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Found 113 resources:
La Supervivencia del más Astuto
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Comic
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
Este cómic nos habla de los esfuerzos de un grillo macho para atraer a una pareja. Y en el proceso, revela (destruye) algunos típicos malentendidos sobre lo que significa estar evolutivamente “adaptado”.
Semejanzas y diferencias: Comprendamos las homologías y evolución convergente (nivel secundaria)
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Online activity or lab
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Esta investigación interactiva explica qué son las homologías, cómo reconocerlas y cómo es que evolucionan.
Evidencias de la Evolución: La ciencia de la evolución
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
Semejanzas y diferencias: Comprendamos las homologías y evolución convergente (nivel bachillerato)
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Online activity or lab
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Esta investigación interactiva explica qué son las homologías, cómo reconocerlas y cómo es que evolucionan.
Interview: Geerat Vermeij on the Fossil record
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- California Academy of Sciences
Resource type:
- Interview with Scientist
Time: 20-30 minutes
Overview
This interview with MacArthur Fellow and paleobiologist, Geerat Vermeij, covers much ground, including adaptations in the mollusks he studies, evolutionary arms races, punctuated equilibrium, extinctions, macroevolution, and the value of diversity.
Mecanismos: Los procesos de la evolución
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: Varies
Overview
Aprende sobre los procesos básicos que han moldeado la vida y producido su asombrosa diversidad.
Este artículo se encuentra en Evolución 101.
Selección natural
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
La idea más famosa de Darwin, “La selección Natural”, explica la gran diversidad de la vida. Aprende cómo funciona, explora algunos ejemplos, y descubre cómo evitar falsas ideas.
Este artículo se encuentra en Evolución 101.
La especiación
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Explicar qué es una especie no es tan fácil como puede parecer. Descubre como la biología define especie y cómo surgen las nuevas especies.
Este artículo se encuentra en Evolución 101.
Evo in the news: Human evolutionary history impacts our COVID-19 risk
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This news brief from November 2020 explains how a gene from Neanderthals made its way into human populations and now affects COVID-19 risk.
La historia evolutiva del ser humano afecta nuestro riesgo de padecer COVID-19
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Este resumen de noticias de noviembre de 2020 explica cómo un gen de los Neandertales que se introdujo en las poblaciones de los humanos modernos, afecta al riesgo de padecer COVID-19.
Selection and evolution with a deck of cards
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Evolution: Education and Outreach
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 1-2 class periods
Overview
This classroom exercise introduces the concept of evolution by natural selection in a hypothesis-driven, experimental fashion, using a deck of cards.
Natural Selection & Sexual Selection: An Illustrated Introduction
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Resource type:
- Video
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This illustrated video explores how natural and sexual selection can shape the way animals look and act, sometimes transforming the drab into the magnificent. To access the associated multiple choice and open answer questions, you'll need to register with the site.
Stickleback Evolution Virtual Lab
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Online activity or lab
Time: 3 hours
Overview
This virtual lab teaches skills of data collection and analysis to study evolutionary processes using stickleback fish and fossil specimens.
Spoons, forks, chopsticks, straws: Simulating natural selection
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Kathryn Flinn
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 50 minutes
Overview
In this classroom activity, students participate in demonstrating how natural selection works. They play the roles of predators with different feeding appendages (spoons, forks, chopsticks, or straws) and compete to gather beans as prey.
Speciation: The basics
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Figuring out what species are is not as easy as one might think. Find out how biologists define species and how new species evolve.
This article is located within Evolution 101.
Similarities and differences: Understanding homology and convergent evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Online activity or lab
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This interactive investigation explains what homologies are, how to recognize them, and how convergent traits evolve.
Relevance of evolution: Medicine
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
Explore just a few of the many cases in which evolutionary theory helps us understand and treat disease. Bacterial infections, HIV, and Huntington's disease are highlighted.
Relevance of evolution: Conservation
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
Explore just a few of the many cases in which evolutionary theory helps us form conservation strategies.
Relevance of evolution: Agriculture
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 20-30 minutes
Overview
Explore just a few of the many cases in which evolutionary theory helps us secure and improve the world's crops. Genetic diversity, disease resistance and pest control are highlighted.
Preying on Beans
Grade Level(s):
- 3-5
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 50-60 minutes
Overview
Students act as predators searching for prey (beans) in two different settings to demonstrate the processes of adaptation and selection.
Parsimonious explanations for punctuated patterns
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Evolution: Education and Outreach
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Punctuated equilibrium is sometimes erroneously cited as evidence that evolutionary biology still hasn't figured out how evolution works. In fact nothing could be further from the truth. Punctuated equilibrium builds on (not tears down!) established evolutionary theory. Find out how the process works.
This article appears at SpringerLink.
Parasites and pathogens take the leap
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Evolution: Education and Outreach
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Diseases like SARS, HIV, and West Nile Virus may be new to humans, but they are old news to other species. These and other emerging infectious diseases have recently added humans to the list of hosts they infect. An evolutionary perspective can help us better understand and, we hope, control this problem.
This article appears at SpringerLink.
Origami Birds
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- ENSI
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Three to four class periods
Overview
Students build and evolve and modify paper-and-straw "birds" to simulate natural selection acting on random mutations.
Natural selection: The basics
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
Darwin's most famous idea, natural selection, explains much of the diversity of life. Learn how it works, explore examples, and find out how to avoid misconceptions.
This article is located within Evolution 101.
Natural selection from the gene up: The work of Elizabeth Dahlhoff and Nathan Rank
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Find out how we investigate evolutionary adaptations by following two scientists and their team as they figure out how the willow leaf beetle survives in different climates.
The Natural Selection Game
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Gendron, Robert
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 1 to 2 class periods
Overview
This is a board game that simulates natural selection. It is suitable for an introductory biology class and for more advanced classes where you could go into more detail on important principles such as the role of variation and mutation.
The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Video
Time: 15-20 minutes
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.
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection in Humans
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Video
Time: 15-30 minutes
Overview
This 14-minute film describes the connection between the infectious parasitic disease malaria and the genetic disease sickle cell anemia - one of the best-understood examples of natural selection in humans.
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaption
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Video
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This 10-minute film describes the research of Dr. Michael Nachman and colleagues, whose work in the field and in the lab has documented and quantified physical and genetic evolutionary changes in rock pocket mouse populations.
The Evolution Lab
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- NOVA Labs
Resource type:
- Lab activity
Time: 3 hours
Overview
The Evolution Lab contains two main parts. In the first, students build phylogenetic trees themed around the evidence of evolution, including fossils, biogeography, and similarities in DNA. In the second, students explore an interactive tree of life and trace the shared ancestry of numerous species.
Mechanisms of evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: Varies
Overview
Learn about the basic processes that have shaped life and produced its amazing diversity.
This article is located within Evolution 101.
The Beetle Project: Investigating insects in a warming world
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Lab activity
Time: 30 min to 10 class periods
Overview
This adaptable instructional module uses insects as a model system to illustrate the biological impacts of climate change, with the goal of engaging students with a range of hands-on and minds-on activities that increase their understanding of how science works, evolutionary processes, and the impacts of climate change.
Mantis shrimp shoulder their evolutionary baggage and bluff
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Like all organisms, mantis shrimp carry baggage from their evolutionary history. Find out how this baggage has coaxed them into a deadly bluffing game.
Malaria
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Seven 50-minute class periods
Overview
In this advanced 4-lesson curriculum unit, students examine evidence to compare four different explanations for why many malarial parasites are resistant to antimalarial drugs; investigate how scientific arguments using G6PD data show support for natural selection in humans; design an investigation using a simulation based on the Hardy-Weinberg principle to explore mechanisms of evolution; and apply their understanding to other alleles that have evolved in response to malaria.
Testing a hypothesis
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 50 minutes
Overview
Students watch a short film about natural selection in humans and answer questions on a worksheet that reinforce the evolutionary story behind malaria and sickle cell anemia prevalence.
Lines of evidence: The science of evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
The theory of evolution is broadly accepted by scientists — and for good reason! Learn about the diverse and numerous lines of evidence that support the theory of evolution.
Island biogeography and evolution: Solving a phylogenetic puzzle using molecular genetics
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Filson, R.P.
Resource type:
- Lab activity
Time: Two full class periods
Overview
Students focus on the evolution of three species of lizards using real data sets — geographical and geological data, then morphology, and finally molecular data — to determine possible phylogenetic explanations.
Investigating Natural Selection
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- National Academy of Sciences
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Three class periods
Overview
Students experience one mechanism for evolution through a simulation that models the principles of natural selection and helps answer the question: How might biological change have occurred and been reinforced over time?
Interactive investigation: The arthropod story
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Online activity or lab
Time: 3-4 class periods
Overview
This interactive investigation delves into the amazing world of the arthropods and examines their success and their evolutionary constraints.
Using trees to understand plants: The work of Chelsea Specht
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This research profile follows scientist Chelsea Specht as she pieces together the evolutionary history of tropical plants and their pollinators--and in the process, tries to figure out how to conserve endangered species.
Fire ants invade and evolve
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 40 minutes
Overview
Understanding the evolution of fire ants may help scientists control the spread of these pests, which have already taken over much of the U.S.
Evolution of human skin color
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Seven to ten 50 minute class periods
Overview
Students examine evidence for the relationship between UV and melanin in other animals; investigate the genetic basis for constitutive skin color humans; learn to test for natural selection in mouse fur color; investigate how interactions between UV and skin color in humans can affect fitness; and explore data on migrations and gene frequency to show convergent evolution of skin color.
Evolution and health: What is a mismatch disease?
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- BiteScis
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 50 minutes
Overview
In this reading-, writing-, and discussion-based activity, students learn about how changes in the environment can influence the phenotype of organisms. More specifically, students will be investigating the concept of a mismatch disease and how it relates to many present human phenotypes that are no longer beneficial.
Evolution and E. coli: Natural selection in a constant environment
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- BiteScis
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Two to three 50-minute class periods
Overview
In this reading-, writing-, and discussion-based activity, students explore bacterial evolution occurring in a stable environment, which counters the intuitive misconception that environmental change is a necessary component to natural selection. A landmark study provides the backdrop against which students can challenge their thinking about what it means for a population to evolve.
Evolution and Antibiotic Resistance
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- WGBH
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: One to three class periods
Overview
Students learn why evolution is at the heart of a world health threat by investigating the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance in such menacing diseases as tuberculosis.
Evolution 101
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Tutorial
Time: multiple days
Overview
This in-depth, multi-part course takes you through evolutionary theory and mechanisms, from definitions to details, natural selection to genetic drift, mutations to punctuated equilibrium.
Evolución 101
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Overview
¿Qué es la evolución y cómo funciona? Introducción a la evolución ofrece información detallada y práctica sobre los patrones y los mecanismos de la evolución.
Evo in the news: Warming to evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Global warming increasingly affects many aspects of our environment, from the sea level to tropical storm strength. But that's far from the full story. This news brief from July 2006 describes how global warming has already begun to affect the evolution of several species on Earth.
Evo in the news: Toxic river means rapid evolution for one fish species
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This news brief from March 2011 examines the genetic basis for the evolution of resistance to PCBs in the Hudson River tomcod. Though this is great for the tomcod, what might it mean for other organisms in the ecosystem?
Viruses and Host Evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Chamberlain, Don
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Four class periods
Overview
Students learn about natural selection in rabbits by observing the effects of a virus on the Australian rabbit population.
Evo in the news: The evolutionary history of jogging
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This news brief from March 2010 describes a new fitness trend: barefoot running. Though it might sound like just another fitness fad, soon to go the way of hula-hoops or jazzercise, this trend has a surprising connection to evolution.
Evo in the news: Superbug, super-fast evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Methicillin-resistant staph infections now contribute to more US deaths than does HIV. This news brief from April of 2008 explains the quirks of bacterial evolution that make them such a threat.
Evo in the news: Speciation in real time
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
We often think of speciation as a slow process, so slow that we can't really observe it going on around us. This news brief from Febrary 2010 describes two examples which demonstrate that, at least occasionally, important steps toward speciation can be observed in less than 50 years.
Evo in the news: Sex, speciation, and fishy physics
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
More than 500 species of cichlid fish inhabit Africa's Lake Victoria. This news brief from March 2009 explains new research suggesting that the physics of light may have played an important role in cichlid diversification and in the recent drop in their diversity.
Variations in the clam species Clamys sweetus
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 3 x 45-minute sessions
Overview
This series of hands-on activities complements the HHMI DVD Evolution: Constant Change and Common Threads and has been designed to engage students in thinking about the mechanism of natural selection by encouraging them to formulate questions that can be answered through scientific investigation, data collection, and pattern recognition.
Evo in the news: Quick evolution leads to quiet crickets
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
The tropical island of Kauai has always been a quiet place, but now it may be getting even more quiet. This news brief, from December 2006, reveals how Kauai's cricket population has evolved into a "chirpless" variety in just a few years.
Evo in the news: Oxygen as an evolutionary constraint
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This news brief from November 2009 focuses on how changes in atmospheric chemistry may have factored into the evolution of life on Earth, specifically, life's quadrillion-fold growth spurt from microscopic bacteria to organisms the size of the blue whale.
Evo in the news: No more mystery meat
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief from April 2013 describes new research on the origin of American cattle breeds. The story told by the cows' genes crisscrosses the trajectory of human evolutionary history from wild aurochs that lived alongside Neanderthals, to Christopher Columbus and, ultimately, the American West.
Evo in the news: Musseling in on evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from September 2006, reviews a recent case of evolution in action. In just 15 years, mussels have evolved in response to an invasive crab species. Find out how biologists uncovered this example of evolution on double time.
Variability and Selection in Natural Populations of Wood Lice
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Berkelhamer, Rudi
Resource type:
- Lab activity
Time: 3-hour lab
Overview
In this lab, students measure the amount of variation in a natural population of terrestrial wood lice and then determine which traits are subject to selection by predators by performing a simulated predation experiment.
Evo in the news: Livestock kick a drug habit
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from September of 2005, describes the FDA ban on the use of the antibiotic Baytril in poultry production. The decision was made in order to reduce the danger presented by the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Evo in the news: Influenza, an ever-evolving target for vaccine development
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Some vaccines provide lifelong protection with one or a few doses, but the flu requires a new shot every year. And in some years, the flu shot is hardly effective at all. Why is the flu vaccine different from so many other vaccines? This news brief from February 2013 provides the evolutionary explanation.
Evo in the news: Happy 200th, Darwin!
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from February 2009, celebrates Darwin's bicentennial by examining what we've learned about the evolution of the Galapagos finches since Darwin's time.
Evo in the news: Got lactase?
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
The ability to digest milk is a recent evolutionary innovation that has spread through some human populations. This news brief from April 2007 describes how evolution has allowed different human populations to take advantage of the nutritional possibilities of dairying and links evolution with the prevalence of lactose tolerance among people of different ethnicities.
Evo in the news: Ghosts of epidemics past
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
HIV and malaria both constitute global health threats, respectively affecting more than 30 million and 200 million people worldwide. This news brief from October 2008 describes new research that reveals an unexpected evolutionary link between the two.
Evo in the news: Genetic variation helps rescue endangered panthers
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
In the 1990s, scientists predicted that the Florida panther would be extinct within 20 years and, in 1995, formulated a bold plan to save them. This news brief of December 2010 reports on the success of that plan which gave the panther a second lease on life by the infusion of genetic variation.
Evo in the news: Fighting the evolution of malaria in Cambodia
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
This news brief from December 2009 focuses on one of the world's most deadly infectious diseases: malaria. Malaria is normally treatable, but now some strains are evolving resistance to our most effective drug. Find out how researchers and doctors are trying to control the evolution of the disease.
Evo in the news: Evolving conservation strategies
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from June 2007, explains how biologists are using evolutionary theory to protect the biodiversity that exists today and that may evolve tomorrow.
Evo in the news: Evolving altitude aptitude
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 10 minutes
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.
Evo in the News: Evolutionary history in a tiny package
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from March 2012, describes the discovery four new species — all miniature chameleons — and explores the concept of island dwarfism.
Evo in the news: Evolution’s dating and mating game
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief from May of 2008 describes new research on octopus mating and reveals how evolution can favor some surprising courtship behaviors.
Evo in the news: Evolution in the fast lane?
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Have humans, with all of our technological advances, exempted ourselves from further evolution? Perhaps not. This news brief, from February 2008, examines genetic research which suggests that human evolution may haved actually accelerated in our recent history.
Evo in the news: Evolution from a virus’s view
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief from December 2007 describes a new virulent strain of the common cold and examines how and why virulence evolves.
Evo in the news: Evolution down under
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from September of 2008, describes an unusual contagious cancer currently decimating Tasmanian devil populations. Learn about the fascinating interplay between the evolution of the devils and the evolution of the disease.
Evo in the news: Coping with climate change
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief from May 2009 explores the difference between phenotypic plasticity and evolutionary change in relation to the media's coverage of climate change.
Evo in the news: Conserving the kakapo
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from April 2006, chronicles how researchers are using evolutionary theory to guide their strategies for conserving a critically endangered parrot - with some impressive results!
Evo in the News: Climate change causes loss of genetic diversity
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from April 2012, describes how climate change is affecting a population of chipmunks in Yosemite National Park. The chipmunks' loss of genetic variation may affect their ability to survive and their future evolutionary potential.
Evo in the news: Cheating cheetahs prosper
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Biologists have discovered that female cheetahs consistently seek out multiple mates. This news brief, from July 2007, explains how the evolutionary implications of this behavior may help conservation efforts targeting these endangered animals.
Evo in the news: Better biofuels through evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief from April 2009 describes how synthetic biologists are using the process of directed evolution to improve the efficiency of biofuel production.
Evo in the news: Bed bugs bite back thanks to evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief of September 2010 examines the resurgence of bed bugs throughout the country, and the real bad news is that those bed bugs have evolved resistance to the chemicals most commonly used for eradication.
Evo in the news: Antibiotic resistant bacteria at the meat counter
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief from May 2013 describes research showing that a large percentage of the meat in supermarkets is contaminated with antibiotic resistant bacteria. An evolutionary perspective explains how antibiotic resistance arises in the first place and why the prevalence of resistant bugs in livestock has health professionals and scientists worried.
Evo in the news: Another perspective on cancer
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from October of 2007, describes the evolutionary underpinnings of cancer. Recognizing cancer as a form of cellular evolution helps explain why a cure remains elusive and points the way toward new treatments.
Evo in the news: A fish of a different color
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from February 2006, describes how a mutated zebrafish gene may help us understand human evolution and the genes underlying human skin color. Humans and zebrafish both inherited the same pigmentation gene from their common ancestor.
Evo in the news: “Superweed” discovered in Britain?
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This news brief, from October of 2005, describes the discovery of an herbicide resistant weed in Britain and illustrates the relationship between genetic engineering and evolution.
Evo in the News: “Error. Greed does not compute.”
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This news brief from May 2011 describes how researchers are using tiny robots to study the evolution of altruistic behaviors.
Darwin’s Great Voyage of Discovery
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- WGBH
Resource type:
- Article
Time: One to two class periods
Overview
Students learn about Darwin's voyage on the Beagle by reading excerpts from his letters and journals and mapping his route.
Coping with Environmental Differences
Grade Level(s):
- 3-5
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: One class period for initial set up. Approx. 10-15 minutes for daily observations.
Overview
Students will observe and conduct an experiment to see whether differences in salinity (the environment) have an affect on the hatching rate and survival of brine shrimp.
Comic strip: Survival of the sneakiest
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Comic
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
This comic follows the efforts of a male cricket as he tries to attract a mate, and in the process, debunks common myths about what it means to be evolutionarily "fit."
Color variation over time in rock pocket mouse populations
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 50 minutes
Overview
Students watch a short film and complete a worksheet and graphing exercise that reinforces the concepts of variation and natural selection.
Clipbirds
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: One class period
Overview
Students learn about variation, reproductive isolation, natural selection, and adaptation through this version of the bird beak activity.
Classification and Evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Gendron, Robert
Resource type:
- Lab activity
Time: Two class periods.
Overview
Students construct an evolutionary tree of imaginary animals (Caminalcules) to illustrate how modern classification schemes attempt to reflect evolutionary history.
Candy Dish Selection
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Tang, Carol
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 30 minutes
Breeding Bunnies
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- WGBH
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: One class period
Overview
Students simulate breeding bunnies to show the impact that genetics can have on the evolution of a population of organisms.
Biological warfare and the coevolutionary arms race
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 45 minutes
Overview
The rough-skinned newt looks harmless enough but is, in fact, packed full of one of the most potent neurotoxins known to man. Find out how an evolutionary arms race has pushed these mild-mannered critters to the extremes of toxicity and how evolutionary biologists have unraveled their fascinating story.
Anolis Lizards
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Collins, Jennifer
Resource type:
- Lab activity
Time: Two class periods.
Overview
Students "take a trip" to the Greater Antilles to figure out how the Anolis lizards on the islands might have evolved.
Angling for evolutionary answers: The work of David O. Conover
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Human activity has certainly affected our physical environment - but it is also changing the course of evolution. This research profile follows scientist David O. Conover as he investigates the impact of our fishing practices on fish evolution and discovers what happened to the big ones that got away.
Aloha, spider style! The work of Rosemary Gillespie
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: one class period
Overview
This research profile follows Dr. Rosemary Gillespie to Hawaii as she evaluates hypotheses about the evolution of the colorful happy-face spider.
Allele and phenotype frequencies in rock pocket mouse populations
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: One or two class 50-minute periods
Overview
This video and worksheet use real rock pocket mouse data collected by Dr. Michael Nachman and his colleagues to illustrate the Hardy-Weinberg principle.
Adaptation: The case of penguins
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Visionlearning
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
The process of natural selection produces stunning adaptations. Learn about the history of this concept, while you explore the incredible adaptations that penguins have evolved, allowing them to survive and reproduce in a climate that reaches -60°C!
This article appears at Visionlearning.
Webcast: The science of evolution
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- New York Times
Resource type:
- Video
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
Evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll introduces the field of Evo-Devo, using examples from fruit flies, butterflies, and icefish to explain how this research is transforming our understanding of evolution.
This video is available from the New York Times website.
Webcast: Selection in action
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Video Lecture
Time: 60 minutes
Overview
In lecture two of a four part series, evolutionary biologist David Kingsley discusses how just a few small genetic changes can have a big effect on morphology, using examples from maize, dog breeding, and stickleback fish.
This lecture is available from Howard Hughes' BioInteractive website.
Webcast: Endless forms most beautiful
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Video Lecture
Time: 60 minutes
Overview
In lecture one of a four part series, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll discusses Darwin and his two most important ideas: natural selection and common ancestry.
This lecture is available from Howard Hughes' BioInteractive website.
Darwin and Wallace: Natural selection
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
- 9-12
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Article
Time: 10 minutes
Overview
Darwin and Wallace came up with the idea of natural selection, but their idea of how evolution occurs was not without predecessors.
This article is located within History of Evolutionary Thought.
Big Beans, Little Beans
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Variable
Overview
Students measure and note the variation in the lengths of lima beans. Students then compare the growth rate of different sized beans.
Battling bacterial evolution: The work of Carl Bergstrom
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Research profile
Time: 30-40 minutes
Overview
This research profile examines how the scientist Carl Bergstrom uses computer modeling to understand and control the evolution of antibiotic resistant bacteria in hospitals.
Battle of the Beaks
Grade Level(s):
- 6-8
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Two class periods.
Overview
Students learn about adaptive advantage, based on beak function, by simulating birds competing for various foods.
Adaptation to altitude
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: Eight 50-minute class periods
Overview
In this set of sequenced lessons, students learn how to devise an experiment to test the difference between acclimation and adaptation; investigate how scientific arguments show support for natural selection in Tibetans; design an investigation using a simulation based on the Hardy-Weinberg principle to explore mechanisms of evolution; and devise a test for whether other groups of people have adapted to living at high altitudes.
Especiación en tiempo real
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Generalmente, pensamos en la especiación como un proceso lento. Toda la evidencia disponible sostiene la idea de que diferentes especies evolucionaron desde ancestros comunes, y sin embargo, nuevas especies no aparecen a nuestro alrededor diariamente. Para muchos biólogos, esto implica que la especiación ocurre tan lentamente que es difícil observarla en escalas de tiempo humanas. Sin embargo, nuevas investigaciones sugieren que la especiación podria ser más fácil de observar de lo que pensamos.
Las chinches de cama pican de nuevo gracias a la evolución
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 15 minutes
Overview
Las chinches de cama puede parecer un viejo problema pasado de moda, sin embargo ahora están de vuelta — y con venganza. Hace cincuenta años, estas plagas chupadoras de sangre estaban casi erradicadas en los Estados Unidos gracias, en parte, al uso de pesticidas como el DDT. Hoy, se arrastran entre las sabanas — y atormentan a los desgraciados soñadores — en todo el país...
Juego evolutivo de citas y apareamiento
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Largamente asumidos como solitarios, al menos una especie de pulpo lleva una compleja vida amorosa. El mes pasado, los biólogos Christine Huffard, Roy Caldwell y Farnis Boneka reportaron los resultados de los primeros estudios a largo plazo sobre el comportamiento de apareamiento de pulpos en la naturaleza...
¡Feliz cumpleaños número 200, Darwin!
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 30 minutes
Overview
Este 12 de febrero se cumplirían 200 años del nacimiento de Charles Darwin, y todo el mundo esta invitado a la fiesta. Numerosos grupos alrededor del mundo — desde niños en las escuelas primarias, hasta museos e iglesias — celebraran la ciencia de la evolución con conferencias públicas, clases, obras teatrales, exhibiciones artísticas y muchísimas galletas con forma de tortugas. 'Evolución en las noticias' de este mes contribuye a la celebración mediante la revisión de un tema cercano y querido por Darwin: los pinzones de Galápagos...
Sexo, especiación y física subacuática
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Evolución en las noticias relata una reciente historia que señala como comprender física básica puede revelar como la evolución esta ocurriendo hoy — en especial, como la física de la luz tiene influencia sobre la selección sexual, especiación y el colapso de la biodiversidad, producto de la polución causada por los humanos...
Mejores biocombustibles gracias a la evolución
Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
- 13-16
Source:
- UC Museum of Paleontology
Resource type:
- Evo in the News article
Time: 20 minutes
Overview
Actualmente, la mayoría de nosotros llenamos nuestro tanque de gasolina con combustibles fósiles, es decir, restos de plantas y animales que murieron muchos millones de años atrás y eventualmente se convirtieron en petróleo — pero, por supuesto, esto no puede perdurar para siempre. El petróleo es un recurso limitado y en algún momento se va a terminar. Para ayudar a solucionar este problema, muchos científicos, políticos, gente de negocios y ciudadanos preocupados han puesto sus esperanzas en los biocombustibles...
