Introduction to Genetics and Evolution is a college-level class being offered simultaneously to new students at Duke University. The course gives interested people a very basic overview of some principles behind these very fundamental areas of biology. We often hear about new "genome sequences," commercial kits that can tell you about your ancestry (including pre-human) from your DNA or disease predispositions, debates about the truth of evolution, why animals behave the way they do, and how people found "genetic evidence for natural selection." This course provides the basic biology you need to understand all of these issues better, tries to clarify some misconceptions, and tries to prepare students for future, more advanced coursework in Biology (and especially evolutionary genetics). No prior coursework is assumed.
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Habilidades que obtendrás
Programa - Qué aprenderás en este curso
Welcome to Genetics and Evolution
General introduction to this MOOC, including coverage and expectations.
Evidence for Evolution
This module discusses the definition of the word "evolution" in a biological context, evidence for the truth of evolution and common ancestry of species, and public thoughts and misconceptions about biological evolution. This module is optional and will not be included in the course assessments. There are not class discussion forums for this section, as we feel such discussion can happen on other, non-course-related, sites on this topic (of which there are a great many on the internet).
Genetics I
An introduction to basic transmission genetics and inheritance. This module reflects what is often covered in high school biology courses in the USA.
Genetics II
This module delves somewhat more deeply into genetics and specifically the concept of "recombination." It begins to discuss how recombination is leveraged in classic genetic works as well as mapping simple genetic traits using crosses or data from natural populations.
Genetics III
This module delves even more deeply into the complexities of the genetics underlying traits,the origin of genetic variation, and how "complex" traits (ones controlled by multiple genes) are studied genetically.
Heritability and Population Growth
This module begins the transition to evolutionary genetics by looking at the relative contributions of genetics and environment to traits, and also introduces how population growth is studied.
Population Genetics I
Rather than looking at individuals, this module discusses how multiple individuals from natural populations can be studied genetically to begin to understand the evolutionary forces acting upon the populations.
Population Genetics II
This module extends the previous one to specifically examine the effects of natural selection and genetic drift on genetic variation in natural populations.
Molecular Evolution
This advanced module explains why sexual reproduction (involving recombination) is evolutionarily advantageous, and discusses how the analysis of DNA sequences can be used to understand the evolutionary forces acting on populations or species, either in general or at specific genes.
Adaptive Behaviors and Sexual Selection
This module changes gears a bit to look at the exciting field of animal behavior-- specifically, how particular behaviors are or may be adaptive, and why individuals choose particular others as mates.
Speciation and Phylogenetics
This module gets into the nitty gritty of what causes the formation of new species, and how evolutionary relationships between species are inferred.
Applied Evolution
This final module talks about applications and misapplications of many of the concepts discussed in the course to human health, understanding, and well-being. This module is optional and not included in the assessments.
60%
44%
17%
Principales revisiones sobre Introducción a la Genética y la Evolución
The course is really interesting! I love the way the professor demonstrate genetics theories by countless examples and evidence. And those questions about debates in genetics are thought-provoking!
Very good course that prepared me for Genetics at Pima Community College in Tucson. I am able to follow the lectures and actually understand what is being presented. I am glad I took this course.
Instructor
Dr. Mohamed Noor
Earl D. McLean Professor and Chair,Acerca de Universidad Duke
Preguntas Frecuentes
¿Cuándo podré acceder a las lecciones y tareas?
Una vez que te inscribes para obtener un Certificado, tendrás acceso a todos los videos, cuestionarios y tareas de programación (si corresponde). Las tareas calificadas por compañeros solo pueden enviarse y revisarse una vez que haya comenzado tu sesión. Si eliges explorar el curso sin comprarlo, es posible que no puedas acceder a determinadas tareas.
¿Qué recibiré si compro el Certificado?
Cuando compras un Certificado, obtienes acceso a todos los materiales del curso, incluidas las tareas calificadas. Una vez que completes el curso, se añadirá tu Certificado electrónico a la página Logros. Desde allí, puedes imprimir tu Certificado o añadirlo a tu perfil de LinkedIn. Si solo quieres leer y visualizar el contenido del curso, puedes participar del curso como oyente sin costo.
¿Cuál es la política de reembolsos?
¿Hay ayuda económica disponible?
Will I receive a transcript from Duke University for completing this course?
No. Completion of a Coursera course does not earn you academic credit from Duke; therefore, Duke is not able to provide you with a university transcript. However, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.
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