Overview: This 13-minute film describes how scientists have pieced together the evolutionary history of the Antarctic icefish by studying its genome – an excellent case study for genetic evolution as both the gain and loss of genes have led to key adaptations. Author/Source: Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grade level: 13-16 Time: 15-20 minutes Teaching tips: HHMI provides a variety of teacher resources to accompany this video: an in-depth film guide, student quiz, two demonstrations and three student lessons Concepts: There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit. Evolution is often defined as a change in allele frequencies within a population. Evolution results from natural selection acting upon genetic variation within a population. Evolution results from mutations. Natural selection and genetic drift act on the variation that exists in a population. Mutation is a random process. Organisms cannot intentionally produce adaptive mutations in response to environmental influences. Evolution does not consist of progress in any particular direction. A hallmark of science is exposing ideas to testing.

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