Science Sunday: Battle Monkeys!
OK, so this post doesn’t really have anything to do with battle monkeys except in the loosest sense, as Hank Green from Crash Course explains in yet another kick-ass video explaining science concepts.
The discussion in this video is about evolutionary development, including the basics of regulatory genes, hox genes, and gap genes, with some illustrative examples involving a butt eye (yes, an eye on a butt) and, as the video title suggests, chicken teeth.
Watch all the way to the end for a clear explanation of why huge evolutionary changes (such as dinosaurs to birds) are shown in the fossil record to have happened much more quickly than you would expect if you’re picturing each gene coded for something (such as teeth, feathers, etc.) changing individually. The answer lies in how regulatory genes work. It’s fascinating.
