Category: Biology

Literature Review (70% of final grade) With your Literature-based Research Proje

Literature Review (70% of final grade)
With your Literature-based Research Proje

Literature Review (70% of final grade)
With your Literature-based Research Project you should aim at producing a Literature Review
of the highest quality, which is potentially suitable for publication in a scientific journal. It is
BL4200 Handbook 2023-24
10
always useful to look at good examples, and you will find some of them on Moodle. Below you
will find guidelines that will help you attain this goal.

This week we are covering biodiversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and the

This week we are covering biodiversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and the

This week we are covering biodiversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and the factors and processes that contribute to evolution, including mutations, natural selection, gene flow, and genetic drift. Find a news article from Science Daily (or another credible news source) that describes a recent research study that relates to something you found interesting in this week’s readings. The article should be less than 3 years old and not already discussed by another student. Include the following in your main response: Formulate a likely hypothesis for this research study (it may not be specifically stated in the article) In 1-2 sentences, summarize in your own words the most important conclusion from the research study. Describe how this research study relates to this week’s BIOL 103 course topics. Use at least one in-text citation to this week’s assigned textbook chapters. Finally, discuss at least one broader implication of this research that was not described in the article. In other words, how do you believe these research findings may impact society, the environment, health, or the world in a positive and/or negative way? Be specific. Use the name of the Science Daily article as the title of your post. Use in-text citations, and include references in APA format to the chosen Science Daily article, the textbook, and all other resources used to prepare your response.

1. USLO 6.3 Distinguish between the mechanisms of the adaptive (specific) defens

1. USLO 6.3 Distinguish between the mechanisms of the adaptive (specific) defens

1. USLO 6.3 Distinguish between the mechanisms of the adaptive (specific) defenses: cell-mediated immunity.
2. USLO 6.6 Differentiate four homeostatic imbalances of the immune system and explain what is occurring from a physiological perspective.
resource
Betts, J. G., Young, K. A., Wise, J. A., Johnson, E., Poe, B., Kruse, D. H., Korol, O.,
Johnson, J. E., Womble, M., DeSaix, P., Blaker, W., Bowers, J., Barlow, M.,
Hortsch, M., Bradshaw, E., Tallman, K., Campbell, B., Tarapore, R.,
Jablanovic, B., . . . Elf, P. (2022). Anatomy and physiology. OpenStax.
https://openstax.org/details/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e
The initial post and responses should be in your own words and demonstrate critical thinking, analysis, and the expected level of knowledge. Initial posts and replies should be in complete sentences and paragraph form. You should not have bullet points as they are not in complete sentences or paragraph form. Copy-pasting may result in a zero.
To address the chosen prompt fully, you will refer to the topical outline of the course syllabus that corresponds with the prompt you select. This will help guide you in demonstrating your understanding of the content while providing a thorough and detailed discussion post. Each prompt or response to a prompt should be more than a few sentences to demonstrate critical thinking. Initial posts must include a minimum of one APA 7th edition style in-text citations and full matching references of appropriate reading to support your responses.

INSTRUCTIONS: Addresses course outcomes 1-4: recognize and explain how the scien

INSTRUCTIONS: Addresses course outcomes 1-4: recognize and explain how the scien

INSTRUCTIONS: Addresses course outcomes 1-4: recognize and explain how the scientific method is used to solve problems make observations and discriminate between scientific and pseudoscientific explanations weigh evidence and make decisions based on strengths and limitations of scientific knowledge and the scientific method use knowledge of biological principles, the scientific method, and appropriate technologies to ask relevant questions, develop hypotheses, design and conduct experiments, interpret results, and draw conclusions Write a paper about your chosen topic – selected in Step 1. Your paper should consist of a title page, introduction, several paragraphs addressing the questions for your chosen topic, conclusion, and references. The outline you wrote in Step 1 should be your starting point, but you can make edits to the topics and details you include, and the organization of the content. Take advantage of any feedback received. Your paper should be 750-1500 words, excluding references and the title page. Use a minimum of three (3) reliable information sources. These can be different from the resources that you found in step 1 of this assignment. The majority of your paper should be written in your own words, in your own writing style and structure, and fully paraphrasing information from the selected information sources (just changing a few words in a sentence is not enough). Your paper should consist of less than 10% direct quotes. Quotation marks must be used at the start and end of a direct quote, followed by an in-text citation. When paraphrasing, you should also use text citations to acknowledge the source. A list of references in APA format should be included at the end. Resources that may be helpful as you write your paper: UMGC Citing and Writing page for citation, writing, and academic integrity help. Video from UMGC’s Office of Academic Integrity and Accountability: Paraphrasing Content in Your Own Words Free writing tutoring: Go to the Academic Support tab within our LEO classroom, and click Tutoring to get started! Submit your paper to the Assignment folder by the due date listed in the course schedule. The originality of your assignment will be checked with Turnitin. Please review the originality report, and if needed, submit a revised assignment before the submission deadline. If you need help accessing and understanding the Turnitin Report and want to learn more about how Turnitin is used at UMGC, here is a good resource: UMGC Library’s Turnitin FAQ Please review the grading rubric, and ask your professor if you have questions about this assignment. TOPIC : VACCINES a) Vaccines. Your friend is worried about the many vaccines that his newborn son is scheduled to receive and asks you for advice since you are taking a biology course. Briefly explain how the human immune system works. Explain how vaccines work. Contrast the traditional methods used to create vaccines with more recently used biotechnology techniques, including the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Explain how the mRNA vaccines work based on your knowledge of the Central Dogma of Molecular Biology. How have vaccinations impacted the frequency of these diseases over the past 100 years? Include a few specific statistics. What are some of the diseases that infants and children in the US are routinely vaccinated against? Why are some people worried about giving their children vaccines? Specifically, why do some people believe that the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine can cause autism? Is there scientific evidence to support these concerns? Cite the original peer-reviewed scholarly research paper that started this concern and discuss its validity. Conclude with advice to your friend regarding getting the recommended vaccines based on what you learned from reliable information sources. PLEASE USE THESE 3 SOURCES FROM THE SCHOOL WEBSITE LIBRARY: https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/science/article/pii/S0264410X24000495?via%3Dihub https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/science/article/pii/S0264410X24000562?via%3Dihub https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/science/article/pii/S0264410X24000136?via%3Dihub

This week we are covering biodiversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and the

This week we are covering biodiversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and the

This week we are covering biodiversity, taxonomy, phylogeny, evolution, and the factors and processes that contribute to evolution, including mutations, natural selection, gene flow, and genetic drift. Find a news article from Science Daily “https://www.sciencedaily.com” (or another credible news source) that describes a recent research study that relates to something you found interesting in this week’s readings. The article should be less than 3 years old and not already discussed by another student. Include the following in your main response: Formulate a likely hypothesis for this research study (it may not be specifically stated in the article) In 1-2 sentences, summarize in your own words the most important conclusion from the research study. Describe how this research study relates to this week’s BIOL 103 course topics. Use at least one in-text citation to this week’s assigned textbook chapters. Finally, discuss at least one broader implication of this research that was not described in the article. In other words, how do you believe these research findings may impact society, the environment, health, or the world in a positive and/or negative way? Be specific. Use the name of the Science Daily article as the title of your post. Use in-text citations, and include references in APA format to the chosen Science Daily article, the textbook, and all other resources used to prepare your response.

Contributions of Darwin Watch the videos provided under Additional Resources to

Contributions of Darwin
Watch the videos provided under Additional Resources to

Contributions of Darwin
Watch the videos provided under Additional Resources to learn more about Darwin, his voyage, Wallace, and the history. If you wish to learn more, you can watch the video explaining the Wallace line.

Natural Selection and Adaptations
Having watched the videos you have now understood that adaptations and natural selection are key in the process of evolution.

Now watch this video and answer the following
1.Explain the terms adaptation and natural selection.
2.Speculate whether the Natural selection __________ (increases / decreases) the adaptation of organisms to their environment over time.
3.Determine how natural selection explains the adaptations of organisms.
4.What is Darwin’s theory of evolution?
5.What happened in the case of peppered moths and industrialization?
6.What is the mechanism that results in variation within a population?
7.How do the black mice arise in the population – are they already present within the mice population or does the new traits arise “as needed”?
8.Why did the frequencies of the light-colored and dark-colored mice not change significantly at location A but did at location B? – Explain based on the concept of ‘the selective pressure of predators’.
Darwin, the Galapagos, and the Finches
We know that Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands and one of the key observations was regarding the finches on the islands. Watch this brief video to see how Darwin realized the differences in the finches.

1.How did the finches differ from each other?
2.Describe the basis for the differences observed in the finches of the Galapagos Islands.
3.Explain how natural selection played a role in this the case of finches of the Galapagos Islands.
The Evidence for Evolution
Watch the video and discover the evidence to support the theory of evolution

1.Direct Observations of Evolutionary Change
2.Homology
3.Fossil Records
4.Biogeography
Modes and Mechanisms of Evolution
The following video explains the mechanisms of evolution – directional, disruptive, and stabilizing selection.
Understand the concept of each type of mode of directional selection. Can you predict the mode of action for natural selection if given a scenario. Below are some examples. Give reasons for your answer
1.Mostly human beings tend to be of average height- not too many really short ones or really tall ones
2.In tigers, faster is always better so a tiger population will tend to get faster over time
3.In case of giraffes, there was a selection pressure against short necks, since individuals with short necks could not reach as many leaves on which to feed. As a result, the distribution of neck length shifted to favor individuals with long necks.
4.Suppose a plant of extremely variable height is pollinated by three different pollinators, one that was attracted to short plants, another that preferred plants of medium height and a third that visited only the tallest plants. If the pollinator that preferred plants of medium height disappeared from an area, medium height plants would be selected against and the population would tend toward both short and tall, but not medium height plants.
5.If thicker-shelled oysters are more resistant to breakage than thinner-shelled oysters, crabs will be less able to prey upon them, and thicker-shelled oysters will be more likely to survive to reproduce
6.Very light-colored or very dark-colored oysters might be more frequently preyed upon by shore birds, simply because they are more obvious on the oyster bar; as a result, the intermediate hues become more common
7.Light-colored oysters are more cryptic (coloration that allows an organism to match its background and hence become less vulnerable to predation or recognition by prey) and therefore, less easy for a predator to see because they match the rock color. Dark-colored oysters blend into the shadows cast by the rocks. In this case, intermediate-colored oysters would be most heavily preyed upon by the crabs, and very light and very dark oysters would survive to reproduce.
Understand the concept of convergent evolution.
Coevolution occurs in some species. One good example of coevolution is acacia ants and acacia plants. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xm2qdxVVRm4
Speciation – How do we define species, how do they form, the speed/tempo, and barriers
Here is a video on the concept of speciation

There are different types of speciation – based on tempo and based on barriers. Watch the video and learn about the different types

Then watch this video that details the pre and post zygotic barriers

Watch this video for the rate/tempo of speciation

Work through the following topics/questions
1.What is the definition of species and population?
2.Describe the mechanisms by which speciation can occur
3.Explain why there is no gene flow in reproductive isolation. Determine why reproductive isolation is a prerequisite for speciation to occur.
4.When there is a physical barrier created by natural processes such as earthquake, what type of reproductive isolation will it lead to?
5.What are the different types of prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive isolations? Make sure you know them all. In the tests/exams there will be examples given and you will have to identify the type of reproductive isolation. List one of each here with an example.
6.Differentiate between allopatric and sympatric speciation.
7.What is the pace of evolution – fast or slow?
8.Explain the extrinsic and intrinsic reproductive isolation mechanisms.
9.Explain the term divergence. Does accumulation of genetic mutations lead to divergence?
10.Explain adaptive radiation. Determine if Darwin’s finches of Galapagos Island is an example of adaptive radiation?
Population Genetics
This video explains microevolution, macroevolution. Remember, populations evolve not species, gene pool,
You will also be practicing the Hardy Weinberg equation and problems based on it. So if you are interested, then you can watch the part 2 of population genetics described at the end of the 1st video.
1.What is a gene pool?
2.What are the sources of genetic variation in a population?
3.What is an allele frequency and a genetic frequency?