Life, Gene, Species, Organism

  1. The Gaia Theory assumes that the entire biosphere represents an entire organism. Give one Argument in favour and one argument against this theory.
  2. In the human guts there are more microorganisms than cells in our body. Meanwhile it is clear that these microorganisms modulate us much stronger than thought before. Are we somebody else, when we eat something else?
  3. Are protists immortal?
  4. A researcher has developed artificial cells that can digest plastics and releases those cells in the ocean to fight against microplastics pollution - would you see those cells as part of "Nature"? If so, why, of not, why not?
  5. "Genes" are the functional units of inheritance. Are they also the functional units of evolution? 

Nachbereitung zu M06B Vorlesung 1