The Grand Finale

The semester has come to a close and it is now time to conclude this blog. Throughout my posts, I have discussed various concepts regarding the microorganism, Bacillus anthracis. I touched on general concepts about the bacteria and the disease it causes (Anthrax), while putting evolutionary twists on the topic. In my opinion, the most important idea the reader needs to take away from the blog are Darwin’s Postulates. In case you forgot:

1.       There is variation in populations

2.       Some of this variation is heritable (passed to offspring)

3.       More offspring are produced than can survive

4.       Natural selection (some offspring live and some offspring die based on heritable variation)

I think this is the most important concept because it can be applied to populations of any organism and is a contributing factor to evolution.

In addition, I also discussed the importance of the endospore stage in the lifecycle to better ensure survival. Bacteria that undergo spore formation quicker than others could have a better chance at survival because they would not be as exposed to certain elements.  Another post was about vaccines and the conflict about them. Some people want to give anthrax vaccines to everyone. This is not necessary, and as a result, the disease could mutate, causing variation to make future offspring more resilient. I also incorporated some articles into my posts and reviewed a class group’s project. Final lesson: if you think that white powder is anthrax, ask your mom for clarification!

It’s been fun writing for this! I love having people listen to me talk – even if it’s typing out my thoughts. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Kelsey