Web Activities
UNIT 4: EVOLUTION
Unit 4 - Performance Task and Review
p. 638-9
Part I: The Genetics and Prevalence of Lactose Tolerance and Intolerance
3. Use print and electronic resources to determine what gene
or genes are responsible for the production of lactase, and find out
the occurrence of lactose tolerance and intolerance in human populations
of the world.
Genetic
Cause of Lactose Intolerance Found
Genetic Cause of Lactose Intolerance Found, reports this 2002 news
item. The lactase gene is not the cause of the condition - but this
new Finnish study has located the culprit.
Part II: Natural Selection and Lactose Intolerance
4. Most adult mammals do not produce the enzyme lactase. Apply
your understanding of evolution and natural selection to develop and
test hypotheses about this trait. Research print and electronic sources
to find supporting evidence for your hypotheses and conclusions.
Lactose
Intolerance is Normal!
Lactose Intolerance is Normal! reads the headline of this article
from the Science in Africa Web site. The evolution of lactose tolerance
is discussed, and its global prevalence detailed.
Lactose
Intolerance
Lactose Intolerance: this Web page from the U.S. National Institute
of Health provides general information about its symptoms and treatment.
When
Milk Makes You Sick
When Milk Makes You Sick, a report by a university student from Indiana
University, provides an excellent summary of lactose tolerance, its
chemistry, genetics, and evolution.
Lactose.Net
Lactose.Net provides a list of links about lactose. Some sites are
good sources of general information, while others are mainly about
selling products or providing recipes.
Part III: Options and Opportunities in the Control and Treatment of
Lactose Intolerance
5. Human societies have been consuming milk and milk products
from large domesticated mammals for thousands of years. When this practice
began, humans would not have had the gene for lactose tolerance. Research
in print and electronic resources the technologies that have and could
be applied to treat lactose intolerance.
Planet
Lactose
Planet Lactose is a one-stop information center on lactose intolerance.
The ‘Research’ section has articles in easy-to-understand
language that explain the latest scientific advances, with an archive
of past news stories.
Gene
Therapy in a Liquid
ScienceDaily online magazine reports that Gene Therapy in
a Liquid has been administered to some rats by Thomas Jefferson University
professors. The result? They cured the rats’ lactose intolerance.
The research has exciting implications for other medical conditions,
like diabetes.
p. 642
Review
43. Most crop plants and livestock breeds have been altered
dramatically from their wild origins through artificial selection and
breeding. They have been bred to exhibit different nutritional content,
behaviours, and size and have been adapted to different climates, pests,
and diseases. With two or three other students, consult print and electronic
resources to determine the original geographic location, and if possible,
the original physical characteristics of corn, wheat, rice, cattle,
peanuts, chickens, pigs, rubber, cotton, and sheep.
Origin
of Agriculture
Origin of Agriculture is a succinct lecture from the University of
Maryland discussing the centers in the world that fostered agriculture,
and the crops and livestock that were tended by these ancient societies.
Domestication
of Plants and Animals
Domestication of Plants and Animals is part of a course offered at
Oklahoma University. The essay is a very well written general outline
of the process by which certain plants and animals became crops and
livestock. Many examples are given of physical changes over time,
and the home origins are discussed.
The
Origin of Rice Cultivation
The Origin of Rice Cultivation is a paper addressing the various theories
concerning the domestication of one of the world’s most important
crops, rice.
History
and Origin of Wheat
This Web site provides a brief history of wheat and discusses its
evolution. Also included at the bottom of the page are a number of
links to other Web sites about wheat and other grasses.
Cotton
From the University of California at Los Angeles, comes this basic
description of Cotton, its characteristics and origins.
Domestic
Sheep
Domestic Sheep is a basic information page for vet students at the
University of California. It provides information on the domestication
and origin of this global animal.
What
Is a Chicken?
What Is a Chicken? asks a public information page posted by the University
of Illinois. It contains lots of fowl facts, including a description
of the bird’s domestication history.
Domestic
Livestock
Domestic Livestock is an information sheet from the United Nations
Environment Programme containing a table that lists the major domesticated
mammals, their time and place of origin, and their ‘wild’
relatives.
p. 643
Review
51. Evolutionary biologists have hypothesized that many epidemics–widespread
diseases that usually kill their hosts–such as smallpox or plague,
could only have evolved in large human populations. Further, they hypothesize
that these diseases originated in mammals that were domesticated. Consider
these hypotheses in relation to contact between European explorers and
Indigenous peoples, such as the Arawak, Aztec, Maya, Inca, Aboriginal
peoples in North America, Aborigines in Australia, and Maori in New
Zealand. Consult print and electronic resources to determine whether
the exchange of diseases between Europeans and any two of the Indigenous
peoples listed above supports one or both of these hypotheses. Report
your findings to the class.
History
of Diseases
History of Diseases is an extensive list of links relating to the
evolution of disease in general, as well as specific conditions including
smallpox and plague. The site hails from the Karolinska Institutet
in Sweden.
Guns,
Germs, and Steel
Guns, Germs, and Steel is the title of a great book by Jared
Diamond outlining some intriguing ideas about the history of human
civilization. Bill Gates summarizes the book on this Web page, including
the idea that the domestication of animals in Eurasia, and the spread
of disease, is largely responsible for the colonization of much of
the world by European/Asian races. A link near the top of the page
leads to a lecture given by Jared Diamond on the same topic.
The
Price of Domestication
The Price of Domestication is a well-written article relating the
longstanding connection between domestic animals and human disease,
with ‘mad cow disease’ and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease being
a recent example.
The
Origin of Smallpox
The Origin of Smallpox details the history of this important disease,
reported to have killed Pharoah Ramses V, about 3000 years ago. A
photo of Ramses’ mummified head, with a smallpox pustule, is
posted.
