The statement that racial categories are social constructs, and have no basis in biology is, in part, predicated on observations of human genetic diversity. Which of the following statements best describes the distribution of genetic variation among racial groups?
Read DetailsThis phylogenetic tree depicts the evolutionary relationships of eight major vertebrate classes. Tiktaalik is an intermediate fossil that represents an early ancestor of tetrapods (four-limbed animals) and the transition from water to shoreline. If you were to add Tiktaalik to this phylogeny, where would the Tiktaalik branch extend from?
Read DetailsBrain size and higher orders of intelligence are thought to be distinguishing features of humans (Homo sapiens). As we learned in class, larger, more intelligent brains can evolve in other organisms too, like guppies. Why then aren’t more organisms “intelligent”?
Read DetailsOne of the first commercially available genetically engineered drugs was Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which was used to treat human growth hormone deficiency. To produce HGH, genetic engineers modified the genome of the bacteria E. coli to express the HGH gene. To do this, scientists first had to create a DNA vector with a bacterial regulatory sequence and human coding sequence (insulin gene). This DNA vector, containing two genes from different organisms, is known as…
Read DetailsMutation breeding was a common tool used by plant breeders to develop new varieties of crops. The use of mutation breeding has since been replaced by new genetic engineering tools like transformation and CRISPR. Which of the following is NOT an advantage these new tools have over mutation breeding?
Read Details