FUTURE Seminar by Ogün Adebali

“Molecular Biology in the Light of Evolution”

Ogün Adebali

Evolution is the process that organisms develop from past organisms. Evolutionary processes require molecular changes in the building blocks of life, DNA. Derived from a single common ancestor, organisms share parts of DNA that are critically important for survival. These genetic parts are called conserved regions that are used to infer the fundamental features of life. Today, we directly benefit from this principle to shed light on molecular biology. With carefully compiled evolutionary information along with bioinformatics techniques, we can predict the function, interactions and structure of proteins. More importantly, evolutionary information directly helps people to maintain our wellness, be aware of the risk of genetic syndromes and even diagnose life-threatening diseases including cancer.