Often, when students learn Mendelian
genetics, they are not shown the
connection between the passage of traits
and the evolutionary mechanisms that
influence inheritance.
A great BioInteractive resource that shows the
intimate and essential connection
between Mendelian inheritance and
evolution is "The Making of the Fittest:
Natural Selection in Humans," and its
accompanying activity, "Mendelian Genetics, Probability, Pedigrees, and Chi-Square Statistics."
By watching the short film
"Natural Selection in Humans," students
learn about the discovery of sickle cell
anemia and its relationship to the
environment. The accompanying activity
leads students through a series of
problems relating to the inheritance of
the sickle cell anemia allele while they
practice several critical mathematics
skills associated with solving genetics
crosses. These include simple probability
calculations appropriate for
introductory biology students and
higher-level statistical calculations
appropriate for advanced biology
students in the form of chi-square
testing. The activity also provides
students with the opportunity to
practice interpreting pedigrees.
All of these skills are practiced and reinforced
while being underpinned by
the importance of natural selection as
the driving force behind the persistence
of the sickle cell trait in the population.
