GCSE Edexcel Foundation Biology · Topic 4 of 9
Choose a subtopic. Evolution, classification, selective breeding and genetic modification. 30 lessons in 5 subtopics.
Revise Topic 4: Natural selection and genetic modification for GCSE Edexcel Foundation Biology, including Variation and evolution.
30
Lessons
5
Subtopics
Topic 4: Natural selection and genetic modification has 5 subtopics:
30 lessons, grouped by subtopic.
Go back to the full GCSE Edexcel Foundation Biology topic list, or practise this topic with past-paper questions.
Evolution, classification, selective breeding and genetic modification. 30 lessons in 5 subtopics.
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria that has evolved resistance to methicillin and many other commonly used antibiotics. The How Antibiotic Resistance Develops notes cover this in full.
Genes are sections of DNA that control the development of specific characteristics and are passed from parents to offspring. The Darwin's Theory and Modern Evidence notes cover this in full.
A fossil is the preserved remains or traces of organisms that lived millions of years ago, found in rocks. The What are fossils and how are they formed? notes cover this in full.
The dodo went extinct in 1681, within 200 years of humans arriving on Mauritius. The Understanding Extinction and Its Causes notes cover this in full.
Evolution is a change in the inherited characteristics of a population over time through a process of natural selection, which may result in the formation of a new species. The What is Evolution? notes cover this in full.
The scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens: Homo is the genus, written with a capital letter, and sapiens is the species, written in lowercase. The The Linnaean Classification System notes cover this in full.
Natural selection is the process by which organisms with characteristics that make them better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce successfully, passing these advantageous characteristics to their offspring. The What is Evolution? notes cover this in full.
Fossils form in three main ways: from parts of organisms that have not decayed because conditions for decay were absent, through mineralisation where minerals gradually replace the original material, and as preserved traces such as footprints, burrows and root traces that fill with sediment and harden into rock. The What are fossils and how are they formed? notes cover this in full.