Bio Anthro Exam 1

Bio Anthro Exam 1

cultural relativism

suspending judgment and seeking to understand another culture on its own terms sympathetically enough so that the culture appears to be a coherent and meaningful design for living

empirical

evidence that is verifiable by observation or experience instead of relying primarily on logic or theory

ethnocentrism

the opinion that one's own way of life is natural or correct and the only true way of being fully human

holism

the idea that the parts of a system interconnect and interact to make up the whole

human variation

the range of forms of any human characteristic, such as body shape or skin color

human adaptation

the ways in which human bodies, people, or cultures change, often in ways better suited to the environment or social context

hypothesis

explanation of observed facts; rely on empirical evidence, are testable, and are able to be refuted

law

a prediction about what will happen given certain conditions; typically mathematical

participant observation

a research method common in cultural anthropology that involves living with, observing, and participating in the same activities as the people one studies

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

the principle that the language you speak allows you to think about some things and not other things (Hopi, cyclical time and no past tense)

theory

an explanation of observations that typically addresses a wide range of phenomena

allele

a genetic variant (A or a)

blending inheritance

Darwinian theory that
- all offspring are intermediates of their parents
-every new generation reduces the variation that is available
-traits are "averaged out" and can't be recovered

descent with modification

Darwin's term for what we now call "evolution," in which animals and plants look different from their ancestors

extinct

a species that no longer exists

founder effect

the reduced genetic diversity that results when a population is descended from a small number of ancestors

gene

a stretch of DNA with an identifiable function (sometimes broadened to include any DNA with recognizable structural features as well)

gene flow

geographical movement of genes, due to the contact of populations

gene pool

1. the entire collection of genetic material in a breeding community that can be passed on from one generation to the next

genetic drift

random, short-term perturbations to the gene pool, with nonadaptive effects (ie Bottleneck effect)

genotype

an organism's genetic makeup, or allele combinations

inheritance of acquired characteristics/Lamarckian Inheritance

the idea that you pass on the features that developed during your lifetime, not just your genes

monogenism

the idea that all people share a common single origin

mutation

an alteration to the base sequence of DNA

natural selection

a consistent bias in survival and fertility, leading to the over-representation of certain features in future generations and an improved fit between an average member of the population and the environment

niche construction

the active engagement by which species transform their surroundings in favorable ways, rather than passively inhabiting them

phenotype

the physical characteristics resulting from a certain genotype

polygenism

the idea that different peoples have different origins

punctuated equilibria

a period of a few million years where species don't seem to change much, punctuated by relatively brief periods in which they change a bit and then stabilize again as new species

synonymous mutation

a change in the DNA sequence that codes for amino acids in a protein sequence, but does not change the encoded amino acid

species selection

a postulated evolutionary process in which selection acts on an entire species population, rather than individuals

allele (chromosomal definition)

a non-identical DNA sequence found in the same gene location on a homologous chromosome, or gene copy, that codes for the same trait but produces a different phenotype

amino acids

the 20 building blocks of protein, each with their own unique chemical property, that are chained together to form proteins

carbohydrates

molecules composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms that can be broken down to supply energy

carrier

an individual who has a heterozygous genotype that is typically associated with a disease

chromatin

DNA wrapped around histone complexes; becomes a condensed chromosome during cell division

chromosome

DNA molecule wrapped around protein complexes including histones

codominance

the effects of both alleles in a genotype can be seen in the phenotype (pink snapdragon \= red + white)

codons

a sequence that comprises three DNA nucleotides that together code for a protein (ACGT)

deleterious

a mutation that increases an organism's susceptibility to disease

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

- a molecule carrying hereditary information passed down from parents to offspring
- "double helix"' shape
- includes 2 chains of nucleotides held together by hydrogen bonds with a sugar-phosphate backbone

DNA replication

cellular process in which DNA is copied and doubled

dominant

refers to an allele for which one copy is sufficient to be visible in the phenotype (masks recessive allele)

eukaryote

single-celled or multicelled organism characterized by a distinct nucleus, with each organelle surrounded by its own membrane

exon

protein-coding segment of a gene

gametes

haploid cells referred to as an egg and sperm that will fuse together during sexual reproduction to form a diploid organism

gene

segment of DNA that contains protein-coding information and various regulatory (e.g., promoter) and noncoding (e.g., introns) regions

genetic recombination

a cellular process that occurs during meiosis I in which homologous chromosomes pair up and sister chromatids on different chromosomes physically swap genetic information

genome

all the genetic information of an organism

genotype (gene definition)

the combination of two alleles that code for or are associated with the same gene

heterozygous

a genotype w/ 2 different alleles

histones

protein that DNA wraps around to assist with DNA organization within the nucleus

homozygous

a genotype w/ 2 identical alleles

introns

segment of DNA that does not code for proteins

karyotype (last term from ch.3)

an individual's complete set of chromosomes/lab-produced image of an individual's chromosomes used to identify abnormalities

lipids

fatty acid molecules that serves various purposes in the cell, including energy storage, cell signaling, and structure

meiosis

the process that gametes undergo to divide; the end of meiosis results in four haploid daughter cells

mitochondrion

specialized cellular organelle that is the site for energy production; has its own genome (mtDNA)

mitosis

the process that somatic cells undergo to divide; the end of mitosis results in two diploid daughter cells

mutation (DNA definition)

a nucleotide sequence variation from the template DNA strand that can occur during replication and recombination

nucleic acid

a complex structure (like DNA or RNA) that carries genetic information about a living organism

nucleotide

the basic structural component of nucleic acids, which includes DNA (A, T, C, and G) and RNA (A, U, C, and G)

nucleus

double-membrane cellular organelle that helps protect DNA and regulation of nuclear activities

polygenic trait

a phenotype that is controlled by two or more genes

prokaryote

a single-celled organism characterized by lack of a nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles

protein

chain of amino acids that fold into a 3D structure that allow a cell to function in a variety of ways

homologous chromosomes

a matching pair of chromosomes wherein one chromosome is maternally inherited and the other is paternally inherited.

recessive

an allele whose effect is not normally seen unless two copies are present in an individual's genotype

somatic cells

diploid cells that comprise body tissues and undergo mitosis for maintenance and repair of tissues

admixture

a term often used to describe gene flow between human (sometimes non-human) populations

Africanized honey bees

a strain of honey bees that resulted from the hybridization of African and European honey bee subspecies

allele frequency

the ratio, or percentage, of one allele compared to the other alleles for that gene within the study population

artificial selection

human-directed assortative mating among domestic animals, such as pets and livestock, designed to increase the chances of offspring having certain desirable traits

asexual reproduction

reproduction via mitosis, whereby offspring are clones of the parents

balanced translocations

chromosomal translocations in which the genes are swapped, but no genetic information is lost

balancing/stabilizing selection

a pattern of natural selection that occurs when the extremes of a trait are selected against, favoring the intermediate phenotype (ex: sickle cell alleles + malaria)

beneficial mutations

mutations that benefit an individual

biometricians

a group of early biological scientists who believed that individual mutations of discrete hereditary units could never account for the continuous spectrum of variation seen in many traits

codons

3-nucleotide units of DNA that function as three-letter "words," encoding instructions for the addition of one amino acid to a protein or indicating that the protein is complete

crossover events

chromosomal alterations that occur when DNA is swapped between homologous chromosomes while they are paired up during meiosis I

deleterious mutation

a mutation producing negative effects to the individual such as the beginnings of cancers or heritable disorders

deletions

mutations that involve removal of one or more nucleotides from a DNA sequence

directional selection

a pattern of natural selection in which one phenotype is favored over the other, causing the frequencies of the associated advantageous alleles to gradually increase

disruptive selection

a pattern of natural selection that occurs when both extremes of a trait are advantageous and intermediate phenotypes are selected against (a.k.a., diversifying selection)

Ellis-van Creveld syndrome

an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by dwarfism, polydactyly, abnormal tooth development, and heart defects

exon (DNA definition)

the DNA sequences within a gene that directly encode protein sequences

fertile offspring

offspring that can reproduce successfully to have offspring of their own

founder effect (genetic drift definition)

a type of genetic drift that occurs when members of a population leave the main or "parent" group and form a new population that no longer interbreeds with the other members of the original group

frameshift mutations

types of indels that involve the insertion or deletion of any number of nucleotides that is not a multiple of three; these "shift the reading frame" and cause all codons beyond the mutation to be misread

genotype frequencies

the ratios or percentages of the different homozygous and heterozygous genotypes in the population

Harlequin ladybeetle

a species of ladybeetle, native to East Asia, that was introduced to Europe and the Americas as a form of pest control; after breeding with European species, has become a pest

hybridization

a term often used to describe gene flow between non-human populations

indels

a class of mutations including insertions and deletions

malaria

a frequently deadly mosquito-borne disease caused by infection of the blood by a Plasmodium parasite

missense mutation

a point mutation that produces a change in a single amino acid

mutationists

a group of early biological scientists who believed that variation was caused by mutations in distinct, inherited cells

nondisjunction events

Chromosomal abnormalities that occur when the homologous chromosomes (in meiosis I) or sister chromatids (in meiosis II and mitosis) fail to separate after pairing; both chromosomes or chromatids end up in the same daughter cell, leaving the other daughter cell without any copy of that chromosome

nonsense mutation

a point mutation that converts a codon that encodes an amino acid into a stop codon

Peppered moth

before Industrial revolution, light colored moths survived
after smog, dark colored moths survived (matched trees)

phylogenetic tree of life

a family tree of all living organisms, based on genetic relationships