Biology - Evolution, Natural Selection and DNA Course

Evolution and natural selection are very important concepts that have revolutionised our understanding of biology. Natural selection is a process resulting in the evolution of organisms that are best adapted to their environment, usually occurring over thousands, and even millions of years. In this free online biology course you will be introduced to the concepts of evolution and natural selection, the causes of these fundamental biological processes and how the success of a species can depend on changes to just one allele on one gene in one chromosome. You will study the naturally occurring variation within species and how mutations and reproduction continues this process. You will also be introduced to DNA, the blueprint of life forms on earth, by looking both at its physical structure and how it copies itself, and turns into the proteins that make up all living organisms. This free online biology course will be of great interest to all learners who wish to pursue a career in the sciences and medicine, to learners who are already studying subjects such as biology, biodiversity and biochemistry, and the individual who simply wants to learn more about how and why there is such diversity among plants and animals today.

To qualify for your official ALISON Diploma, Certificate or PDF you must studyand complete all modules and score 80% or more in each of the course assessments. A link to purchase your Diploma certificate will then appear under the My Certificates heading of your My Account page.

Learning Outcomes: 
- Understand what natural selection and evolution are;
- Learn what can cause mutations;
- Understand the effect of reproduction on variety in an organism;
- Get a basic overview of DNA and how it works;
- Get an understanding of the vocabulary of DNA;