GENOME: Chromosome 10: Stress

In this chapter, ridley talks about how the body, the brain, and the genome are locked together and work together in a way. In Chromosome 10, there is a gene called CYP17 that is supposedly responsible for the synthesis of an enzyme. This enzyme is supposed to help the body change cholesterol (many Americans suffer from this!!) to cortisol,oestradiol, and testosterone. cortisol is released when there is a signal of stres in the brain and sets off a chain that switches the genes on and off. Genes are supposed to regulate the expression of other genes, as Ridley states. Ridley then proceeds to set up a parallel between the human body and the world, saying that the world also has no control center but has many systems that are connected in one way or another.

GENOME: Chromosome 7: Instinct

GENOME 7: Instinct In this chapter, Ridley talks about how genetic determinism is a lot more probable now. Ridley discusses how vocabulary is not an innate trait in newborns/humans, but grammar may be. He explains that this theory may be true because children, young toddlers, are able to speak correctly with the right usage of grammar. Chromosome 7 contains a gene that is linked to a disorder, a language disorder called Specific Language Impairment. The inheritance rate has almost reached 100%. With studies, SLI is connected to the inability to learn grammar correctly. The gene in chromosome 7 as stated in the book seems to have a cause in the lesion in the brain.

LAST BLOG: REFLECTION

As a whole, I felt that this class was certainly an experience. I had to learn to balance my time with other AP classes with AP Biology. With the first semester, we had a lot of simulations to do online and it was hard to understand at times. Notebooks have always been my favorite because it is really an accumulation of all the work, notes, worksheets, all of the knowledge we gained from the class as a whole. Ms. Malonek made class really fun for us, especially with little games, presentations, etc. Although the class is pure HARD WORK, I feel that this hard work is worth it in the end. I learned about imperfect/perfects, angiosperms, gymnosperms, alternation of generations, DNA, we read the book GENOME. Overall, the knowledge I gained from this class will stay with me for a life time.

3 Invertebrates

Pick 3 invertebrates Compare them in terms of physical features and systems. Identify at least 3 similarities and 3 differences.

Butterflies
Physical Features:
1. Three pairs of legs
2. Body divided into 3 parts: head, thorax, and abdomen
3. Large eye on both sides of head; large spherical structures, consists of thousands of omatidea
4. Two pairs of wings
5. Dust-like scales
6. Scales give wings special colors.
7. Good sense of taste
8. release pheromones
9. antennae used for balance in flight
10. no teeth or mandibles
11. feeding mechanism: long double barreled tube: proboscis

Systems:
1. Butterflies pass through four stages in life: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
2. Reproductive, respiratory, circulatory and digestive systems take place in the abdomen
3. Circulatory system is pretty simple. -> heart is attached to long tube that extends from abdomen to head. Blood is pumped through tube and then released into tissues. Blood seeps through tissue and back to abdomen, sucked back into heart, process occurs again.
4. No transportation of oxygen in blood; use valves called spiracles
5. Males look for females to inseminate; females lay eggs (around 100 in lifetime)

Bees
Physical Features:
1. flying insects related to wasps, ants, hornets, etc
2. short, thick bodies covered with hair
3. six legs
4. three body parts: head, thorax, and abdomen
5. Thorax has three segments with a pair of legs on each
6. tiny waist connects to thorax and abdomen
7. fly about 12.5 miles
8. has two compound eyes made of ommatidia and three simple eyes, ocelli
9. wings
10. antennae
11. mandible, glossa, labrum, and two maxillae
12. stinger
13. leg structure: coxa, throchanter, femur, tibia, metatarsus, and tarsus
14. head contains about 950,000 neurons

System:
1. female mates with several males
2. bee has a colony-level immune response that normally helps heal and infection
3. complex super-organism with physical, chemical, and behavorial defenses at different levels
4. robust immune system that is very effective
5. haploidiploid sex-determination system
6. have two reproductive functions
7. all sperm cells produced by a particular bee are genetically identical
8. main function is to fertilize a receptive queen
9. has a tracheal system
10. open circulatory system (no veins)

Earthworm



Sources:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=respiratory+system+for+bees&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1441&bih=839&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=eR9ZT-ffKoLniAL_x-SiDg#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=+bees&oq=+bees&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=4&gs_upl=9253l9253l0l9593l1l1l0l0l0l0l146l146l0.1l1l0&gs_l=img.4..0l10.9253l9253l0l9593l1l1l0l0l0l0l146l146l0j1l1l0&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=6d2204f5942beebf&biw=1441&bih=839
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1339&bih=766&tbm=isch&tbnid=4WlaQO-6j9TaRM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee&docid=48r6T8Ylqfx3XM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/HoneyBeeAnatomy.png/220px-HoneyBeeAnatomy.png&w=220&h=198&ei=5gxYT46rIu3KiAKNzb2ECw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=208&vpy=123&dur=312&hovh=127&hovw=141&tx=111&ty=75&sig=109484771088206764939&page=1&tbnh=122&tbnw=135&start=0&ndsp=28&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/insects-arachnids/bee1.htm
http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-196545/bee
http://centralamerica.com/cr/butterfly/
http://www.english-online.at/biology/butterflies/butterflies-and-moths.htm

GENOME: Chromosome 6: Intelligence

In this chapter, Ridley discusses the "intelligence gene" and how it doesn't work in a conditioned area. The "gene" needs to work in an environment that stimulates the gene to work. For example, a person's intelligence becomes more expressive as they grow older because they get to choose where they live, what they do, and how they do what they do everyday, they choose their comfort zones therefore promoting these very genes to be more expressive. In class, Ms. Malonek discussed how each person has a different way of gaining intelligence or understanding things. Some people are hands-on learners, visual learners, musical learners, athletic learners, step-by-step learners, etc. If a person who learns best visually is forced to learn kinesthetically, then the person won't learn, it would just go in one ear and out the other.

SOURCES:
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1317&bih=779&tbm=isch&tbnid=3S-BAEOl2UPHyM:&imgrefurl=http://singularityhub.com/2010/04/22/gene-for-intelligence-revealed-by-studying-williams-syndrome/&docid=YslBKFCcoY7T8M&imgurl=http://singularityhub.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/intelligence-gene-williams-syndrome.jpg&w=239&h=177&ei=ebxRT_XZMuvTiAKSxK23Bg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=219&vpy=178&dur=746&hovh=141&hovw=191&tx=86&ty=71&sig=109484771088206764939&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=188&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

GENOME: Chromosome 5: Environment

I have had asthma since I was a young girl. I haven't outgrown asthma yet, but I have managed well. Although no one in my family has asthma, my dad has allergies, which correlates with asthma. The inheritance of the gene is based on principles of pleiotropy, pluralism, and the environment of the individual. Ridley asserts that asthma has a direct relationship with allergy. With the increase of pollution and hygiene, asthma has increased. There isn't really a particular asthma gene, but the gene produces immunoglobulin-E. But there is a different gene for each ethnicity and the environment of the individual. This chapter interested me in particular because I have asthma myself. Knowing that the environment and a "particular" gene is the "cause" of my asthma makes me want to dig for more answers. the rate for asthma is increasing because of the heavy pollution and also because now, parents are becoming more "sanitary" so that they could decrease the chances of their child gaining asthma. But the question is, which gene is it?

SOURCES:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=asthma&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1317&bih=779&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=97pRT9CsCdHJiQKGz9i0Bg#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=asthma+inhaler&pbx=1&oq=asthma+inh&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=3&gs_upl=12741l13213l0l13940l4l4l0l0l0l0l121l305l3.1l4l0&gs_l=img.3.0.0l10.12741l13213l0l13940l4l4l0l0l0l0l121l305l3j1l4l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=eed9cc9c258d80c7&biw=1317&bih=779

GENOME: Chromosome 4: Fate

People have this preconceived notion that genes are defined by the diseases they cause. Ridley believes that it is quite absurd because it's sort of like "defining organs of the body by the diseases they get". Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome is a very rare and serious syndrome, with such strong genes, victims die at a very young age. A mutated version of the very gene that causes Hirschhorn is associated with Huntington's chorea. The gene repeats CAG over and over again and with this a person's "destiny, sanity, and life" hangs by the thread of that very repetition. I agree with Ridley's notion that genes can't be classified by the diseases that they cause because genes are not created, built, or made to cause a particular disease. With malfunctions and different correlations, certain genes end up causing diseases that may have never existed per say. It all depends really, on fate.

SOURCES:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=wolf-hirschhorn+syndrome+gene&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1317&bih=779&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=iLRRT9KSBbCOigK0mui0Bg

GENOME: Chromosome 3: History

Archibald Garrod was a medical saint. He took a risk and proposed a question: what is a gene? He went on to examine "chemical sports" After close examination, Garrod came up with a bold hypothesis of these "inborn errors of metabolism". He thought that a catalyst, must be an enzyme that was made of protein, in afflicted people, the gene produced a defective enzyme. His assumed that genes were there to produce chemical catalysts, one gene per catalyst. He thought that genes were "devices for making proteins". Inborn errors of metabolism, Garrod believed, "were due to the faiulre of a step in the metabolic sequence due to loss or malfunction of an enzyme." Along with the many other histories of the gene, Garrod's was particularly interesting because I felt that he truly was ahead of his time. I believe that these errors of metabolism are indeed because of a malfunction in the enzyme's part. Diseases like alkaptonuria, that aren't very dangerous, could have been solved.

GENOME: Chromosome 2: Species

Until 1955, many people agreed that every human being had twenty-four pairs of chromosomes because in the year 1921, Teophilus Painter tried to count the unpaired chromosomes of a dead man's testicles and arrived at the number twenty-four. Other scientists repeated his experiment in different ways and agreed that the number was twenty-four. Apes have 24 chromosomes where as humans have 23 chromosomes. Human beings are "an ecological success". Human beings were apes , a group that went extinct fifteen million years ago. We have inhabited every inch possible on Earth and we are 98% confident, that "chimpanzees limits, human beings." We are more chimpanzee like than any other animal related to the chimpanzee is. Genes partially control our behavior. It is part of the reason why we do the things we do. Humans derived from a different and distinct species millions years ago, and through the process of evolution, we have become what we are today. Human beings.

Blog 5 Intelligence

Why is it important to define and debate our understanding of intelligence and its origins? How does this relate to you?

It's important to define and debate our understanding of intelligence and its origins because intelligence defines who we are. Our knowledge, skill, or way of learning helps us learn at our own pace and level. Each person learns differently and accumulates intelligence differently. For example, someone could be a kinesthetic learner (hands-on learner), or a visual learner, athletic learner, musical learner, step-by-step learner, etc. If you're able to debate and find out what kind of learner you are, you will be able to attain more intelligence and learn faster. If we're able to determine what kind of intelligence we have, then we will be able to attain more of that intelligence. To debate and define the understanding of intelligence is important because it contributes to the makeup of a person's characteristics. This relates to me because I'm a kinesthetic learner. I like to learn hands-on because it's easier to understand it visually.

How does a Nephron work? & FREEMIND map of Kidney Function

A nephron works by filtering things out of the blood and then bringing it all back.
The nephron is the basic unit of the kidney. It is a long, narrow tube that is closed off on one end. Its ending is a long straight portion and is surrounded by capillaries. There are many parts of a nephron. There is the Bowman's capsule which is the closed end at the top of the nephron that is near the cortex. Then there is Proximal convoluted tuble which is the first spiral region that comes after the
the capsule (in the cortex). Then there is a long, thin loop after the tubule that is from the cortex all the way down into the medulla and then to the back, which is the Loop of Henle. Next is the distal tuble which is the second spiral portion of the nephron after the henle, the distal tubule is also located in the cortex.
The last is the collecting duct, which is a long straight portion after the distal tubule and is the end that is not closed of the nephron. The collecting duct extends from the cortex through the medulla. The nephron regulates water and soluble substances like sodium salts by filtering the blood and then reabsorbing what is needed.
In addition, the nephron has different types of cells with varying properties. This contributes to the significant comprehending of how a kidney works and regulates.
The nephron has a unique blood supply. There is the:
Afferent arteriole which connects the renal artery with the glomerular capillaries. The glomerular capillaries which are capillaries inside of the Bowman's capsule. There is also the efferent arteriole which functions to connect the glomerular capillaries with the peritubular capillaries.the peritubular capillaries are located after the glomerular capillaries and surround not only the proximal tubule,the loop of Henle,but also the distal tubule. Lastly there is the interlobular veins which function to drain the peritubular capillaries into the renal vein.

The Counter current System permits forming a concentrated urine, dilute urine and is an exchange of solutes between ascending and descending renal medullary capillaries which minimizes the solute washout from the interstitium.

Hydrostatic skeletons are structures found in cold-blooded organisms and soft-bodied animals that have a fluid-field cavity, the coelom, which are surrounded by muscles.

FREEMIND OF KIDNEY FUNCTION

SOURCES: http://www.acbrown.com/renal/OutLoop.htm
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=Aq1&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=nephron&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1441&bih=839&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=Pq1GT47vI4SsiQLU3OzaDQ
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/human-biology/kidney2.htm

GENOME: Chromosome: Life

In the first chapter of the book Genome, the author, Ridley, begins speaking about RNA and its history and how it is more "important" and "valuable" than DNA. RNA, Ridley states, came before DNA. DNA is basically information, like a "message written in a code of chemicals", one chemical for each letter to be exact. DNA is much more simpler than English since it only consists of letters like A,C,G, and T. Chromosomes contain the secret to life, Ridley states, but the question is HOW. RNA is a chemical substance that links DNA and proteins together. DNA is made from ingredients of RNA, indirectly. DNA's T's are made form RNA's Us. Enzymes rely on RNA to work. RNA can copy itself without the aid of anything else because it is dependent. LUCA, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, was believed to be a bacterium that lived in a warm pond. Now Luca is placed deep underground. Bacteria can acquire genes from other bacteria by consuming it. Life's history is written in the genome.

Starfish Blog

Describe a starfish in terms of symmetry, germ cell layers, coelem, Circulatory system, reproduction, feeding, excretion and nervous system. Find picture examples of each living class Crinoidea, Ophiocistioidea, Astroidea,Echinoiudea,and Holothuoidea.

The Echinodermata, commonly known as the starfish, are an ancient and successful phylum of invertebrates. the starfish contain unique shapes and beautiful colors and are very unique.The starfish has a 5-rayed symmetry that is mostly radial. The body of a starfish contains approximately more than two cell layers, including tissues and organs. The body cavity itself is the coelem, has a poor circulatory system that is open, possesses a water vascular system so it operates through its tube feet, and reproduces sexually, it feeds off of fine particles in the water, contains no excretory organs, and has a a nervous system that includes a circum-oesophageal ring.

CRINOIDEA

Ophiocistioidea

Astroidea

Echinoiudea

Holothuoidea

Sources: http://www.earthlife.net/inverts/echinodermata.html
Pictures:http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1441&bih=839&tbm=isch&tbnid=MfBEOJnd_agQvM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_urchin&docid=oD6fwnpyeXE9_M&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Riccio_Melone_a_Capo_Caccia_adventurediving.it.jpg/250px-Riccio_Melone_a_Capo_Caccia_adventurediving.it.jpg&w=250&h=226&ei=_3E9T9eOHIjm2QWXwZynCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=204&vpy=219&dur=20&hovh=180&hovw=200&tx=74&ty=121&sig=114249124250708296243&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=167&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=0CEcQrQMwAA
http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1441&bih=839&tbm=isch&tbnid=xOaKe-yh5T1GAM:&imgrefurl=http://madmikesamerica.com/2011/05/class-holothuroidea-the-sea-cucumbers/&docid=X68LO85ErMw3HM&imgurl=http://madmikesamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Bohadschia-argus1.jpg&w=600&h=450&ei=U3I9T6vtGuLq2AX3jOWnCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=189&vpy=367&dur=415&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=167&ty=96&sig=114249124250708296243&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=196&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=0CGAQrQMwBg

Double Fertilization

What is double fertilization? To begin with, angiosperms are capable of both asexual and sexual reproductions. Double fertilization is basically a fertilization process that involves combining the megagametophyte with two sperms. The process starts off with a pollen grain on the stigma and then the pollen grain will suck in nutrients and germinate, eventually formulating a pollen tube that will go into the ovary. At the end the pollen tube will release two sperm in the megagametophyte. The surviving megaspore undergoes three rounds of mitosis and then creates eight haploid nuclei. the eight nuclei share the same cytoplasm, thus creating an embryo sac. Inside the embryo sac, cell walls form between the nuclei. After three antipodal cells form opposite of the ovule, and three form near the micropyle, then two polar nuclei remain together in one large central cell. The egg cell and the single cell in partnership with the polar nuclei will take part in double fertilization. before this process truly can occur, the male gametes must travel into the female's reproductive organs. the generative cell then travels down the pollen tube and then behind the tube nucleus. the cell divides by mitosis to produce two haploid sperm cells. the pollen tube then reaches the micropyle in the ovule and releases sperm cells. the synergid degenerates and of the two sperm cells, the egg cell will be feritilized and a diploid zygote will be produced. the sperm mixes with the polar nuclei and then fertilizes them, creating a triploid cell. Zygote -> embryo, triploid cell -> endosperm = food supply of embryo.

There have been questions as to how double fertilization could produce twin sperm cells. Professor Nam of POSTECH reports that the discovery of a gene that has a big role in allowing the reproductive cells to divide to form twin sperm cells is actually true. the gene is called FBL17 and is required to spark the destruction of another protein that inhibits cell division.

Sources: http://www.science20.com/news_releases/fbl17_discovery_gene_behind_%E2%80%98plant_sex_mystery%E2%80%99
http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp39/3902001.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_fertilization

Extra Credit Blog

What topics really confused you?
The topics on chemistry confused me because I'm not really good at chemistry and it's hard for me to understand chemistry.

What topics do you feel very clear on?
Plant chapters were pretty lucid for me.

What lab/ activity was your favorite? Why?
My favorite activity is probably the tree stump one.

What lab/activity was your least favorite? Why?
The lab that was my least favorite was the fly lab.

If you could change something about the class to make it better, for instance the type of homework (not the amount) what would it be and why?
I would like in class labs, less simulations (maybe a few a month), and more class lectures. I feel that it's hard to just read the Biology book by itself, we need activities and hands-on things to get us to understand it more.

Thoughts for a Countdown; Article 3

The article "Thoughts for a Countdown" talks about how earth first came about and how it was a glorified celebration. I agree with the author with his assertion that we "fall to [our] knees and kiss the carrier deck". The thing that caught my attention was when the author brought in the subject of "a visitor from another planet, or another century". He satirically uses this example to show the insanity and lunatic behavior of our world. We being fearing life on other planets because we are so used to life on earth and no where else. If there is life on earth, why can't there be life on mars? There have been evidence and associations of living things, but we are so afraid of it. All the science shows that there could be life, that microbes are just waiting to live and grow and create life. Why don't we expand life to another planet? or another world?

The Microbe Zoo

What is a microbe?
A microbe is a microorganism that causes diseases/bacteria and can not be seen with the naked eye.
List the FOUR MAJOR groups of microbes.
Viruses, Prions, Eukaryotes, and Prokaryotes.
What is microbial ecology?
aka microbiology;biology of microscopic organisms.
Now begin browsing the sites (go back to the main page). As you go, keep a log of what kinds of microbes you find and where you found them.

Record the Zoo Location and What kinds of microbes are there? Include a short description or interesting information.
Include some pictures
1. Dirtland
Ag Acres
- There are plant diseases that are caused by pathogenic fungi:
- Fungal Diseases: rust fungi and rhizoctonia.
- Rust Fungi creates rust-colored patches on leaves.
- Rhizoctonia causes root rot in plants.
- Viral Diseases: Tobacco Mosaic Virus which is a rod-shaped virus that contains RNA for invading tobacco cells.
- Bacterial Diseases: Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Burkholderia cepacia
- Agrobacterium tumefaciens causes tumors called galls on stems
- Burkholderia cepacia rots onion roots.
- Microbial Fertilizers: rhizobium, azotobacter, mycorrhizal fungi, all add nitrogen or nutrients to plants and supply them with phosphorus.
- Bacillus thuringiensis and baculovirus are insect killers.
- mycorrhizal live inside root cells and form structures called arbuscules.
- glomus intaradix is a fungus that forms vesicles inside the root.
- spore of mycorrhizae form in sporghum roots.
- glomus intraradix spores are little sacs that become spores when the root dies.
- vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi vessicles
- endomycorrhizae are the most common mycorrhizae grown inside the cells of roots.
- rhizobia are bacteria that form a symbiosis with the roots of certain plants called legumes.
2. House of Horrors
- vampirococcus is a sphere shaped bacteria that is very small.
- bdellovibrio attacks other bacterias like e.coli
- Nematodes is a fungi that strangle worms and capture it for food.
3. Snack Bar
- Yeast is a fungus that can be grown with air which is when it produces alcohol.
- yeast can also make bread.
- Lactobacillus produces an acid that helps eat away seed pot of chocolate beans.
- bacillus spore is a resting stage of bacterium like that used to make Natto
- lactobacillus can digest lactose and produces an acid (yogurt)

LACTOBACCILlUS

E.COLI






Sources: book google images and http://4hgarden.msu.edu/kidstour/zoo/zbmain.html

Cell Metabolism Wordle

In these chapters we learned about photosynthesis and cellular respiration, the cellular metabolism. We learned that photosynthesis is the conversion process that plants use to capture light or energy from the sun. heterotrophs obtain their material by living off other compounds produced by other organisms while autotrophs makes their own food. We also learned about the different parts or sites of photosynthesis. There is the chlorophyll which is where the color of the leaf comes from (green pigment), we learned about the mesophyll, which is the tissue in the inside of the leaf and we learned about the pores called the stomata which basically means the "mouth". the stomata is able to close or open depending on the circumstances. We also learned abotu the Calvin cycle which can be called the light cycle. We learned that light reactions convert the energy into ATP and NADPH which is a chemical energy. In cell communication, the process is able to be dissected into three stages: reception, transduction, and response. Signal molecules bind to receptor proteins wihch cause the protein to change shape. The signal molecule behaves like a ligand, which is a term for a small molecule that binds to a larger one in specific terms.

Cell Wordle

These words are all important when it comes the cell because these are main characteristics of a cell. We learned that the cell is a fundamental part of biology and is the basic structure of life. Humans and all types of organisms are composed of cells. Every organism is composed of one of the two types of cells: prokaryotic or eukaryotic cell.s. bacteria and archaea have prokaryotic cells and protists,plants, fungi, and animals have eukaryotics cells. these two types of cell differ in their complex strucutres. Every cell has a plasma membrane, cell wall, ribosomes, golgi appartus, nucleus...etc, the basics, but the difference is that in animal cells, there are no chloroplasts, cell wall, plasmodesmata, or central vacuole. In plant cells there are no lysosomes, centrioles or flagella.

Beak of the Finch Key Points

There are many key points in the lit circle book, "Beak of the Finch". There is the main idea of evolution, Social Darwinism, and Galapogas Island. The idea of evolution is talked about much throughout the book because of the finches on the island. When Darwin first arrived at the island, he thought that the finches were all different species. But after close examination, just as the family observing the finches in the book did, Darwin soon realized that the finches all evolved from the same parent species, and after a period of time and after going through different adaptations and environmental changes, new finches evolved. (different beaks and eating habits). Another main idea would be the idea of Social Darwinism. Darwinism is basically the idea of survival of the fittest. Whoever or whatever species is able to adapt to the environmental changes and make due with it, will survive and conquer the rest of the organisms. The last idea would be the Galapogas Islands. The whole book centers around the islands and everything happens at the islands. The finches are dominant in those islands. this relates to the curriculum because we learned about evolution of plants and how plants have evolved from a period of time.

Fear of Phermones;Article 2

The author of this article argues that humans make phermones. Phermones are a chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. I agree with the author because he supports his claim with concrete data. The author claims that humans "have folds of skin here and there designed for the controlled nurture of bacteria", which basically means that we have the ability to produce phermones and house them to our own advantage. Another support stated that women that lived in closed quarters had "spontaneous synchronization of their menstrual cycles" which contributes to the author's claim that humans have spontaneous abilities, including the ability to make phermones. The author asserts that although the possibility is quite low and unattractive, it is going to become true in the future.

Lives of a Cell

I got from this article that the author was trying to say that the modern man is trying to detach itself from nature, like man is better than nature and has no relations to nature. The author also says that "we are delicate part, transient and vulnerable as cilia". I agree that are very delicate people and that we are "embedded in nature". I also agree that bacteria is inside each and every one of us and we become the inhabitors. Cells drive us. I also agree with the author that plants cannot be plants without their chloroplasts or their distinct features. Just like us, plants and every other organism are made up of features that characterize them. I also agree that viruses are the cause of disease and death and are "mobile genes". Evolution is like a game that keeps the winners at the table. Earth isn't an organism, but more like a cell.

Transduction and Transformation

Bacterial transformation is a technique that introduces a foreign plasmid into a bacteria and to use that bacteria to amplify the plasmid in order to make larger quantities of it. This process is based on the main function of a plasmid, which is basically to transfer genetic information that is important to help bacteria survive. Transduction is a process which DNA is transferred from one bacterium to another one with the use of a virus. DNA is introduced into another cell through a viral vector. Transduction does not need cell-to-cell contact. Boyer and Cohen wanted to combine plasmids that were ligated into e.coli by using bacteria and DNA and mix them by fixing the temperature. They wanted the results to be consistent with the bacteria that was being transformed and to have it be recombined. A fair amount of bacteria is also then transformed from the original.

PHYLA OF PROTOZOA

PHYLUM SPOROZOA

PHYLUM CILIOPHORA

PHYLUM RHIZOPODA

PHYLUM ZOOMASTIGOPHORA

MAJOR PLANT DIVISIONS

BYROPHYTES
Byrophytes are the first major plant divisions. There are three phyla of byrophytes: mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Mosses are the most familiar byrophytes. All three byrophyte phyla, are the most conspicuous and dominant phase of life. Byrophyte gametophytes are about a few cells thick and are generated from meristems. Gene sequence data have proved that liverworts, hornworts, and mosses came about independently early in plant evolution. The gametophyte is the dominant generation in the life cycles of byrophytes.

PTERIDOPHYTES: SEEDLESS VASCULAR PLANTS
The two phyla of seedless vascular plants: phylum Lycophyta and phylum Pterophyta. They have separate origins from different families. "Pterophyta" is a formal name for on seedless plant phylum, the ferns. Pteridophytes provide clues to the evolution of roots and leaves. most pteridophytes have true roots with lignified vascular tissues. The tissue system in this root is similar to that of the stems of early vascular plants. Lycophytes, which are the modern vascular plants, have small leaves with a single branched vein. the leaves most likely evolved from tissue flaps on the surface of stems into which a strand of vascular tissue grew. These leaves are known as microphylls which basically means "small leaves". The leaves of other modern vascular plants are known as megaphylls, which means "large leaves". Pteriodphytes lack seeds, but they provide stepping stones to the evolution of life cycle adaptations which will eventually enhance the reproductive success of vascular plants on land.

GYMNOSPERMS
the most common gymnosperms are conifers. gymnosperms lack enclosed ovaries in which angiosperm ovules and seeds develop Instead, gymnosperm ovules and seeds develop on the scales of cones. The four phyla of gymnosperms are ginkgo, cycads, gnetophytes, and conifers. There are about 550 species of conifers, a few of those species dominate vast forested regions of the northern Hemisphere.

ANGIOSPERMS
Angiosperms are known as flowering plants and are vascular seed plants that produce the reproductive structures called flowers and fruits. All angiosperms are placed in a single phylum, the phylum Anthophyta. Up until the 1990s, angiosperms were divided into two main classes, the monocots and the dicots, which are different in several anatomical and morphological details. MOst monocots have leaves with veins running straight across, while dicots have netlike in their leaves similar to that of an oak leaf. The flower is an angiosperm structure specialized for reproduction. Fruits help disperse the seeds of angiosperms.

Sources:
google images
book

bacteria vs. virus vs. prion vs. protist

Bacteria

Virus

Prion

Protist

google images
biology book

Cell Poem - Free Verse

I am a cell
the basic structure of life
I am a cell
the building block of life
I am a cell
unicellular, multicellular, still a cell.
I am a prokaryote cell
simpler, therefore smaller
I don't have a nucleus
Two kinds of prokaryotes are bacteria and archaea
I have a nucleoid, a flagella, pili, a cell envelope, a cell wall, a chromosome, a capsule
I am a eukaryotic cell
plants, animals, fungi, algae are all eukaryotic
I am much bigger than a prokaryotic cell
I have a nucleus
I am organized in linear molecules, called chromosomes.
Mitochondria is an example of me.
I am ciliated with primary cilia
I move using flagella.
I am more complex.
But don't discriminate!
We are all cells.

Beak of Finch

The thing that surprised me the most while reading the book was the diversity of finches. There are about a dozen different species of finches, each with their own distinct traits and characteristics from the size of their beaks to their feathers. They are in a secluded area so their mating and reproductive processes are limited, but within their small area they are able to create new species. But their environment doesn't stop them from mating all the time. The island is filled with different foods and new species, so it creates this exotic area/environment. the finches really do exercise Darwinism, survival of the fittest, because they are able to adapt so easily, thus they are able to compete. Their distinct characteristics not only allow us to tell them apart, but also help them do what they do best! Like the hummingbirds's beak allows it to sing and tear apart wood whereas a pelican's beak helps it filter water.

Extreme Organism - Thermophile

An extremophile is an organism that thrives both physically or geochemically in extreme conditions that are dangerous to most life on Earth. They are the opposite of mesophiles or neutrophiles, which are organisms that live in moderate conditions or environments. Most extremophiles are microbes and are present in many diverse genetic lineages of bacteria and archaeans. The extreme organism that I chose was thermophile. A thermophile thrives in high temperatures, between 45 and 122 degrees Celsius, respectively. They are mostly archaea and are said to be one of the earliest bacteria. They are found in heated regions of the Earth like the Yellowstone National Park and deep seas. Thermophiles contain enzymes that function at high temperatures, thus helping them. They are used as washing agents and are used in molecular biology.