Caught in the act Most animals, plants and other organisms possess a broad range of traits, or features. For instance, within a species, some individuals might be bigger. Some might be faster or better camouflaged. Others might have genes that allow them to resist disease, better digest some foods or even learn new tasks more quickly. Many traits help an organism survive and reproduce. Once-useful traits, however, can become worthless. Until recently, scientists thought such evolution required hundreds of years, if not thousands. These major transformations to our planet still happen. People also change Earth’s air, water and land. Such environmental changes pressure species to adapt ever faster. Shape-shifters When it comes to survival, animals have two immediate concerns. Van Rijssel is an evolutionary ecologist at Leiden University in the Netherlands. One of Jacco van Rijssel’s study subjects, Haplochromis (Yssichromis) pyrrhocephalus is now the most common zooplankton-eating cichlid in Lake Victoria.
Evolution in Paradise We are pleased to bring you three exciting lessons inspired by the birds-of-paradise! These lessons explore the topics of science process, natural and sexual selection, behavior and heritability through hands-on activities and lively discussions… all with the help of the Birds-of Paradise Project videos. This free download is perfect for middle and high school classrooms. Sandwalk: The Adaptation Assessment Probe I'm taking a MOOC on evolution that's designed for educators [Evolution: A Course for Educators]. One of the things that was covered in the first lecture was a test on "adpatation" taken from a book called "Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, Volume 4: 25 New Formative Assessment Probes. The book is published by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Let's take the test ... Adaptation Three friends were arguing about what would happen if a population of rabbits from a warm, southern climate were moved to a cold, northern climate.1 This is what they said:Bernie: "I think all of the rabbits will try to adapt to the change." I agree with Bernie. Let's see how I did. Oops! The best answer is Phoebe's: "I think few or none of the rabbits will try to adapt to the change." I didn't read the question carefully. We turned our clocks back one hour last weekend and I'm still adapting adjusting to the change. 1.
More Minds-on Activities for Teaching Biology The resources listed below include: minds-on, hands-on activities and minds-on analysis and discussion activities for teaching biology to high school and middle school students and students in non-major college biology coursesoverviews of important biological topicsgames for learning and review. Many of these activities are explicitly aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, as indicated by (NGSS) in the descriptions below and as described in Summary Tables and in the Teacher Notes for individual activities. These activities foster student understanding of Disciplinary Core Ideas, engage students in Scientific Practices, provide the opportunity to discuss Crosscutting Concepts, and prepare students to meet the Performance Expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards. We encourage you to subscribe to our listserv to receive notices when we post new activities or significantly improved versions of current activities. Intro and Biological Molecules Is Yeast Alive?
Scientists Watch As Wasps Diverge To Become Separate Species We often think of evolution as something which occurs slowly over millions of years, only being recorded in the fossils that are left behind. But evolution is gradual, with species constantly changing in response to a host of different pressures, from alterations in their environment to changes in other species they reply on. This last point, of species evolving and splitting in response to other species evolving and splitting, is a central concept in biodiversity, but is also a difficult one to prove. A new study has, however, apparently done just this. The friut fly Rhagoletis pomonella is diverging into two seperate species, one which lives on apples and another on hawthorn fruit. “Our study addresses one of the central questions in biology: How do new forms of life originate?” The original species of fruit fly in question, Rhagoletis pomonella, is native to the U.S. and normally lays its eggs on the fruit of the North American hawthorn.
Teaching Evolution through Human Examples The "Teaching Evolution through Human Examples" (TEtHE) three-year exploratory research and development project was funded by National Science Foundation Discovery Research K-12 grant #1119468. The project has created four curriculum units for Advanced Placement (AP) Biology classes, aligned to the learning objectives, using human case studies to teach core evolutionary principles. The curriculum units are: (1) Adaptation to Altitude, (2) Malaria, (3) Evolution of Human Skin Color, and (4) What Does It Mean To Be Human?. The project has also created a CRS (Cultural and Religious Sensitivity) Teaching Strategies Resource to help teachers create a comfortable and supportive classroom environment for teaching evolution. More information about the project can be found here (link is external). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Contents:
Rare Dinosaur-Era Bird Wings Found Trapped in Amber Two tiny wings entombed in amber reveal that plumage (the layering, patterning, coloring, and arrangement of feathers) seen in birds today already existed in at least some of their predecessors nearly a hundred million years ago. A study of the mummified wings, published in the June 28 issue of Nature Communications and funded in part by the National Geographic Society's Expeditions Council, indicated they most likely belonged to enantiornithes , a group of avian dinosaurs that became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. (Read more about the evolution from dinosaurs to modern birds.) 'Mind-Blowingly Cool' While the fact that many, if not nearly all, dinosaurs were feathered has been generally accepted since the 1990s, our knowledge of prehistoric plumage until now has come from feather imprints in carbonized compression fossils and individual feathers fossilized in amber. (See dinosaurs in their feathered glory.) Familiar Feathers A Bountiful Fossil Source in a Troubled Area
Genes and Geography Photo Credit: NASA Our early human ancestors began migrating across the globe tens of thousands of years ago. Some left behind archaeological evidence of their travels. But as you'll hear in this Science Update, another record of where we come from and where we've been might be found right in our DNA. Transcript Genes and geography. People around the world might look different from one another, but inside, we're pretty similar—and that's true even of our genes. Noah Rosenberg is a research associate at the University of Southern California. Rosenberg: One thing we found was that the amount of variation across populations was smaller than we had originally expected and smaller than had been found previously. Nevertheless, those sites could be used to predict that person's ancestry solely based on their DNA. Rosenberg: This is helpful towards trying to figure out the relationships between different populations and the patterns of human migration. Making Sense of the Research
Genetic Science Learning Center Launch Tool The Genetic Science Learning Center is a great place to visit to explore and learn about cells, heredity, DNA, genes, natural selection, etc. The Learn.Genetics part of the site is geared to students, teachers, and the general public. It delivers educational materials on genetics, bioscience, and health topics. The homepage is divided into three main sections: Basics, New & Popular, and a section that highlights a variety of topics, from genetic technology to the new science of addiction. Going Further For Educators In addition to the Learn.Genetics part of the site, you can make use of the Teach.Genetics section, which has resources and information aimed at helping you bring genetics, bioscience, and health alive in the classroom. Teach.Genetics also provides unit plans and other supporting resources, such as talks by scientists with expertise in genetics. Send us feedback about this Tool >
It Takes Teamwork: How Endosymbiosis Changed Life on Earth It Takes Teamwork: How Endosymbiosis Changed Life on Earthby the Understanding Evolution team In 1966, microbiologist Kwang Jeon was studying single-celled organisms called amoebae, when his amoebae communities were struck by an unexpected plague: a bacterial infection. Literally thousands of the tiny invaders — named x-bacteria by Jeon — squeezed inside each amoeba cell, causing the cell to become dangerously sick. Only a few amoebae survived the epidemic. However, several months later, the few surviving amoebae and their descendents seemed to be unexpectedly healthy. Had the amoebae finally managed to fight off the x-bacterial infection?
Teaching_strategies Natural Hazards• ELI Natural Hazards category Plate tectonicsPlate tectonics - whole concept:-• Partial melting - simple process, huge global impact (ELI+)• Partial melting model and real rock (ELI+)• Plate riding (ELI+)• Plate tectonics through the window (ELI+)• Plate margins and movement by hand Evidence and explanation for the theory:-• Continental jigsaw puzzle (ELI+)• Earth time jigsaw puzzle• Geobattleships (ELI+)• Wegener’s ‘Continental drift’ meets Wilson’s ‘Plate tectonics’ (ELI+)• Did the continents move for you? Mechanism:-• Bouncing, bending, breaking• Mantle plume in a beaker (ELI+)• What drives the plates? Constructive or divergent plate margins:-• Mantle plume in a beaker (ELI+)• Magnetic stripes (ELI+)• Model a spreading ocean offset by transform faults (ELI+)• Continental split - the opening of the Atlantic Ocean Resources• Fracking: Recipe for the perfect fracking fluid• Make your own oil and gas reservoir• Trapped! Volcanoes• Blow up your own volcano!