Evolution Essay

Vanessa Hernandez

3^rd hr.

05/9/2011

Evolution

What is evolution?  Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.  In other words they say animals have changed over time and developed into the wonderful, interesting creatures we have today.  Also they say that us humans developed from primates which are monkeys.  I wouldn’t say we went through stages to become what we look like today I would say its more like evidence that we have found in which other creatures before us have had.  They have found a lot of similar features of us in fossils, the “stages” or “evidence” we have found is Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene.

Just because we talk about evolution more and more everyday does not mean it has not been around for many years.  A man named Erasmus Darwin is the whole reason for this theory.  He was into nature his whole life and he was not going to stop at just dreaming of seeing the world, he made it happen.  Darwin got on a boat and went off to see the world and the different things that were in it.  He observed many creatures on islands, he observed the way they ate, how they changed over time, how they mated, how they found food,  the colors, what they looked like, and how they adapted to different environment changes.  He also observed the changes in the earth and how they formed into islands, mountains, and land.  Darwin went out and explored the world and made many theories.  

One theory he made was microevolution which is put into 4 mechanisms.  One mechanism is Mutation, which is very rare but it can happen.  One example of mutation is when all the beetles are green but then one beetles wings are half green and half brown.  The second theory is Migration. For example if there is one beetle in the group that is brown, that one will migrate and reproduce and make more brown beetles.  Once this happens the brown beetles will go up in population.  The third one is Genetic Drift, which is when the beetles reproduce then just by luck more brown genes ended up in the offspring.  The last one is Natural Selection, which is when beetles with brown genes escaped predation and survived to reproduce more frequently than beetles with green genes, so that more brown genes get into the next generation.  With  natural selection it also comes with artificial selection which is when the mate is chosen for them or the last resort, like in dog breeding, you get what you want.  These all go together in a chain most likely,  you can’t have one without the other.

Another theory he had was macroevolution.  Macroevolution is the history of life.  It has to do with every type of change or the stuff we do to survive.  For example back to the beetle, it does not just show the life of the beetle but it shows the things around it also.  It shows how the beetle survives and what it does to live.  Macroevolution refers to bigger things other than just one species.  This subject is connected to the theory of Microevolution.  This subject goes from mammals to plants it talks about the life cycles of all living things and how they have survived over hundreds and hundreds of years.  

Evolution has been around for hundreds of years and we are still figuring it out.  We are finding out more and more things over the years.  Darwin was a genius and started us off and now we will finish it and prove it.

Evolution/Guppy

EVOLUTION 101:

How do the authors of this page define microevolution?

Microevolution is evolution on a small scale—within a single population. That means narrowing our focus to one branch of the tree of life

How do they define a population?

It is a group of organisms that interbreed with each other—that is, they all share a gene pool.

Summarize each of the 4 mechanisms of microevolutionary change that are discussed.

Mutation-  Mutation is very rare but it happens it happens in the genes or DNA.  Just like in the beetle pictured the rest are all green and the mutated one is green and brown.

Migration-  When the beetles migrate they reproduce with different species so that makes the brown beetles increase in population.

Genetic Drift-  When the beetles reproduced, just by random luck more brown genes than green genes ended up in the offspring.

Natural Selection-  Beetles with brown genes escaped predation and survived to reproduce more frequently than beetles with green genes, so that more brown genes got into the next generation.

Summarize the 3 examples of microevolution on this page.

The size of the sparrow-  Just talks about how the Sparrow changes over time mostly by natural selection and how the different kinds can survive in different living conditions, its all about survival.

Coping with Global Warming-  Different species get used to global warming differently, they each have a technique for example the mosquitoes used to do days according to temperature but now they do it by time.

Building Resistance-  Resistance is built by natural selection.  For example some people’s bodies have a resistance towards antibiotics.

Summarize the results of the two different experiments (with and without predators).

With predators the males had less of a natural selection because some of the ones that can not blend in were dinner to the predator.

The experiment without the predators had more of a natural selection for the males.

What types of selection were demonstrated in each experiment?  Are these experiments truly cases of artificial selection? Explain your answer.

Natural selection.  Yes because it has to do with natural selection.  Natural selection happens when the male picks and with the predator he had no choice so I think that has to do with artificial selection also.  

Pick your three favorite questions from the quiz and write how you would answer them if you were teaching this class.

What’s the big deal about artificial selection? 

a.    People have a choice to pick what they want with artificial selection they don't want just anything it's what they want.

If I select guppies for colorful fins at home, can I get them to change?

a.    Yes it will take time but you can do it by taking the colorful fins that you like and have them reproduce.

Why are house sparrows in North America larger in the North than in the South?

a.    Because of the weather change and the different living conditions.

SEX AND THE SINGLE GUPPY!!!

Why do some guppies tend to be drabber than others?

Thanks to predators the guppies colors have varied and have become more drab.

Why do some guppies tend to be more colorful?

Females are choosing to mate with the more colorful males because the stand out.

What role does color play in guppy survival?

The colorful guppies reproduce more.

 Explain the push and pull that the environment (including predators) has on the coloration  of guppies in Endler’s pools.

The colorful guppies are very weird, they reproduce more because the females are more attracted to them but yet they get targeted by predators because they stand out more to them.  The environment change is not much of a challenge for them when it changes they change but over time the more drabby fish can take over too.

Evolutionary thought

Erasmus Darwin (1731- 1802) - As a naturalist he formulated one of the first formal theories on evolution in Zoonomia or the laws of organic life. He also talked about how competition and sexual selection could cause changes in species.


Georges Cuvier (1769 - 1832) -  He found Vertebrate Paleaontology as a discipline and created the comparative method of organismal biology.


Jean Bapatiste Lamarck (1744 - 1829) -  They said he was a great zoologist and as a forerunner of evolution.


Thomas Malthus (1766 - 1834) -  Theory of Natural Selection-  Malthus's observation that in nature plants and animals produce far more offspring than can survive, and that Man too is capable of overproducing if left unchecked. Malthus concluded that unless family size was regulated, man's misery of famine would become globally epidemic and eventually consume Man. Malthus' view that poverty and famine were natural outcomes of population growth and food supply was not popular among social reformers who believed that with proper social structures, all ills of man could be eradicated.


Darwin believed that the earth changed over time and it formed into shapes such as islands and they go through a lot of changes.


When Darwin went back to England he found out that his Finch's comprised 13 species.  


He found out that the beaks change over time that gave him the question of evolution!!!

DNA Fingerprinting / Cases

DNA FINGERPRINTING

1.In your opinion, what role (if any) did newspaper stories and editorials have in the outcome of the original trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard?

What they did was egg the trial on and they always had something to say.  When they believed he was free the paper would put something else in their to make him look guilty and that the people thought that also.

 2.What is the function of the restriction enzymes in DNA fingerprinting?

The enzymes work as scissors and, cutting the long DNA molecules at different locations.

3.What is the function of  the agarose gel electrophoresis step?

It acts as a molecular strainer, allowing smaller pieces of DNA to move through more easily than larger pieces.

4.Why is a nylon membrane used to blot the DNA?

The gel is difficult to work with, the DNA is transferred to a nylon membrane.  The DNA was sucked up into the membrane as a liquid traveled up from the gel toward an absorbent material that was placed over the membrane.

5.What does a dark spot on the X-ray film indicate?

Exposes corresponding areas on the X-ray film.

MS. HONEY SWEET WAS THE RIGHT MATCH!!!

 COTTON CASE / O. J SIMPSON

6.What evidence was initially used to convict Cotton?

A photo identification was made by one of the victims.

A police lineup identification was made by one of the victims.

A flashlight in Cotton's home resembled the one used by the assailant.

Rubber from Cotton's tennis shoe was consistent with rubber found at one of the crime scenes

7.What did the DNA evidence show?

That Cotton was not a match and they found a victim that was a match and confessed.

8.How could DNA fingerprinting be used to prevent a false conviction if a case like this was being tried today?

Because everybody has their own fingerprint so they can match that person to the fingerprint and find the actual criminal.

9.What percentage of convicts are unjustly convicted of sexual assault cases, according to Neufeld and Scheck?

25%

10. The O.J. Simpson trial was one of the most visible trials that attempted to use DNA evidence.  In the end, the DNA evidence was not satisfying to the jury, who acquitted Simpson.  What do Neufeld and Scheck believe about the impact of the O.J. Simpson trial on the use of DNA evidence?

They believe the impact was to be more cautious because in cases like this you have to use technology wisely and cautiously.

GATTACA

FACTS/QUESTIONS

Vincent left his family, tearing his picture out of the family photo, after winning the swimming race against his brother so there would be no evidence of him ever existing and he was now not apart of that family anymore.

The relationship between Vincent and Anton was I think Vincent was very jealous of Anton but Vincent did become stronger from Anton always being in the light because him being jealous motivated him to be better than Anton.  I think Anton was always thinking he was better than Vincent but once he found out how far Vincent made it he became jealous of Vincent.  They made each other stronger and I think a lot of their relationship was jealousy.

When Jerome Morrow said to Vincent/Jerome, “They’re not looking for you. When they look at you, they only see me,” he meant that he is not Vincent anymore all they see is Jerome and no one else.  Vincent no longer exists according to Jerome.  

My favorite character in the film was Jerome.  He was funny and I like what he did for Vincent.

I think the doctor went along with it the whole time because he realized how badly Vincent wanted to accomplish his dream.  If I were the doctor I think I would do the same thing because anybody that goes through all of that for their dream they must want it bad.

I think if I were Anton I would not have been as selfish as he was.  He acted very childish when he found out who Jerome really was.  He shouldn’t have wanted to turn Vincent in right away.

GATTACA resembled the type of society America was during the height of the eugenics movement because just like the Eugenics Era it was very demanding and judgmental.  If you were “unfit” you were not aloud to do as much as the other people who were said to be fit.

Overall the film was good I really got into it and I learned what our world can come to.  The way out technology is going right now I believe we can get to that point and in a way I hope we don't.  It's is good because you an find out a lot about your health and the person you may meet but it is too strict and harsh.  Grouping people by how they are and look is already bad imagine if our world came to that.

DNA Sequencing

This past week we figured out the DNA types of three different people Abby Bob and Carol.  What we did was go through their DNA and seperate each of the parts into three.  We compared each of them to the normal control to find out which one was sick.  Each set was seperated into three columns G, C, A, and T.  Once we organized them into three in a group we wrote them down to keep track.  For example GTG.


Different people and their DNA.



Chart where we kept data.

 After we did that we had to figure out the protein of each sequence.  For example GTG would be VAL in protein.  When we figured out the protein the T was represented with a U.

Figured out protein.

After all of this we made a graph and it was to see the percentage difference in Abby, Bob, and Carol.  Abby and Bob's was 97% and Carol's was 58%.

DNA

Today we did an experiment on DNA

Step 1-  place 1 gram of raw wheat germ in a 50 ml test tube
Step 2- Add 20 ml of hot tap water and constantly mix for 3 minutes
Step 3- Add 1 ml or a scant 1/4 teaspoon of detergent and mix gently every minute for 5 minutes. Try not to create foam
Step 4- remove any foam
Step 5- Tilt test tube at an angle and pour slowly 14 ml of alcohol down the side so it forms a second layer.
Step 6- Let the test tube sit.  White stringy filmy DNA will begin to appear and float to the top.
Step 7- Use wooden stick to collect DNA

When we mixed the wheat and the hot tap water it made a layer that was yellow and kinda thick.  Then we mixed the two and at the end the wheat was at the bottom.  We then poured the alcohol and it made a second layer which was collected the DNA.  The DNA was then at the stop and we were able to collect it.

Eugenics

            What is eugenics?  The definition of eugenics is the theory of human can influence our own evolution, through selective breeding, or genetic enhancement.  What do I find wrong about this?  EVERYTHING!  While I was reading about eugenics I thought it was very disturbing.  I know they were trying to be scientific and find out new things about DNA and reproduction but it was not right for them to go around judging people.

            What they used to do was take people that they thought were perfect to make a perfect baby.  They made laws and rules that if there was someone imperfect that they were not allowed to breed with somebody else.  Some of the laws they made were no blacks and whites were allowed to reproduce.  Actually there could be no mixing races at all.  They made everybody think that the only ones that were perfect to reproduce were the whites.  The scientists also made everyone believe that anybody that had a problem was unfit to have kids.  What they did with the people who “they” thought were unfit was sterilize them which is to make sure they could not reproduce.  Everyone started judging the mentally challenged, the alcoholics, the depressed, and many others because they believed that everything was genetic.

            Although the scientists thought they were doing this correctly their research did have some flaws.  One of their flaws was that they were not very good at defining the traits.  The only traits they really recognized correctly were the obvious such as eye color, stature, and blood group.  The second flaw they had was that they thought their was only one kind of intelligence and it came from the brain which there are many different ways to be intelligent.  The third flaw was that they had very poor information; they only got information from the last two generations so they did not know everything that could be passed on.   The fourth flaw was that they thought that if somebody scored high on an intelligence test that their gene of intelligence would be passed on.  Also very poorly educated people created the tests.  The fifth flaw was that they believed that the life styles were also genetic because they found in some families the life styles were often similar.

           

The social origins of eugenics hurt a lot of people throughout the country.  This influenced a lot of cultures such as Nazis.  It ruined a lot of businesses and sent a lot of people into the depression.  The birthrate went down hill and a lot of people who were wealthy could not pass anything on.  Although it was their fault they turned their problems to the mentally ill and said that if they were sterilized then everything would start to look up for them.  They also believed that immigrants were another problem socially so they decided to make immigrant restrictions.

           

The scientific origins were very strange.  They believed that bad environmental influences damaged hereditary.  This theory over the years turned into onanism, which they believed was bad environmental influences.  They thought this would affect their health.  They also believed that over 3 years of genetics people would become worthy citizens.  The scientists became scared that people that had a problem were having way more kids then the wealthy intelligent people so that when they would sterilize them.

They had many other laws such as marriage laws.  Nobody “perfect” was allowed to marry someone “unfit” because that would mean they would have children and that would not be acceptable for the scientists.  Of course they always thought that other races other then white were unfit to have children so whites were not allowed to marry another race.  They believed that if too many whites had kids with other races that soon the white race will eventually disappear.  They thought this would happen because a white person with a black person would end up having a white kid, the same for white and Mexican, white and Indian, and so on.  When all of this happened all the other races had to go through so many steps to become fit to be a white person and if not you were separated from them.

All in all this mess was inspired a lot of bad things and surprisingly good things.  Eugenics has helped us be more advanced in research today.  On the other hand it ruined a lot of peoples lives and inspired a lot of bad events in history.  In my opinion I did not like what happened with Eugenics.

Making A Baby

In the past week we have been doing a lab on making a baby.  Our whole lab was mostly focused on how the baby can get a trait from each parent by a 50/50% chance.  Me and Ashley made a baby and his name was Michael.  What we did was we got a chart and a packet that showed the different traits on it.

Trait Chart

Create A Baby Table

 For example:  The eyebrow size-  Me and Ashley both did not have eyebrows that met so we both had little e's in out genotype.  So we did not have to flip the coin because we both did not have that trait.

For Example: Cheek Freckles-  With freckles Ashley had them and I didn't so that gave her two FF and me ff so we had to flip a coin.  Automatically since she is the mom she would take over a gene which was F.  Since I was the father I had to flip the coin and I flipped tails so that would give me f.  The outcome would be Ff which means the baby would have freckles.

In every outcome we had Ashley would automatically give the baby one of her genotypes since she was the mother.  As the father I would only have 50/50 chance of the baby getting my genotype.  Now if we did or did not have the same trait the baby would most likely get the same exact trait that we both have.

Stem Cell

Stem cells are very important to our body.  They can help our body do many things and help us through many stages we go through such as growth.  They also can be an "internal repair system."  They can repair many cells as long as you are still alive.  Stem cells are special they can repair themselves as well as other cells.  These cells can do this by dividing.  Stem cells cannot only repair other cells but damaged tissue, but although they can do this it takes a lot for them to actually go through with this action.

FOUR KINDS OF STEM CELLS!
Embryonic Cell:
Primitive cells derived from a 5-day embryo that are capable of dividing without differentiating for a prolonged period in culture, and are known to develop into cells and tissues of the three primary germ layers.

Somatic Adult Cell:
A relatively rare undifferentiated cell found in many organs and differentiated tissues with a limited capacity for both self renewal (in the laboratory) and differentiation. Such cells vary in their differentiation capacity, but it is usually limited to cell types in the organ of origin. This is an active area of investigation.

Human Embryonic Cell:
A type of pluripotent stem cell derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst.

Induced Pluripotent Cell:
Somatic (adult) cells reprogrammed to enter an embryonic stem cell–like state by being forced to express factors important for maintaining the "stemness" of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Mouse iPSCs were first reported in 2006 , and human iPSCs were first reported in late 2007 . Mouse iPSCs demonstrate important characteristics of pluripotent stem cells, including the expression of stem cell markers, the formation of tumors containing cells from all three germ layers, and the ability to contribute to many different tissues when injected into mouse embryos at a very early stage in development. Human iPSCs also express stem cell markers and are capable of generating cells characteristic of all three germ layers. Scientists are actively comparing iPSCs and ESCs to identify important similarities and differences.

All in all stem cells can help your body in many different ways.  They can repair mostly anything inside of your body.  Messed up tissue, the heart, lungs, skin, sperm, eggs, bone marrow, muscle, and the brain.

Onion Roots and Cell Cycles!

I was asked to answer a couple of questions on onion roots and what stages a cell goes through...this is what I learned.  MITOSIS!

STAGE ONE!
Interphase Description: Mostly looks like a circle or oval with a whole in the middle...looks more like a bowl.  The cell looks like it is starting to try to come apart.

Interphase Definition:  A normal resting cell exists in a state called interphase in which the chromatin is undifferentiated in the heavily-stained nucleus, as illustrated above.

STAGE TWO!
Prophase Description:  Looks like a circe filled with with black spots.  Looks like everything inside is breaking up into to smaller pieces.

Prophase Definition:  The first phase of mitosis is known as the prophase, where the nuclear chromatin starts to become organized and condenses into thick strands that eventually become chromosomes.  Also there are two types of prophase early and late.

STAGE THREE!
Metaphase Description:  Looks like black lines that are trying to stretch apart.

Metaphase Definition:  metaphase where the chromosomes, attached to the kinetochore microtubules, begin to align in one plane (the metaphase plate) halfway between the spindle poles

STAGE FOUR!
Anaphase Description:  This phase takes the longest.  It looks like the pieces are bigger now and moving to one side. Two big pieces on each side.

Anaphase Definition:  anaphase. Almost immediately after the metaphase chromosomes are aligned at the metaphase plate, the two halves of each chromosome are pulled apart by the spindle apparatus and migrate to the opposite spindle poles.  Also there are two different types of anaphase early and late.

STAGE FIVE!
Telophase Description:  The last stage!  It looks like anaphase but more developed and some spaces between the pieces not as compressed as anaphase.

Telophase Definition:  When telophase is complete and the new cell membrane (or wall in the case of the onion root tips) is being formed, the nuclei have almost matured to the pre-mitotic state.