Exam 3 Results

So this exam looked about like the last.  I gave you all an extra 10 points and the resulting mean is 81.3.  The answer key is here.  If you want to pick your exam up, let me know when you can come by my office.

Don't forget: the paper is due on Wed.  Look at the link to the right to refresh yourself on the instructions, including how/when to submit.  Feel free to contact me with any questions.  

I know I joked about it, but I really did have a fun semester with you all.  Feel free to drop in and say hello once in a while.  And have a great holiday!

What's happening the last week of class?

On Tuesday, we'll go over the answers to the problem set and answer any other questions that you have.  Then we will finish the topic of contagious cancer.

On Thursday, you'll have your last exam.  And I will be very sad to see you go.  Then you are free to finish writing your paper.

To help prep for your exam, here are the answers to last year's final exam. (That exam was comprehensive, yours is not.)

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Reading for next week

Tuesday's reading is posted to the right.  It's an article from Harper's on contagious cancers.  (Poor devils.  Tasmanian devils, that is.)

In case you missed class today...

...homework 3 is now available.

And the reading for Thursday is posted to the right.  Please read both The evolution of Cancer and Targeting what isn't there.  

Eugenics links

Check out these articles on eugenics from Taha:

Modern eugenics in The Netherlands

Nazi propaganda cites US eugenics laws

I'm curious to know what you all think about the first article in particular.  Post a comment and let us know.

Exam 2 Answer Key

The answer key can be found here.  

The mean was a 78.  You all received 10 extra points to make this exam more comparable to the last.

Let me know if you have any questions.

homework key and Myxobolus

Here is the key to Homework 2.

Myxobolus is definitely an animal, but its taxonomic position is apparently uncertain.  From Wikipedia: "Today, the myxozoans, previously thought to be multicellular protozoans are considered animals by many scientists, though their status has not officially changed. Recent molecular studies suggest that they are related to Bilateria or Cnidaria, with Cnidaria being closer morphologically because both groups have extrusive filaments, but with Bilateria being somewhat closer in some genetic studies."

Notes for Tuesday

1) There are no slides for class tomorrow.  You can take notes on your copy of the Miller and Vincent paper.

2) Come prepared to ask questions in preparation for the exam on Thursday.  I will not have extra office hours before the exam--tomorrow in class is it.

Old exam 2--answers

Ask, and ye shall receive.  

The answers to exam 2 from last year are here.

For your own sake, please go over the exam without the answers first!

Mad cows and fish

Check these out for an update on restrictions on animal feed since the Mad Cow scare: To prevent mad cow disease..., FDA announces prohibitions, US tightens mad cow rules. 

The syllabus has been updated to reflect the following changes.  1) There is no new reading or slides for this thursday. We will hear 3 presentations and finish directed evolution.  (Don't forget your homework is due on Thurs.)  2) The reading for next Tuesday (Miller and Vincent 2008) has been posted to the side.  We will also have time on Tuesday to go over the homework and answer questions in preparation for the exam.

Homework 2, monoculture, and a video

In case you missed class today, homework 2 is due next Thursday.

I just read a very nice article from NYT about a political solution to monoculture.  Check it out.

The video that I showed at the beginning of class is not listed on the slides I posted.  You can watch it again here.

GMO reading

You will notice that there was no reading listed on your syllabus for Thursday's class.  It is now.  Please read Wu et al. 2008, Suppression of cotton bollworm in multiple crops in China in areas with Bt toxin-containing cotton.

Answers, reading, extra credit, etc.

Answers: Here's the answer key to the first exam.

Readings: And here's the evolsphere blog post on lactase persistence.

Extra Credit: If you are interested in the public forum on evolution next Tuesday, either go to the panel discussion or listen to it online and write up a 1 page summary for me.  I'll give you an extra credit point for the effort.

Nigerian milk drinkers: I couldn't find much more information on lactase persistence in Nigeria, but the estimates I found range from 85%-99% intolerant.  Also, it appears possible that gene flow from the Fulani (who are only 33% intolerant) may increase frequencies of the lactase persistence allele in Nigeria.  Perhaps our classmates are among the minority when it comes to lactose?

Goat's milk: There's lots of info online about the differences between goat and cow milk.  One is that goat's milk has less lactose.  Others may or may not be meaningful.  I'm not willing to endorse any of the studies I found, so I'll let you search for yourself. 

Presentation Schedule

Just a reminder, here's the date that you signed up for for your presentation.  Also remember that you need to talk to me about a topic 2 weeks before your presentation--that means Oct 14th presenters need to talk to me this week.

Oct 7: Kristal, Monsurat & Yvonne

Oct 14: Karen, Diep-Thuy

Oct 21: Toan, Dueart

Oct 23: Taha, Tuyet, Aaron

Nov 11: Will, Ashley

Nov 18: Fiorella, Sade

Nov 20: Greg, Rishika

Nov 25: Brandi, Chase

Readings and such

With the test and all today, I forgot to remind you that there is a reading for Monday that is not out of your book.  There is a link to it to the right; it's a news feature from Nature, by Erika Check titled, "How Africa learned to love the cow."

In other news, I want to let you know that you guys rocked the exam.  The mean is around 85, and so far no one has below a middle-C (I'm still finishing up a little grading, but I don't think that will change much).  Nice job!  I expect the same from you for the rest of the semester...

Study, study

I expect you all to ace the exam.  I'll help however I can (except by making the exam easy...).  I'll be in my office 2-3pm tomorrow (Wednesday).  Please come by if you have questions or want to go over any of the material.

Here are the answers to the practice exam posted earlier:  Practice exam answers.

Feel free to post questions here, but be forewarned that I am still without internet at home, so I won't be able to answer after about 6:00 pm on Wednesday.  But you can always help each other out if you are so inclined.

Good luck.

Ike effects

Thank you to those of you who made it to class today.  Those of you that couldn't, I hope that you are safe and recovering smoothly.  I know that things are a mess now, and I will try to do what I can to help out from this end.

• First, there was no lecture today.  We watched a brief video instead.  If you did not make it to class please watch this before thursday, if you can.  Go here, then watch the video titled, "Cholera: Domesticating Disease."
  
• Second, your homework will be due on Tuesday, 23 Sept., not this thursday as originally scheduled.  The exam will be next Thursday, 25 Sept., as scheduled.
  
• Finally, the syllabus has been updated.  Please check there for the new schedule.
  

Antibiotic videos

Sorry for the technical challenges this morning, but here are the two videos you should watch (both about 10 min):

And the evolutionary arms race.

If you missed class today because you were busy evacuating, please watch these videos, look over the slides, and get notes from someone who lives in a less flood prone area...

Stay dry.

What is alive?

Biologists on the verge of creating new form of life

(thanks Aaron for passing this along)

Homework and Signup

In case you missed class today, or came in late, here is the first homework assignment.

Also, on Thursday, we will sign up for presentation times.  Bring your calendars...

More phylogenetics

Here are the extra phylogenetics resources in an easier to access format:

Phylogenetics basics

A little more on reading and building phylogenies

Tree thinking quizzes (select 'download supplement')

Building trees with UPGMA

Questions answered

A couple of good questions came up in class today.  Here are answers to some of them.

1. HIV reverse transcription: does it result in double or single stranded DNA? Here's a great animation with more details of HIV replication.  Thanks Toan.  (The answer is that two rounds of transcription lead to double stranded DNA that gets integrated into the host genome.)

2. Are there relatives of HIV that infect species other than primates?  On Thursday we'll learn about SIV, but there are other lentiviruses that infect cats (FIV), cows (BIV), goats (CAEV), sheep (Visna), and horses (EIAV).  More info on these here.

If anyone finds more interesting info about the state of current research in HIV treatment, feel free to let us know by posting a comment.

Practice Exams

How do I study for this class?  Well, here's a start.  Here are the exams from last year.  The material this year will be slightly different, but you can get the general idea from these:

Exam1

Exam2

Final

I am purposefully posting these without the answers, so you can work through them yourself.  I will post the answers as we get closer to the relevant exam.

Course Info

Course Information

Biol 4397 (32814) Selected Topics in Biology: APPLIED EVOLUTION
Fall 2008: TuTh 10:00-11:30; Agnes Arnold Hall room 7

In addition to evolutionary biology’s power to explain the diversity and complexity of the world around us, evolution has applications to diverse fields of science, medicine, and technology. In this course, we will learn the fundamental principles of evolution necessary to appreciate and understand its applications to everyday problems, including public health, food production, forensics, and conservation.

Instructor: Becky Zufall, 321D Science and Research 2, rzufall@uh.edu
Office hours by appointment.

Course website: http://UHappliedevolution.blogspot.com
Please check the website often for readings, assignments and other news, and post your comments and questions there.

Format: Lecture, discussion, and student presentations.

Readings:
Required text: The Evolving World: Evolution in Everyday Life, by David Mindell. It is available at the campus bookstore and Amazon.
Additional readings will be assigned throughout the semester; these will be posted on the website.

Grades: Grades will be determined based on the following:

• 10% Participation
  
• 5% Homework
  
• 20% Exam 1
  
• 20% Exam 2
  
• 20% Exam 3
  
• 25% Presentation and Paper
  

Participation: To receive participation credit, you must attend class and be usefully engaged in discussion.
Homework: Three homework assignments will be graded pass/fail. To pass, you must complete the assignment on time and demonstrate a reasonable effort. Homework assignments will be posted online.
Exams: There will be three in-class exams. There will not be a final exam. You may elect to drop the grade from ONE exam, in which case, the other two exams will each be worth 30% of your final grade.
Presentation and Paper: You will receive more information on this in the following weeks.

Syllabus

Syllabus

(Updated 16 Set 08)

Biol 4397 (32814)--APPLIED EVOLUTION UHappliedevolution.blogspot.com
TuTh 10:00-11:30; Agnes Arnold Hall 7

Aug 26 Intro to course
         28 Evolution and Medicine (Nesse & Stearns 2007)
Sept 2   HIV (Freeman&Herron Ch.1; Mindell pp. 115-120)
        4   HIV (Freeman&Herron Ch. 1)
        9   Infectious diseases (Mindell pp. 95-128)
        11 Evolution of antibiotic resistance (Mindell pp. 132-134)
        16  Evolution of virulence (Mindell pp. 128-132)

        18  Evolution of virulence     (Mindell pp. 128-132)

         23  Noninfectious disease      (Mindell pp. 134-136, 145-149)

                 HOMEWORK 1 DUE

                 POSTPONED: Paper discussion (Day et al. 2008)
        25 EXAM 1
        30 Lactose intolerance (Check Nature 2006)
Oct    2 Forensics: Rape and murder (Mindell pp. 253-260)
          7 Forensics: Pathogen spread (Mindell pp. 260-264)
             Student presentations
          9 Domestication: Artificial selection (Mindell pp. 53-82)
        14 Domestication: Unintended effects (Mindell pp. 82-94)
             Student presentations
        16 GMOs in food production  (Wu et al. 2008)
        21 Directed evolution (Mindell pp. 140-141)
             Student presentations
       23  Student presentations
             HOMEWORK 2 DUE
       28 Paper discussion (Miller and Vincent 2008)
       30 EXAM 2
Nov 4 Eugenics: Evolutionary “mis”application (Mindell pp. 272-275)
       6 Conservation: understanding biodiversity (Mindell pp. 151-175)
       11 Conservation: Identifying strategies (Mindell pp. 175-184,187-194)
           Student presentations
      13 Bioprospecting (Mindell pp. 184-185)
      18 Conservation Forensics (Mindell pp. 185-187)
           Student presentations
      20 TBA
            Student presentations
       25 TBA
           Student presentations
           HOMEWORK 3 DUE
      27 THANKSGIVING
Dec 2 Paper discussion
        4 EXAM 3

(NO FINAL EXAM)