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🧬 How does life on Earth reproduce and diversify?

Follow reproduction, inheritance, mutation, selection, speciation, and ecology through the branching history of life.

7
lessons
~30 min
to learn
🔬 Science
subject
Adults
level
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What you’ll learn

  1. DNA is the recipe life copiesExplain DNA, genes, alleles, and replication as the basis of heredity.Life transmits instructions via DNA. Genes and alleles shape traits with environment; replication copies genomes for the next cell generation.
  2. Mitosis builds bodies one cell at a timeDescribe mitosis as growth and repair with quality-control checkpoints.Mitosis multiplies similar genomes into more body cells. Spindles segregate chromatids; checkpoints limit damaged division.
  3. Meiosis shuffles for the next generationShow how meiosis halves chromosomes and creates gamete diversity.Meiosis makes haploid gametes via reduction and reshuffling. Fertilization restores diploidy with a unique mix.
  4. Sexual and asexual strategiesCompare sexual and asexual modes and life-cycle packaging.Asexual routes clone fast; sex buys variation at a cost. Seeds, spores, and staged cycles solve dispersal and survival.
  5. Mutation, selection, and adaptationConnect mutation and selection to adaptation without perfection myths.Mutation supplies novelty; selection and other forces change frequencies. Adaptations are context-bound compromises.
  6. Speciation and the tree of lifeExplain branching speciation and nested phylogeny.Reduced gene flow can split lineages. Trees of life map ancestry with fossils and DNA; microbes also share genes sideways.
  7. Biodiversity as living variationFrame biodiversity as multilevel outcome of evolution under threat and stewardship.Genes, species, and ecosystems diversify through deep time. Extinction and human selection reshape the living inventory.

Questions this course answers

What does DNA replication primarily achieve before a typical cell divides?

Replication duplicates the genome so each daughter cell can inherit a complete set of genetic instructions.

Match each genetics term to its meaning

Genes and alleles describe sequence variants; genotype is the genetic hand; phenotype is what develops.

What is the main genetic outcome of mitosis?

Mitosis produces two cells that maintain the same chromosome count and broadly the same genetic content as the parent.

Order these broad mitosis events

Condensation and alignment precede separation; cytokinesis finishes two cells.

About how many chromosomes are in a typical human egg or sperm cell?

A typical human gamete carries 23 chromosomes, half the usual diploid count of 46, so fertilization restores the diploid number.

How do crossing over and independent assortment create genetic diversity among offspring?

Recombination and random segregation generate combinatorial variety beyond simple cloning of either parent.

Grounded in trusted sources

  • OpenStax Biology 2e — Mendelian genetics, meiosis, mitosis, evolution chapters
  • National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) educational materials on DNA, genes, and inheritance
  • Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History — human origins and tree-of-life education resources
  • UC Museum of Paleontology Understanding Evolution (evolution.berkeley.edu) teaching resources

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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