“What's graphene, and why is its development worth a Nobel Prize?”

“In just a few years you might be riding in it, tapping on it as you use your iPhone 9, or watching 3-D TV on a lightweight, big-screen panel made using graphene.

But wait ... there's more: Sheets of graphene could also be tweaked to create electronic circuits that are mere molecules thick, or built into a new generation of body scanners for hospitals or airports.

…and it all basically started with a strip of Scotch tape.”

Biochemistry throwbackWhy Carbon is SO AWESOME: graphene!

Biochemistry throwbackWhy Carbon is SO AWESOME: graphene!

“The Swedish academy statement reads, "Carbon, the basis of all known life on Earth, has surprised us once again." The thin flake of carbon, the duo created in 2004, is just as thick as an atom is exceptionally strong and it conducts electricity like copper. It's transparentand outperforms any other material in Heat conduction.” - Reuters

“Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov originally used adhesive tape to rip off Graphene layers from graphite, another form of carbon most commonly used in pencils. Thus the sticky tape and pencil generated a wonderful material that has a variety of practical applications. This exotic material will also help the scientists to study the pure theoretical foundations of physics such as Quantum weirdness.”- The Huffington Post

Island AviariesWhat was different about all of our birds in our Island Aviaries?

Why did our birds change?

What did Darwin hypothesize about why the finches on different Galapagos Islands had different beaks?

What are our prior conceptions

and understandings of natural selection?

1. Charles Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas: The fossil record

What did Darwin notice about the fossils he found in South America on his voyage on the HMS Beagle?

1. Charles Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas: The fossil record

What did Darwin notice about the fossils he found in South America on his voyage on the HMS Beagle?

What clues do fossils give us about how species have changed over time?

1. Charles Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas: Species vary

• Species vary locally• Species vary globally

1. Charles Darwin’s Dangerous Ideas:Species change over time

2. Survival of the Fittest:Fitness

What does “fitness” mean in biology? – Is bigger always better?– Can there be an advantage to being slow and lazy?

2. Survival of the Fittest:Fitness

What does “fitness” mean in biology? – Is bigger always better?– Can there be an advantage to being slow and lazy?

Fitness is the characterized by the likelihood that an individual will reproduce, or the number of offspring an individual produces over its lifetime.

“Fitness”

In your own words:What does fitness mean in biology?

Are animals and plants “getting fit” to look good or to fit into their bathing suits?

2. Survival of the Fittest:Adaptations

What is an adaptation?

What is an adaptation? A trait that increases fitness

2. Survival of the Fittest:Adaptations

What is an adaptation? A trait that increases fitness

Peppered moth adaptations during the Industrial Revolution

2. Survival of the Fittest:Adaptations

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Charles Darwin

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Charles Darwin

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Charles Darwin

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Charles Darwin

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Concept cartoonsFill the speech bubbles in with Lamarck’s and Darwin’s arguments in your own words.

3. How do animals adapt or change?Lamarck vs. Darwin

Concept cartoonsFill the speech bubbles in with Lamarck’s and Darwin’s arguments in your own words. Which argument do you agree with?

Which one do you agree with? Why?

4. Natural Selection

• A mechanism of evolution

• Variation in traits is what drives survival of the fittest

• Certain variations make the organism more fit, which allows the organism to survive and successfully reproduce.

4. Natural SelectionDepends on…

• Variation in traits among individuals in a population

• Survival of the fittest

• Reproduction of the most fit individuals

• Heredity

Common misunderstandings

Is there an ultimate goal to natural selection?

Does natural selection eventually produce the “perfect” organism?

Why or why not?

Common misunderstandings

Is there an ultimate goal to natural selection?NoDoes natural selection eventually produce the “perfect” organism?NoWhy or why not?“Oh the times, they are a’ changin…”What is advantageous today may not be tomorrow!(remember the peppered moths)

Common misunderstandings

Do organisms change or adapt because they “want” or “need” a certain trait?

Do organisms “decide to adapt?”

Is it pure chance that certain organisms survive and others do not?

Common misunderstandings

Do organisms change or adapt because they “want” or “need” a certain trait? No

Do organisms “decide to adapt?”No

Is it pure chance that certain organisms survive and others do not?No

Where does the variation in a population come from in the first place?

We now know why species change…but now we want to know how…

Stay tuned!

Wait a minute!