Interactive Assessment for The Birth and Death of Genes

Resource Type
Description
A number of questions are embedded within the short film The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes, which illustrates how gene duplications and mutations have led to remarkable physiological adaptations in Antarctic fish.
The discovery of the Antarctic icefish has provided a stunning example of adaptation in an environment that is both hostile and abundant. Scientists Bill Detrich, Christina Cheng, and Art DeVries have pinpointed the genetic changes that enable icefish to thrive without hemoglobin and red blood cells and to avoid freezing in the icy ocean.
This version of the film with embedded questions contains automatic pause points, during which students answer questions about the film to assess their understanding of the concepts presented. After answering all the questions, students can view and print their answers.
Estimated Time
Key Terms
Antarctic icefish, antifreeze protein, gene duplication, marine biology, mutation
Primary Literature
Chen, Liangbiao, Arthur L. DeVries, and Chi-Hing C. Cheng. “Evolution of Antifreeze Glycoprotein Gene from a Trypsinogen Gene in Antarctic Notothenioid Fish.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94, 8 (1997): 3811–3816. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.8.3811.
Deng, Cheng, C.-H. Christina Cheng, Hua Ye, Ximiao He, and Liangbiao Chen. “Evolution of an Antifreeze Protein by Neofunctionalization under Escape from Adaptive Conflict.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107, 50 (2010): 21593–21598. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1007883107.
Terms of Use
Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.
Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)
Version History
NGSS (2013)
HS-LS1-1, HS-LS4-2, HS-LS4-4; SEP6
AP Biology (2019)
EVO-1.C, EVO-1.D, EVO-1.E, EVO-1.H, EVO-1.J, EVO-1.O, SYI-3.A, SYI-3.D, IST-2.E, IST-4.A, IST-4.B; SP1
IB Biology (2016)
3.1, 5.2, 6.2
AP Environmental Science (2020)
Topic(s): 1.3, 2.6
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-2.H, ERT-1
IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)
3.2
Common Core (2010)
ELA.RST.9–12.4
Vision and Change (2009)
CC1, CC2, CC5; DP1