Computational Evolutionary Biology

A cameleopard, also known as a giraffe.

A giraffe, also known as a cameleopard because the creature has the size of the camel, but has the skin of a leopard. (Image by Prof. Robert Berwick.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

6.877J / HST.949J

As Taught In

Fall 2005

Level

Graduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

Why has it been easier to develop a vaccine to eliminate polio than to control influenza or AIDS? Has there been natural selection for a 'language gene'? Why are there no animals with wheels? When does 'maximizing fitness' lead to evolutionary extinction? How are sex and parasites related? Why don't snakes eat grass? Why don't we have eyes in the back of our heads? How does modern genomics illustrate and challenge the field?

This course analyzes evolution from a computational, modeling, and engineering perspective. The course has extensive hands-on laboratory exercises in model-building and analyzing evolutionary data.

Other Versions

Other OCW Versions

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Related Content

Robert Berwick. 6.877J Computational Evolutionary Biology. Fall 2005. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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