Evolutionary developmental biology

The lecture this week discussed evolution and development. While Darwin believed that natural selection worked with individuals, the synthetic theory states that genes determine all traits that heritable. While the synthetic theory of evolution combined Darwinian evolution and genetics, it chose genes as the only focus of natural selection, hence an organism can be seen as the “vehicle” for genes because they are what create these individuals to deal with the environment to make more genes. So,…

collected data. Their job duties requires Testing samples, Preparation of reports, plans, procedures, Recording of all data collected, and evaluation of practical conditions. The education requirement is to have a bachelor degree or higher in programs in biology such as biochemistry, microbiology, and ecology. The salary paygrade for this type of technician is $26,036 -…

Animal Experimentation Cosmetics and medication providers both test on animals; with this being said most animals skin is nothing like humans, there are genetic differences between animals and humans. With a lot of cosmetics and soaps there will be a label that will either say “This product has been tested on animals” or “This product has not been animal tested”. More and more products are beginning to be tested on animals. There are pictures of products on the internet and other places that…

In order to survive under several environmental influences, animals must possess biological mechanisms which enable them to regulate and maintain their internal environment. Temperature is one of abiotic factors that are inexorably linked to every animal’s physiological functions since it is considered a strong source of selective pressure on animals (Miller, 2010). Animals are categorized into thermoregulators and thermoconformers based on their mechanisms to maintain their internal environment…

Since producers won’t be able to make food, the consumers won’t be able to eat, and then decomposers won’t have anything to decompose and break down. The cycling in the ecosystems will eventually not happen so the ecosystem will fall apart. Other trees that have already grown are blocking the sunlight from reaching the sprouts. In other words many sprouts are competing for the sparse amount of sunlight. The sprouts may also be competing for water and other ingredients necessary to grow.…

While surveying the 14 random people, I noticed that most of them had similar responses to each question. On the scale of 1-10, most of them answered between 4 and 6 about caring for the environment. They knew it was an important topic, but most of them hardly did anything to solve any environmental issues. Only 5 people out of the 14 said they recycled their materials while the others just threw everything away. Their response to recycling was that they did not “have time to sort out their…

between living and non-living? In the article, The Definition of life, Professor Farnsworth argues that life is essentially indefinable. He refers to biological life as a continuum. Throughout the duration of the article, Farnsworth explains how in biology, life cannot be dwindled down to yes or no answers. Rather, he quotes, "nature can trick us with questions that have hidden false assumptions" implying that what one defines as "death" is purely subjective. Farnsworth 's goal is to prove to…

Ever since I was little I have always been interested in the study of biology. I used to watch various cartoons that often included a mad scientist that would experiment on various creatures in the laboratory to enhance the creature’s physical abilities and create a mutant race to assist in their plot to destroy the world. For this reason I often hated the idea of animals being used in laboratories when I was little, but as I grew up and gained exposure to the real world, I realized things in…

tissues obtained from human volunteers, surgical operations, biopsies, and post-mortem specimens and use them for in vitro studies” (“In Research”). Scientists are able to use human tissue that has been donated from different surgeries and study human biology and diseases. Scientific studies have shown that these alternative tests are not only more accurate, but more humane for animals. “Alternative scientific tests are often more reliable than animal tests” (“In Testing”).…

A highly controversial, and relatively new, argument of utilizing animals in the testing and development of medical research has left scientists in the crossroads on the ethics behind the entire operation. Approximately twenty-six million animals are in the United Stated each year for both scientific and commercial testing, in which these animals are used for a wide range of dangerous procedures. These animals are used for testing the safety of medications for human consumption, determining the…