher studies show bilirubin is effective scavenger for free radicals that damage tissues by oxidation at birth, when baby must being to breath arterial oxygen becomes 3x as much with concordant damage from free radicals -adult levels of defense against free radicals are only implemented during first few weeks of birth as bilirubin levels go down
Why is it significant that the atmosphere prior to the formation of life was (probably) a reducing atmosphere as opposed to an oxidizing atmosphere (and what does each mean)?
-oxidizing atmosphere- oxygen extracts e- from other substances and trends to break chemical bonds therefore it does not encourage spontaneous formation of complex molecules -reducing atmosphere- encourages bond formation by adding e- which increased the likelihood of spontaneous formation of organic molecules
What would you need to construct the first cell?
-simple organic molecules (monomers like amino acids and sugars) -some form of heredity -energy source like UV radiation -reducing atmosphere to promote the formation of organic molecules in an abiotic environment
What could form the first membranes?
-simple processes like dehydrating and hydration or heating and cooling solutions of polymers can cause them to react with one another to form "bubbles"
Describe some of the data that did not fit Kettlewell's model and describe some of the weaknesses of Kettlewell's model (not his research - but his model). Now we would say that Kettlewell's model was too simple. Explain. How has this model been improved? (info from lecture)
-small population size -Haldanes original estimate of melanics was based on assumptions which could have been incorrect -genetics was unknown and could be more complex than they thought bc they used mendels 2 allele model -emigration and immigration can change gene pools -the selective pressure could be changing from year to year as environment gets more polluted and then clean air and water policies get put in place -didnt incorporate enough factors that would provide alternate explanations for the resulmts that were obtained which would greatly reduce the accuracy without them. To simple? -didnt incorporate enough factors that would provide alternate explanations for the results that were obtained which would greatly reduce the accuracy without them New info: -genetics of color is more complex and involves at least 3 alleles with no simple dominant/ recessive relationships -melanic forms are more viable in the lab and thus may be better at surviving in the wild even without predators -these moths move to new locations before they breed Improvement: although predator pressure may account for some changes, integrating factors can lead to improved accuracy in understanding of how the system works such as; -greater viability of melanics -emigration patterns -a changing in environments altering selective pressure -comple genetics -larger sample size
What is parent-offspring conflict?
-the balancing of the benefits to the fetus at the cost of the mother -the fetus maximizes its fitness by appropriating whatever maternal resources it can use in short of jeopardizing the mothers ability to care for it and siblings in the future -mothers point of view=benefits given to the fetus only helps half her genes, different from the fetal pov
In what ways are protobionts, proteinoid microspheres, and coacervates lifelike - and what are they "missing" to be considered a life form?
-when droplets get large enough they split making baby droplets but have no way to perpetuate or replicate reproductive success so there is no way for them to build on past success so they cant evolve
How did Kettlewell test the hypothesis (hint: he had three different ways to test it)? What predictions did the hypothesis make in each case? Did the data collected generally support the hypothesis?
1) observe the structure of pops in nature 2) observe birds catching and eating moths 3) field experiments (mark belly- release into the environment of polluted versus unpolluted- recapture and see how many of each type he gets back). in polluted environments: more melanic moths in nature, birds eat more grey, capture would show more black -in unpolluted environments: more grey in nature, birds eat more melanic, capture would show more grey The data collected by Kettlewell supported the hypothesis.
What evidence do we have to support the hypothesis that when life first formed, there was no free oxygen in the atmosphere and then around 2 BYA oxygen was accumulating in the atmosphere? How did that change influence the evolution of life on earth?
1. Fossils and the geological record *Fossil stromatolites -Cyanobacteria make up stromatolites, and they have been found back to 3.5 BYA *The red beds Before the O2 atmosphere, iron was dissolved in sea water - photosynthesis would put O2 in the water, O2 + iron = iron oxide, which forms a precipitate, which falls to the ocean floor There is definitive evidence of cyanobacteria and the addition of oxygen (and then ozone) to the atmosphere Evidence can be found in geological samples, red beds or banded iron formations date to just before 2 BYA 2. Biochemical evidence -Nitrogen fixation is useful, but the enzymes are destroyed by O2 There is evidence of the evolution of nitrogen fixation before the evolution of photosynthesis (enzymes are destroyed by O2) UV splits fixated nitrogen (NH3) into N2 and H2 - when cells were first evolving there was no ozone layer and limited fixated nitrogen (it was more likely to be broken down bc of UV reaching the earth), so increasing the amount of fixated nitrogen would increase growth and reproduction of cells that had that process Cyanobacteria can exist in chains with different cells performing different functions. Special cells called heterocysts can fixate nitrogen, needed for protein and base formation Bacteria are the only source of fixated nitrogen today, and the enzyme that fixates nitrogen is destroyed by O2 (evidence: thick cell walls of heterocysts which protect against the toxic effects of O2) More: glycolysis comes first The first steps in the breakdown of glucose for energy does not require O2 and has fewer steps while later cycles (Krebs and oxidative phosphorylation) require O2 and are more complicated (but usually use the product of glycolysis - pyruvic acid)1.
Conditions for the H-W Equilibrium
1. No natural selection 2. Random mating 3. An infinitely large population (so no genetic drift) 4. No immigration or emigration 5. No mutations or mutational equilibrium
List the four (or more) steps of the scientific method. In order to be testable - what must the hypothesis do
1. Observe -- Make an observation that describes a problem 2. Hypothesize -- Create an Hypothesis (according to Ingalls, the hypothesis must make an prediction) 3. Test -- Test the hypothesis 4. Evaluate -- Draw conclusions from the data and refine your hypothesis Conditions of scientific hypothesis: Mechanistic explanation for observation (in nature) Laws of nature do not change over time
What are the "strategies for asking interesting questions?" (section 10.8) Be able to briefly explain each strategy.
1. Study natural history Can lead to discovery of new patterns that need explanation. 2. Question conventional wisdom It is often untested; why is it accepted as a fact? 3. Question the assumptions underlying a popular hypothesis or research technique 4. Draw analogies that transfer questions from field to field, or taxon to taxon Think about the relationship between the ox and the bird, would that be true for other species? (ex. Crocodile and bird) 5. Ask why not
Assuming that two populations that came from an original group have been isolated for some time, what could happen if they come into contact? (Give two basic possible outcomes.)
1. mate and the baby is fine (same species) 2. mate and eggs never hatch (two diff species)
What are the two major functions of modern taxonomy (according to Dr. Ingalls)?
1. to show evolutionary relationships 2. to name organisms (using binomial nomenclature)
Describe the factors that can keep genetic diversity in a population.
1.) inefficient selection 2.)heterozygote superiority 3.)mutation/ selection balance 4.)frequency dependent selection
What hypotheses (there are three!) have been proposed to explain the formation or presence of simple organic molecules (monomers) on the earth before there were any life forms (when the earth was first formed)? Explain each hypothesis and describe any evidence that would support each hypothesis. Are these hypotheses mutually exclusive?
1.) the environment of primitive earth may have encouraged formation of monomers, tested via the Miller Urey experiment -prim earth atmosphere had CO, CO2, N2, H2S, HCL, NH3, CH4, and water vapor -experiment= placing NH3, H2, CH4, and water in a sterile heated steamed system--> zapped--> found glycine, alanine, glutamic acid, lactic acid and more in solution -other experiments showed that eventually all 20 amino acids, sugars, lipids and py/pur bases were found 2.) monomers were formed when the planets formed a meteorite called carbonaceous chondrites and brought it to earth -researchers found all 5 nucleotide bases in these meteorites suggesting monomers could have stemmed from them 3.) monomers were formed when earth was formed and were always here -there ae organic components in the clouds of coalesce to form planets and scientists have discovered enormous clouds of organic molecules in the spiral arms of the galaxy
According to the film (circa 2008), what proportion of the US population does not accept macroevolution (or that humans evolved from a primate ancestor).
1/3 to 1/2
When is evolution reintroduced into the high school texts?
1967, the Monkey Law was repealed.
A decision of the Supreme Court decided that creationism could not be taught in public high school science classes as it violated the students' constitutional rights. Why does it violate their rights?
1987 teaching creationism violated the separation of church and state mandated by the constitution in the establishment clause which prevents the government from promoting or prohibiting any form of religion
What did the Dover School Board decide to do - and why did a student's parent call the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)?
A Dover high school student painted a 16-foot mural depicting evolution of apes to humans in a science classroom and someone removed it from the school and burned it. Bill Buckingham is continuing to fight the biology textbook (by Ken Miller) being brought into classrooms of Dover. Buckingham said he gleefully watched it burn so people started to think he was the one that did it. School board meetings now involve hundreds talking about creationism vs evolution in biology text/curriculum. - The debate is between using the biology textbook or the of pandas and people textbook or both - The board chose to only use the biology textbook - However, 60 copies of pandas and people were donated to the school anonymously and without consulting teachers the curriculum department drafted a new biology curriculum. It was brought before the full school board and won in a vote 6-3 *ACLU was called because parents didn't want to mix religion and science by having that one-minute statement read to their kids; 11 parents filed a lawsuit over this saying their constitutional rights are violated by bringing religion into science classes, they are represented by the ACLU
According to Barr, how might prolonged crying and/or frequent nursing be adaptive for the baby?
A crying baby is normal because it will help the baby become closer to the mother and meets child's needs.
What happened to high school biology/science textbooks after the Scopes Trial?
A high school science teacher in Tennessee was accused of violating state law by teaching evolution. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution and got a fine of $100. Textbook publishers removed evolution from textbooks because it was too controversial, and this led to it not being taught anymore.
Purpose of Hardy-Weinberg equation
to provide a baseline to determine: If a population is evolving and in what direction, how fast change occurs based on selective pressure, help see what happens with non random mating. See what happens if a population that was separated starts to intermingle.
Describe the three basic methods that can be used to test evolutionary hypotheses.
Experimentation Observational Comparative
What about evolution is fact? (Don't just answer, "that it happened" - what does that mean?) Why is it considered fact? What is theoretical? Why?
Fact: the hypothesis of evolution is corroborated by enormous masses of consistent evidence. Every anatomical or biochemical resemblance between species, every vestigial structure, every pattern of geographical distribution, every fossil is consistent with the idea of evolution. Again and again, new discoveries, such as the close resemblance of the DNA of humans and apes, accord with the idea of common ancestry. But there is more to a good scientific hypothesis than corroboration; it must be falsifiable. And the hypothesis that evolution has occurred could indeed be falsified. A single undisputed fossil of a flowering plant or of a human or any other mammal in Precambrian rocks would do it. Theory: the theory of mutation, recombination, natural selection, genetic drift, and isolation, is subject to argument, just as there is argument about how genes are regulated during development, or how earthquakes are caused. There are philosophical arguments about whether or not evolutionary theory qualifies as scientific theory, and substantive arguments about the details of the theory and their adequacy to explain observed phenomena.
What is gene flow, and how can this concept be used to define a species?
Gene flow = the movement of alleles within and between populations via reproductive events (via gametes) You can define a species using the concept of gene flow with any one of the following: 1. Groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups 2. The largest unit of a population within which effective gene flow occurs or can occur (in nature) 3. A genetically distinctive group of natural populations (demes) that share a common gene pool
What are halophiles and why are modern halophiles interesting to those who study the evolution of early cells?
Halophiles have pigments that absorb light. The pigment is used to protect yourself but then they evolved to energize this pigment to produce ATP, this is the beginning of photosynthesis. Love salt.
When/why would parent offspring conflict occur? Give some examples using the information on "Pregnancy" from Why We Get Sick.
Happens during birth until the asoclesence period. Ex. Breast feeding costs the mom because if she keeps doing it then she will have less reproductivity, but she also risks not giving the child enough nourishment. -fetus secretes human placental lactose (HPL) that ties up the moths insulin so blood glucose levels rise and provides more glucose to fetus--> mother can either combat by producing more insulin and fetus produces more HPL or if mother is deficient, leads to gestational diabetes -in early stages of pregnancy, placental cells destroy uterine nerves and arterial muscles that adjust blood flow and makes mother unable to reduce the flow of blood to the placenta--> if something constricts other arteries more blood flow goes to placenta, moderate increase in bp is associated with decreased fetal mortality
What did Lysenko believe? Why did he believe this?
He believed Mendelism was "the tool of bourgeois society," more specifically its belief that the gene could not be altered except by mutation, and that the direction of mutation was random—meaning that mutational change could not be governed by man or the environment. This, Lysenko believed, had to be wrong; because nature, as Marxist doctrine showed, had to be both improvable and perfectable. Adopting a kind of Lamarckism, Lysenko set out not only to destroy his Mendelian rivals but to transform Soviet agriculture. Improved varieties of crops could be created, he said, by allowing the environment to alter their hereditary properties. Within a single generation, he could transform winter wheat into spring wheat merely by changing the temperature in which it grew. He went further, saying that species could be transformed into other species at will wheat into rye, for instance by planting them in the right environment. The Darwinian idea that members of a species compete for the necessities of life was an invention of bourgeois science used to justify class struggle in a capitalist society. There could be no inherent competition, only altruism in nature. Seeds should be sown in clusters so that all except one would "sacrifice themselves for the good of the species."
Basically, who is Ken Miller?
He coauthored the biology textbook Biology that the Dover school district requested to use for the upcoming school year. He talked about the Darwinist theory of evolution throughout the book. He was called as a witness to this trial, among other scientists, because the judge was not well versed on science and people had to explain a definition of science to him to help him decide if intelligent design is a science or not.
How does Behe define science? Using this definition, does astrology qualify as a science? Why or why not?
He says ID is open to direct experimental rebuttal to falsify such a claim a scientist could go into a laboratory, place a bacterial species lacking a flagellum under some selective pressure for example motility, grow it for 10,000 generations and see if a flagellum or any equally complex system was produced. *He defined science as a proposed explanation which focuses on observable physical data and logical inferences. Yes, and so is the ether theory of light.
How can historical events (like geological events) be scientifically analyzed?
Historical phenomena can be scientifically analyzed because they form patterns, showing that repeated historical events are generally associated with one or more conditions that imply causation. It is difficult, and often impossible, to rigorously test a hypothesis about any single historical event, such as why the human species is the only "naked ape," and most speculations about such unitary historical events must remain speculations rather than rigorous scientific statements. But when a particular kind of historical event is repeated, we see whether it is usually associated with specific conditions that might qualify as causes. For example, from fossil material and comparative anatomy, it is possible to test the hypothesis that new features of organisms generally evolve by modification of preexisting features.
What is intelligent design (ID) and how does ID differ from this biblical view of the origin of life?
ID Claim: many features of organisms are too complex to have evolved through evolution alone so some aspects of organisms had to be formed by some intelligent designer. Of pandas and people textbook: various forms of life began abruptly though an intelligent agency with distinctive features already attached - John loves Mary in the sand is unlikely to be written in the sand just by chance - Life is too complex to happen at random and shape how things went - The designer is called an intelligent agent, God is never mentioned - Some believe evolution creates small changes but not the origin of people
Behe claims that ID is a scientific theory. Explain his position.
ID is a scientific theory that proposes some aspects of life are best explained as the result of design and that the strong appearance of design in life is real. It is based on observable empirical evidence from nature and logical inferences. Design is simply the purposeful arrangement of parts, when we infer the parts have a purpose or function we imply design.
If more than one possible phylogeny (or tree) is possible to construct with the given data, how does one decide which tree is best? (Explain how one uses parsimony to make a choice.)
If 70% if possible trees generated match the tree you are wondering about it's probably correct Also, it's more likely for a characteristic to be mutated out and stay out then be mutated in out and back in again
What caused the atmosphere to change to one that contained free oxygen?
If a cell evolved to use H2O (with CO2), then O2 would be the waste product instead of sulfur gas (H2S)
secondary causes of evolution (3)
Immigration and Emigration- when an individual leaves a population and/ or enters a population they take their genes with them, this causes random changes in the gene pool Evolutionary Bottleneck (a form of genetic drift) Some alleles will be randomly lost because of a natural disaster. The founder effect (another form of genetics) when a new colony is formed from a parental population, the gene pool of the new colony will not be an exact match of parental pop.
What does a literal reading of the old testament of The Bible say about the origin of life forms?
In the beginning God created everything. The earth is less than 10,000 years old and that God created everything fully formed, including humans, in 6 days
Under what conditions could group selection occur?
Individuals are going to act for the good of the group. If you give up your reproduction, then you
why isn't creationism science
It is not a scientific concept or actively researched by anyone. It is a violation of all science thus far. Science needs to be testable. You can't use ID to explain the natural world because it is a negative, it doesn't tell you anything about nature it just says what didn't happen (evolution); you can't build science on a negative argument. When you loosen the rules to permit the supernatural you're destroying what makes science important to civilization.
According to some, understanding evolution is both practical and important. Why?
It is practical because it is used in practical biological applications such as medicine, agriculture, industry (getting a flu vaccine). It isn't something that just happened in the past, evolution is happening now.
Why are mothers in our culture depressed?
It's not natural to give your baby away to someone else and not see them all day and also not natural to be alone watching kids. For example, at a party if the parents lose temper with children someone else will take over. If a mother is alone with kids locked in a house there's no one to relieve her and help.
Why are chloroxybacteria so interesting to evolutionary biologists?
Looks just like a chloroplast which suggests if it got engulfed in a bigger cell that you get a membrane bound organelle.
Above you have described parts of the scientific "story" that describes the appearance of life on earth. What makes this description scientific (as opposed to a myth)?
Miller-urey experiment - replicates the conditions believed to be present when monomers were formed, which can then join to create polymers, etc. It can be scientifically replicated, which makes it science and not myth
Single origin hypothesis
Modern homo sapiens come out of Africa and they replace, no transition, the already existing graceful African skeleton. There is distinct morphology in fossils found in Africa of modern humans that replaced archaic Homo sapiens. If this is true: Most genetic diversity should be in africa and all other groups should be more similar to each other because they are the result of the one group that comes out of africa; Europe should be more similar to australia than it is to africa because there is more diversity in Africa Issue: Cannot explain transitional fossils with mandibular canals
Multiregional Hypothesis
Multiregional: has 2 claims Humans evolved at the same time in Europe, Asia, Africa. There was gene flow between these populations which allowed them to evolve as one species. Gene pools of all present-day human populations are derived from a mixture of distant and local archaic populations. We should see fossil transition in the local area: neanders transitioning to modern europeans; java man transitioning to modern australian and malaysia; and peking man transitioning to modern people of china. Its harder to do this in africa because there is no version of neanderthals in africa because all this evolution is happening in africa so there's probably more forms in africa If this is true: most genetic differences should occur between Australians and Europeans because it's hardest for genes to flow between these two places. The most similar should be from Europe to Asia because they don't have a big barrier. Issue: Cannot explain the DNA evidence
Natural selection and genetic drift cannot produce new types in the population. Explain. What is the ultimate source of new alleles in a population? What is the other possible source of novel (new), heritable phenotypes in a population? Explain.
NS and drift can only act on what is present in the current population. Mutation is what can bring new alleles to a population (so can emigration/immiogration, but double check). Genetic recombination can break or make good gene combos, but it does not change the genes themselves
primary causes of evolution (3)
Natural selection (not random) Genetic drift (random) Mutation (random)
Other than mutation, what are primary mechanisms (there are two) that can cause a population to evolve?
Natural selection - not random (a response to the current environment) Genetic drift - random changes in gene pool not due to mutation, migration, etc (bottleneck and founder effect)
Be able to explain how natural selection can produce evolution
Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution They are not synonymous - evolution is a change in the gene pool of a population over one or more generations, and NS is a mechanism of evolution Conditions for NS: Must have heritable variants in the population to select from (phenotypic differences related to a genotypic difference between individuals in the pop) One heritable variant must have a competitive advantage over others
How is bias controlled/counteracted in science; what does "science is a self-correcting" process mean?
Newer scientific studies build upon past studies, new ideas are constantly being discovered which scientists can use to work backwards to correct past mistakes. Ex: Scientific literature being peer reviewed
Are all evolutionary scientists' atheists? What does Ken Miller believe (in this regard)?
No. Science and religion can be in harmony. Faith and reason are both gifts from god, if god is real these two should compliment each other.
What is the "adaptationist program"?
Observe something and then make an hypothesis to see it is adaptive or not. Ex: observe that fever are not uncommon, hypothesize that there is an adaptive value to the observation (fevers could be a defense against infectious agents), test the hypothesis (like the one with lizards)
A good scientific theory makes predictions. What predictions (that were then tested) are made by our modern understanding of evolution (that were described in the film). Identify the specific predictions and the evidence that related to those predictions. (discuss Tiktaalik whale evolution, archaeopteryx, and the problem with the number of human chromosomes)
One scientist brought the judge out for a day to show him fossils and the work that he does to explain: 1. Tiktaalik: 375 million years ago, fish turned into amphibians/tetrapods. This is the transitional fossil that was found in the Canadian arctic. Shows how land animals evolved from primitive fish. This is a mix of amphibians and fish with fins modified to limbs, has a flat head, eyes on top, and dated to the age that we predicted this animal would have existed. 2. Whale evolution: whales evolved from large land animals that returned to the water 3. Archaeopteryx: transitional fossil between dinosaurs evolving into birds. Has feathers, a long tail, and teeth. - fossils of extinct organisms bridge the gaps between species, they did not occur abruptly, there is gradual evolution just like Darwin said 4. Problem with number of human chromosomes: common ancestry of humans and apes. Discrepancy in chromosomes- the cells of all great apes (chimps, gorillas, etc.) contain 24 pairs of chromosomes. If humans share a common ancestor with them you would expect us to have the same number, but we have only 23 pairs. If evolution is right about a common ancestor, where did the 24th chromosome go? We need to find in the human genome where 2 chromosomes are attached somehow as the reason why we have 23 not 24. Telomeres (the end) and centromeres (center) should show evidence of this- chromosome #2 shows evidence of this. - any theory that isn't disproved in 150 years of research is a pretty good theory (this ^ supports Darwin)
What is Phenotypic plasticity? If phenotypic plasticity is heritable, it can evolve. Explain.
Phenotypic plasticity (textbook definition): Variation, under environmental influence, in the phenotype associated with a genotype. If phenotypic plasticity is heritable, it can evolve because if there is phenotypically different colonies, and competitive advantages to one trait. If the individuals who have phenotypic plasticity, has a competitive advantage, then they will reproduce and pass on their traits to the future generations.
6. Who were the plaintiff's in the court case, and what did they have to prove? (what two things?) The judge, John E. Jones III was appointed by what president? (and why does this possibly matter?)
Plaintiff=suing (11 parents), defendant=getting sued (Dover area school district) The dover school board's one-minute statement promoted religion Board members had religious motivation He was appointed by George W Bush who is not in favor of intelligent design but thinks both theories should be taught and is republican with a big religious following Judge had to answer the question: is intelligent design science or not
How would positive or negative assortative mating affect the gene frequencies in a population?
Positive: breeding is favored between one phenotype (red butterflies mate with red butterflies), frequency of homozygous dominant and recessive individuals will increase while heterozygous individuals goes towards zero, allele frequency does not change. Negative: this is when breeding is favored between those of opposing phenotypes (red butterfly mates with a whote one), frequency of g2 will be maintained, gene frequency is eventually stabalized, no longer in hardy weinberg equilibrium.
What do scientists believe was the first genetic material? Why? Describe the current hypothesis that explains the evolution of the genetic system we see in life forms today. What is the "Central Dogma" of modern biology?
RNA -can copy itself as long as there are materials available -trend leads to errors which create different forms like mRNA or tRNA -DNA would not have been formed if RNA were not created -supports central dogma that RNA--> proteins--> DNA
How did Lysenko's beliefs influence scientific research in the USSR (how did bias influence scientific investigations)?
Rapidly achieving command of Soviet biology and agriculture, Lysenko destroyed it all. From the 1930s on, biological research in the Soviet Union was perverted to Lysenko's ends, and agricultural production fell deeper and deeper into disaster. Lysenko had never given evidence for his claims; but his political power left him unassailable. Only in 1965 was he finally deposed, and Soviet biology has been struggling ever since to catch up with the West.
What is the evolutionary arms race? Describe the Red Queen Hypothesis.
Red Queen: bc species co-evolve, there is a constant 'arms race' between co-evolving species (predator and prey, pathogen/parasite and host). Continuous evolution is needed just to maintain yourself
When closely related species compete, they may evolve in such a way that competition (between the two species) for resources decreases. This involves directional section, NOT disruptive selection. Explain why.
Similarly to the question above, they evolve in opposite directions to become specialists and leave the middle area. This is because they are separate species/populations.
What is the difference between a social Darwinist and a Darwinist?
Social darwinism uses natural selection to justify certain political, social, or economic views
What are the weaknesses of the (modern) typological species concepts?
Sometimes members of the same species look very different (due to sexual dimorphisms, polymorphisms, and metamorphosis), while members of different species look the same to us (see cryptic species in EA text). Although convergent evolution may not be a problem when determining separate species, when trying to use shared characteristics to group life forms into larger taxonomic groups like genera or orders (etc.), convergent evolution can make distantly related organisms look similar. And different species that have recently evolved from a common ancestor may be so similar that they are grouped together in one species (these are called cryptic species - again, see EA text).
Be prepared to discuss why there is no single, perfect definition for a species. Why is it so difficult to classify life forms into completely separate species?
Species are not real things, people think they are but sometimes they aren't. There are about 26 species definitions and none of them work for everything. There is no one clear definition of what a species is
What is a tautology? Natural selection, under certain circumstances, can be a tautology. Explain. How does one avoid making natural selection a tautology?
Tautology is saying the same thing twice but in different words. NS can be a tautology: who is the fittest? Those who reproduce most >>> why reproduce the most? Bc they're the fittest (and back and forth) Make a hypothesis - the above is not a hypothesis (double check on ways to avoid tautology)
According to Johnson, what is the problem associated with accepting that humans are animals? (How would an evolutionary biologist respond to this concern?)
That means they don't have a soul or moral standards.
According to Futuyma, what do we learn about science (in general) from the story of Lysenko?
That reality stubbornly refuses to be bent to our desires or ideologies. Genes cannot be altered to suit our ends, as devoutly as we may wish them to be. Truth cannot be established by the Communist Party, nor by the vote of a democratic society or a board of education. Reality does not yield to wishful thinking.
What is neo-Darwinian theory, and when was it developed? What is wrong with neo-Darwinian theory?
The "hard-core" genetic theory evolutionists adhered to after the "modern synthesis" of the 1940s and 1950s: the belief that all of evolution consisted of the action of natural selection on slight genetic variations. If this is the definition of neo-Darwinian theory, then "the modern synthesis is incomplete, not incorrect." For such a theory would not account for nonadaptive characteristics; nor, in itself, would it account for why certain long-term series of evolutionary events occurred. In particular, Gould and certain other paleontologists have postulated that long-term evolutionary trends may be caused not just by slow, steady change in one direction within a particular species, but by a higher-level process that the neo-Darwinists didn't emphasize in the modern synthesis: rates of extinction and speciation.
What is the Discovery Institute? Basically, who is Philip Johnson (by profession), and what does he believe?
The Seattle institute that promotes intelligent design. He is a professor at UC Berkeley school of Law and wrote a book bashing Darwinism. He believes in intelligent design. He wants to be the sharp edge of the wedge and use his academic credentials and legal abilities to get some hearing for the proposition that Darwin is wrong. He can't answer all of the questions so he needs more people to take on the thick edge of the wedge using scientific expertise (ex. Behe).
What is social Darwinism?
The belief that those who are successful got their because they were the "fittest," and that those in poverty were there based on their own failings. A justification for wealth inequality. The idea that human progress is the outcome of competition and struggle among individuals, races, and nations. Kind of supports eugenics
What is the difference between a generalist and a specialist?
The difference between a generalist and a specialist is the type of resources they can get. For example, a generalist bird has the tools (beak) to eat a small seed or a big seed, while if the bird was a specialist, its beak could only eat one type of seed.
What is objective knowledge? Is objective knowledge the only true knowledge?
The emotions that any individual claims to have are not susceptible to scientific documentation, because they cannot be independently verified by other observers. In other words, science seeks to explain only objective knowledge, knowledge that can be acquired independently by different investigators if they follow a prescribed course of observation or experiment. Many human experiences and concerns are not objective, and so do not fall within the realm of science. As a result, science has nothing to say about aesthetics or morality. The functioning of human society, then, clearly requires principles that stem from some source other than science. While science can provide objective knowledge, we must look elsewhere for guidance on how to use that knowledge.
What was the judge's decision and, in his statement, - what is his reaction to ID? According to Judge Jones, one of the roles of the judiciary is to protect individuals from "the tyranny of the majority." What does this mean?
The judge ruled against the Dover school district and on the side of the ACLU. It ruled that ID is not science and it was introduced for religious reasons, thus unconstitutional to teach in classrooms. Darwin's theory is imperfect but testable and well supported. ID is a relabeling of creationism. School district was ordered to pay over 1 million dollars of the plaintiffs legal fees.
How is it possible to have a maladaptive characteristic that is common in pop?
The maladaptive characteristics could have been beneficial in the past, but conditions/the environment has changed and the population hasn't been able to keep up. The trait could also be a byproduct of a gene/genotype that produces both useful and harmful traits
What is the hallmark of science? Given that scientists are human, and therefore also subject to bias, subjective and foolish, why should anyone listen to what scientists have to say or believe?
The question: "what is the evidence."
What are the scientific errors incorporated into social Darwinism? What is the philosophical flaw of social Darwinism? Explain all answers.
The scientific method can't account for morality You cant compare social and evolutionary progress
How is it possible to promote a trait via natural selection that shortens one's lifespan?
The trait could provide benefits for individuals before or at reproductive age, allowing them to pass on their genes even if the trait shortens their life (goal is reproduction) Pleiotropic genes (genes with more than one effect). Example given was a gene that changes calcium metabolism so that bone heals faster, but the same gene also causes slow and steady calcium deposits into arteries. Even if it caused everyone to die by age 100 it would be selected for because it helps in youth.
What is the Wedge Strategy, and what is the ultimate goal of the Wedge Strategy?
The wedge is a secret discovery institute document with goals spelled out about strategy. Their goal is to overthrow all effects of evolution on society and completely change American culture back to what they believe is its proper religious foundation. The wedge strategy is: when you use a wedge to split a log you start with the sharp edge of the wedge
What are the three basic assumptions of scientific investigations?
There are mechanistic explanations for natural (observable) phenomena. The laws of nature do not change over time. We will follow the rule of parsimony
Why will two populations that have a postmating isolating mechanism tend to evolve a premating isolating mechanism?
There can be evolutionary pressure to evolve a premating mechanism such as courtship rituals. Example: there is a population where some individuals do not care about a characteristic, such as green feathers, and some individuals do care. The variant that prefers green is either more or less likely to get grandchildren. This creates a bias against random mating, and for adaptive value in purposeful mating. Those who waste their time and experience post mating selection do not pass on their genes as often so this will make the percent who have the variant for random mating or not caring about feather color go down.
According to Robert Wright, what aspects of our modern environment would tend to make us depressed, and why? List all the basic reasons/factors he reviews in the article, and be able to explain why he thinks these factors will cause individuals to become depressed.
These maladies are a result of a mismatch between the modern and ancestral environment Technology- it "erodes the bonds of neighborly independence" media can distort self perception Social isolation- single person households (¼ of american households) Working mothers are more depressed than men- its unnatural for a woman to watch kids AND work by the hunter gatherer society logic Society regards normal impulses as selfish (i.e. lust, aggression, guilt) capitalism - limited economic opportunity, makes people choose between family and work Birth control We can't follow our social instincts because these things kind of block it We live in an environment so different from our ancestral environment that it is causing emotional problems. This is strange because we are less likely to starve, lose a child, and deal with other bad things but the rates of depression are higher. We are less social than primitive society (isolation) In the stone age you would live in a tribe made up of family and friends A woman would typically have many children each 5 years apart, they were breastfed for longer and family or friends would watch babies for them while they worked or they carry baby with them
Near the end of the trial, Buckingham and Bonsell get into trouble with the judge. Why?
They swore in their deposition that they didn't know who donated the 60 copies of Pandas to the high school but by the time Buckingham took the witness stand the story changed. Donations were made from members of the church when Buckingham said he prayed donations would come in but didn't technically directly ask anyone. He wrote a check with this money from his own checking account and "some unknown businessman" took the money and did it. At trial he admitted he gave Bonsell the money and the unknown businessman was Bonsell's father; this contradicts what they said earlier.
What are the weaknesses of the various biological species (specifically, gene flow) concepts?
This method cannot be applied to asexually reproducing organisms (especially bacteria! - why?) and fossils (why?). Also, allopatric populations are problematic. If you have two islands in the Galapagos, and there is a population of a large-beaked seed eating finch on each island, and individuals in these two populations look the same and have very similar genetics but they don't interbreed because they will not fly over water does each island have its own distinct species? Or is this one species that is living on two different islands? *Defines species as if you're moving genes back and forth via gene flow then youre the same species. Things that block gene flow define species Can't use this on fossils bc they're dead
Why are we constructed so that we can easily choke on our food?
Tinkering human body → maladaptive traits Previously we did not need a respiratory or it was separate.
Competition can result in closely related species evolving into specialists. Explain how this process occurs. Once a species is a specialist, is it more likely or less likely to go extinct in the future? Briefly defend/explain your answer. Thus, does evolution help produce species that are less likely to go extinct in the future (compared to species that existed in the past)? Explain your answer.
To help with competition, the two closely related species would evolve into specialists of different kinds of food, for example, two closely related birds could evolve to eat different sized food to eliminate competition and make sure both can survive. Once a species is a specialist, it is more likely to go extinct in the future because if something happens in the future to their environment, and eliminates that specific food, because they can't eat a variety of things they have a higher chance to go extinct in the future. Evolution
What is uniformitarianism (in general)? This term is usually associated with geology. Explain. Uniformitarianism is an assumption made by all scientists. Explain.
Uniformitarianism: the laws of nature do not change over time. As said below, if we can understand how rocks are formed today, (what conditions, chemical reactions are favored for the results) then we can assume that rocks have formed this way in the past and will continue to form this way in the future.
What environment are we adapted for? Describe the hypothesized ancestral environment. or the environment of evolutionary adaptedness (EAA). What were (probably) some of the most important health problems in the ancestral environment?
We were adapted for the stone age era environment. They had food shortages so usually had lack of nutrition. That's why we choose to gravitate towards the apple pie instead of an apple because an apple pie is much heavier and can leave a person full for much longer.
What evidence was presented to support the assertion that the introduction of the "Panda" book and the statement were religiously motivated?
When the 60 copies of panda were donated to the school there was a catalog at the bottom of the box that talked about creation science. This was given to the national center for science education and the book was investigated. The history of this book and its arguments were analyzed. A creationist student newspaper from 1981 had an article about Charles Thaxton, a worker at the discovery institute, saying he was writing a biology textbook about creationism and evolution together. They found out this same guy was also an editor of the Pandas book. Suggests this textbook started out as a creationism book and just changed the name to intelligent design. Any early drafts of the book were subpoenaed. There were 2 drafts of pandas abou edwards vs aguillard which was about it being unconstitutional to teach creationism in public school science classes, one draft was written before the case, one was written after and revised. In both drafts creationism and intelligent design had the same definition, just another name, intelligent design in the second draft. Additionally, when making this second draft they rushed so much they accidentally changed the word creationists to cdesign proponentsists which shows they just changed the word creationists but kept the same content which makes intelligent design and creationism the same thing.
Explain mismatch theory.
You are evolved for the stone age. It's not that you stopped evolving, it's that you don't evolve that fast. Evolutionary change lags behind the environment so if that environment changes within a generation the kids born from people in that generation don't have what they need to adapt to the change. To evolve traits that were once advantageous but became maladaptive due to changes in the environment.
Why would TV, movies, and magazines make us depressed?
You're comparing yourself to a perfect situation. Humans are tribal and have dominance hierarchies, you subconsciously care about the hierarchy and you don't want to be in the bottom. If it seems as if other people are all doing better than you are it feels bad. You hear and see the best in the world. If you lived with 50-100 people you'd be the best at something.
Cladistics
a classification scheme based on the historical sequence of divergence events (phylogeny); also used to identify a method of inferring phylogenies based on the presence of shared derived characters (synapomorphies)
Clade
a set of species descended from one common ancestral species (the ancestral species and its descendants are a monophyletic group). Example: all birds are a clade, but all mammals may not be a clade. Cladograms show evolutionary relationships and represent each branch point, but insist that each branch point leads to only two groups.
ultimate explanations
address how this behavior aided in the passing on of genes that helped to produce this behavior (in the past)
biological vs chemical evolution
biological occurs after formation of first cells and life forms chemical evolution. formation of organic materials needed to form the 1st cells or life forms
mutagen
chemicals that cause mutations, which may cause cancer or damage genes and thus lead to health problems for many generations
teratogen
chemicals that interfere with normal tissue development and cause birth defects These two are not sharply separate from each other and or from toxins with short range effects
proximate explanations
concern the genetic factors, developmental pathways, and physiology that produce the behavior.
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
condition that occurs when the frequency of alleles in a particular gene pool remain constant over time
What is the transmission rate hypothesis?
considering the costs/benefits of virulence, what will encourage the evolution of more (or less) virulent forms of the pathogen (depends on vector and how easy transmission is)
Monophyletic group
groups that share a common ancestor
How do Herron & Freeman define life?
if it forms population capable of evolving by natural selection then it is alive
Why is it interesting that only L-amino acids and D-sugars bind to some clays?
macromolecules of all living things have these compounds
Candelabra Hypothesis
multiple early migrations from Africa (as long as 1 million years ago) established different populations of H. erectus that evolved separately into different races
How many children does a woman in a modern hunter-gatherer society tend to have in a lifetime?
one every 4-5 years
The head of the curriculum committee in Dover was a retired what (Bill Buckingham).
policeman
Be familiar with the basic differences between prokaryotic, eukaryotic, and virus cells
prokaryotic cells -phospholipid cell membrane -DNA and RNA -ribosomes -*no membrane bound organelles -*1 circular chromosome made of DNA -contains all metabolic machinery needed for its own reproduction -*divides by binary fission eukaryotic cells -phospholipid cell membrane -DNA and RNA -ribosomes -*membrane bound organelles -*several linear chromosomes with DNA wrapped around proteins -containes all metabolic machinery needed for its own reproduction -*divide by mitosis viruses -no cell membrane but could have protein coat -DNA or RNA not both -no organelles -no membrane -no chromosomes -must infect a cell in order to reproduce -reproduces inside a host cell, no division
Describe proteinoid microspheres
proteinoid microspheres made of chains of amino acids -have cytoplasmic like streaming -selectively permeable -form voltage across membrane from illumination of sunlight -bud like bacteria -2 layer membrane comparable to that of bacteria -missing a functional metabolism and self replicating process (inadequate forms of life)
type 1 error
rejecting the null hypothesis when you should actually accept it
cladogram
show evolutionary relationships and represent each branch point, but insist that each branch point leads to only two groups.
Speciation
the formation of new and distinct species in the course of evolution.
Homoplasy
the trait acquired by unrelated species as a result of the same adaptive response to a similar environment. It arises from convergent evolution in which different species evolved analogous traits.
Hybridization-Assimilation hypothesis
there was a group of homo erectus from africa that established neanderthals and all else then there was a second migration where modern homo sapiens intermixed with those. No one is a complete dead end because modern homo sapiens don't totally replace neanderthals they breed with them briefly
