Anthro 2600 Week 2, Lecture 2

1. Natural Selections example:

Antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.
How is natural selections shown when a person is taking antibiotics but a person
stops taking it
When people dont finish their antibiotics, stronger bacteria is not
killed. So, those stronger bacteria eventually get worse and a
change results in that person that wasnt there a week ago.
Environmental (Place with a lot of TB), Individual (Person doesnt
have antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria to combat TB), external
forces (Person didnt finish taking their medication)
2. Fitness: a measure of the reproductive success of an individual relative to other
individuals in the population
This relative measure changes as the environment changes.
Eg. butterflies example during industrial Revolution
3. Basic Tenets
Variation exists (Not every moth is the same color)
Some variants are better adapted to deal with their environment than others
Greater number of offspring of the better adapted variants will survive
These offspring will have the adaptations of their parents.
Overtime, this will lead to a change in the populations resemble the better
adapted variants. -> Can even lead to speciation
4. Artificial Selection
Selective breeding of animals or plants that have particular traits
Different breeds of dogs are all the same species (Artificial selection, not natural
selection)
Modern fruits and vegetables (e.g. corn). We select for
1. Better taste (i.e. higher sugar content)
2. Faster growth
3. Easier harvesting

Evolutionary Theory and biological basis of Life

1. Nucleus, Mitochondria, Ribosomes, DNA

2. Nuclear DNA comes from both parents (Compare with Mitochondria DNA that does not
come from both parents, only from the mom)
3. As a result, you can use Mitochondria DNA to check for maternal lines, but not for
paternal lines. For paternal lines, you would need Nuclear DNA.
4. Ribosomes: site of protein manufacture in the cell.
Ribosomes are the cells protein factories.
5. DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) Examples of various ways it can be used to answer
research questions
Inferring social group structure (DNA, specifically mitochondria can tell you who
was related, so they have discovered: Neanderthals travelled together with
wives)
Paternity Testing
6. DNA is a double helix structure.
7. Need to know bases (ACTG, A bonds with T, C bonds with G), phosphate and sugar
8. DNA Replication
One cell (any cell) have your entire genetic code
Template Strands
*Learn Process*
9. Protein Synthesis
Examples of Proteins:
1. Collagen (in connective tissues)
2. Hemoglobin(Hb) in red blood cells, binds to oxygen to transport it in the
body
3. Lactase enzyme that breaks down lactose, the sugar in milk
4. Proteins are made up of amino acid.