Molecular Evolution (Bioinformatics IV)
- Offered byCoursera
Molecular Evolution (Bioinformatics IV) at Coursera Overview
Duration | 17 hours |
Total fee | Free |
Mode of learning | Online |
Difficulty level | Intermediate |
Official Website | Explore Free Course  |
Credential | Certificate |
Molecular Evolution (Bioinformatics IV) at Coursera Highlights
- Shareable Certificate Earn a Certificate upon completion
- 100% online Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.
- Course 4 of 7 in the Bioinformatics Specialization
- Flexible deadlines Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.
- Beginner Level
- Approx. 17 hours to complete
- English Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish
Molecular Evolution (Bioinformatics IV) at Coursera Course details
- In the previous course in the Specialization, we learned how to compare genes, proteins, and genomes. One way we can use these methods is in order to construct a "Tree of Life" showing how a large collection of related organisms have evolved over time.
- In the first half of the course, we will discuss approaches for evolutionary tree construction that have been the subject of some of the most cited scientific papers of all time, and show how they can resolve quandaries from finding the origin of a deadly virus to locating the birthplace of modern humans.
- In the second half of the course, we will shift gears and examine the old claim that birds evolved from dinosaurs. How can we prove this? In particular, we will examine a result that claimed that peptides harvested from a T. rex fossil closely matched peptides found in chickens. In particular, we will use methods from computational proteomics to ask how we could assess whether this result is valid or due to some form of contamination.
- Finally, you will learn how to apply popular bioinformatics software tools to reconstruct an evolutionary tree of ebolaviruses and identify the source of the recent Ebola epidemic that caused global headlines.
Molecular Evolution (Bioinformatics IV) at Coursera Curriculum
Week 1: Introduction to Evolutionary Tree Construction
(Check Out Our Wacky Course Intro Video!)
The Fastest Outbreak
Transforming Distance Matrices into Evolutionary Trees
Toward an Algorithm for Distance-Based Phylogeny Construction
Additive Phylogeny
Course Details
Week 1 FAQs (Optional)
Week 1 Quiz
Week 2: More Algorithms for Constructing Trees from Distance Matrices
Using Least Squares to Construct Distance-Based Phylogenies
Ultrametric Trees
The Neighbor-Joining Algorithm
Week 2 FAQs (Optional)
Week 2 Quiz
Week 3: Constructing Evolutionary Trees from Characters
Character-Based Tree Reconstruction
The Small Parsimony Algorithm
The Large Parsimony Algorithm
Evolutionary Tree Reconstruction in the Modern Era
Week 3 FAQs (Optional)
Week 3 Quiz
Week 4
Paleontology Meets Computing
Decoding an Ideal Spectrum
From Ideal to Real Spectra
Peptide Sequencing
Note on This Week's Assignments
Week 4 Quiz
Week 5: Resolving the T. rex Peptides Mystery?
Peptide Identification
Spectral Dictionaries
The Ostrich Hemoglobin Riddle
Searching for Post-Translational Modifications
Spectral Alignment Algorithm
Note on This Week's Content
Week 5 Quiz
Week 6: Bioinformatics Application Challenge
Other courses offered by Coursera
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?
Useful Links
Know more about Coursera
Know more about Programs
- Engineering
- Instrumentation Technology
- Food Technology
- Aeronautical Engineering
- What is Machine Learning
- Metallurgical Engineering
- MTech in Computer Science Engineering
- VLSI Design
- Petroleum Engineering
- Aerospace Engineering
- BTech in Biotechnology Engineering
- Pharmaceutical engineering
- Silk Technology
- Microelectronics
- Agriculture & Farm Engineering