BRAINCAKENatural selection and genetic modification
Revision notes for Natural selection and genetic modification in Edexcel Biology (1BI0). Every lesson in BrainCake comes with R.E.C.I.P.E. recall steps, a quick check and spaced reviews.
- Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace and the theory of evolutionCharles Darwin spent five years on a voyage around the world on HMS Beagle.
- Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selectionCharles Darwin explained how species change over time.
- Resistant organisms and natural selectionBacteria reproduce very quickly, so changes in a population can be seen in a short time.
- Evidence for human evolution from fossilsFossils of early humans and their ancestors show how our species evolved gradually from ape-like ancestors in Africa.
- Evidence for human evolution from stone toolsEarly humans made tools from stone, and these survive for millions of years.
- The pentadactyl limb as evidence for evolutionMany vertebrates have a limb with a basic plan of five digits.
- Three domains and five kingdomsThe five kingdom system groups organisms as animals, plants, fungi, protists and prokaryotes.
- Selective breeding and tissue cultureSelective breeding is when humans choose parents with desired characteristics and breed them together.
- Tissue cultureTissue culture is a way of growing new cells or whole plants from a very small piece of living tissue.
- Genetic engineeringGenetic engineering is a process that modifies the genome of an organism to give it a desirable characteristic.
- Stages of genetic engineering and GM organismsGenetic engineering follows a series of stages.
- Advantages and disadvantages of genetic engineeringIn genetic engineering a gene is taken from one organism and put into another so that the second organism has a new characteristic.
- Agricultural solutions for a growing populationThe human population keeps growing, so farmers must produce more food from the same amount of land.
- Benefits and risks of genetic engineering and selective breedingIn selective breeding farmers choose parents with the characteristics they want, breed them, select the best offspring and repeat this over many…