Evolution and the origins of life 1400-236EPŻ-W

Lecture 1 discusses the fundamental principles of the methodology of science and their relationship with evolution and Darwinian theory. It will be demonstrated how the idea of evolution through selection has been applied in immunology, neurobiology, sociology and history of art. Lecture 2 dicusses the origin of modern human environment. The methodological connection of biology and linguistics are used to reconstruct the population and civilization of Europe. This is meant to exemplify the interrelatedness of climate change, particularly the heritage of the ice ages, with the history of European flora and fauna. Lecture 3. reviews the natural background of evolution during the ice ages and the conditions for anthropogenesis in the Pliocene. The fossil record of early humans and the inheritance of animal traits in human behaviour will be commented on. Lecture 4 will present the pre-ice age world of the Tertiary. The formation of the steppe in conjunction with changes in ocean levels and the climate, as well as the environmental constraints of the formation of lignite coals and developments in herbivorous fauna will be discussed. This forms a background for the reconstruction of the course of anatomical changes in the primates. Lecture 5 demonstrates the interrelationships between biogeography and the molecular derivation of the evolutionary major mammalian lineages. The evolution of the middle and inner ears is juxtaposed with changes in dentition. The rise of the dinosaurs along with the downfall of the mammal-like reptiles is presented against the background of environmental change during the Permian ice ages. Lecture 6 discusses the evolution of nesting in birds and the relics of reptilian anatomy and reproductive behaviour in extant birds, as well as flight aerodynamics and the origins of feathers. The geological record of the transition between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary will be presented. Lecture 7 pertains to the co-evolution of flowering plants and modern insects. The properties in the genetic regulation of floral morphogenesis are contrasted with the complex evolutionary pathways of insect and wind pollination of blooms. Lecture 8 discusses the constraints of enlargement and productivity of continental ecosystems during the era of dinosaurs. We elucidate the evolution of the cycads and ginkgo as relicts of the dinosaur era, and the evolutionary pathway of the conifers. Succession of herbivorous insects is also reviewed. Lecture 9 presents the formation of late Palaeozoic forests, up to the deciduous forests of Siberia and Gondwana, Carboniferous tundra and the rainforests of the Carboniferous period. The origins of conifers and spermatophytes are presented in the context of their ecological expansion into the interior of Carboniferous continents. Lecture 10 elucidates the course of the conquest of land by vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. The rise of the reptiles in connection with changes in foetal membranes and evolution of the ear. The pathway taken in the formation of limbs from paired fins demonstrates the rise of the amphibians. The first terrestrial arthropods and the ancestral vascular plants became a part of the first terrestrial ecosystems. Lecture 11 discusses the evolution of aquatic vertebrates. It is meant to show that lungs and the tadpole stage are ancient traits of fishes. The origin of the fish and the mechanism through which jaws were formed are shown as one of the greatest mysteries of palaeobiology. The role of renal tubules and osmoregulation is shown as a controlling factor of the early evolution of vertebrates. Lecture 12 relates to the genesis of chordate anatomy. We discuss the interpretations of the earliest chordates from the early Cambrian and their possible Precambrian relatives. A mystery is the interpretation of molecular phylogenies of the origins of hemichordates and echinoderms. Lecture 13 begins with the molecular and palaeontological basis for the determination of homology