Who Wants to Live A Million Years Questions

Questions

1. How many generations did it take for you to finally win a game? Why do you think it took this long? What do you think this means/suggests for most real species on Earth in terms of their species's chances of long-term survival?

1. It took me about 4 generations to actual survive a million years.
2. I think it took me this long because I wasn’t using a variety of different traits to be able to survive.
3. I think this means that all their survival depends on their adaption abilities and traits.

2. Which initial phenotypes/phenotype combinations did you select and why?Which starting/initial combinations seemed to allow you to continue/survive the longest (win the most games)? Why do you think this was so?

1. I initially chose the long neck, long legs, short hair, and small body.
2. The combinations that allowed me to win was the long legs, long neck, and fluffy hair.
3. I think it helped me because they were able to run faster, survive the cold weather, and get food easier.

3. Do you think this population of theoretical creatures would be greatly affected by genetic drift? What evidence of drift did you see as you played the game (simulation)?

1. Yes, because if their good traits were taken away, they could easily die.
2. I saw the drift of colors and upper body change a lot.

4. Which alleles/phenotypes seemed to be dominant and which seemed to be recessive? How could you tell?

1. In my opinion, the long legs seemed more dominant than the fur.
2. I could tell because throughout the game, the legs were always consistent while the fur changed from long to short.

5. Match the environments/situations/conditions below with their corresponding adaptations:

(a) cold conditions - longer and thicker fur; (b) hot conditions - short and thin fur; (c) new large predator on the scene - longer legs; (d) new tall food source - long necks

6. How would you improve this simulation to more realistically represent natural selection and biological evolution? Discuss at least three improvements.

1. One improvement could be that hunters are there, because in reality a lot of poachers/hunters are killing animals.
2. Another improvement could be that different natural disasters happen rather than just one because all disasters have different things you should do.
3. Lastly, another improvement could be deforestation. When people cut down the trees of a forest, some animals don’t survive.

GATTACA Essay

“They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness.” - Vincent. This quote is relevant to the movie GATTACA because in the world that Vincent Anton Freeman lives in, people barely conceive children the natural 50/50 chance way. In the movie, society picks all the traits that they want their child to have. Vincent Freeman was born without the trait selection and turned out with many problems while another man, Jerome Morrow, was born with the selection. Throughout the film, Vincent showed more happiness than Jerome ever did, even if he was “invalid.” Despite his problems, he definitely found happiness. This shows that what Vincent had said, was actually true.

A type of a recurring symbolism is the glass/water that represent invisible obstacles that Vincent has to overcome.  An example would be the game of “Chicken”. This is an example because the water is the obstacle and he is trying to swim through it. The first time he won against his brother Anton, it gave him the confidence to try. Another example would be when Vincent is cleaning the windows at GATTACA and the custodian tells him not to clean the glass too well. This also gives him the confidence to keep trying because he sees what he wants but can’t have.

It is Perfection versus Happiness. In the movie, the society favors perfection more than happiness for reasons such as a better generation in the future. The society is so devoid of happiness because they just want success for everyone. It doesn’t matter to them whether the kids are enjoying themselves or not. The society would rather have perfect people than happy ones.

A Matter Of Selection

I think the leafs of the Brassica oleracea plants have the most variation. Shape is the main variation between all of the Brassica oleracea leafs. Some of the leafs are large with rounded edges, while others have very ridged edges.  Differences in color are also shown. For example, kohlrabi has green leafs with bright purple stems and at the end of the stem is a large baseball sized vegetable. Another form of Brassica oleracea called red anchor cabbage has big oval shaped purple leafs. And lastly one of the forms has green leafs very similar to kohlrabi but the stem is a light green color rather than purple. I think the kohlrabi and the red anchor cabbage display the most differences, between the kohlrabi being very tall with green leafs and bright purple stems and the cabbage being very small with all purple leafs these two plants while from the same species show how small changes in genetics can affect the plants and help them to survive.

Red Anchor Cabbage

Kohlrabi 

A Matter Of Selection

     In my opinion, the characteristic that shows the most variation in the Brassica Oleracea plants are the leaves. Each leaf in the community are different; from curly to a smooth surface. When I went into the garden I noticed this variation right away. The characteristic that seems to show the greatest range of variation are the stems. It would be the stems because every single one was a different shape, color, and design. For example, on the Romanesco, the stem was green and leafy, while the Kale was purple and smooth. Throughout the garden, I noticed many variations on the Brassica Oleracea plants. 

GATTACA Essay

GATTACA Essay

I believe that the theme of the movie GATTACA is that the human spirit can overcome the most challenging obstacles. In the movie the main character Vincent goes to extremes to follow his dream such as having surgeries, learning to write right handed, and basically give up his identity to become someone else just so he can have a shot at being able to go into space and fulfill his dreams. In the movie Vincent’s parents decide to not genetically modify Vincent before he is born even though that is the normal thing to do in the time that they live in. When he was born the doctors took a blood sample and from that they predicted that Vincent would have many health issues including a weak heart. The doctors were able to predict that he would probably live to the age of thirty. As Vincent grew up he would try to get jobs but they wouldn't accept him because of his bad genes. it didn't really matter how qualified for the job he was the would always run a gene test and the wouldn't accept him because of all his medical issues. the only work he could get was being a custodian at GATTACA. Vincent had loved to learn about space and astronomy since he was very young so he had a deep passion to work at GATTACA. In order to work there he had to swap identities with someone names Jerome to even have a chance to work at GATTACA. To do so he had to undergo a surgery to make himself as tall as Jerome, he had to learn to write right handed, he had to wear contacts instead of his glasses, he also has to perform a complicated daily routine so he doesn't get caught. He eventually ends up fulfilling his dream of going into space. I believe that the theme of this story is that the human spirit can overcome even the most challenging obstacles  

A Matter of Selection

I believe that the reason there are so much domestic variability in brassica oleracea because we can genetically modify the genes (which is related to selective breeding) of each plant to make billions of variations of the original plant. When they use artificial selection on the plants the could create a whole new plant. also the have come in contact with many different biomes and ecosystems of the world and so if two of the same plant ate in different ecosystems the two plants will adapt differently.the will also adapt with different mutations corresponding to the environment.