4 ECTS credits
100 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 1022279BNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (B) Bachelor - advanced level.
Fueled by the advent of molecular techniques during the past decades, evolution has become a core topic in biology, which now spans all levels of biological organization. As a result, molecular evolutionary studies have provided insights and applications in a diverse range of science fields, from paleontology to cancer research. By integrating theory with recent case studies, this course presents an overview of the state-of the art in evolutionary research and illustrates how evolutionary biology and related techniques are nowadays applied to address fascinating and challenging questions in biology. These questions relate to patterns of biodiversity in the history of Life (e.g., the KT faunal turnover), the origin of adaptive traits (e.g., physiological, morphological or behavioral), in vivo evidence for influential evolutionary debates (e.g., punctuated equilibria vs. gradualism, evolutionary contingency vs. determinism), and the application of evolutionary analyses in unexpected science fields (e.g. developmental biology and cancer research).
Course material
Digital course material (Required) : Current Topics in Evolution: slideshow (pdf provided on Canvas platform)
Digital course material (Recommended) : Current Topics in Evolution: cited papers (can be provided on request)
This course unit follows up on the course “Evolution” lectured in the 1st Bachelor year, and prepares students for several course units of the Biology Master programme, including “Conservation Genetics”, “Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution”, “Origin of Life and Paleontological Evolution”. After following this course, students are expected to:
- be aware of current trends and developments in the field of evolutionary biology as well as the techniques used to engage in this research field.
- understand how modern molecular techniques can be applied to gain evolutionary insights at all biological levels of organization and based on this, be capable to conceptualize a research strategy to engage in current an new topics in evolutionary biology and related disciplines.
- be capable to understand and critically evaluate any recent literature published on current hot topics in evolutionary biology, regarding the used methods and the conclusions derived from the results.
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Written Exam determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Written Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
The digital course material provided on the online Canvas platform is sufficient to prepare the exam. No extra text books are required.
Note: Written exam (approx. 1.5 - 2 hours) composed of 5-6 questions that together combine open and closed questions and cover the four course chapters.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Bridging Programme Master of Science in Biology: Standaard (ad hoc) (only offered in Dutch)