Why don’t humans have a tail? Why are we so different from chimpanzees in light of how similar our genes are? Why have vampires and other imaginable monsters never evolved? Evo-devo (“evolutionary developmental biology”) provides a framework to address these questions. Evo-devo examines how organisms are ‘made’ through growth and development, and how these get modified over the course of evolution. Through lecture and hands-on lab activities, students will be introduced to topics and theory in the field of evo-devo, as it applies to humans. In the first half of the course, students will learn how genes work during growth and evolution, how bones and organs are formed, and how human anatomy differs from other animals. In the second half of the course, we will combine this knowledge with the human fossil record to understand why humans are unique and how we came to be this way. We will also use the evo-devo framework to understand how mythical creatures like centaurs and vampires could possibly exist, but why they don’t.
Course Requirements:
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Intended Audience:
This course has no prerequisites. Information from this course will help prepare students for future courses in biological anthropology and other fields.
Class Format:
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