Introduction

Hello everyone,

My name is Caroline Gatschet and I was born and raised in Topeka, KS; although, I did spend a lot of my time in Manhattan visiting family growing up. I am currently a senior at KSU studying cellular and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry. Following my undergraduate schooling, I hope to pursue a research career in the field of astrobiology, studying the biochemistry of extremophile microbes and their potential connection to discovering life elsewhere in the universe. In terms of passions, a lifetime of continuous learning is undoubtedly something I strive for, aspiring to never become stagnant in my education. I am into everything outdoors from fishing and kayaking to hiking and horseback riding. Hopefully, I will be able to find a fieldwork-heavy research lab to join in graduate school to combine those two passions. Biology, to me, strives to answer some of humanity's biggest fundamental questions: What defines life? Where did life come from and how? How did life transition into what we know it as today? These are questions that humans have been asking for millenia, long before we even understood just how young life as we know it is in comparison to the age of the universe. By studying biology and evolution, we've taken Socrates' "know thyself" to a whole new level as we seek to understand what we are and where we came from. 

Evolution is certainly a part of our everyday lives whether we choose to see it around us or not. For example, the mere diversity between people and species of plants, animals, or prokaryotes is due to genetic mutations leading to adaptations which drive evolution forward constantly. Further, we often hear about fast-evolving bacterial species developing resistance to antibiotics and other drugs. Alghough normally viewed from a much longer timeline, evolution is also the reason you get the flu every year or so due to changes in virus' genome. I'm excited to delve deeper into the broad topic of evolution in this class as I have only been introduced to evolution on a basic level in the rest of my coursework. I hope to have a better grasp on the concept, which seems almost abstract, by the end of this course. Additionally, although I am no computer wiz, I am looking forward to toning my coding/programming "skills" (if they can even be called that) through the use of the R software.

I look forward to meeting and exploring evolutionary biology along with you all.