Question Sheet: What the appendix is good for
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SCIENCE
Before reading:
- What is the appendix?
- Why do people sometimes have to have their appendix removed?
During reading:
- What does Heather Smith do now?
- What is a vestigial structure?
- Why does the appendix at first appear pointless?
- What link did Parker and his colleagues find between the immune system and
the appendix?
- What does other vestigial structures does this article discuss?
- What can studying these organs tells us about human evolution?
After Reading
- What is evolution and how could evolution affect vestigial structures?
- Why would our ancestors possibly have had more use for wisdom teeth than we
do?
- Why might someone living in a developed country not need an appendix?
SOCIAL STUDIES
- Find other examples of vestigial structures. Is anyone studying whether or
not these structures might be useful?
- Find out the rate of appendectomies in an undeveloped country and compare that rate to that of a developed country.