Lesson Summary: Evo in the news: Evolutionary evidence takes the stand

Lesson summary for... Evo in the news: Evolutionary evidence takes the stand Author/Source: UC Museum of Paleontology

Overview:	This news brief, from January of 2007, describes the role of phylogenetic evidence in a Libyan court case. Six medical workers have been convicted of injecting children with HIV-tainted blood - but the evolutionary history of the virus paints a different picture.
Concepts:	This lesson covers the following concepts: All organisms, including humans, retain evidence of their evolutionary history. Scientists use the similarity of DNA nucleotide sequences to infer the relatedness of taxa. Evolutionary trees (e.g., phylogenies or cladograms) are built from multiple lines of evidence. As with other scientific disciplines, evolutionary biology has applications that factor into everyday life.
Grade Level:	9-12
Time:	20 minutes
Teacher Background:	Explore these links for additional information on the topics covered in this lesson: Classification/Phylogenetics Relevance
Teaching Tips:	This article includes a set of discussion and extension questions for use in class. It also includes hints about related lessons that might be used in conjunction with this one.