Coupled Reactions

Paul Andersen explains the importance role of coupled reactions in biology. He starts by explaining how the power of a river can be harnessed by a water mill to grind grains. He describes the importance of ATP and how it is used within living organisms. He highlights many of the coupled reactions between the Sun and your thumb. He finishes the podcast by talking about REDOX reactions where oxidation is the losing of electrons and reduction is the gaining of these same electrons.

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Aposematic (Warning) Coloration

Paul Andersen explains how aposematic coloration (or warning coloration) is used for protection in the natural world. He explains how bright colors can be caused by either sexual selection or a warning coloration to predators. He also explains how organisms can use this coloration to mimic other organisms with a similar pattern. He differentiates between Batesian and Müllerian mimicry.

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Mutations

Paul Andersen describes the major mutations found in the living world. He starts with an analogy comparing the information in DNA with the information in a recipe. Changes in the DNA can result in changes to the protein, like changes in the recipe can result in changes in the food. He describes the three major point mutations; substitutions, deletions and insertions. He also describes several chromosomal mutations.

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Meselson-Stahl Experiment

Paul Andersen explains how the Meselson-Stahl experiment was used to prove that DNA copied itself through a semi-conservative process. They grew E. coli in a medium containing heavy nitrogen (N-15). They then added the E. coli to a medium containing regular nitrogen (N-14) and observed it over several generation.

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Cladograms

Paul Andersen shows you how to construct a cladogram from a group of organisms using shared characteristics. He also discusses the process of parsimony in cladogram construction. He then explains how modern cladograms are constructed and walks through a cladogram of primates.

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DNA Fingerprinting

Paul Andersen describes the process of DNA fingerprinting and DNA profiling. He explains how variability in STRs can be used to identify individuals. He explains the importance of DNA fingerprinting in forensics and paternity cases.

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Microevolution

Paul Andersen defines microevolution as any change in the frequency of the allele pool. He then explains the five mechanisms of evolution; small sample size, non-random mating, mutations, gene flow and natural selection.

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Solving Hardy-Weinberg Problems

Paul Andersen shows you how to solve simple Hardy-Weinberg problems. He starts with a brief description of a gene pool and shows you how the formula is derived. He then shows you how to solve a couple of sample problems.

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The Three Domains of Life

Paul Andersen starts with a brief description of the history of life. He then discusses the seven characteristics of life and why viruses are not alive. He then describes the three domains in the current classification system and explains why eukaryotes are more closely related to members of the Archaea domain.

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Classification of Life

Paul Andersen explains the current classification system that we use in Biology. He starts with a brief history of taxonomy. He explains how the goal of classification is to reflect evolutionary relationships. He then explains how each individual organism is classified according to genus and species.

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