Ch. 22 - Evolution by Natural Selection

Freeman - Biological Science 7th Edition

Freeman7th EditionBiological ScienceISBN: 9783584863285Not the one you use?Change textbook

Freeman 7th Edition

Ch. 22 - Evolution by Natural Selection

Problem 8

Chapter 22, Problem 8

Explain why the overprescription of antibiotics by doctors, or the overuse of everyday soaps containing antibiotics, can be a health risk.

Verified step by step guidance

Understand the role of antibiotics: Antibiotics are medications used to treat bacterial infections by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria. They are not effective against viruses or other non-bacterial pathogens.

Recognize the development of antibiotic resistance: When antibiotics are overused or misused, such as taking them for viral infections or not completing the prescribed course, bacteria can adapt and develop resistance to these drugs. This makes the antibiotics less effective against the resistant strains.

Consider the impact of antibiotic resistance: The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria means that infections that were once easily treatable with antibiotics may become harder to treat, requiring stronger, more expensive, or more toxic medications. This can lead to longer illnesses and more hospitalizations.

Evaluate the use of antibacterial soaps: Regular use of antibacterial soaps can contribute to antibiotic resistance. These soaps often contain triclosan or other antibacterial agents that can lead to the development of resistant bacteria, similar to the misuse of antibiotics.

Assess the broader ecological impact: The widespread use of antibiotics and antibacterial agents can affect the natural microbial balance both within our bodies and in the environment. This can lead to negative impacts on natural ecosystems and human health, such as reducing the effectiveness of beneficial bacteria.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria evolve and develop the ability to survive exposure to antibiotics that once killed them or inhibited their growth. This resistance can arise from the overprescription of antibiotics, leading to the selection of resistant strains. As a result, infections become harder to treat, necessitating stronger medications and increasing the risk of treatment failure.

Microbiome Disruption

The human microbiome consists of trillions of microorganisms that play a crucial role in maintaining health, including digestion and immune function. Overuse of antibiotics, whether through prescriptions or antibacterial soaps, can disrupt this delicate balance, killing beneficial bacteria along with harmful ones. This disruption can lead to issues such as gastrointestinal problems and increased susceptibility to infections.

Public Health Implications

The overprescription of antibiotics and their widespread use in everyday products can have significant public health implications. It contributes to the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, which pose a threat to community health. As resistant bacteria proliferate, they can lead to outbreaks that are difficult to control, resulting in higher healthcare costs and increased morbidity and mortality rates.

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Related Practice

Textbook Question

Explain the logic behind the claim that the nuclear envelope is a synapomorphy that defines eukaryotes as a monophyletic group.

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Textbook Question

Some biologists summarize evolution by natural selection with the phrase "mutation proposes, selection disposes." Mutation is a process that creates heritable variation. Explain what the phrase means.

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Textbook Question

Why don't the biggest and strongest individuals in a population always produce the most offspring?

a. The biggest and strongest individuals always have higher fitness.

b. In some environments, being big and strong lowers fitness.

c. Sometimes the biggest and strongest individuals may choose to have fewer offspring.

d. Sometimes the number of offspring is not related to fitness.

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Textbook Question

Coral reefs are biodiverse ecosystems that provide food, income, coastal protection, and many other services to millions of people. Yet coral reefs are under threat from human impacts such as climate change—many corals cannot tolerate the warming ocean water and have suffered massive 'bleaching' events, which can be fatal. Researchers have discovered that some corals have the capacity to acclimatize to warmer water, while other corals do not. The researchers fear that because corals are long-lived colonial animals and thus evolve slowly, they may not be able to adapt to global warming fast enough to avoid extinction. Explain how the difference between acclimatize and adapt is important to the fate of corals.

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Textbook Question

The geneticist James Crow wrote that successful scientific theories have the following characteristics: (1) They explain otherwise puzzling observations; (2) they provide connections between otherwise disparate observations; (3) they make predictions that can be tested; and (4) they are heuristic, meaning that they open up new avenues of theory and experimentation. Crow added two other elements of scientific theories that he considered important on a personal, emotional level: (5) They should be elegant, in the sense of being simple and powerful; and (6) they should have an element of surprise. How well does the theory of evolution by natural selection fulfill these six criteria?

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Textbook Question

Most mice living on the mainland of Florida are brown, but the mice that live on the sand dunes of the barrier islands have white fur. The differences in color are heritable, determined by genes such as MC1R. It is intuitive that the light color of beach-dwelling mice is an adaptation for blending into their environment—and thus evading predators.Compare how evolution by inheritance of acquired characters and the theory of evolution by natural selection would explain the observation of white mice living primarily on light soil and brown mice living primarily on dark soil.

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