Introduction to Genetics and Evolution

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Introduction to Genetics and Evolution

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About this course: Introduction to Genetics and Evolution is a college-level class being offered simultaneously to new students at Duke University. The course gives interested people a very basic overview of some principles behind these very fundamental areas of biology. We often hear about new "genome sequences," commercial kits that can tell you about your ancestry (including pre-human) from your DNA or disease predispositions, debates about the truth of evolution, why animals behave the way they do, and how people found "genetic evidence for natural selection." This course provides the basic biology you need to understand all of these issues better, tries to clarify some misconceptio…

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: Introduction to Genetics and Evolution is a college-level class being offered simultaneously to new students at Duke University. The course gives interested people a very basic overview of some principles behind these very fundamental areas of biology. We often hear about new "genome sequences," commercial kits that can tell you about your ancestry (including pre-human) from your DNA or disease predispositions, debates about the truth of evolution, why animals behave the way they do, and how people found "genetic evidence for natural selection." This course provides the basic biology you need to understand all of these issues better, tries to clarify some misconceptions, and tries to prepare students for future, more advanced coursework in Biology (and especially evolutionary genetics). No prior coursework is assumed.

Created by:  Duke University
  • Taught by:  Dr. Mohamed Noor, Earl D. McLean Professor and Chair,

    Biology
Language English, Subtitles: Romanian How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said Задания курса

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Duke University Duke University has about 13,000 undergraduate and graduate students and a world-class faculty helping to expand the frontiers of knowledge. The university has a strong commitment to applying knowledge in service to society, both near its North Carolina campus and around the world.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Welcome to Genetics and Evolution
General introduction to this MOOC, including coverage and expectations.


2 readings expand


  1. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Welcome to the Course
  2. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Course App and Readings


Evidence for Evolution



This module discusses the definition of the word "evolution" in a biological context, evidence for the truth of evolution and common ancestry of species, and public thoughts and misconceptions about biological evolution. This module is optional and will not be included in the course assessments. There are not class discussion forums for this section, as we feel such discussion can happen on other, non-course-related, sites on this topic (of which there are a great many on the internet).


5 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: What is Evolution? (G)
  2. Video: Basic Principles and Evidence for Evolution (G)
  3. Video: Acceptance of Evolution (G)
  4. Video: Responding to Criticisms of Evolutionary Theory (G)
  5. Video: Interview with Jerry Coyne (G)
  6. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Evidence for Evolution


WEEK 2


Genetics I
An introduction to basic transmission genetics and inheritance. This module reflects what is often covered in high school biology courses in the USA.


6 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Introduction to Genetics (G)
  2. Video: Inheritance (G)
  3. Video: Genetic Scales (S)
  4. Video: Mitosis, Meiosis, and Ploidy (S)
  5. Video: Basic Single-Gene Inheritance (G)
  6. Video: X-Linked Inheritance and Independent Assortment (S)
  7. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Genetics I
  8. Тренировочный тест: Genetics Problem Set 1

Graded: Genetics I Quiz

WEEK 3


Genetics II



This module delves somewhat more deeply into genetics and specifically the concept of "recombination." It begins to discuss how recombination is leveraged in classic genetic works as well as mapping simple genetic traits using crosses or data from natural populations.


7 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Recombination (G)
  2. Video: Calculation of Recombination Distance (S)
  3. Video: Generating a Gene Map (S)
  4. Video: Bonus Video: A Challenging Problem (S)
  5. Video: Genetic Mapping (S)
  6. Video: Mapping Traits Relative to Markers in a Cross (S)
  7. Video: Mapping Traits Relative to Markers in a Population (S)
  8. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Genetics II
  9. Тренировочный тест: Genetics Problem Set 2

Graded: Genetics II Quiz

WEEK 4


Genetics III
This module delves even more deeply into the complexities of the genetics underlying traits,the origin of genetic variation, and how "complex" traits (ones controlled by multiple genes) are studied genetically.


6 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Origin of Genetic Variation (G)
  2. Video: Shortcomings of the Single Gene Model (G)
  3. Video: Mutation Rates (S)
  4. Video: Mapping Complex Traits (S)
  5. Video: Complex Traits in Crosses (S)
  6. Video: Genome-wide Association Studies (S)
  7. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Genetics III
  8. Тренировочный тест: Genetics Problem Set 3

Graded: Genetics III Quiz

WEEK 5


Heritability and Population Growth
This module begins the transition to evolutionary genetics by looking at the relative contributions of genetics and environment to traits, and also introduces how population growth is studied.


6 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Contribution of Genes vs. Environment I (G, S)
  2. Video: Contribution of Genes vs. Environment II (S)
  3. Video: Contribution of Genes vs. Environment III (S)
  4. Video: Breeder's Equation (S)
  5. Video: Population Growth (S)
  6. Video: Carrying Capacity (S)
  7. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Heritability and Population Growth
  8. Тренировочный тест: Heritability Problem Set

Graded: Heritability Quiz

WEEK 6


Population Genetics I
Rather than looking at individuals, this module discusses how multiple individuals from natural populations can be studied genetically to begin to understand the evolutionary forces acting upon the populations.


6 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Allele and Genotype Frequencies (S)
  2. Video: Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (S)
  3. Video: Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (S)
  4. Video: Differences Between Populations: Origins and Quantification (S)
  5. Video: Differences Between Populations: Effects of Gene Flow (S)
  6. Video: Inbreeding (S)
  7. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Population Genetics I
  8. Тренировочный тест: Population Genetics Problem Set 1

Graded: Population Genetics Quiz

WEEK 7


Population Genetics II
This module extends the previous one to specifically examine the effects of natural selection and genetic drift on genetic variation in natural populations.


7 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Natural Selection Fundamentals (S)
  2. Video: Types at Single Loci (S)
  3. Video: Types Acting on Traits (S)
  4. Video: Genetic Drift and Sampling Error (S)
  5. Video: Sampling Error over Many Generations (S)
  6. Video: Case Studies and Examples (G)
  7. Video: Rate of Neutral Molecular Evolution (S)
  8. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Population Genetics II
  9. Тренировочный тест: Population Genetics Problem Set 2

Graded: Population Genetics II Quiz

WEEK 8


Molecular Evolution



This advanced module explains why sexual reproduction (involving recombination) is evolutionarily advantageous, and discusses how the analysis of DNA sequences can be used to understand the evolutionary forces acting on populations or species, either in general or at specific genes.


7 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Evolutionary Advantages of Sex (G)
  2. Video: Recombination, Selective Sweeps, and Hitchhiking (S)
  3. Video: Signatures of Natural Selection (S)
  4. Video: Background Selection (S)
  5. Video: Signatures of Natural Selection in Individual Genes (G,S)
  6. Video: Searching for Natural Selection: dN/dS (S)
  7. Video: Searching for Natural Selection: McDonald-Kreitman Test (S)
  8. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Molecular Evolution
  9. Тренировочный тест: Molecular Evolution Problem Set

Graded: Molecular Evolution Quiz

WEEK 9


Adaptive Behaviors and Sexual Selection
This module changes gears a bit to look at the exciting field of animal behavior-- specifically, how particular behaviors are or may be adaptive, and why individuals choose particular others as mates.


5 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Optimality and Adaptive Feeding (G)
  2. Video: Communication and Parental Care (G)
  3. Video: Intro to Sexual Selection (G)
  4. Video: Sexual Selection: Male Competition and Female Choice (G)
  5. Video: Sexual Selection: Evolutionary Causes (S)
  6. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Adaptive Behaviors and Sexual Selection
  7. Тренировочный тест: Behavior and Sexual Selection Problem Set

Graded: Adaptive Behaviors and Sexual Selection Quiz

WEEK 10


Speciation and Phylogenetics
This module gets into the nitty gritty of what causes the formation of new species, and how evolutionary relationships between species are inferred.


6 videos, 1 reading, 1 practice quiz expand


  1. Video: Keeping Species Separated (G)
  2. Video: Speciation: Effects of Geography (S)
  3. Video: Speciation: Genetic Control (S)
  4. Video: Reading Evolutionary Trees (G)
  5. Video: Generating Evolutionary Trees (S)
  6. Video: Phylogenetic Comparative Method (S)
  7. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Speciation and Phylogenetics
  8. Тренировочный тест: Speciation and Phylogenetics Problem Set

Graded: Speciation and Phylogenetics Quiz

WEEK 11


Applied Evolution
This final module talks about applications and misapplications of many of the concepts discussed in the course to human health, understanding, and well-being. This module is optional and not included in the assessments.


2 videos, 1 reading expand


  1. Video: Applications of Evolutionary Insights (G)
  2. Video: MISapplications of Evolutionary Insights (G)
  3. Материал для самостоятельного изучения: Supplemental Materials, Applied Evolution
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