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Resource library Teaching materials Evolution 101

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Evo in the news: Evolving altitude aptitude

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Overview:
This news brief from October 2010 examines new research that makes it clear that Tibetan highlanders have not just acclimated to their mountain home; evolutionary adaptations have equipped them with unique physiological mechanisms for dealing with low oxygen levels.

Author/Source:
UC Museum of Paleontology

Grade level:
9-12

Time:
10 minutes

Concepts:

  • There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit.

  • Evolution results from selection acting upon genetic variation within a population.

  • Traits that confer an advantage may persist in the population and are called adaptations.

  • Natural selection acts on the variation that exists in a population.

  • Populations, not individuals, evolve.

  • Over time, the proportion of individuals with advantageous characteristics may increase (and the proportion with disadvantageous characteristics may decrease) due to their likelihood of surviving and reproducing.

  • Scientists test their ideas using multiple lines of evidence.

  • Natural selection is dependent on environmental conditions.

  • Evolutionary change can sometimes happen rapidly.

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