Gene-ius Bar
Often called the “father of genetics,” this Austrian monk preferred to experiment with his pea plants than care for a monastery. It’s a shame Darwin never read his book.
Who is Gregor Mendel?
Charles Darwin, Peter Grant, and Rosemary Grant all used this animal to support the theory of evolution.
What is a finch?
This period marks the appearance of fossil records for most animal groups. 540 million years ago, an increase in predators led to a marked burst in biodiversity.
What is the Cambrian explosion?
Yellowstone National Park experienced a trophic cascade after the reintroduction of this animal. This keystone species is now attending to the local elk population, allowing new trees to grow in Yellowstone for the first time in decades.
What are wolves?
This organ is considered the body's control center. It receives information from sensors and sends messages to the rest of the body.
What is the brain?
These two scientists are most often credited with discovering the shape of DNA — the beautiful double helix — but they didn’t really do it alone.
Who are James Watson and Francis Crick?
These traits were purchased from the same granny store. They may look different across species due to evolutionary divergence, but their building blocks were present in a shared ancestor.
What are homologous traits?
This is not a peculiar moss, as it may seem on first glance, but a symbiotic association between microorganisms and fungi. The fungus host produces protective acids, fuelled by the photosynthesized sugars the microorganisms provide.
What is a lichen?
Two species with the same ecological niche may choose to share their habitat and divide their resources. This is one of three outcomes of niche competition.
What is resource partitioning?
Malfunctions in this organ can cause diabetes. It produces insulin to remove glucose from the bloodstream and glucagon to release glucose into the bloodstream.
What is the pancreas?
This scientist produced an X-ray image of a diffraction pattern instrumental in discovering the shape of DNA… after it was stolen from her desk. She did not receive a Nobel prize, but has received her flowers in recent years.
Who is Rosalind Franklin?
These traits are deceptively similar. They may share the same look or function, but species evolved these traits separately. These are the products of convergent evolution.
What are analogous traits?
This cell-to-cell communication is how bacteria decide their next move. One could compare this communication style to echolocation: bacteria determine their own density by sending out molecules and waiting for them to bounce off one another and return. Their density determines when they reproduce, build defenses, and attack.
What is quorum sensing?
This is the title of two species with similar niches - habitats, diets, behaviors, and adaptations - that are found in vastly separate geographic locations. These are the products of convergent evolution.
What are ecological equivalents?
One of the more famous neurotransmitters, this chemical affects your emotions and your voluntary movements. A lack of it in the brain can cause Parkinson’s disease, but an excess can cause schizophrenia.
What is dopamine?
This scientist broke down and examined DNA and discovered that guanine and cytosine always appeared in equal amounts, and adenine and thymine always appeared in equal amounts. As Ms. Tia says, “his name is…not Edwin.”
Who is Erwin Chargaff?
This trait was purchased from the granny store so long ago that its species no longer needs it. Whales have this trait in the form of a femur - a clue scientists used to hypothesize that they used to walk on land.
What is a vestigial trait?
This is the silent phase of a viral infection, when the unsuspecting host copies inactive viral DNA. This phase often precedes the virus's explosive exit from the host’s cells. “No boom today, boom tomorrow.”
What is a lysogenic infection?
This is a symbiotic relationship between two species. Unlike mutualism, which benefits both species, or parasitism, which benefits one species and hurts the other, this relationship benefits one species without affecting the other.
What is commensalism?
These hair-like structures on your epithelial cells help remove gunk. Packed tightly together in the lining of your lungs, these structures act like a conveyor belt, brushing foreign particles out.
What are cilia?
This scientist proved that DNA — not protein — transferred genetic information. Who would’ve thought?
Who is Oswald Avery?
This effect is in play when a population split removes alleles. In smaller gene pools, previously rare genetic diseases can become common as recessive alleles present more frequently. It sometimes harms the Amish population.
What is the founder effect?
This infectious particle is made of misfolded proteins that misfold other proteins. The presence of this particle, digested in a grieving ritual, caused an unfortunate and deadly breakout of “laughing sickness” in Papua New Guinea.
What is a prion?
These photosynthetic microorganisms are members of the protist family because they are difficult to classify. Some live in coral polyps and give coral their vibrant colors. Breaking their symbiotic relationship results in coral bleaching.
What are algae?
This endocrine gland regulates your biological clock. Light changes trigger this gland to release melatonin. It can make you tired after dark, bears hungry in the fall before their hibernation, and sheep ovulate in the spring for their breeding season.
What is the pineal gland?