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Explore genomics  

Living things

All living things have their own genome. Discover more about these different genomes and what we can learn from them.

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4 students wearing labcoats looking excited during science experiment.

Barcoding for beginners

Information and resources for educators and students participating in the Barcoding for beginners project

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Computed tomography of human brain

Are humans still evolving?

For much of nature, natural selection and ‘survival of the fittest’ still play a dominant role; only the strongest can survive in the wild. As little as a few hundred years ago, the same was true for humans.

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Image of a Robin sat in the sun, on a tree branch.

Classify!

What makes a bird a bird or a mammal a mammal? Grouping creatures together can show what links different creatures together.

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Image of human evolution

Evolution of modern humans

The origin of modern humans is probably one of the most debated issues in evolutionary biology.

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From left to right with average brain weight: Human (1350g), Chimpanzee (400g), Orangutan (400g) and Macaque (100g).

Evolution of the human brain

The human brain is staggeringly complex and the product of millions of years of evolution.

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Genomics Lite: Ancient DNA - Excavating fact from fiction!

Genomics Lite is a series of public webinars, in this session we explored what we mean when we say ancient DNA and what can we actually learn from it.

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Genomics Lite: What's the biggest genome?

Genomics Lite is a series of public webinars, in this session we explored genome size, what organism has the largest genome and how do we go about sequencing these large genomes.

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Bioinformatician typing on laptop

Our Animal DNA

Use bioinformatic tools to compare different genes across the tree of life.

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picture of multiple mushrooms

What is a GMO?

‘GMO’ stands for ‘genetically modified organism’ – an organism that has had their characteristics changed through the modification of their DNA. 

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image of fossils

What is evolution?

In biology, evolution is the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations and relies on the process of natural selection.

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Golden Rice grain compared to white rice grain in screenhouse of Golden Rice plants.

What is genetic engineering?

Genetic engineering refers to the direct manipulation of DNA to alter an organism’s characteristics in a particular way.

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image of a monotreme

What is phylogenetics?

Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary relationships between organisms, based on their genetic material revealed through DNA and RNA sequencing. 

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Humans have selectively bred apples to create lots of different varieties.

What is selective breeding?

Selective breeding involves selecting individuals of a species that have characteristics of interest in the hope that their offspring inherit those desirable characteristics.

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