Time,. Love Memory Analysis

In Time, Love, Memory, the concepts that it tried to give was that in biology evolution, genetics, and mating are key concepts in this book. Developing a way to test of the genetics of a fruit fly was genius, it also showed how mating these different flies can help create different other flies that have different traits and characteristics. For example, the fruit flies that were crossed had many different sort of mutations, and it took a long time for it to finally produce a fly that had the right kind of mutation they wanted. The result was a fruit fly with white eyes. By crossing these flies, evolution, genetics and mating all played a major factor. Antoher example was testing whether these flies favored the dark or lighter side. By testing it, they needed a jar that seprated two sides, one is the dark side and the other one is the lighter side. Many flies in the end like the light. In this book it talks about how the body and human organs can always be a surprise and each and everyday there is something new to be discovered. For example, with the brain, the discovery that the corpus collusm was a big deal did not hit home till an experiement was tested. In order to test out what these two hemisphere had to do with the other, the scientists dissected the brain of a cat, and a frog. These operations caused the animals to act different and by doing so, it showed through their actions. Humans and animals are alike and thus, we can relate to these sorts of operation. Genetics eventually lead to evolution. We always learn to adapt to change and to do so, we would learn to survive what is to come in life. This book is very eye opening and teaches us about biology is a novel and about experiments that we never thought was possible. 

On Societies Of Organism article

Lewis Thomas speaks about termites in his article. He states that termites have a life of its own, minding its own business and eating things it sees in its path. Such as wood or bacteria. They are apparently swimmining by itself and untouched. This way of describing a termite makes one feel as if a termite is just another organism, it is innocuous and harmless.Humans are similarly alike. They mind their own business and each of us have our own lives to attend to. We work and eat and sleep everyday just to survive. We do not want to be bothered like a termite. Thus, we are somewhat resembling a termite's life. Termites work together to bring a house down, like termites humans can collaborate to get things done faster, termites and humans are basically 1 organism that can be deadly to just about anything if it comes together.

Fear of Pheromones article

In the Fear of Pheromones post, Lewis Thomas speaks about how pheromones can be carried out through air. However, the discovery of pheromones have been made a while back. It is basically chemical odors made by animals that are carried through air to attract a mate. Thomas questions why we would want to release pheromones into the air as a way of communication. Thomas makes observations about bio related topics like pheromones and he sounds a bit comical as to say. He is quite the observant himself. Pheromones are released by animals, however, it is to be believed that humans do not release this sort of odor.

Plant division

Charophyceans
Algae released their eggs and sperm cells into the water where they could meet and form tough little capsules called zoospores.They provide oxygen under water and is a food source for fishes and other organisms under water. It is grown in the ocean, in the pond, lake any body of water. 

bryophytes:
Mosses, they are formed in forests, jungles, or any place that is open to other plants. They mainly grow on another plant such as a tree or rocks. The zygote grows into a structure that makes spores, and the tiny spores float away in the air.

 pteridophytes:
These are ferns, they grow just about anywhere like the mosses, but their surrounding has to have other plants as well. They develop vascular systems and their zygote grows into a structure that makes spores, and the tiny spores float away in the air.

 gymnosperms:
They are pine trees, they grow very tall and have this distinctive scent to them. Their seeds are called pine cones. In it are pine nuts that can be consumed or be planted again to grow these gymnosperms. They can survive drought and are well adapted to land. They are also known as naked seeds.

The Lives of a cell

 Take one of the three articles given to you. Do you agree or disagree with the author? Use the text to support your argument.
The Lives of a Cell.
I do agree with the author on "The Lives of The Cell". Everything in the world all works together to bring a cell together. It does not control the cell alone the job is spread out evenly. The humans of Earth are everywhere they are not accumulated at one single spot. They are everywhere. Such as everything that is in the cell, it is here and there. Such as the mitochrondria and the nucleus, it is not really at any particular area. It has it's own job and own place to be. This can be supported through a quote from his book. "Uniformity of the earth's life, more astonishing then its diversity, is accountable by the high probability that we derived, originally, from some single cell, fertilized in a bolt of lightning as the earth cooled". Everyone is created the same, from the mother's womb,it is then raised and it becomes something that can grow up. Like a cell under going mitosis, it grows and eventually splits to create more cells that can mature and act together to help the human body. 

What I thought was interesting from Time, Love, Memory

I was surprised that with such a simple experiment, Seymour Benzer is able to win a nobel prize. His experiemnt with the fruit flys really did prove that the traits can be dominant and recessive. The method he used was mating the flies. One fly had dominate chracteristics such as a bigger wing or what not. Once they are crossed, their offsprings are crossed further to get a genetic mutation. He does this over and over again till one day he is able to cross the offsprings to form a fly with white eyes. He also attempted to discover which flies liked the light and which didn't. He placed the flies in a jar that has 2 ends. One end has light and the other end is dark. The flies then can choose which side they like better. After about 5 minutes, the flies are accustomed to their environment and would then realize that there is a dark side and a lighter side. Thus, this is the method to separate the light lovers and the dark lovers. Towards the end, there was a fly that seem to stay at the dark side. However, it then gradually moved to the light side. There are many factors that can affect such a thing.


Another experiment that was shocking to me was when a scientist cut open the brain of a cat and severed their corpus collasm. The cat was still able to live normally. However, the change was in when the cat looked at something it would not react like it would in the past. The cat is not able to speak when he's supposed to and what not. Because the left side controls speech and the right side controls movement. If his right eye is looking at something only he would not really react, whereas he would normally. They also dissected a frog's brain and to find out that it's similar to humans. The corpus collusm was thought to be useless however, it is not useless. It connects the right side and left side of the brain together. Once it is severed they are no longer connected and each hemisphere would not be able to communicate with the other, thus having different types of functions.

Cell Poem

A cell is very small in size
Surrounded by others that formalize.
Osmosis maintains the passage way among the walls
That keeps it from crowding and calling.
The nucleus is the master of this world.
Although the mitochondria is the power house
It is not the only main controlling tool that can make a rouse.
All work together to function properly
To satisfy the life of the cell
And have it live happily.

cell diversity Wordle

A virus is a microscopic parasite that uses the host to further develop themselves and reproduce. It requires the lytic or lysogenic cycle for reproduction depending on which kind of virus they are. They would infect a bacteria and use foreign genes to create something that can be deadlier than the yellow fever. When a virus infects a bacteria it is known as bacteriophages. They are only capable of infecting a limited amount of cells, it is up to the infected cells to spread and reproduce on its own. It is reproduced rapidly and can be airborne as a it spreads. Bacteria produce by conjunction, which uses the cell-to-cell method of transferring and reproducing. Their genetics are joined together temporarily to produce even more bacteria. A bacteria can be as deadly as a virus if properly taken cared of. It will manifest into something called a virus. There are many viruses in this world, the most commonly known is AIDS there is currently no cure for it and it is very deadly and many people are afraid of it. Most are skeptical and believe that it is contagious. It is only contagious through blood stream and bodily fluids such as sexual acts. However, not by drinking from the same cup. Moving on is the fungi, it is a decomposers and it absorbs the nutrients of its surroundings. It breaks down complex molecules to simpler ones and a mushroom is a fungi. The mycellium in the fungi is its digestion center. It also reproduces using its spores and basidia. It is an edible fungi that benefits and can be bad as well. Thus there are various ones.

Cellular Metabolism wordle

In this unit, we learn about metabolism cellular respiration, plants, energy, and how they all work together to create something that is scientific base. Metabolism is where an organism stores energy so that it can be used to digest food or other resources of an organism. Catabolic pathways plays a role in this it, it helps plants undergo cellular respiration so that it can get acquire food. Plants are a necessity in this world, without it, animals will cease to exist. Many animals are smart enough to know that everything on earth is only temporary it will end one day, one way. Thus, it uses energy wisely and it stores it so that it can be used over a long period of time. For instance, the 1st law of thermodynamic states that energy is always constant and that it is an endless cycle, neither used up or destroyed. Another instance is that bacteria in the soil uses energy to break out substances and later plants will obtain the nutrients from the soil and used it for themselves with the help of the sun it will create a plant. When the plant sprouts, a herbivore will come and eat it thus the energy is then transferred to the cow. The cow is later consumed by a carnivore and the energy is then transferred to them. With a gradual cycle, the carnivore will die and the energy is then transferred back into mother Earth. Metabolism is a key ingredient in life, it is very versatile on its own because it cannot be controlled but it can adjust to the human body by itself.

Exemplars of each phyla of protozoa

 Find exemplars of each phyla of protozoa. Get their picture and label them. Also describe their differences and unique structures.


Sporozoans
They are from spores which are from fungi, and they are able to survive in extreme conditions. Many protozoans are sporozoans. An example is the Malaria disease which originated in Africa.

Ciliates
They use their short bristles attached to their body called cilia to swim through a body of water. One of the best known is paramecium. 

Amoebas


They move using their extension of their cell membrane(pseudopods). They do not have cilia which are bristles attached to their bodies like Ciliates. They have this special spine that is covered in shells that allow themselves to catch prey. 

Flagellates
They move through a body of water using their long cilia which are also known as flagellas. They were classified as green algae because of their color and because they are mostly found in ponds with other bacteria. They have thick membrane (dinoflagellates) and are not protozoa but plant cells. 

sources:
6th edition, Campbell.

Comparison of virus, bacteria, protist

Compare a bacteria to a virus to a protist.


A virus is an infectious agent that can replicate the things inside of a cell organism.
A bacteria is a domain of prokaryotic microorganisms.
A protist is a group of eukaryotic microorganisms.


bacteria compared to a virus: 
similarities
-can survive extreme weather
-have DNA nucleus 
-smaller than eukaryotic cells
-can be parasitic or helpful
differences:
-bacteria are living organisms, virus is not
-bacteria reproduce on it's own/ asexually where as virus needs a host
-virus have protein coat but bacteria: cell walls
-virus is deadlier than bacteria, can be dangerous and lives longer


protist compared to bacteria:
similarities
-unicellular 
-uses flagellum to maneuver
-auto and heterotrophic
-live in moist environment
-very small/ microscopic in size
-can be deadly or beneficial
-are living organisms unlike virus
differences:
-bacteria: smaller
-bacteria: only unicellular
-bacteria: can be everywhere
-bacteria: no nucleus
-protist: multicellular
-protist are not as small as bacteria
-protist: moist areas
-protist have a nucleus
-protist are pseudopods and cilia
-protist: usually = virus

protist




bacteria

virus

sources:
http://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios104/mike/bacteria01.htm
Campbell 6th Edition

transformation and transduction of bacteria

Describe what happens in bacterial transformation and transduction. 

The transformation occurs when the bacteria cell accepts foreign DNA and incorporates it into it's own. There was an experiment that was done to test if E. coli  will grow on amplicin, which is a piece of DNA that forms as a products of natural or artificial amplification events, on their plate. This was conducted by Flourogreen, to test a theory.Transduction is a process where DNA is transferred from bacterium to another in the method of a virus. It does not require cell-to-cell contact, and is also DNAase resistant. A common method that is involved in molecular bilogy where it introduces an outside gene into a host's cell's geneome.Thus, leading to how antibiotic drugs are present today. It helps people and is effective b.c of foreign genes into bacteria.

sources:
 Campbell, 6th edition
http://schoolworkhelper.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/gen_spec_transduction.jpg

Beneficial bacteria

Describe 3 beneficial bacteria. Include pictures.


Lactobacilli- Can be found in buttermilk, sourcream, and some desserts. The lactic acid in the bacteriaare able to convert sugar and carbohydrate into lactic acid and thus it can create a fermented taste that lowers the pH and reduce the risk of having other organisms growing on it. Also prevents gastrointestinal infections. 

Lactobacilus acidphilus-

 One of the most common probiotics. Can be found in yogurt. This basictera can be a treatment for bacterial vaginosis, which is also known as yeast infection or a disease that is caused by bacteria in the female vagina.

Lactobacillus reuteri:


 Can be found in the intestines of most animals, it fights off pathogenic bacteria. And can be found in breast milk, which prevents anti-gas effects.  

sources: 
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/beneficial-bacteria.html

virtual pond dip jar of pond water

1. Use arrows to identify the the microbes in the pond. You only need to pick 5 microbes on the picture, write their common names or phylum (group).
2. Choose ONE of the microbes in the jar and list the following information about the organism
            a) What is its size?
            b) Where are they usually found in the pond?
            c)Describe one feature that makes them interesting.


 1.
 Microbe: Rotifers; Phylum: Rotifera
microbe: Hydra; Phylum: Cnidaria
 Microbe: Rotifers; PhylMicrobe: Daphnia; 
 Microbe: Daphnia; Phylum: Crustacea
 Microbe: Amoeba; Phylum: Rhizopoda


2.:Stentor(single-celled)
2a: size: up to 2-3 mm long
2b:usually attached to plants or algaes and planktonic
2c: it is one of the largest fresh water protozoans and usually larger than some multi-celled pond animals. It also has a trumpet shape along it's body.

sources:
http://www.tnmanning.com/55cfa770.jpg
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/index.html?http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/ponddip/index.html

microbe zoo

What is a microbe? 
-it is a microorganism like a pathogenic bacterium that is necessary for growing all crops.


List the FOUR MAJOR groups of microbes.
-virus, bacteria, protozoa, fungi


What is microbial ecology?
it is an ecology of microorganisms, is involved with one another and the environment, also involves 2 domains: archaea, bacteria, eukaryota  


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


-mites are microscopic creatures found in beds and couches
-thermophiles- lives in a person's hot areas: hot springs water heater, they love the hot areas and can thrive in it.  
psychrophiles- live on snow and ice but will die in room temp. They love the cold
-mycorrhizae lives inside root cells and form structures like are called arbuscules: little trees
the organs of a termite digest wood, the bacter and protist in the termites organs help it survive and thus, it provides the microbe a place to live.
-escherichia coli live inside and outside of humans and animals
-pilobolus grows on feces/dung of an animal and thus attaches to it and spreads it's spores so other animals can eat it and the cycle continues
-vibrio cholera- bacteria that causes severe diarrhea, but is treatable
-giardia lamblia is a cause of giardiasis and causes diarrhea, gas, cramps


Snack bar microbes: 
-saccharomyces cerevicae: yeast, a fungus. Can produce alcohol w.o air
-lactobacillus produces an acid that eats away the pod of coco beans.


water world microbes: rhodospirillum rubrum: purple bacteria that requires organic compounds for water:

pilobolus fungi: 

                                                                 lactobacillus: 

                                                                    giardia lamblia


sources:
 http://www.asylumresearch.com/Gallery/BioScience/Cells/GiardiaLamlia!.jpg
http://bugs.bio.usyd.edu.au/learning/resources/Mycology/images/Topics/Animal_Interactions/Pilobolus2.jpg
http://lactobacillusacidophilus.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/lactobacillus-bulgaricus.jpg
http://4hgarden.msu.edu/kidstour/zoo/

virtual diffusion simulation

Question: What shape (radius, villi and dimples) and size allow a cell to have the highest rate of diffusion?

In order for a cell to have the highest rate of diffusion, it needs to  have a circular shape with a ratio of 10:1. There are dimples on this cell that end up having a surface area of 1. There needs to be 50% surface area for the villi for this cell in order for it to have highest rate of diffusion. The volume is about 4 in size.

source: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/biolink/j_explorations/ch02expl.htm

compare and contrast: cellular respiration and photosynthesis

Photosynthesis: cloroplasts of the plants capture light from the sun and converts it into chemical energy stored in sugar and other molecules. 

cellular respiration: oxgyen is consumed as a reactant with organic fuel.

similarties: 

-They both utilize ATP

- Take place in organelles, cellular respiration, it takes place in the mitochondria and photosynthesis it takes       place in the chloroplast

-involve electron transport chains

-chemiomosis allows ATP synthase to produce ATP

-power is needed in both processes

differences:

-2 electrons tranport chain utilize in photosynthesis, not 1

- cellular respiration depends on oxygen as a substrate

-photosynthesis: energy is provided by photons and not catabolic processes as cellular respiration

-celluar respiration involves FADH2 and NADH

-photosynthesis involves NADPH

-photosynthesis captures enegery while cellular respiration releases it

-CO2 and H2O is a substrate in photosynthesis

celluar respiration reactants: glycogen and oxygen, products: carbon dioxide and hydrogen

-photosynthesis equadtion : 6CO2--> C6H1206+6O2

cellular respiration equation: 6O2+C6H12O6-->6CO2+6H2O

- photosynthesis reactants: carbon doxide and hydrogen products: oxygen, glucose

source: Campbell Sixth edition