In biology, a population is defined as the number of organisms of the same species that live in the same geographic area at the same time, being also able to interbreed. For this interbreeding to be possible, it is necessary that the individuals have the ability to mate with other members of the population and …
What is a Point Mutation?
The definition of a point mutation is when a single nucleotide base is changed, inserted, or deleted from a sequence of DNA or RNA. These types of mutations will have several kinds of effects on the final protein product, and these consequences are moderately predictable depending on the specifics of the mutation. They can range …
What is Reliability in Research?
When it comes to research in any field, there are several factors to be considered when it comes to how seriously it is to be taken, for example, the methodology used and its reliability. If research is conducted through a faulty methodology, its results should automatically be taken with a grain of salt. The reliability …
What are the Three “R’s” Of Waste Management?
In waste management there is something known as the “waste hierarchy” and it basically has to do with the order of priority of actions that need to be taken when the goal is to lower the amount of waste generated, therefore improving waste management processes and programs in general. This waste hierarchy can be broken …
Why Study Anthropology?
For those that study anthropology, one of the most common questions they come across is: what is anthropology? The answer to that is quite simple; anthropology is the study of the human being, from a biological, social, psychological and cultural point of view. However, it is a very complex career. It basically aims to understand …
What Name is Given to the Most Common Phenotype in a Natural Population?
When talking about the most common phenotype of any species in the wild, the term used is wild-type. It also gives the observer the assumption that those individuals are conferred the greatest fitness. The reason this is believed is that it means that the genotype is also the most common if one follows the laws …
What is a Confounding Variable
In statistics, a confounding variable is basically an “extra” variable that you didn’t account for at the beginning of the study. These variables are very important because their influence can completely ruin an experiment and lead to useless results, wasting valuable time and resources. One of their characteristics is that they invade a study and …
What is a Theoretical Framework?
When doing any type of research work, one of the most important aspects of it is formulating a theory and a theoretical framework. This is the structure that will support and hold the final theory that is to be presented when the study is finalized. It also describes and introduces the theory that explains the …
What is the Function of the Diaphragm?
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle that you will find beneath the lungs and heart. It is the primary muscle we use when we breathe and it contracts constantly when you breathe in and out. What is the function of the diaphragm? This is a thin, skeletal muscle and it’s what separates the abdomen from …
What is a Silent Mutation?
A silent mutation is when there’s a change in the sequence of nucleotide bases that make up DNA, but that doesn’t change the amino acid or the function of the protein as a whole. In some cases, a single amino acid will change, but it turns out that it has the same properties as the …