Lauren Leiker Evolution Course Blog

     One disease of civilization that I find the most interesting is cancer, or more specifically breast cancer. Breast cancer has impacted several of my family members over the years, some of which were able to beat it and survive, and some that weren’t as lucky. I’ve learned through multiple articles from the National Center for Biotechnology Information that the prevention of breast cancer is possible, however, there are also factors that increase the development of breast cancer that we must consider. So it is extremely important to focus on an individuals lifestyle and what they are doing that helps, but also what might hurt their body. There are many lifestyle factors that have been associated with the rise of breast cancer including an individual’s diet, socioeconomic status, height, weight, physical activity, smoking and alcohol use, aging, family history, and stress. All of these factors can increase the chances of an individuals developing breast cancer, but if ...

    The world truly is full of the most amazing and unique organisms that have evolved their traits in order to adapt to their environment. One species that I have always found fascinating is the shoebill stork species. This particular species has evolved from dinosaurs millions of years ago and are also known as Balaeniceps rex, whalehead, and whale-headed stork. The reason I’m so fascinated with this species is because of how brave and almost a little scary looking they are. Shoebill storks are known for having a large amount of patience when trying to catch their prey. Shoebill storks mainly gravitate towards feeding on large prey such as lungfish, snakes, and even crocodiles! Some adaptations that the shoebill storks have are their long toes to help with balance, a nictitating membrane to protect their eyes, and a foot-long bill that helps with their hunting. I have found a few articles pertaining to the adaptive hypotheses that scientists have created while examining...

    Genetic variation can be limited by natural selection as natural selection can alter a species by increasing or decreasing the gene frequencies. Natural selection in population occurs when an organism’s trait has the ability to help a species survive and reproduce. Even though natural selection can decrease the variation within a species, genetic variation cannot be eroded over time as genetic variation is vital for natural selection given that it can only alter the frequency of alleles that are already present in the population. Genetic variation is essential in order to create diverse variations of allele frequencies.      There are a many diverse mechanisms that can explain why genetic variation is maintained in populations including mutations and genetic drift.   Natural selection may limit variation, however, we also have to take into account how mutations will always remain present in populations, given that they occur randomly. Genetic ...