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Interactive Assessment for Sickle Cell: Natural Selection in Humans

BioInteractive Team

View this video on the main BioInteractive site.

This film explores the evolutionary connection between an infectious disease, malaria, and a genetic condition, sickle cell disease.

Scientist Tony Allison first noticed a connection between malaria and the sickle cell trait while working in East Africa in the 1950s. His discovery is one of the best understood examples of natural selection in humans. The film also features two individuals who describe living with sickle cell disease and a hematologist, Natasha Archer, who describes the mechanism of how the sickle cell trait protects against malaria. 

An audio descriptive version of the film is available via our media player. Select the “AD” button to enable audio description.

Topics:
Human Evolution
Natural Selection
Genetic Disease
Patterns of Inheritance
Grade Levels:
College
High School — AP/IB
High School — General

This film explores the evolutionary connection between an infectious disease, malaria, and a genetic condition, sickle cell disease.

The film stops 11 times, and each time, a question will appear on the screen. You can check your answer and select a different answer. Watch the film until the end to download a PDF with your answers.