Natural Selection Is still present.

Article:
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/04/natural-selection-is-still-with-.html

Summary:
This Article expalins that in a world where technology is driving excellence in the human race, we still cannot isolate ourselves from the elements of time, and the world. Thus Natural selection in still present in the human race. Through and analysis of four key points: Who lived beyond age 15, who got married and who didn't, how many marriages each person had (second marriages were possible only if a spouse died), and how many children were born in each marriage, data from 5923 people in finland through the years 1760 and 1849 suggested that in fact Natural selection is more present than ever before. Since this time era was decided, as by that time a healthy life could be obtained through the technology of farming, It is legitimate enough to say the majority of deaths were not influenced by starvation. That being said, the data suggests that most people dieing before the age of 15 died of a disease, thus Natural Selection favored those who were immune to the disease. Next data was collected that the stronger, more appealing humans were selected to have children and marry, thus through the data, This article proves that natural selection is still very abundant in modern life, even though we have seemed to stray from it.
Relevance:
This aricle is relevant to our current term because we are studying the paths and patterns of Natural selection. However I personally find it even more interesting because normally for homework, or in class we discuss how natural selection has effected species that happened to have lived many years ago, or present species that are not humans. So to have an article that relates to both us as a Human race and the topic we are studying in bio is interesting.

Evolution of Life in 24 Hours

Evolution of Life Compressed in 24 hours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2_6cqa2cP4

Summary:
This video is a simplified overview of the evolution of life on earth it was to be compressed into 24 hours.
4:00 am- arise of first single cell organisms that spend a lot of time alone
1:00 pm- first eukaryotic cells with internal organs
6:30 pm- cells form colonies and first multicellular life develops
8:30pm- sea plants appear (animal life erupt)
9:57 pm- plants and land mammals
10:24- forest and winged insects appear
11:41- mass extinction event vanish dinosaurs
age of mammals 11:59 humans emerge

Relevance to Class:
Our unit in class is all about the evolution of life and this video gives the basic outline of what we are learning in detail. The video also has vocab words we are learning like "mass extinction" and etc. This video would help at the beginning of the unit to give a preview of what is to come in full depth and detail.

Did Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals Interbreed?

Did Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals Interbreed?

Study casts doubt on human-Neanderthal interbreeding theory

August 13, 2012

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/aug/14/study-doubt-human-neanderthal-interbreeding?commentpage=2

Summary: When it was found that modern humans contain DNA from Neanderthals, people came to the conclusion that Homo Sapiens and Neanderthals had interbred. Recent studies at Cambridge have lead them toa new hypothesis. Instead of interbreeding, The Neandertal DNA we contain is a remnant of a common ancestor we share with Neanderthals. It was accepted that all non-African peoples have about 4 percent Neanderthal DNA based on an analysis in 2010. Andrea Manica says the analysis hadover estimated the amount of DNA shared by Neanderthals and modern people. The analysis had not taken into account the genetic variation already present between different populations of the ancestors of modern humans in Africa. 

Connection to Our Class: In our class we are both learning about interbreeding and common ancestors. Interbreeding can change the gene pool of a population resulting in microevolution which leads to macroevolution, then a new species is formed. A common ancestor is a organism that evolved into 2 or more organisms. The closer a common ancestor is to a pair of organisms, the more related they are.

Are Humans Still Evolving?

Are Humans Still Evolving?

By Jay T Stock

2008 (which, evolutionarily, is barely a blink!)

http://www.nature.com/embor/journal/v9/n1s/full/embor200863.html

This article is about how some people think human evolution has changed from us having pressure on us from the world and weather and other organisms, to more of us having to culturally adapt. In the past, before we were at the top of our food chain, we had to work together, hunting and scavenging for food. Physical strength and lack of abnormalities such as bad vision and deafness was what helped us survive. Nowadays, even with abnormalities, the rest of society helps you by giving you glasses or hearing aids. We have taken over the world and now we have no competition. In fact, our competition is slowly becoming ourselves. We are becoming so overpopulated that we have split cultures by countries, and with the combination of animosity towards other ethnicities and simple over-population, we are killing ourselves off. As Malfus suspected, our population has grown past our resources, and I believe we are reaching our turning point after which our population will drop.
However, even with such a drop in population, our innate tendency to "spread the wealth" which, in this case, will probably be food, will make our genetic drift randomized and it will be random selections from our gene pool that will survive. It will not be the our fitness, but more of a bottleneck effect in which we will start anew from a random selection of people who survive.

Evidence for Evolution of Life

The Evidence for Evolution of Life

Summary:

This video summarizes Charles Darwin's voyage and the explanation behind some of this theories and ideas. It goes through the different pieces of evidence, such as: the size of the beaks of the finches, or that each island had its own climate, that ultimately allowed Darwin to publish his theory of evolution and natural selection in his book, The Origin of Species. It also talks about artificial selection and the use of fossils to make inferences and predictions about the past. Then at the end, it talks about DNA and how DNA can be used to discover the complete past of the Earth.

Relevance to class:

This unit was called,"Evolution."  At the very beginning of the unit, we learned about natural selection and adaptations that allow organisms and species to thrive. We used Darwin's example and we went through how exactly he could come to that examples. We also learned about whales and how through fossils and phylogenetic trees, he can conclude that whales have evolved from land dwelling mammals. This video explains much of what we have went over in class and what we learned in the textbook, specifically chapter 14. It thoroughly explains the discoveries of Darwin and the evidence he used to find it. It also talks about fossils and how they can be used to analyze evolution.


Video Information:

YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cC8k2Sb1oQ8
Author: bozemanbiology
Date of Publication: March 31, 2012

Parrots Pushed to the Brink of Extinction

Video by National Geographic
Published 17 December, 2012
Link: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/ng-on-assignment/parrots-deadly-virus-ngoa/

Deadly Virus Pushes Parrots to Brink of Extinction

Summary:
The Eastern Cape of South Africa is home of the Cape Parrots. The main food source of these birds is the fruit produced from the Yellow Wood Tree. However, deforestation has lead to a major decrease in this tree. The parrots have been forced to eat alternate food sources, but these alternate food sources make the parrots more susceptible to the Psittancine Beak and Feather Disease. This disease has affected and killed many of the parrots, and the population has decreased so much that there are only around 1000 Cape Parrots left in the wild. Dr. Steve Boyes has helped nurse sick Cape Parrots back to health in an effort to prevent the extinction of the species. However, if deforestation does not stop, then the extinction of this species could actually occur.

Relevance:
In concept 15.3, we learned about extinction, when a species is permanently lost. Some extinction, such as these parrots, is caused by human interference. This also relates to the Bottleneck Effect in concept 14.4. Although deforestation is not a natural disaster, it has the same results of the Bottleneck Effect. The population of the Cape Parrot has been dramatically reduced. Because the parrots are not able to resist disease and adapt to the environmental challenges, there must be little variation in their gene pool. This type of result of the Bottleneck Effect is also found in cheetahs. It is possible that one of the parrots could one day have a mutation that makes it resistant to the beak and feather disease, and through natural selection that trait could be passed on and end up saving the species from extinction.

Prehistoric Cancer

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0607-jurassic_docs.htm
 Summary:
  Scientists are using newer technology such as CT scans to look at fossils. This technology is enabling scientists to discover things, such as cancer tumors, that they couldn't see before. Discovering that even dinosaurs had cancer has given med students a new incentive to learn more about cancer and other medical problems we have today.
 Relevance to Class:
We have recently learned that paleontologists use fossils to study evolution of species and modern species that they can be related to. Paleontologists are now working with doctors and med students to see if fossils contain prehistoric versions of the medical problems we have today.

What in the World is a Dugong?

Summary

The video talks about how Dugongs or sea cows are in danger of extinction. Dugongs are marine animals that live in the Middle East. Sirenia is the order of the placental mammals. This order also includes manatees and rays. Dugongs eat large amounts of sea grass and that is getting polluted by humans, and that is why they are in trouble.

Relevance
It is related to our subject because this video mentions how these creatures came to be through evolution. It also talks about natural selection and how this species will become extinct if we don't do anything about it.

Works Cited
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YProaycNpHE
Date of Publication: Jun 5, 2012
Creator's Youtube username: National Geographic

"Ophiocistioids! Weird Mystery Fossils from the Paleozoic!"

"Ophiocistioids! Weird Mystery Fossils from the Paleozoic!"

 

A fossil in dating back to the Paleozoic Era was found. The name, comes from the Greek words, ophis ("snake") and kiste ("box"). The first fossil of this sort was found back in 1889. By using homologous structures in modern animals, it has been deduced that this "snake box" is a descendent of modern day sea cucumbers and sea urchins. However, there are some differences in the Ophiocistioids and the sea urchins of today. The animals have a structure called a goniodonts which is used to shear off food like a saw. These structures operate sideways, unlike a sea urchin. Despite their relation to sea cucumbers and sea urchins, these animals represent turtles in their armored body. This resemblance may have been because of convergent evolution, which means that the two species were put under the same evolutionary stress and evolved to look similar.

This is related to what we are learning in biology now because it has to do with evolution, the very subject we happen to be studying now (what a coincidence).

Article Published: August 7, 2012
URL: http://echinoblog.blogspot.com/2012/08/ophiocistioids-weird-mystery-fossils.html
Anuradha Saini

 

The Effects of Genetic Drift

Summary:
Genetic drift is one of many processes that contribute to evolution. It is a change in the frequency of an allele in a population due to random sampling. Genetic drift causes two effects, those that we know as the bottleneck effect and the founder effect. The bottleneck effect occurs when the size of a certain population is reduced for a generation or two. Mainly, in small populations, the bottleneck effect reduces the genetic variation of that population by a lot, even though it lasts for a short period of time. The founder effect occurs when there is a new population that is started y a few members of an old population. The small size of the new population may indicate that there has been a reduction of the genetic variation from the old population to the new population, or the new population may have a non-random sample of genes from the old population.

Relevance to Class:
In class, we talked about the main function of the founder effect and how it works when some of the members of a population moved from their original location and started a new population in a new location. This also answers the question of Darwin's wonder of why there were different species in the same continent.

Do Animals With Bigger Brains Survive Longer?

Article

This article asks the question, do animals who have bigger brains survive longer in nature? For smaller animals, the answer is yes. The argument is that smaller animals, such as rodents, who have larger brains tend to be more likely to thrive when introduced to new places. They are more likely to adapt and perform, thus increasing their chance of having offspring who possess the same larger brain. This ability to adapt to new environments also lessens the chance for that species to go extinct. 

The ideas presented in this article are relevant because they relate to the topic of natural selection, which we have been studying. This process that favors those who are more suited to their environment over others. The organisms that are able to adapt better survive longer, produce more off spring, and soon become the majority of a species.

Works Cited
URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mostly-big-brained-survive
Author: Emma Marris and Nature Magazine
Date Published: July 17, 2012

Carl's actual biomedia report term 2

stanford researchers have recently developed a model of all the processes that occur in a cell. all of them. this can be used to teach new doctors, research cures for cancer. the researchers developed a model for the bacteria "Mycoplasma genitalium." They will be researching and building a model for the bacteria E. Coli.eventually they will be be able to produce whole cell models for human heart and lung and even brain cells. All of which could lead to huge advances in the field of medicine. 

This is relevant to the class because we studied several important functions of a cell and how it relates to functions of the body. As if that weren't difficult enough, these scientists created a model of every single cellular function. That means the krebs cycle, DNA synthesis, transcription, translation, etc, and every single other function, which is pretty intense. 

http://www.stanforddaily.com/2013/01/14/cell-biology-researchers-look-to-future/ 

By Alexis Garduno January 14, 2013

biomedia report term 2

stanford researchers have recently developed a model of all the processes that occur in a cell. all of them. this can be used to teach new doctors, research cures for cancer. the researchers developed a model for the bacteria "Mycoplasma genitalium." They will be researching and building a model for the bacteria E. Coli.eventually they will be be able to produce whole cell models for human heart and lung and even brain cells. All of which could lead to huge advances in the field of medicine.

The Five Fingers of Evolution

Vennela Pandaraboyina
1/16/13

The Five Fingers of Evolution

by Paul Anderson

TEDEducation

May 7th, 2012

 

 

 

Summary

     The gist of the video is about evolution, and the process of evolution. It focuses on the the definition of evolution, which is change in the gene pool over time. It explains that the gene pool is just all the different alleles for a gene in a population, and over time the genes just get rearranged, but the frequency of the genes stays the same. It also covers the five processes of evolution. The first is small population, and how chance has a bigger impact on a small population. If a small group of organisms is seperated from the larger group of organisms somehow, then the genes in this small population are the genes in the new gene pool. The seperation of the organisms is done by complete chance, so the changes in the gene pool are also by chance. The next process is mating. The frequency of genes in a population can depend on how often people with a certain allele mated. The next process is mutation, where a mutation in the DNA can lead to a new allele for a gene, which changes the gene pool. The fourth process of evolution is gene flow, where new individuals move into and area or move out of an area, they are changing the gene pool by taking their alleles away from the population. Finally, the most important process of evolution is natural selection. Natural selection leads to adaptation. The genes that make the individual better adapted to the enviroment will do well in the gene pool. If it harms the individual, then its frequency will decline. All of these processes cause microevolution, but can eventually lead to macroevolution, or speciation!

 

Relevance

     The relevance of this video is that we learned about evolution this unit. We talked about natural selection, and how it is the process by which individuals with inherited characteristics well-suited to the enviroment leave more offspring on average than do other individuals, leading those characteristics to become prominent. We also talke about how mutations are the original reasons why there is variation and change in the gene pool, and how it is completely random. We learned about the bottleneck effect and the founder effect, which both involved small populations, chosen by chance, whose genes were the gene pool of the population. This video is a direct correlation to what we learned.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



New Species of Bus-Sized Prehistoric Sea Monster Discovered in Nevada

Click to go to the article's website.

Summary:

The newly unearthed fossil's species has been dubbed "Thalattoarchon." The translation, "lizard eating predator of the sea,"is fairly accurate. This reptile wandered the ocean during the dinosaur era and ate other marine lizards of its own size, the first ocean predator to do so. The modern-day counterpart would be the orca and great white shark. In addition, the appearance of this species is only 8 million years after the largest mass extinction, which emphasizes the ability of ecosystems to recover from even the most extreme events. After 160 million years of success as a species, the Thalattoarchon went extinct from still unknown reasons.

Relevance to Class:

Fossils are of great importance to scientists, looking to understand evolutionary relationships. In the article, the fossil record, which identifies the relative age of fossils, shows that after a mass extinction, species returned to the ocean quickly. Some of the species surviving the mass extinction must have, through adaptive radiation, filled the empty niches. As we've studied, even though mass extinctions wipe out a huge percentage of species, leaving behind less variety, after the fact, species quickly diversify again.

This article also mentions some of the adaptations that the Thalattoarchon evolved. One adaptation was the long, sharp teeth that could cut up the large marine reptiles they ate. In combining Darwin's theory of natural selection and the biological definition of fitness, those that were able to catch and eat more prey would more likely survive and live to reproduce. This species was around for 160 million years before it became extinct, which is much longer than the average successful species' lifetime of 1-5 million years. The concept of extinction, though common sense to us today, was a radical idea in Darwin's time because people had long believed that species had been on Earth since God had created it and would continue to exist forever. Darwin's realization that species evolve also changed the opinions on extinction.

Works Cited:

URL: http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19805
Author: Julie Kent
Date of Publication: January 8, 2013

Cladograms

Summary:
This video is about cladograms. According to the video, a cladogram is a phylogenetic tree with characteristics that are shared by organisms, and it puts together a hypothesis based on how the organisms are related. The video uses the example of some imaginary pond organisms: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.
Based on their physical characteristics, they are sorted into a cladogram (from left to right they are C, B, G, D, A, F, E). The physical characteristics should be sorted as such: cell membrane, circle, eye, 4 arrows, mouth, red eye, and 12 arrows. The video states that a cladogram is based on time: the most left organism has evolved from a common ancestor the earliest and the organism to the most right has most recently evolved from a common ancestor. Also, the theory of parsimony is discussed in relationship to cladograms. It states that if all things are equal, the simplest explanation for how something occurred is usually the most right. In addition, the video talks about how at first, people used physical traits to determine evolutionary history in a cladogram. However, that can be inaccurate (analogous structures). Therefore, now, modern scientists use DNA evidence to make cladograms.

Relevance to Class:
We learned about cladograms in class, and even had to make a cladogram based on evidence from skulls in our lab practical. This video goes over how to make and interpret a cladogram in a helpful manner.

Video Information:
Link/URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouZ9zEkxGWg
Author: Paul Anderson
Date: May 11, 2012

Natural Selection VS. Artificial Selection

Summary:
There is a difference between Natural Selection and Artificial Selection. Natural means something that is made by nature, while artificial is something made by humans. Both Natural Selection and Artificial Selection are related to evolution, which means a change over time. An example we could use to prove the differences in these to forms of selection are cougars. One cougar has very sharp teeth, while the other cougar has very dull teeth. In this case, Nature would decide that the cougar with the sharp teeth will survive better then the cougar with the dull teeth. It was not up to humans to make this decision. This is an example of Natural Selection. On the other hand, if humans were surviving which cougars would survive, we probably wouldn't be deciding on the sharpness of their teeth, rather on their appearance and what we think is "cute". Therefore, whichever cougar is cuter is the one that the humans will choose to keep alive. Over many years, after domesticating animals, we made specific animals house pets. This is artificial selection. Another example of natural selection is plants. If specific plants were resistant to drought, when there is a low amount of rain the plants that need less water survive, while the other plants die. On the other hand, whatever flower humans choose they like the best is the one that will survive since humans have things such as irrigation. This is another example of artificial selection.

Relevance:
This is relevant to our main topic that we are studying now, evolution. It's also relevant to what we did in notes about natural selection and artificial selection when it comes to the potato and later Darwin's explanations of these types of selection.

Siting:
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhkYc7fHcR0
Publisher: Youtube
Author:dek2635 (Mr. Kam)
Date of Publication: November 12, 2012

Using DNA to Find Populations History of groups

Using DNA to Find Population History of Groups

Summary:
Professor Jonathan Pritchard and Joseph Prickell has combined both methods from evolutionary biology and statistics in an attempt to develop a general method to predict gene flow between different groups in he same species. He describes this method as a software model that has been developed so inferences could be made to a populations history and their interactions with each other in species. This type of concept is all based on modern DNA knowledge. Jonathan says that making a tree of inter-specie history always has a possibility of having interbreeding populations. The software has been developed and is called "TreeMix", which compares how often variants of a certain gene from separate populations can appear in the same specie. Pritchard has tested this software with 55 human and 82 dog populations. His TreeMix graphs look less like trees due to the interbreeding of populations. Other groups of researchers have used TreeMix as well, for example one group has used it to show a link between two populations of neanderthals, the Denisovans and the Papuans. These two populations live in different areas, but still inter-breed. This leads scientists to another question of how exactly did they migrate and change over time

Relevance:
The relevance of this article to our current term of Biology is evolution. For example the TreeMix software is used to see how populations interacted and evolved with each other. The tree-like structure it generates is similar to a cladogram in many ways. This is just a new way of looking at evolution and relationships between organisms. Instead of different species, TreeMix looks at the even finer detail of different populations.

Siting:

URL: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130109151156.htm
Publisher: ScienceDaily
Author:  Matt Wood
Date of Publication: January 9, 2013

Giant Prehistoric Penguins

Giant Prehistoric Penguins!!!

Summary:

Paleontologists reconstructed a model of penguin found in modern day New Zealand approximately 25 million years ago. The fossilized bones, found in 1977, helped reconstruct the model which stands at around 4 feet 6 inches tall, the size of a fourth grader. The article goes on to detail how the penguins' short, thick legs and feet and flipper-like wings were well suited to the environment of New Zealand, which back then was nothing more than just a bunch of isolated rocky masses. The change from wings to flippers was a smart one as there was infinitely more food to be found in the ocean and their isolated rock environment kept them safe from predators.This discovery is hoped to aid the scientists' study of giant penguins back in the era in general.

Relevance to Class:

In biology class we studied the process of natural selection and how organism's and species in general evolve over time. This article shows how birds in New Zealand, 25 million years ago, gave up their wings for flippers and a streamlined body for faster movement through the water. This shows how natural selection is a "remodeling" process, changing wings into flippers to suit their environment, as there was much more food and opportunity to be found in the sea.

Siting:

URL: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/02/kairuku-fossil-penguin/
Author: Katie Scott
Date of Publication: February 28, 2012

Scientists Use Light to "Tag and Track" Genetic Processes

http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/8/13-19101_Scientists-Use-Light-To-Tag-and-Track-Genetic-Proc_article-wide.html

Summary

      This article talks about how UT Dallas researchers are using molecules to "tag" DNA and monitor a process called DNA looping, a natural mechanism involved in rearranging genetic material in some type of cells. This method not only sheds light on the biophysics of DNA looping but also might be adapted to screen drugs for effectiveness against certain viruses that affect the genetic material, such as HIV. DNA looping is a common mechanism in many instances of gene-splicing. Proteins within cells or proteins made by invading viruses attach onto specific docking points on a DNA molecule. They bring those points together to form a loop, and then snip out the genetic material between the points while reconnecting the loose-ends. DNA looping is seen in organisms with circular DNA. By inserting into those points a molecule that fluoresces when exposed to certain wavelengths of light, the researchers can monitor the changes in fluorescence and watch the steps of loop formation. 

Relevance to Class

      This article connects to the previous unit where we learned about viruses and the process of insertion. DNA looping benefits viruses trying to integrate themselves into the human genome and disrupts it, creating mutated proteins. This method can help scientists learn more about DNA looping and produce drugs that can hopefully interfere with process, which ties into biotechnology which is a branch of DNA technology which we have talked about.

URL: http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2012/8/13-19101_Scientists-Use-Light-To-Tag-and-Track-Genetic-Proc_article-wide.html

Author: Amanda Seigried

Date of Publication: August 13, 2012

By Katya Murzin

What if all evolution happened in one day?

Summary
What if the earth's existence, which is over 4.5 billion years, was compress into 24 hours? At 4 AM, the first single-celled organisms would arise. For a long time, life would remain this simple. At 1 PM, when one cell ate another, the first eukaryotic organism would be formed. At 6:30 PM, colonies of eukaryotes become the first multicellular organisms. Then, at 8:30, sea plants begin to exist. Then, at 8:50, animal life begins and rapid diversification starts as well. At 9:57, plants, followed by animals, start to go on land. At 10:24, winged insects appear. At 11:41, dinosaurs go extinct, and with just a few minutes left, mammals take over, and with only one minute and seventeen seconds left in the day, humans arise.

Relevance
This video gives perspective as to just how long the evolution we are currently studying has been going on. Human evolution has been going on for an incredibly short time, relative to all life, and mammals have only been around for "19 minutes." Although it seems as though evolution has been happening for a long time,  in the grand scheme of things it is incredibly short. This video also shows how evolution speeds up -- the first single-celled prokaryotes were around for "9 hours," with little evolution. This is around 28 times longer than just mammals, who have been evolving very rapidly.

Video: "The Evolution of Life on Earth"
Author: AsapSCIENCE
Date: 28 November 2012
Link: http://youtu.be/H2_6cqa2cP4

Evidence for the Theory of Evolution

Summary
This video explains evolution in a simple, comprehensible way, and presents the four phenomena that evolution explains. It also provides evidence for the Theory of Evolution. The guy in the video first explains that all life is descended from the first prokaryotic organisms, and that evolution is not a completely random process. Throughout the video, he explains how the Theory of Evolution was revised and edited over time. The first phenomenon that evolution explains is fossils. He talks about that for a little bit, and the goes on to explain the evolution of whales. Next, he talks a tiny bit about Carolus Linnaeus and taxonomy, and then continues to homologous structures, his second phenomenon. He explains the homologous forelimbs between whales, humans, and bats, and how they are used differently. He mentions that all mammals look the same as embryos. He explains that all organisms on Earth use DNA or RNA as their genetic material. The video also discusses that, by sequencing the genome of two organisms, you can tell how closely they are related. The third phenomenon is biogeography. The video reflects on the parallel between evolution and geographic change, and explains how geographic isolation works on species. The guy talks about why Australia has so many marsupial species and why the rest of the world doesn't. Next, he talks about Darwin's finches a little, and then goes on to the topic of observable evolution, his fourth phenomena/evidence for evolution. In some cases, evolution is easily visible during a human lifespan of about eighty years. He discusses how, due to natural selection, insects become resistant to pesticides, and, by the same token, how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics. At last, the video explains the difference between microevolution and macroevolution.

Relevance
In the current term in Biology, we are learning about the concept of evolution. We are studying fossils, Carolus Linnaeus, taxonomy, and homologous structures. We talked a lot about the evolution of whales. Also, we discussed embryology, molecular genetics as evidence for evolution (as well as molecular genetics in general), and geographic isolation. We also are learning about Darwin's voyage, as well as other major steps in the development of the Theory of Evolution. We also discussed natural selection, microevolution, and macroevolution.

Information
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3GagfbA2vo
Author: crashcourse
Date of Publication: June 11, 2012

Hybrid Polar Bears

Hybrid Polar Bears

27 July 2012
http://e360.yale.edu/digest/unusual_number_of_grizzly_and__hybrid_bears_spotted_in_high_arctic/3567/



Summary
This article is a response to the increasing number of grizzly/polar hybrid bears in the Arctic. As evidence shows that polar bears evolved from brown bears (of which grizzly bears are a member of) scientists believe that this increase of hybrids is a response to numerous challenges to the polar bear species. Some speculate that the increase in hybridization will result in a new type of Artic bear, one which retains the ability to thrive in the Artic while having the ability eat more food and live on the land instead of the melting ice. The new hybrid may be nature’s solution to the decreasing polar bear population. However, the hybrids are only occurring because groups of grizzly bears are stranded in the Artic due to melting ice pathways and are forced to mate with polar bears. Because the bulk of each species lives outside the hybrid breeding zone, many say that it is unlikely that such a new species will occur. But evolution is random enough that this possibility may not be false.

Relevance

In class, we are learning of the different ways that species can separate into new ones. One of the ways mentioned was that a small portion of a species can be stranded in a remote area, and evolve separately. This article shows that grizzly bear populations stranded in the Artic are becoming different from the mainland in their increased ability to survive in the Artic and mate with local polar bears. Natural selection is also demonstrated. Polar bears now are facing extinction as their habitat melts and their food contains more and more toxins. Polar bears with some grizzly genes may be the only ones to survive.

Information
URL:http://e360.yale.edu/digest/unusual_number_of_grizzly_and__hybrid_bears_spotted_in_high_arctic/3567/
Publisher- Yale
Author- Ed Struzik
Date of Publication- July 27, 2012

 

The Evolution of Life on Earth

Video Summary:

Life began 3.8 billion years ago. The very first organisms were single-celled organisms. Later, one single-cell engulfs another, creating the first eukaryotic organisms. Those eukaryotic cells form colonies, developing multi-cellular life. Plants form and lots of animal life emerges. Soon, plants and animals go onto land and the land becomes filled with land creatures. Close to the current point of earth's history, apes split from old world monkeys forming humans and other primates.

Relevance to Class:

This video talks a lot about the evolution of life on earth over time. This connects with the study of evolution of species. The video is more broad and covers the entire range of life on earth, but can be used to understand the the results of the more in depth processes of evolution taking place on individual species.

Video Information:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S98EZosvRqg
Date Posted: Jun 12, 2012
Creator's Youtube Username: AsapSCIENCE

Evolution: Photosynthesis of Grass

Tara Jawahar

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112754003/photosynthesis-evolution-grass-clades-122612/

Summary

Researchers at Brown University have been analyzing the cells of two clades of grass (called BED and PACMAD). A clade is a "group of organisms classified together [because] of homologous features traced to a common ancestor" (Dictionary.com). These species are already closely related and were observed to see how efficiently they photosynthesized.
It was discovered that the PACMD clade of grass had its vascular structures closer together and also had a tighter outer covering on the veins that carry food, water, and carbon dioxide for the plant. Therefore, when there is not much available carbon dioxide, the veins efficiently bring carbon dioxide without losing it through the veins. The bigger, orange circles in the picture below are the veins, and the "bundle sheath" cells are the smaller rings around each circle. There are more "bundle sheath" cells surrounding the veins, providing it extra protection.



Relevance to Class

Over the course of the past couple weeks, we have been learning in-depth about evolution. Both these species are clades, meaning they have evolved from a common ancestor, a topic we have studied. About 60 million years ago, the speciation of this type of grass led to these different species of grass that can be found today. We also studied the theory of natural selection extensively, which is evident in the way these species of grass have evolved separately. One of the species, the PACMAD species, probably gradually evolved to have the special features that makes it photosynthesize more efficiently today. This adaptation helps the plant use the carbon dioxide after the atmospheric carbon dioxide decreased millions of years after the two clades diverged.
Another connection to the class curriculum is the topic of plants and photosynthesis, which we learned about earlier this year. The functions of the veins and the importance of carbon dioxide to the plant help to better understand why this adaptation in plants is helpful.

URL: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112754003/photosynthesis-evolution-grass-clades-122612/
Author: Brett Smith
Date of Publication: December 26, 2012

Tree Of Life - 4 Billion Years Of Evolution

Will Mitchell

The Evolution of Life on Earth

Summary

This video shows a very simple yet highly accurate explanation for how life began and became more complex over billions of years through evolution. This video begins with the simplest of life forms that lived on Earth, marking the beginning of life on Earth and the beginning of evolution of life. Starting with a simple chemical reaction on the early, developing Earth, and eventually leading to the development of the humans we are today. As new forms of life in the ocean evolved over hundreds of millions of years, some sea life evolved ways to breathe and survive out of water for short periods of time. This led to the first amphibians and reptiles evolving, and plants and insects took hold on the terrestrial parts of Earth. Then came the dinosaurs, which either developed wings for flight through the air, or into reptiles that walked on land and varied greatly in size. A mass extinction wiped out the dinosaurs, but the forerunners of the dinosaurs had taken a different path, and evolved into small, mammal-like creatures by the end of the age of the dinosaurs. These small creatures slowly developed into many of the mammals we know of today, including us humans as well.

Relevance

This video is very relevant to the unit we are currently in for it discusses and includes many themes and topics from our current unit. These topics/themes include evolution, mass extinction, adaptation, descent  with modification, speciation, biological diversity, and adaptive radiation. Evolution is clearly evident as the reason for life having transformed so greatly over an immense period of time. Descent with modification is seen throughout Earth's life history. Descendants of the first ancestral organisms spread into different habitats and accumulate adaptations to diverse ways of life. Mass extinctions and extinctions have occurred in the past, as they will inevitably occur in the future. The dinosaurs were wiped out due to some catastrophic event, which is labeled as a mass extinction. Each massive loss of species has been followed in the past by adaptive radiation of some survivors. In the case of the extinction of the dinosaurs, as stated in the video, smaller creatures that survived the mass extinction were able to adapt to many different types of environments that were originally dominated with dinosaurs. With adaptive radiation comes speciation(the origin of new species), and with speciation comes biological diversity.

Information
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SgnnV8nV9g&list=PLD0A39ADD948FECE4&index=6
Date Published: March 16, 2012.
Posted by: BestOfScience

Natural Selection and Genetic Drift

Natural selection and Genetic Drift

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgqVPFiMhA0


Summary

Earlier this year, we learned about variation in organisms due to mutations or crossing over in meiosis. Yet, neither of these things directly create a new species. In fact, natural selection and genetic drift are the main reasons for evolution. Natural selection is the process where individuals with inherited characteristics well-suited to the environment leave more offspring than other individuals. In the video, the well-suited inherited characteristic is a light colored fur coat, used as camouflage.  In addition to this trait, natural selection can favor bigger beaks or bigger shells. If the trait suits the environment, it will give the animal an advantage. The rabbits with darker fur are easier to spot and therefore predators catch them more easily. As generations go by, more light furred individuals are spared by predators and end up passing on their genes. Eventually, almost all of the population has the favored trait through natural selection. In conclusion, natural selection is not random. It is based on how well-suited inherited characteristics are to the environment.

Genetic drift was also briefly mentioned in the video. Genetic drift is change in the gene pool of a population due to chance. In the video, there was genetic drift when random individuals died, simply because they were unlucky. For example, some are run over by a car, blown away in a hurricane, etc. In a way, genetic drift slows down evolution because it may take a beneficial mutation away from a population.

Relevance to Class

This unit is about evolution. More specifically we learned about natural selection, genetic drift, the founder effect and bottleneck effect. But out of those four, natural selection and genetic drift are the most important. As we have learned, they guide evolution to create different species that are more suited to their environment. For example, the process that caused the four legged animals to evolve into whales was natural selection. It created a species fit for the water and perfect for a specific niche. After all, even humans evolved from other organisms. In this way evolution is one of the most important biological processes.

Video Information

URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgqVPFiMhA0
Date of Publication: May 6, 2012
Creator's Youtube username: vinniehirt

DNA Replication

http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/research_methods/genomics/replication.html

Summary:

        DNA replication is a process when one strand of DNA makes an identical copy of its own DNA. We all know that DNA stores genetic info, and 1 strand of DNA is a double helix with 4 nucleotide base pairs: A,C,G, and T. We know that A pairs with T and C pairs with G. In DNA replication, DNA produces an identical copy of DNA. First, the enzyme 'helicase' splits the double helix in half, breaking the hydrogen bonds between base pairs and separating them from each other. We know that the sugar phosphate-backbones run in opposite directions (antiparallel), and one backbone runs in 5' to 3', and the other one runs in 3' to 5'. A new strand can only be created from the backbone running in 5' to 3'. After the splitting of the double helix, DNA polymerase comes in and creates complementary strands for each backbone (for 5', a 3' is created, and for a 3', a 5' is created). DNA polymerase also creates complementary base pairs between the 2 setes of backbones. on the old 3' backbone, several okazaki fragments are created and connected by DNA ligase, which also connects the base pairs to the backbones. After this, DNA polymerase checks for errors, and if any, repairs them. Finally, 2 identical DNA strands are created. Each DNA strand has one new backbone and one old backbone. DNA replication is necessary for cell division, in which 2 daughter cells need 2 identical copies of DNA when a parent cell splits.

Relevance to Class:    

        In term 2, we all studied how DNA can duplicate itself and produce its own identical copy. We learned about DNA polymerase, antiparallel backbones (3' and 5'), 4 nucleotide base pairs, and how they all connect in the process of DNA replication. In the class notes, we studied the DNA structure (4 base pairs A,T,C,G and sugar phosphate-backbones). We learned that in a DNA strand,  A pairs with T and C pairs with G, and how DNA is a double helix (2 strands wrapped around each other). This was all included in the Molecular Genetics Unit in term 2, which is right before the Evolution of Life unit.

Information:
URL: http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/research_methods/genomics/replication.html
Date modified: 1-9-13
Author: N/A

By: Hemanth Katragadda

The Evolution of Penguins

http://bioexpedition.com/penguin-evolution/

Summary

          Penguins, as we all know, are flightless birds that now swim in bodies of water. Penguins once had wing-like structures rather than the flipper-like structures that they have today. It is thought that this change occurred about sixty-five million years ago and that penguins were once able to fly. One theory as to how penguins evolved is that some birds that could fly came to Antarctica possibly looking for food. They then could have adapted to their new environment (founder effect). Penguins may not have been able to get all of their main necessities on land only and therefore went to the ocean to survive. Being in the ocean to obtain food forced them to adapt, and over millions of years, their weak wings became strong, thick-boned flippers. Since wings must have light bones to fly and reduce extra weight, these thick-boned birds could not fly. Some fossil remains show that penguins are at least sixty million years old.

Relevance to Class

          Recently, we learned about evolution. This article talks about the evolution of penguins and how they evolved to have flipper-like structures. Also, in class we defined the founder effect to be a type of genetic drift when a few members of a population go to a different location, often one with different environmental conditions. One of the theories of penguin evolution involves the founder effect, as well as adaptation to a new habitat. Also, like some of the finches at the Galapagos islands, there is directional selection. Those birds with more of a flipper-like structure would survive, and those without these structures had less of a chance of surviving due to lack of resources on land.

URL: http://bioexpedition.com/penguin-evolution/
Author of Article: N/A
Date of Publication: November 13, 2012

By Rachel Levine

Genetically Modified Plants (GMO)

Summary: 
This Youtube video talked about the truths and myths from genetically modified organisms that biotech companies are now developing to try and increase the efficiency in food production.  This may sound like a good thing but this video points out that their are clear and present dangers involved in GMO's.  Firstly, the process of producing a GMO is by inserting a foreign and favorable gene in the DNA makeup of the plant.  This can cause disastrous problems because the insertion of the gene is completely random and may damage the original plants DNA makeup.  Secondly, the video provides evidence that the GMO can have alterations in their nutritional content than from their natural counterparts and lead to toxic and allergenic symptoms from the living creatures that eat it.  Thirdly, one of the biggest problems that comes from producing a GMO is that it doesn't reduce the amount of pesticide it requires.  And, with the persistent pesticide being sprayed on any plant, eventually, that pesticide will no longer have any effect on the pests that are eating the plant.  Therefore, farmers would need to use even stronger pesticides to counteract the problem and this could possibly be disastrous to the environment.  Examples of what the increased pesticides could do to the environment is the killing of non-pest animal species.  The video states that there was research that showed that increased pesticide use caused massive death of the Monarch Butterflies in North America.  Lastly, by producing GMO plants, world hunger cannot not be eliminated nor even slowed because world hunger comes from the issues of poverty and lack of access of farmland and supplies.  In contrast with GMO's, natural breeding methods are the actual way to go.  According to the video, these methods "give birth to supercrops" such as: flood-tolerant rice, drought-tolerant corn, and pest-resistance chickpeas.

Relevance to Class:
In chapter 13, we learned about genetics and as a sub chapter specifically about GMO's.  In class we learned how Monsanto (Biotech Company) had developed a type of pest resistant potato that McDonalds absolutely loved.  In the book, it had only positive feedback about the success of GMO's and merely addressed some concerns.  I wanted to further research the controversy that surrounds this "efficient" way of food production and learned how scary it can actually be.  Things ranging from alterations in the actual plant, changes in the nutritional content in the GMO that can lead to allergic symptoms in humans, and that it can cause harm to the surrounding environment was enough to convince me to never eat food that was genetically modified.

Media Fire:
URL:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_ztZGbLEJ0
Sponsor of the Video: http://earthopensource.org/     

Peter Rakauskas

Biomedia Post

Information and link to video: 

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/places/parks-and-nature-places/coasts-and-islands/ecuador_galapagos/

Date published: N.d.

Published by: National Geographic

Synopsis of Video

This video from National Geographic gives a little insight on the species of the Galápagos Islands.  It outlines species such as the marine iguana, which unlike any other lizard on the planet, is a seafaring species.  It can hold its breath for up to ten minutes and feeds underwater.  The video also talks a small bit about pelicans, penguins, sea lions, and other marine wildlife.  Then it concludes with a brief breeding and youth of a Galápagos land iguana.  This animal buries its eggs in the warm ash of a volcano, 4,000 feet above sea level.  

Relevance to Class

This video fits in perfectly with one of our most recent lessons.  We learned a little about the marine iguana, but we mainly learned how the Galápagos are home to many different species, most of which are found no where else on the planet.  We learned that Charles Darwin used this observation to help make his theories about natural selection and evolution.  The video shows us just what some of those species are, and how different they are from even the closest mainland species.  It also mentions a small bit on the food sources of some of these creatures.  We studied how the need to reach a food source causes evolution in organisms. That can be seen in the video.                

Gopi Rao's 2013 Blog: The Evolution of Life

The Evolution of Life

Summary
This video shows the history of the 4.5 billion year old earth in a timeline of 24 hours through clay animations. This shows the earth starting from its formation to the age of man.  Next, three simple organisms come together to become simple sea plants and animals. After, animals come onto land and start to diversify. The formation of new species with wings and the abilities to fly and swim are also formed. After a mass extinction, it shows dinosaurs and humans in the last 1 minute, showing how less time we have been walking on earth. The fact that each human life is a mere instant in earth's life shows the brief human existence on earth compared to the billions of years it took to evolve earth's life and plants. Overall it takes a long time to diversify life but it has been done and that is how we have the many species we have today. This video makes us understand how old the earth really is and how long it took life to form.

Relevance
This relates to the unit we are studying because we are studying about the evolution of life and this video describes the evolution of life, except shortened. Also in previous units, we learnt about the start of life using RNA as the starting factor as it is in a single strand and it is simpler than DNA. Experiments have proven that this is the way the eukaryotes formed. Eukaryotes are simple organisms that are believed to be the start of life. We are learning all about diversification in science now and we have done  few outlines in chapter 14 about diversification ad how Charles Darwin contributed to this theory. Near the end of the video there is a picture where he is represented for the work he did.

Information
Url: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2_6cqa2cP4
Date Published: November 28, 2012.
Posted by: AsapSCIENCE

Quarter 2 Biomedia Due Dates

Due Dates and Topics for Quarter 2
Due Dates:
- Post Media, Summary, and Relevance by 1/10.
- Questions of Classmates made in comments by 1/18.