Introduction to Evolutionary Dynamics

By Prof. Supreet Saini | IIT Bombay

Learners enrolled: 362 | Exam registration: 35

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Life on the planet, as we see it today, has been been shaped over ~4 billion years. Theory of evolution by natural selection provides us the framework in which to study this process. In this process, we will (a) develop a conceptual understanding of how chance and selection dictate evolutionary fates; (b) study from the recent research how evolutionary principles are being utilized to not only answer open fundamental questions but also to solve important problems in healthcare and biotechnology

This course is suited for students in biological sciences who wish to study evolutionary biology. The course is also designed for students in physical sciences and engineering, who wish to take a first course in evolutionary biology. Evolutionary biology is a subject steeped in fundamental concepts, and most of the foundational work in the subject was done by statisticians, mathematicians, and physicists

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

Undergraduate and graduate students of Biosciences and Bioengineering.
Undergraduates and graduates from Physical Sciences and Engineering who are interested in Evolution.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT:

Biotechnology Companies.
Protein Design and Engineering.

Summary

Course Status :	Ongoing
Course Type :	Elective
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Biological Sciences & Bioengineering Physics Computer Science Mathematics
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate/Postgraduate
Start Date :	20 Jan 2025
End Date :	11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	03 Feb 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	28 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	04 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Introduction to theory of natural selection.
Background in biology and mathematics for all students.

Week 2: Studying evolution in prokaryotes. How is it different from studying evolution in eukaryotes.

Week 3: Population growth models

Week 4: Concept of fitness and fitness landscapes
.

Week 5: Selection and Drift.

Week 6: Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution. Concept of dN/dS, and its variations.

Week 7: Horizontal Gene Transfer, and its implications in dictating evolution.

Week 8: How to do evolution experiments in laboratory? Three ways: (a) Serial Subculture; (b) Chemostat, and (c) Mutation Accumulation.

Week 9: Lessons from Evolution Experiments: Long Term Evolution Experiment (80,000 evolution experiment with E. coli).

Week 10: Lessons from Evolution Experiments: Multicellular Evolution Experiment (10,000 evolution experiment with yeast (transition from unicellularity to multicellularity)

Week 11: Studying community of microbial populations.

Week 12: Speciation in microbes.
Course summary.

Books and references

Evolutionary Dynamics, Martin Nowak, Harvard University Press (2006) [ISBN-10: 0674023382; ISBN-13: 978-0674023383]
Evolution, Douglas Futuyama & Mark Kirkpatrick, Oxford University Press, 4^th Ed. (2017) [ISBN-10: 9781605357409; ISBN-13: 978-1605357409]

Instructor bio

Prof. Supreet Saini

IIT Bombay

Prof. Supreet Saini is a Professor, Chemical Engineering & a Fellow, DBT/Wellcome Trust (India Alliance) at IIT Bombay. He completed his PhD and MS from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, US and B.Tech. from IIT Delhi. His research group, using experiments and theory, works on open problems in evolutionary biology.

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams:May 4, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.
Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Bombay .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team

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