Science+Cafe+lecture+by+Losos-+GL

I attended Jonathan Losos’ lecture, IMPROBABLE DESTINIES: FATE, CHANCE AND THE FUTURE OF EVOLUTION, at the Daily Planet Cafe. Losos discussed the patterns of evolution, specifically convergent evolution, and species and proof that support them. One pattern he brought up was [big brain=small snout=short neck=upright position=no tail] which was theorized when asking the question, what would happen if evolution favored dinosaurs with big brains?

This lecture and the items covered within it had many overlaps with the curriculum and things we learn in this course. These overlaps include the consideration of adaptation to ecological niches (Role that a species plays in an ecosystem), evolution (changes in the genetic composition of organisms through time), natural selection (the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tendto survive and produce more offspring), and even the peppered moth (this species was discussed in class and is an excellent example of natural selection because, when tracked, it shows how the species reacted to periodic changes in the coloration of tree bark to better camouflage themselves and hide from predators)!