Meet a Scientist Who Studies Natural Selection

What organism does Dave Yuan use to study natural selection?

• Yeast

• Bacteria

• Viruses

• Fungi

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Why are yeast considered good organisms for studying natural selection?

• They do not mutate.

• They are multicellular.

• They reproduce very quickly.

• They have a long lifespan.

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What special tool does Yuan use in his research?

• Thermometer

• Microscope

• Bar code for yeast lineages

• Telescope

How many unique lineages of yeast does Yuan work with?

• About 300,000

• About half a million

• About 200,000

• About 100,000

What does Yuan hope to see by transferring yeast to a fresh environment?

• How they communicate

• How certain traits are distributed in the population

• How they interact with other organisms

• How they adapt to new food

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What did Yuan major in during college?

• Chemistry

• Biology

• Mathematics

• Physics

What does Yuan find exciting about studying natural selection?

• The fame

• The high salary

• The routine laboratory work

• The possibility of discovery

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What is a common experience for lab scientists, according to Yuan?

• Success in every experiment

• Failure

• Easy experiments

• Immediate results

What skill does Yuan wish he had focused more on in his education?

• Math and statistics

• Physical education

• History

• Art

What does Yuan hope to do in the future regarding his research?

• Teach at a university

• Study natural selection outside of the lab

• Become a baker

• Retire early