How did life emerge on Earth? How have life and Earth co-evolved through geological time? Is life elsewhere in the universe? Take a look through the 4-billion-year history of life on Earth through the lens of the modern Tree of Life!
This course will evaluate the entire history of life on Earth within the context of our cutting-edge understanding of the Tree of Life. This includes the pioneering work of Professor Carl Woese on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus which revolutionized our understanding with a new "Tree of Life." Other themes include:
-Reconnaissance of ancient primordial life before the first cell evolved
-The entire ~4-billion-year development of single- and multi-celled life through the lens of the Tree of Life
-The influence of Earth system processes (meteor impacts, volcanoes, ice sheets) on shaping and structuring the Tree of Life
This synthesis emphasizes the universality of the emergence of life as a prelude for the search for extraterrestrial life.
Emergence of Life
von
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lehrplan - Was Sie in diesem Kurs lernen werden
Woche
12 Stunden zum Abschließen
Orientation
In this module, you will become familiar with the course, your instructor, your classmates, and our learning environment.
2 Videos (Gesamt 8 min), 8 Lektüren, 1 Quiz
8 Lektüren
Welcome to Emergence of Life!10m
Syllabus10m
Updating Your Profile10m
Social Media10m
About the Discussion Forums10m
How Graded Discussions Work10m
Discussion Rubric10m
Paper Assignment Rubric10m
1 praktische Übung
Orientation Quiz10m
5 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 1 - Geological Time and the Nature of Science
The week begins with a discussion of the historical and philosophical approaches that have been developed for the completion of scientific research, with the work of Professor Carl Woese evaluated as an example. The basic tools required for this type of scientific reasoning and the ability to overcome the challenging concepts of scale and complexity are then presented. Finally, we'll explore the dynamic formation of the Earth itself with respect to the environmental conditions present on the earliest and most ancient version of planet Earth.
9 Videos (Gesamt 71 min), 1 Lektüre, 2 Quiz
9 Videos
1.2. Philosophical Benchmarks in Science10m
1.3. Scientific Inquiry vs Scientific Method6m
1.4. The Scale of Time and Space: Powers of Ten8m
1.5. NASA’s Greeting Card to Aliens: The Golden Record11m
1.6. Deep Geological Time4m
1.7. The Structure of the Solar System7m
1.8. Birth of the Earth7m
1.9. The Perfect Storm: A Recipe for Life5m
1 Lektüre
Week 1 Overview10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 1 Quiz A
Week 1 Quiz B30m
Woche
210 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 2 - The Tree of Life and Early Earth Environments
The advent of life on Earth came about as a result of a remarkable confluence of physical, chemical, and biological processes, all of which were intrinsically linked to rapidly changing early Earth environments. Within this context, cutting-edge approaches in molecular phylogeny by Professor Carl Woese revealed new understandings of the emergence of life and the possible distribution of life within the cosmos. All this and more will be explored in this week's lessons!
10 Videos (Gesamt 75 min), 3 Lektüren, 4 Quiz
10 Videos
2.2. The Place of Carl Woese in Evolutionary Biology8m
2.3. Revolution of the Tree of Life7m
2.4. Evolution of the Tree of Life6m
2.5. How Did Life Emerge?5m
2.6. The Genetic Code and Evolutionary Theory7m
2.7. Throwing Rocks at Earth: The Martian Meteorite10m
2.8. Microbial Mats and Stromatolites: Laying Down On the Job6m
2.9. Oxygenation of the Atmosphere5m
2.10. Snowball Earth; It Did Freeze Over!8m
3 Lektüren
Week 2 Overview10m
Who Was Carl Woese?10m
Paper Assignment 1 Information10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 2 Quiz A
Week 2 Quiz B30m
Woche
35 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 3 - Fossilization and Precambrian Life-Earth Interaction
This week, you'll explore how scientists interpret ancient fossilized life, which yields remarkably detailed and complete reconstructions of the lifestyles of ancient organisms that have been deceased for hundreds, thousands, millions, and even billions of years. These reconstructions provide valuable information regarding the evolutionary success of organism morphology and lifestyle.
7 Videos (Gesamt 62 min), 1 Lektüre, 3 Quiz
7 Videos
3.2. Ancient Forensic Science: Fossilization12m
3.3. Getting Old and Well-Preserved: Modes of Preservation9m
3.4. Our Spineless Friends: The Invertebrates6m
3.5. Lifestyles of the Rich and Fossilized6m
3.6. Trying to Make a Living: Fossil Feeding Modes6m
3.7. The Great Experiment of the Ediacaran Fauna7m
1 Lektüre
Week 3 Overview10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 3 Quiz A
Week 3 Quiz B30m
Woche
49 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 4 - Paleozoic Life After the Advent of Skeletons
This week, you'll learn more about the Cambrian Explosion, which led to the development of external hard skeleton components at 542 million years before present. The initial successes of the invertebrates were shortly followed by the appearance of vertebrates with internal skeletons. Life then utilized these newfound evolutionary capabilities, beginning distinct cycles of radiation, diversification, and extinction, which define the three great Eukarya faunas of the Phanerozoic.
10 Videos (Gesamt 96 min), 2 Lektüren, 4 Quiz
10 Videos
4.2. Cambrian Explosion3m
4.3. Cambrian Fauna: Origin of Vertebrates14m
4.4. Burgess Shale Experiment5m
4.5. Invertebrates: Successes of Life Without a Backbone18m
4.6. Paleozoic Fauna12m
4.7. Vertebrates: Successes of Life With a Backbone3m
4.8. Evolution of Jaws and Perfecting Predation13m
4.9. Heavily Armored Fish Without Jaws6m
4.10. Fish Evolution: Hook, Line, and Sinker10m
2 Lektüren
Week 4 Overview10m
Paper Assignment 2 Information10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 4 Quiz A
Week 4 Quiz B30m
Woche
55 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 5 - Paleozoic Plants, Reptiles, and the Transition to Land
In the early Paleozoic, plants evolved to leave the water and invade the terrestrial landscape. Following this transition, vertebrates emerged into land-based ecosystems, and Carbon Dioxide concentrations increased in the atmosphere. The greenhouse warming of the Earth propelled the success of both prevascular and vascular plants, as well as the related terrestrial radiation of the three lineages of the reptiles. This week, you'll also learn about the Permian-Triassic mass extinction and later environmental changes that opened the door to the rise of the diapsids.
7 Videos (Gesamt 51 min), 1 Lektüre, 3 Quiz
7 Videos
5.2. Early Prevascular Plants3m
5.3. Takeover of the Vascular Plants7m
5.4. Pennsylvanian Greenhouse Earth4m
5.5. Rise of the Reptiles14m
5.6. Reptiles Heating Up: Thermal Regulation8m
5.7. Diapsids and Synapsids: Ships Passing in the Night8m
1 Lektüre
Week 5 Overview10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 5 Quiz A
Week 5 Quiz B30m
Woche
68 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 6 - Mesozoic Reign of the Dinosaurs and the Development of Flight
This week, you'll learn more about the Permian-Triassic extinction event, which caused more than 80% of life to go extinct. This opened vast swaths of ecological opportunity for radiation and diversification of life during the Mesozoic. You'll learn about symbiosis, which was widely utilized during this period, as well as the fascinating lineage of diapsid reptiles that rose to replace the synapsid predators of the late Paleozoic. We'll also discuss the rise of the dinosaurs, as well as the catastrophic meteor impact that drove the dinosaurs to extinction.
8 Videos (Gesamt 68 min), 2 Lektüren, 4 Quiz
8 Videos
6.2. Rise of the Diapsids13m
6.3. Pterosaurs: The ONLY Flying Reptiles4m
6.4. Dinosaur Phylogeny: Hips Don't Lie7m
6.5. Evolution of Flight: Life Invades the Sky6m
6.6. Wild Wings: Fit to Fly10m
6.7. Cretaceous Warming on a Reorganized Earth8m
6.8. T. rex, and the Crater of Doom11m
2 Lektüren
Week 6 Overview10m
Paper Assignment 3 Information10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 6 Quiz A
Week 6 Quiz B30m
Woche
76 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 7 - Cenozoic Mammals and Global Environmental Change
With the demise of the dinosaurs, mammals rapidly radiated and diversified during the Cenozoic. The combination of abundant food sources and significant fluctuations in global climate fostered extreme variations in morphology, body size, and interaction with the environment. You'll learn why mammals had a distinct advantage over previous groups, and you'll also have the opportunity to explore multiple theories on primate and hominoid evolution in the context of global conditions during this period.
10 Videos (Gesamt 88 min), 1 Lektüre, 3 Quiz
10 Videos
7.2. Mammals Conquer the Earth7m
7.3. Big is Beautiful6m
7.4. Sophistication of Mammal Skulls8m
7.5. Mammalian Dentition: My, What Big Teeth You Have!11m
7.6. Mammals: Taxonomy is in the Eye of the Beholder12m
7.7. Mammal-Marsupial Exchange: There Goes the Neighborhood7m
7.8. The Primates11m
7.9. The Rise of Humans: Getting a Leg Up on the Competition9m
7.10. Early Hominids: Trees versus Savannahs8m
1 Lektüre
Week 7 Overview10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 7 Quiz A
Week 7 Quiz B30m
Woche
85 Stunden zum Abschließen
Week 8 - Astrobiology and the Search for Life in the Cosmos
No matter where you are or what you believe, sometime in your life you will look up into the sky and ask: What is out there? Where are we going? Is there life elsewhere in the universe?
This course is dedicated to searching for answers to these questions. The fundamental concepts of life and habitable environments, established upon the modern synthesis of the Tree of Life, will direct us in recognizing biospheres that might be quite different from our own. In the last week of this course, we will look in detail at what the future has in store for space exploration and the search for life in the cosmos.
11 Videos (Gesamt 74 min), 1 Lektüre, 2 Quiz
11 Videos
8.2. NASA: A Platform for Inter-Disciplinary Science4m
8.3. Mars Flybys and Orbiters: Getting the Picture8m
8.4. Mars Rovers: Was the Red Planet Habitable?9m
8.5. NASA Future Missions9m
8.6. NASA Institute for Universal Biology8m
8.7. Think and Wonder…Wonder and Think5m
8.8. The Emergence of Life: Course Synthesis 6m
Emergence of Life Outtakes3m
Week 8 Quiz A Video 1: Curiosity Completes Its First Martian Year 2m
Week 8 Quiz A Video 2: One Year to Pluto 3m
1 Lektüre
Week 8 Overview10m
2 praktische Übungen
Week 8 Quiz A
Week 8 Quiz B30m
Top-Bewertungen
Superb instructor!\n\nAnd very precise and detailed information.\n\nThank you so much for putting together such a beautiful course.
Enjoyed every minute of the course and learned so much at the same time!
Dozent
Bruce W. Fouke, Ph.D.
Director of the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology CenterDepartment of Geology, Department of Microbiology, and Institute for Genomic Biology
Über University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a world leader in research, teaching and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty and alumni. Illinois serves the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and finding solutions to critical societal needs.
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