Evolution Episode VII: Ohhhh, We're Halfway There, Woah, Living On A Prayer

Halfway through the semester!! I know I am not alone in saying that it getting to that point in the semester where everyone is just exhausted. However, this exhaustion is not in vain for I've learned some things from my classes. One thing from Evolution that I have learned and has stuck with me is the meaning behind the Hardy-Weinberg Equation. I vividly remember going over the equation in BIOL 198 and thinking, "Okay I understand the math and that its for evolution, but where do I go from there?" Then, evolution class helped me realized it's more about a theorized relationship of allele expression and that the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium isn't supposed to stand alone and should be compared to real life frequencies. When comparing to those wild population frequencies to the theoretical frequencies you can tell if an evolutionary force is present in that population. From determining if an evolutionary force is present, one can begin to look into which evolutionary force(s) could be possible.

In my original definition of evolution, I said, "The modification of a population's genome across descending generations." After learning more in class, I would like to make a couple of modifications to my definition. I would also like to add in the concept of evolutionary forces that may be influencing the modification such as migration, mutation, genetic drift, and non-random mating. I think this is important because my past definition makes it seem like the population acts independently in it's changes, but in reality there are a lot factors going into why evolution happens. My updated definition is, "The modification of a population's genome across descending generations driven by both external and internal forces with said population."

In area's that I am struggling with, I honestly had no idea what was happening with the last R exercise about COVID-19. At first I was excited to learn more about evolution affecting human health, but I just did not understand the graphs very well and their significance.

Since we have cover most of the evolutionary basics, I would like to better understand what evolution looks like for humans. Are there isolated populations with unique features that help them in their natural environment? Has technology contributed to any evolution in humans? Lastly, are there any connections in cancer and evolution?

Happy Halfway Everyone!