Introduction to Genetics and Evolution
Mohamed Noor
A whirlwind introduction to evolution and genetics, from basic principles to current applications, including how disease genes are mapped and how we leverage evolutionary concepts to aid humanity.
Mohamed Noor
Duke University
Reminders
Upcoming Deadlines
Quizzes
New Lectures
Announcements
Coursera "Signature Track"
Dear Coursera Introduction to Genetics and Evolution students:
Exciting news - we'll be the first class offering the new Signature Track option! You may have read about this in Coursera's press release and blog post: the brand-new Signature Track will give you the chance to link your work in this class to your identity and earn a Verified Certificate from Duke University and Coursera. This is an exciting step in the evolution of Coursera in particular and MOOCs in general.
Below are more details from Coursera regarding the Signature Track.
---
Earn a Verified Certificate with Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track and certify your success in this course offered by Duke University on Coursera.
The Signature Track adds authenticity to your accomplishments by securely linking your coursework to your identity. With this assurance, you can be even more confident in showing the world what you've achieved on Coursera.
The Signature Track offers:
Identity Verification. Create a special profile to link your coursework to your real identity using your photo ID and unique typing pattern.
Verified Certificates. Earn official recognition from Duke University and Coursera for your accomplishment with a verifiable electronic certificate.
Certifiable Course Records. Share your electronic course records with employers, educational institutions, or anyone else through a unique, secure URL.
Identity Verification
To join Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track, you'll build a Signature Profile that links your coursework to your identity. Your Signature Profile includes your photo ID, as well as your Signature Phrase, a biometric profile of your unique typing pattern. Every time you submit coursework, you'll authenticate your identity by typing your Signature Phrase, which is matched to your profile.
Verified Certificates and Certifiable Course Records
When you successfully complete Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track, you'll receive a Verified Certificate issued by Duke University and Coursera. You'll also be able to electronically share your course performance in a verified format via our Certifiable Course Records page. Your Verified Certificate does not include credit towards a degree, nor does it make you a student at Duke University. Instead, the Verified Certificate proves you met the passing criteria and deadlines, as outlined in the Grading Policy, of this rigorous online course.
When to Join
You will be able to join Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track beginning early next week. The option to join will end three weeks after it opens, to allow for a substantive portion of your coursework to be linked to your identity.
Price
As part of a special promotion, beginning early next week, you can join Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track for $49. This is a special discount from the regular price of $90.
Verified certification for courses opens up many new and valuable opportunities for students, while giving Duke University the ability to invest in continuing to provide high-quality free courses to students around the world. Free access to this and all of the courses on Coursera will remain available to all students, as part of our core mission of making high-quality education available to everyone.
Other Options
Joining Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track is OPTIONAL. ***You can still fully participate in the course if you decide not to join.*** The course will still offer the standard 'Statement of Accomplishment' if you successfully complete the free course. However, as has been the norm, the Statement of Accomplishment will contain language and elements that state the uncertainty regarding your identity.
We know you may have questions. When Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track opens, we will post a Signature Track Handbook and FAQ page. In the meantime, please check out our press release and blog post. We hope that you're as excited about the Signature Track as we are, and we look forward to having you on board!
Exciting news - we'll be the first class offering the new Signature Track option! You may have read about this in Coursera's press release and blog post: the brand-new Signature Track will give you the chance to link your work in this class to your identity and earn a Verified Certificate from Duke University and Coursera. This is an exciting step in the evolution of Coursera in particular and MOOCs in general.
Below are more details from Coursera regarding the Signature Track.
---
Earn a Verified Certificate with Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track and certify your success in this course offered by Duke University on Coursera.
The Signature Track adds authenticity to your accomplishments by securely linking your coursework to your identity. With this assurance, you can be even more confident in showing the world what you've achieved on Coursera.
The Signature Track offers:
Identity Verification. Create a special profile to link your coursework to your real identity using your photo ID and unique typing pattern.
Verified Certificates. Earn official recognition from Duke University and Coursera for your accomplishment with a verifiable electronic certificate.
Certifiable Course Records. Share your electronic course records with employers, educational institutions, or anyone else through a unique, secure URL.
Identity Verification
To join Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track, you'll build a Signature Profile that links your coursework to your identity. Your Signature Profile includes your photo ID, as well as your Signature Phrase, a biometric profile of your unique typing pattern. Every time you submit coursework, you'll authenticate your identity by typing your Signature Phrase, which is matched to your profile.
Verified Certificates and Certifiable Course Records
When you successfully complete Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track, you'll receive a Verified Certificate issued by Duke University and Coursera. You'll also be able to electronically share your course performance in a verified format via our Certifiable Course Records page. Your Verified Certificate does not include credit towards a degree, nor does it make you a student at Duke University. Instead, the Verified Certificate proves you met the passing criteria and deadlines, as outlined in the Grading Policy, of this rigorous online course.
When to Join
You will be able to join Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track beginning early next week. The option to join will end three weeks after it opens, to allow for a substantive portion of your coursework to be linked to your identity.
Price
As part of a special promotion, beginning early next week, you can join Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track for $49. This is a special discount from the regular price of $90.
Verified certification for courses opens up many new and valuable opportunities for students, while giving Duke University the ability to invest in continuing to provide high-quality free courses to students around the world. Free access to this and all of the courses on Coursera will remain available to all students, as part of our core mission of making high-quality education available to everyone.
Other Options
Joining Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track is OPTIONAL. ***You can still fully participate in the course if you decide not to join.*** The course will still offer the standard 'Statement of Accomplishment' if you successfully complete the free course. However, as has been the norm, the Statement of Accomplishment will contain language and elements that state the uncertainty regarding your identity.
We know you may have questions. When Introduction to Genetics and Evolution's Signature Track opens, we will post a Signature Track Handbook and FAQ page. In the meantime, please check out our press release and blog post. We hope that you're as excited about the Signature Track as we are, and we look forward to having you on board!
Wed 9 Jan 2013 2:00 PM PST
Week 1
Welcome to the second iteration of Introduction to Genetics and Evolution! You can log in from:
https://class.coursera.org/geneticsevolution-002/class/index
Over 20,000 students are enrolled this time. Once you log in, please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the site, beginning with the "Start Here!" link on the left.
We begin our study of genetics and evolution with an overview of the current evidence supporting the theory of evolution. These are the class materials we'll work with this week.
Problem Set: This week there is an example demonstrating how the problem sets will function.
This week's problem set will not count towards the final grade for this course.
Like all other weeks, this week's problem set will release on the Monday after the lectures, and be "due" the following Monday at noon eastern USA time.
Course Introduction Video: Please watch the intro video at the top of Week 1 before proceeding to the rest of the material.
Lecture: What is Evolution?
https://class.coursera.org/geneticsevolution-002/class/index
Over 20,000 students are enrolled this time. Once you log in, please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the site, beginning with the "Start Here!" link on the left.
We begin our study of genetics and evolution with an overview of the current evidence supporting the theory of evolution. These are the class materials we'll work with this week.
Problem Set: This week there is an example demonstrating how the problem sets will function.
This week's problem set will not count towards the final grade for this course.
Like all other weeks, this week's problem set will release on the Monday after the lectures, and be "due" the following Monday at noon eastern USA time.
Course Introduction Video: Please watch the intro video at the top of Week 1 before proceeding to the rest of the material.
Lecture: What is Evolution?
- A brief definition of evolution
- See that “natural selection” is not synonymous with evolution
- Learn how evolution by natural selection is a “mathematical inevitability”
- Learn about a classic example of evolution by natural selection: the peppered moth
- History of aggressiveness towards evolution in the USA in particular
- Scopes “monkey trial” example
- More recent cases
- USA compares poorly with European countries for acceptance of evolution
- Emphasis that evolution is not controversial to scientific community
- Definition of a “scientific theory”
- Importance of accepting evolution: medical applications and antibiotic resistance
- Two fundamental processes: change within lineage, formation of new lineages
- Two important principles: change via natural selection, common ancestry
- Evidence for evolution-- fulfilling predictions
- "Retro"-dictions-- unpredicted observations consistent with evolution
- Some observations that “could” falsify the idea of common descent and evolution
- There has not been “too much change” that evolution could not account for
- Re-emphasis on “common ancestry” and not evolution from modern forms
- Evolution is agnostic to religious beliefs (though reverse may not be true)
- Optional video discussing evolution with one of the suggested book authors.
- Chapters 1-3, 5 from Why Evolution Is True. Coyne, JA. 2009.
Fri 4 Jan 2013 9:00 AM PST
Welcome!
Hello, and welcome to Introduction to Genetics and Evolution. I'm Mohamed Noor, and I'll be your host as we cover these fascinating topics.
I wanted to outline a few things for you ahead of time. First, there's no specific background coursework required for taking this class, BUT the lectures assume that you are familiar with simple terms like "gene", which may be defined only very briefly. Similarly, there will be several assignments that require some high-school-level math, but this is not essential to understand and follow the general concepts and otherwise enjoy the class. Since I can't interact with you directly, I encourage you to look things up if you don't understand. You can also talk with some of your fellow students through the discussion forums to try to understand the material better. But please note -- you should not try to e-mail me or any course teaching assistants for help. While we'd love to be able to help you, there are just too many of you for us to do this, so I will not be able to reply.
Second, some of you want detailed training and "certification" from this course while others just want to learn the general principles. As a result, I'll tag the videos with a "G" for ones that I think have mostly "general" material that may be interesting to a broader audience, and I'll tag others with an "S" for that have a lot of nitty-gritty specialist details and methods (on which some of the test questions will be based). Some videos may be marked with both letters. The certificate will not contain specific detail on equivalent credits or hours and Dr. Noor cannot make recommendations or claims about in-service credit or professional education. Any certification is solely between the student and the student’s school or workplace.
Third, there are a lot of "general resources" online for you besides the video lectures. These are all supplementary and not required-- they are just there for your interest or practice. There will also be a few practice problems that you can try most weeks-- feel free to give them a shot, and work with your fellow students on them. There will also be graded weekly problem sets to complete-- I do allow people to work together on them, so feel free to discuss them amongst yourselves. However, I encourage you to try it completely on your own first rather than merely copying what is posted about them. These practice problems and weekly graded problem sets are the only practice you'll have for the tests.
Now, in contrast to the problems, the tests are NOT group-effort, and I respectfully ask that none of you mention or allude to the test questions (even after the test) in the discussion boards. If you mention anything about the test in a discussion board, we will delete your post and un-enroll you from the course.
Last but not least, there are some recommended textbooks online. These are truly just "recommended"-- you are not required to get these texts, nor will you be tested on any material from them that was not also presented in the lecture. However, they can be useful as supplements.
Thanks again, and I really hope you enjoy this class!
Mohamed Noor (instructor) and TA Heidi Cederholm
I wanted to outline a few things for you ahead of time. First, there's no specific background coursework required for taking this class, BUT the lectures assume that you are familiar with simple terms like "gene", which may be defined only very briefly. Similarly, there will be several assignments that require some high-school-level math, but this is not essential to understand and follow the general concepts and otherwise enjoy the class. Since I can't interact with you directly, I encourage you to look things up if you don't understand. You can also talk with some of your fellow students through the discussion forums to try to understand the material better. But please note -- you should not try to e-mail me or any course teaching assistants for help. While we'd love to be able to help you, there are just too many of you for us to do this, so I will not be able to reply.
Second, some of you want detailed training and "certification" from this course while others just want to learn the general principles. As a result, I'll tag the videos with a "G" for ones that I think have mostly "general" material that may be interesting to a broader audience, and I'll tag others with an "S" for that have a lot of nitty-gritty specialist details and methods (on which some of the test questions will be based). Some videos may be marked with both letters. The certificate will not contain specific detail on equivalent credits or hours and Dr. Noor cannot make recommendations or claims about in-service credit or professional education. Any certification is solely between the student and the student’s school or workplace.
Third, there are a lot of "general resources" online for you besides the video lectures. These are all supplementary and not required-- they are just there for your interest or practice. There will also be a few practice problems that you can try most weeks-- feel free to give them a shot, and work with your fellow students on them. There will also be graded weekly problem sets to complete-- I do allow people to work together on them, so feel free to discuss them amongst yourselves. However, I encourage you to try it completely on your own first rather than merely copying what is posted about them. These practice problems and weekly graded problem sets are the only practice you'll have for the tests.
Now, in contrast to the problems, the tests are NOT group-effort, and I respectfully ask that none of you mention or allude to the test questions (even after the test) in the discussion boards. If you mention anything about the test in a discussion board, we will delete your post and un-enroll you from the course.
Last but not least, there are some recommended textbooks online. These are truly just "recommended"-- you are not required to get these texts, nor will you be tested on any material from them that was not also presented in the lecture. However, they can be useful as supplements.
Thanks again, and I really hope you enjoy this class!
Mohamed Noor (instructor) and TA Heidi Cederholm
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