Genetics and Evolution

PSY A370 Exam 2

Explain the DNA to RNA to protein pipeline.

An enzyme called RNA polymerase reads one (1) strand of DNA to create a complementary strand called messenger RNA (mRNA).

(ATG —> UAC. Don’t forget, RNA uses U instead of T!)

Then the mRNA heads to a ribosome, where the ribosome has each triple of bases (codon) correspond to an amino acid. The ribosome links these amino acids together to create a polypeptide chain, resulting in a protein.

Proteins go on to become 1) part of body structure, or 2) enzymes that control the rate of chemical reactions

Heritability

How much the variance in a given characteristic depends on genetic differences

(in other words, how much of variation in a group is attributed to genetics and not other factors, like environment or diet)

What was Clark & Hatfield’s 1989 study about?

Male vs female responsiveness to sexual offers made by attractive strangers

What was the outcome of Clark & Hatfield’s 1989 study?

0% of women agreed to sex with a stranger

What is altruism?

Deeds that benefit others at a cost on oneself

What is reciprocal altruism?

The motivation that social animals (esp humans) feel to pay back good deeds even after a delay