Virtual Lab: Sickle Cell Disease and Biocultural Evolution Quiz
Instructions
Explore sickle cell disease and its evolutionary basis in greater depth by reading information from the web sites below. Also, make sure to consult pages 84-89 of your textbook for a discussion of the topic.
Symptoms and Genetics of Sickle Cell Disease
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/sickle-cell-disease
A Mutation Story (PBS Evolution Library)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/01/2/l_012_02.html
New York Times article on the evolution of the sickle cell allele
NOTE: Please follow the instruction about to answer the following questions. I need a medium length paragraph answer for each question. Please make sure it answers the question specifically.
Q1 : Why are there higher frequencies of the sickle cell allele where malaria is present?
Q2 :How did human farming influence the evolution of the sickle cell allele in human populations?
Q3 : Looking to the future, what factors (environmental, genetic, or social) could cause alteration in frequencies of the sickle cell in human populations? What changes to the sickle-cell allele do you envision as most likely, and why?