For my Investigating the Living World science class, we were asked to formulate a causal type of question about something we were curious about involving cells and their structures. After discussing our causal question with our discussion group we were to post it to the Ask a Scientist website at http://www.askascientist.org/askascientist/index.html.
The Ask a Scientist website is an excellent resource for questions related to biology and health and has other resources geared to students ranging from elementary age up to graduate level. The Ask a Scientist section allows you to ask a question in the hopes of getting a response. While the response time is not very fast, they do have archived questions that maybe similar to the one you have. This is what I found when exploring the website.
My initial question after reading about Notothenioids, fish with antifreeze proteins that allow them to live in arctic waters, was "How does a new species of animal just evolve? How do the cells differentiate so much as to create a new species?” I was curious about this question because the article asserted that 90 different species of Notothenioids have emerged from one single species millions of years ago (Matz, 2011).
Though my actual question has not yet been answered, I found that an answer to a question previously posted may help my understanding of how new species of animals just evolve. The key seems to lie in gene mutations that occur and get recorded into the DNA of the species and then replicated in new offspring. While this still seems complicated and abstract to me, it does make sense. I look forward to my actual question being answered to see if I am on the right track.
References:
Matz, M. (2011). Fish: Fresh, not frozen. Origins: Antarctica. Retrieved from http://www.exploratorium.edu/origins/antarctica/ideas/fish.html
The answer of gene mutations occurring and then the DNA replicating in new offspring sounds so similar to what we read about reproducing a trait in successive generations. What is the difference between passing on an advantage to offspring and creating a new species? It is all so complicated. I think I need to think in terms of time.
ReplyDeleteWhen a mutation occurs sometimes it gives the organism an advantage for survival in its environment. That means that organism has a greater chance of surviving and producing offspring with the same advantageous mutation. This is natural selection at work!
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