Darwin 2000 Website

What is Darwin2000?

Answer: A Web Site for Student Research in Bioinformatics, Molecular Biology, and Evolution

Created by: Dr. Rick Hershberger

Overview: Understanding the process of evolution requires an appreciation for its underlying molecular mechanisms. The model of natural selection Darwin proposed can now be explained by, and is entirely consistent with, what we've learned since Darwin's time about how genes work to encode the structure of proteins, and how the structure and function of proteins determine the physiology, and thus the traits, of any organism. Using the Darwin 2000 series of online exercises, you may explore how genetic variation and selection for protein function together represent the forces driving evolution at the molecular level. In addition, you may explore how the proper function of a protein is related to its three-dimensional structure, which in turn is determined by its sequence of subunits.