r e learning
Assignment 12
Genes, Variation, and What They Tell Us About Human History
 

Goals:

  • To learn how genetic variation can be used to understand similarities and differences among populations.
  • To demonstrate understanding of how genetic information at the population level can be used to draw inferences about human history.

Objectives: Students will

  1. use data on genetic polymorphisms to evaluate similarities and differences among human populations on a global scale,
  2. use genetic data to infer the degree of relatedness of human populations across the globe, and
  3. use genetic data to propose patterns of human migration during the last ~ 150,000 years.

 

You are learning much about the process of evolution. You read and heard about types of organisms that change over time, what causes those changes, and in what ways various organisms have changed.  You have probably developed a good understanding of the significance of this information to evolutionary changes in life on Earth.  As we discuss the evidence further in your final web assignment, you will probably discover and would agree that the life on Earth shares various similarities that are only explainable in the context of evolution.  But would you include humans in that same group of "evolving life"?  The final activity in this series will address the issue of human evolution.

Today's activity builds on the work of scientists participating in the HGP, or Human Genome Project.  In case you are not familiar with this project, it began in 1990 as an effort to map each and every portion of the human genetic code.  In addition to mapping the human genome, the project also aimed to map the genetic code of the bacterium Eschericia coli, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the mouse Mus musculus, and several additional organisms.  Currently, thegenomes of a number of species have been fully decoded and many more are in the decoding process.  Scientists are using the information gathered from the HGP and many similar ones to address human health issues as well as to investigate the origins of the human (and other) species.  In this activity, you will use an interactive program to investigate the origin and evolution of humans at a biochemical/genetic level.  As you work through the program, be sure to remember the information that you studied during previous assignments.

Download a copy of "Genes, Variation, and Human History" from the National Human Genome Research Institute web site at http://www.genome.gov/19519278#mod2.  Follow the instructions given with the program to install it on your computer.

As you work your way through the program, be sure to write down your answer to each question.
 
   
Obviously, change in genes (i.e., evolution) is not only important to humans in the past, but also in the present.  A phenomenon that is of great concern to physicians in the USA and other countries is the evolution of resistance to antibiotics by bacteria.  Not long ago, the first case of an infection caused by bacteria that were totally resistant to all available antibiotics occurred in a human in Michigan.  Think about the consequences if those bacteria spread quickly and become prevalent throughout the country!  Understanding disease and its transmission from person to person is dependent upon understanding evolution.  View video #6 to see an example of how evolution directly impacts human lives every day.  Click on the icon below.  

Why Does Evolution Matter Now?