1.
Suppose that the dying wish of a famous eccentric was that his remains would fossilize. His family has come to you for expert advice. What steps would you recommend to maximize the chances that his wish will be fulfilled?
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2.
Summarize the nature of the fossils found in the Doushantuo, Ediacaran, and Burgess Shale deposits. (Note that the three fossil assemblages are listed in order, from most ancient to most recent.) According to the fossil record, what trends or general patterns occurred during the early evolution of animals? For example, did animals tend to get larger or smaller? More or less complex?
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3.
Experiments summarized in section 24.3 of your textbook suggest that the tetrapod foot resulted from changes in the timing and location of ex pression of certain genes. Based on the information presented in Chapter 15 on the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes, exactly what sort of mutations would lead to changes in when and where genes are transcribed?
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4.
The synthesis of results from highly disparate fields, like developmental genetics and fossil studies, is an exciting recent trend in research on the history of life. Comment on whether you find this synthesis valuable. For example, did reading about the "new genes, new bodies" hypothesis and the experiments on gene expression in tetrapod limbs help you understand how important changes have occurred during the diversification of life? Why or why not?
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