What are the 2 ways that organisms can be related?
Evolutionary relationships (evolved from the same common ancestor)
Ecological relationships (different species have similar characteristics because they are competing
What were the 3 reasons that many people didn’t believe Darwin’s theory at the time?
It went against religious beliefs because his theory gave an explanation that didn’t need a “creator”
He didn’t know about genes and mutations so he couldn’t explain why new characteristics appeared or how they were passed on to offspring
There wasn’t enough evidence to convince many scientists because not many studies had taken place that supported his theory
What is the theory of evolution?
More than 3 billion years ago, life on Earth began as simple organisms from which all the more complex organisms evolved
What was Lamarck’s theory of evolution?
If a characteristic was used a lot by an organism, it would become more developed through its lifetime
This would then be passed on to the next generation
What is a mutation?
A change in an organism’s DNA
What were the 2 reasons that Darwin’s theory was accepted more than Lamarck’s theory as time went on?
There is now much more evidence that completely supports Darwin’s theory
Lamarck’s theory was rejected because if you dye a hamster’s fur pink and then it has offspring, its offspring won’t have pink fur
How do mutations affect natural selection?
If an individual has a mutation that makes them better adapted to survive in their environment (doesn’t always happen), they are more likely to survive, breed and pass on the characteristic that the mutation caused
What are evolutionary trees?
Diagrams similar to family trees that show how different species have evolved from common ancestors
Describe Darwin’s theory of natural selection
Individuals within a species show variation because of differences in their genes
Individuals with characteristics that make them better adapted to their environment have a better chance of survival so they are more likely to breed successfully
This means that the advantageous characteristics are more likely to be passed on to offspring so a species will gradually evolve
What are the 3 advantages of GM crops?
Can increase yield of the crop making more food
Crops can be engineered to produce nutrients that are required by people in some developing countries
GM crops are being grown elsewhere in the world without any problems already
Describe how embryo transplanting works
Sperm is taken from a good father and egg cells are taken from a good mother
The sperm is used to artificially fertilise an egg cell
The embryo is split many times to form many clones before the cells become specialised
These cloned embryos will be implanted into lots of other cows where they will be grow into offspring that will be clones of each other
What are the 3 disadvantages of GM crops?
GM crops can reduce the number of weeds and flowers which also has many knock-on effects that reduce biodiversity
Many people are worried that a lot of people could have allergies to the GM crops
The transplanted genes could be picked by other unwanted species of plants like weeds
What is genetic engineering?
Altering an organisms genes in order to change its characteristics
What are the 3 issues of cloning?
Leads to a reduced gene pool (fewer different alleles in a population)
Cloned animals are not usually as healthy as normal ones
People worry that humans will be cloned in the future and this would lead to many serious unsuccessful attempts
Describe how cuttings work
Gardeners can take cuttings from good parent plants and plant them to produce genetically indentical copies
This can be done quickly and cheaply
What are the 2 ways that plants can be cloned?
Cuttings
Tissue culture
Describe how tissue culturing works
A few plant cells are put into a growth medium with hormones and they grow into clones of the parent plant
This is very quick and can be done in very little space and be grown all year
What are the 2 advantages of cloning?
Can lead to a greater understanding of the development of the embryo
Could help preserve endangered species
Describe how genetic engineering is done
A useful gene is cut from one organism’s chromosome using enzymes
Enzymes are then used to cut another organism’s chromosome and then to insert the useful gene
Describe how adult cell cloning works
An unfertilised egg is taken and the nucleus (genetic material) is removed
A complete set of chromosomes is taken from an adult body cell
The egg cell is stimulated by an electric shock so that it divides like a normal embryo
It is then implanted into an adult female to grow into a clone of the original adult body cell
What are the 3 main ways that genetic engineering is used?
Genetically modified (GM) crops are engineered to make them resistant to viruses, insects and herbicides
Sheep have been genetically engineered to produce substances like drugs in their milk
Genetic disorders like cystic fibrosis are caused by faulty genes. Scientists are trying to treat these disorders by inserting working genes into sufferers (gene therapy)
What are the 2 ways of cloning animals?
Embryo transplants
Adult cell cloning
What is variation?
How members of the same species have differences
What causes genetic variation?
Members of the species have different genes because they have inherited mixes of genes from different sets of parents