Evolution of colour in parasitic wasp species, potentially comparing this in different areas/climates.

• does colour evolution respond to climate pressure?

• does host of parasitic wasp impact evolutionary colour response?

• colour variation within species.

Impact of evolutionary forces on the transmission of Ebola virus (Zoonotic Diseases)

• Evolutionary adaptations? How the it became more effective at infecting host?

• Evolutionary history over time

I am interested in this topic because my family is from Sierra Leone, where the ebola virus was the most prevalent and became one of the epicenters of the global health virus.

Evolution of immune responses- maybe in ostriches?? (they are supposed to have the strongest immune system of any animal, but I'm open to other animals)

I want to do this because we learned about antibodies in 1350 but I still don't understand it. Also, I just like talking about signaling pathways

I would like to write about the evolution of sharks. My main reason for wanting to write about this is because I love sharks. I think sharks are so interesting and beautiful and love to have any excuse to learn and talk about them. On a deeper level shark conservation is a meaningful and serious topic because of how integrated they are in the ocean’s ecosystem. That being said, studying the evolution of sharks allows us to understand their importance which would allow for better conservation work for sharks. 

I would like to write about Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo trees), and the phenotype/genotype characteristics that have allowed them to survive to this point. Having a wide use as a street tree internationally, as well as distinct religious and medicinal uses, it is one of the oldest and most resilient species on Earth. How does it survive, why does that matter, and how can that knowledge help us understand/contextualize the evolution that needs to take place in the face of current ecological and environmental changes?

• Synthesize information about how mutations in Hox genes lead to cancer and metastasis

• Synthesize information about what therapeutics are being used to combat hox gene dysregulation

I find this interesting because cancer is such a dangerous disease and I want to learn more about how it develops in the body. I have also always been fascinated by Hox genes and their role in developing the anterior-posterior axis in the body and I want to learn more about their contribution to cancer.

Evolution of bi-iliac breadth on core body temperature and how this evolved differently in Homo Sapiens and depending on geographical location.

• discusses human evolution

• discusses variations among modern humans

I'm interested in this topic because I've always been taken by human evolution. Not only the way that our species arose from ancient hominids, but how modern humans depending on location have closer genomes to certain ancient species.

1. how does water environment affect the taste of fish?

2. how does water environment create symplesiomorphies and synapomorphies?

3. how does a mixed water environment affect fish genome?

4. which group, the freshwater fishes or the saltwater fishes, are more evolutionarily successful?

The reason I am interested in this topic is because my family loves fish and they would be thrilled to talk about the new information I learn.

My Final Project topic is how different species of mosquitos affect human gene expression.

I find this interesting because I am a mosquito magnet and mosquitos usually aren't dangerous in the United States, but tropical mosquitos may carry harmful diseases, such as Zika, malaria, and Dengue. This relates to the course because there would be an analysis on how the different diseases carried by mosquitos can alter our gene expression, which involves human's natural selection. It is known that not all mosquitos can carry one type of disease, which shows how the speciation of mosquitos can affect human health.

I would like to examine the evolution of shark teeth adaptations and how different types of teeth help a given shark species. I am interested in looking at the development of different types of shark teeth and the evolutionary history behind them. I want to know what exactly led to different shark species to have their specific shape of teeth, was it habitat, genetics, prey etc., I find this topic really interesting because I love sharks and shark teeth are often an abundant link to their evolutionary history.

Evolution in toxicity resistance in dendrobatid poison frogs, and the effects of those changes on other aspects of their including cell membrane functionality and diet.

I'm really interested in poisonous/venomous animals but I want to dig deeper into their evolutionary history and I feel poisonous frogs will hold an ample amount of things I can dissect and discuss. As far as I have seen, research on these animals is also still being churned out so I think it would be interesting to write a synthesis on this topic.