Genetic change

…It explores how genetic change, non-genetic cellular plasticity, biochemistry and metabolism combine to let cells survive treatment. Themes include evolution under drug pressure, genome plasticity, stress responses, cellular fitness and the ecological context of drug responses. Efflux, microenvironmental effects and other extracellular contributors are considered alongside cellular states and biochemical mechanisms. By comparing systems across species, the programme aims to deepen un

…The discussion asks how a small genetic change could affect development and generate a large, persistent evolutionary transformation.

Tail development provides a case study for connecting genetic change to the evolution of anatomy. This lecture introduces relevant ideas from evolutionary developmental biology and RNA splicing, then considers variation in tail presence and length across mammals. It also examines what different experimental approaches can establish about DNA, form and function.