BE6113 AMNH Lab Questions 4March15 Essay

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BE6113 Spring 2015

AMNH Lab Exercise – 4Mar15

Prof. G.R. DiResta

“Hall of Human Origins” Questions (5 points/question)
1a. What is the name of the cranial opening used to follow the evolution of

hominids from lower life forms to modern man and describe its function.
b. Describe how its location has changed during the evolution of modern man.
Use drawings and charts
2a. Describe the skeletal anatomy of two ball joints in modern humans and compare functional differences between them.
b. Trace evolutionary changes in hominid hip & shoulder joints from perspective of position versus ambulation.
3a. Why do skull specimens typically survive more frequently than other bones?
b. DNA is typically harvested from which skeletal specimen and why? How does
DNA analysis contribute to our understanding of hominid evolution?
4. Describe the major changes in the hominid skull evolution and include a chart of changes in the cranial vault volume. Is there a correlation between brain volume and IQ?
5. Examine hominid leg bones.
a. What do they tell us about the individual and its life?
b. What are the evolutionary advantages of long bone changes?
6. Compare a multi-axial joint with a ball joint. What are the functional and biomechanical capabilities of each and how do they differ?
7. What is “junk” DNA and its % within the human genome? How did it get there?
8. Correlate % similarity of genome in monkey, ape and human. What is known specifically about the differences?
9. Compare teeth of primitive hominids versus modern human. Correlate to diet.
10. Body hair differences are clearly apparent between modern human and ape, yet both lived in warm climates. What evolutionary /physiologic advantage was conferred by loss of body hair?

Page 1 of 4

BE6113 Spring 2015

AMNH Lab Exercise – 4Mar15

Prof. G.R. DiResta

“Count Down to Zero” Questions (5 points/question)
I.

Diseases Considered at the Exhibit
A. Multi-cell Parasitic organism or Protozoan
i. River Blindness ii. Lymphatic Filariasis iii. Guinea Worm
B. Protozoan
i. Malaria
C. Bacterial organism
i. Tuberculosis
D. Viral organism
i. Small Pox ii. Polio iii. Influenza iv. HIV/AIDS
v. Ebola vi. Measles
Questions:
1. Identify the specific vector for each illness and discuss how the disease is transmitted.
2. What are the prevention & treatment strategies used in the countries mentioned in the exhibit?
3. . Regarding Polio compare the Salk versus Sabin strategy.

II.

Low Tech Bioengineering to combating the target diseases
A. Injector gun
B. Bifurcated needles
C. Water filtration straws
D. Nets
E. Vaccine refrigeration
F. Educational pamphlets
Questions:
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BE6113 Spring 2015

AMNH Lab Exercise – 4Mar15

Prof. G.R. DiResta

4. Explain how each device works in detail (consider all specifications) and discuss its effectiveness for the intended disease.
5. Regarding Nets discuss the recent significant problems to local marine ecology from the use of this device.
6. Regarding Refrigeration how is it accomplished in the absence of electricity? III.

High Tech Approaches to combating the target disease
A. Genetically Modified