PHL243H1 Lecture : LEC4- Some Biological Background Jan 27 2009?
LEC4: Some Biological Background
Jan, 27th, 2009
Economics
! best way to approach biology from a economic point of view
Evolutionary Biology
! human being, grass, bacteria etc. all come from a common ancestor
! mitochrondria is only contributed by the female line
! memetics: idea and cultural items are subject to natural selection
! good ideas and bad ideas are subject to judgement by ppl on whether they are
good or bad based on rational reasoning
! but similar to music, some ideas are better than others at hooking onto
people's brains
! what may become a popular idea may not be what is reasonably the best idea
! natural selection is a mechanism that can be applied to multiple ideas
A Paradox
! people are actually not rationally self-interested
Theories about the benefits of sex
! when environment change, sexual procreation species are better equipped to
respond in a successful way than parthenogenesis
! if we switch from the view of the person to the genes, then activities in which is
self-destructive to the person may help propagate the genes
! Red Queen Hypothesis: we make it harder for parasite at every generation
The ubiquity of conflict in biology
! ppl. are able to survive better by cooperating just as in cells which come together
to make up one person (they give up their autonomy)
Type of parental involvement
! r strategy: spread a lot of gametes (1/ 1 million may survive -ie. male)
! k strategy: very few offspring but the ones that are produced are given lots of care
(2/10 may survive – ie. female)
Net Effects of Sexual Reproduction
! without any specific mechanism, the pure mathematics of the (random) process
creates complexity
Cells
! sexual cells are separate from somatic cells and their special function is to keep all
your genes intact
! when somatic cells act like sex cells it turns into cancer
www.notesolution.com
Document Summary
best way to approach biology from a economic point of view. human being, grass, bacteria etc. all come from a common ancestor. mitochrondria is only contributed by the female line. memetics: idea and cultural items are subject to natural selection. good ideas and bad ideas are subject to judgement by ppl on whether they are good or bad based on rational reasoning. but similar to music, some ideas are better than others at hooking onto people"s brains. what may become a popular idea may not be what is reasonably the best idea. natural selection is a mechanism that can be applied to multiple ideas. red queen hypothesis: we make it harder for parasite at every generation. ppl. are able to survive better by cooperating just as in cells which come together to make up one person (they give up their autonomy)
