1. New Core Curriculum
Foundations of Scientific Process
Evolution

2. NL Biological Evolution: DNA & information:
change in inherited traits of a population from one generation to another, as governed by Natural Selection in a given Environment;
It is descent with modification.
DNA & information: NL
Stable storage of hereditary information:
Information contained in:
Copying the information:
Translating the information into meaning:
Modification of the information (intro of novelty) :
Selection of the useful information:
Usefulness of information depends on:

3. NL Biological Evolution: DNA & information:
change in inherited traits of a population from one generation to another, as governed by Natural Selection in a given Environment;
It is descent with modification.
DNA & information: NL
Stable storage of hereditary information: DNA molecule
Information contained in: Sequence of DNA bases (G,C,T, A)
Copying the information: Semiconservative replication
Translating the information into meaning:
Central Dogma → production of functional proteins;
Meaning (function) encoded in protein shape;
Modification of the information (intro of novelty) :
Reproduction, Point Mutation, Inversion, Insertion, Duplication …
Selection of the useful information: Natural Selection
Usefulness of information depends on: the environment and cannot be predicted apriory.

4. Natural Selection Acts through DNA: Novel Species have Novel DNA

5. How would you gauge the success of
humanity as a species?
spread over the entire planet Earth being able to
Survive in all conditions (from the freezing Vladivostok to the heat of the Lybian desert) and reproduce quite efficiently.
The human biomass Is huge when compared to any other animal of comparable size.
Life expectancy is longer comparing to other mammalian relative and ancestors

6. spread over the entire planet Earth
How would you gauge the success of
humanity as a species?
spread over the entire planet Earth being able to
Survive in all conditions (from the freezing Vladivostok to the heat of the Lybian desert) and reproduce quite efficiently.
The human biomass Is huge when compared to any other animal of comparable size.
Life expectancy is longer comparing to other mammalian relative and ancestors
“Out of Africa” hypothesis
spread over the entire planet Earth

7. DNA Trees Then Now What information went into building this tree?
How do graphs support the “Out of Africa” hypothesis ?
What information do you think was used to build this tree?
The students may have many different answers. The one we’re after is DNA sequences from volunteers—or at least that they were used in addition to other data to build this tree.
Depending on the answers you get, or how you lead into it, you could ask: Why don’t we just sequence volunteers’ entire genomes?
That would be far too much data to process efficiently! It would also take too long and cost too much. Also, it is riddled with complications. Sexual reproduction introduces all sorts of new ways that variation in DNA can occur (which will be discussed in the next lecture!).

8. How would you gauge the success of
humanity as a species?
It is always difficult to gauge the “success” of a species but we were able to spread over the entire planet Earth being able to
Survive in all conditions (from the freezing Vladivostok to the heat of the Lybian desert) and reproduce quite efficiently. The human biomass
Is huge when compared to any other animal of comparable size.
large human biomass

9. longer life-expectancy
How would you gauge the success of
humanity as a species?
It is always difficult to gauge the “success” of a species but we were able to spread over the entire planet Earth being able to
Survive in all conditions (from the freezing Vladivostok to the heat of the Lybian desert) and reproduce quite efficiently. The human biomass
Is huge when compared to any other animal of comparable size.
longer life-expectancy

10. In your opinion, what is the central reason for the success of the human species?
evolution of our brains (abstract thought and imagination)
additional survival capacity through a mental world
not being at the mercy of the natural world
In your opinion, what is the central reason for the success of the human species?
The evolution of our brains
Thus not being at the mercy of the natural world
What are the
ｷ This additional survival capacity
ｷ Surge our number by a thousandfold

11. Is your brain solely determined by your genetic code
Is your brain solely determined by your genetic code? Are your ideas solely determined by your genetic code?

12. Nature AND Nurture = Genes AND Environment
Is your brain solely determined by your genetic code? Are your ideas solely determined by your genetic code?
DNA encodes the capacity to learn,
but not what is learned
Nature AND Nurture = Genes AND Environment
influence the mental world

13. our mental world enables us to comprehend the
Universe!