Monday, April 27, 2015

Digital Learning Day

Hi Honors Biology Students. Here is your assignment for Digital Learning Day. 


  • Make a post on this blog. Use your first name, last name initial, and period so I can give you a grade.
  • Post needs to cover something we have learned about this year in class.
  • Post can't be the same subject as any other previous posts.
  • Post needs to be 190-210 words.
  • Don't just have one big paragraph.
  • Explain what your subject is and what you know about it from class.
  • Research the subject and add information beyond what we learned in class.
  • How does this information impact your life?
  • List one thing you learned from another post on this blog.

110 comments:

Anonymous said...

Evolution is the changing of an organism or species over a long period of time. Evolution has been taking place as long as life has existed and is still happening in us today. Evolution is caused by a mutation in an organism's DNA that causes an abnormal trait. If this new trait ends up being useful to the organism, it will live long enough to have new offspring and pass on the new trait.
Evolution was originally theorized by Charles Darwin. After visiting a chain of islands, he noticed that the same species of birds had different brand depending on which island they lived on. He deducted that they ate different things and had evolved to best suit their eating habits.
A modern day example of evolution is the digestion of lactate. Before the domestication of cattle, people were not able to digest milk and dairy products. However, a few thousand years ago several groups of people in Europe and Africa independently developed the ability to continue drinking milk into adulthood. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13673-evolution-myths-mutations-can-only-destroy-information.html#.VT4_GVI8LCQ)
Another more popular example is the evolution of monkeys into people. Overtime certain traits weren't needed such as excess body hair because people had found alternative ways to keep themselves warm. People started standing up because it allowed them to reach higher and wade farther into water. Mutations that caused these traits were able to stay in the gene pool because they helped the species to survive better. Furthermore all mammals are descendants from early mammal-like creatures that survived through the thousands of years.
The theory of evolution is highly controversial and interferes with most religions and their beliefs. However there is much evidence that shows that evolution had happened.
This impacts my life because it makes me question what are species could be like in the future. How will we continue to evolve? What will we look like in thousands of years? Will we even be able to evolve quick enough to survive?
Over all, evolution is my favorite topic that we have discussed this year and I think it is a crucial process that affects all organisms today. (No other posts were available for me to comment on)

Anonymous said...

Stephanie H. Period 2
Ecology, Environment and Ecosystem are three common words. In our surroundings, no living organism is a discrete individual or lives in isolation, but each organism is a part of an intricately linked system of living and non living elements and ecology (Gr. Oikos = house) is a science by which we study how organisms (animals, plants and microbes) interact in and with the natural world.

It deals with the ways in which organisms are moulded by their surroundings, how they may use their surroundings and how they are altered or affected by the presence of an organism. Everything that effects an organism during its lifetime is collectively known as its environment The environment supplies the required food, nutrient and energy and other living condition that may influence the organisms directly or indirectly. The environment therefore can be of two types - living and non living.The components of the living or biotic environment are all living beings (plants and animals) with whom the organism or its population or the entire community interacts.

The physical and chemical components that influence the living organisms make up the non-living or the abiotic environment. The components are the atmosphere, climate, water, nutrients, sunlight and soil.

Anonymous said...

We learned a lot of tings in our DNA unit,like different types of breeding.There are selective,Hybrid,and Inbreeding. Selective breeding is a "method of breeding that allows only those individuals with desired characteristics to produce the next offspring". While Hybridization involves "crossing dissimilar individuals to bring together the best of both traits of both organisms". Lastly there is inbreeding which is "the continued breeding of individuals with similar characteristics to maintain the desired characteristics of a living organism." I also learned about genetic engineering which is making changes to the DNA code of living organisms and there are different types of ways to do so. Including DNA extraction, Cutting DNA, and Gene isolation. This information impacts my life because it makes it easier for me to learn more stuff in the future because when i grow up i want to be a bio medical doctor and find out new things and this information will help me do so. KARTHIK SATHI HR.1

Anonymous said...

Cells are the building blocks of life, and every living organism is made up of them. One thing that we learned about them in class is that they can be classified in many different ways. For example, eukaryotic cells contain a nucleus, while prokaryotic ones do not. Also, cells can be distinguished by the different organelles contained inside of them. Animal cells could have a flagellum, centrioles, or lysosomes, while a plant cell would contain a cell wall, a central vacuole, and chloroplasts.
One fact that we did not learn in class is that there are actually more bacteria cells in the human body than human cells. This surprised me when I learned it, but it makes sense since bacteria is so numerous and the human body uses bacteria for vital tasks like digesting food. Another fact about cells that I was not aware of is that the earliest, most primitive life forms on Earth were single celled prokaryotes.
Learning about cells impacts my life because they are so tiny, but each one is capable of all vital activities needed to live. One thing I learned from another blog post is that all existing mammals are in some way related to each other because they evolved from the same organisms.

Taylor S Hr 1 said...

Genetics are a major part of biology that continue to be researched and developed on over and over. Genetics is the study of genes, heredity, and the variation in human organisms. A gene is a distinct stretch of DNA that determines your traits, causing it to often be called the blueprint for life. Genetics allows for many disease to be prevented and to explain the reasoning for things such as eye and hair color.

There are two parts of genes that allow for the trait. The first is the genotype, which is the code for a certain trait. Typically one is received from the mother and one from the father. The phenotype is the end result, or how you turn out. "The genotype determines the phenotype."

There is three ways that the expressed trait could have a gene written. There is heterozygous which is to carry a recessive trait but to express the dominate trait. There is also the homozygous gene which is when all genes are either dominate or recessive without a carrier. There is also traits that are polygenic, believing they were controlled by several genes in a additive fashion. Skin color is believed to be one of these.

This information helps my life and everyone's else's as more research is done we may soon be able to prevent genetic diseases such as Tay-Sachs and color-blindness.

In an earlier posted I was able to learn about the evolution of digestion of lactate over several years in humans. Originally humans were unable to digest milk and dairy products.

Taylor Schwartz Hr 1

Kelby Drogemuller, Period 2 said...

Biotechnology is a broad discipline in which biological processes, organisms, cells or cellular components are exploited to develop new technologies. This technology is seen everywhere in our world today, and the question is, "Is this ethical?"

In class, we watched multiple videos about genetically modified animals, and the idea of having clones to save us in the future (The Island). We learned about the Belgian Blue Bull, which was modified in order to get the most meat possible when it's butchered. We also learned about the bunnies that could glow in the dark after being inserted with Luciferase taken from jellyfish.

Another major part of biotechnology is based within Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Agriculture. Scientists have developed insect-resistant and herbicide-tolerant crops. Crops like these have resulted in higher yields, lower production costs, less pesticide use, and potentially more nutritious foods. However, crops like these have created a high level of controversy, trade restrictions, labeling requirements, and trade dispute to the World Trade Organization.

Genetically Modified foods are not necessarily new to the world, but are becoming more and more excepted and eaten around the world. They have even help tackle some of the world's greatest nutritional problems. For example, Golden Rice is a rice containing beta-carotene which is what vitamin A comes from. Many people within the developing world rely on rice for a food source, which lacks this vital nutrient. A groundbreaking genetically modified organism like this could save the lives of thousands.

GMOs are only one of the many concepts within Biotechnology. This is a topic that could be written and spoken about for hours on end.

All the possibility of biotechnology impact my life. It's scary to think that something can be redesigned, and this makes me question how "real" our future is going to be. The real question is, "How far will technology go?", and "At what point will a line be drawn in scientific advancements?"

I learned from Britt's post that a few thousand years ago people developed the ability to digest dairy milk and dairy products. That's quite interesting!

Anonymous said...

The structure of DNA can be very confusing if you don’t have all the information. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. The shape of DNA can be described as a double helix. All of the “stairs” consists of either thymine and cytosine or guanine and uracil. The bands alternate of either sugar or phosphate.
Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA in 1953 after years of extensive research. The two were able to get an idea of what DNA looks like thanks to Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray pictures. Upon seeing the picture, they agreed that DNA looks like a double helix. According to scienceline education, DNA is approximately 5 feet long. Five feet of DNA is a lot to stuff into tiny little cells. DNA testing can now be done on a regular basis. According to the magazine Discover, DNA testing can now be done on pregnant mothers to determine whether their child has diseases like Down syndrome.
These recent discoveries ultimately shape our future. DNA testing can now be done to test your body for certain diseases. Imagine what it would be like to find out that you are a candidate for Alzheimer’s simply by taking a test and sending it in somewhere to be tested. How would you live your life knowing that you were a candidate? Or what if some day you and your future spouse decide to have kids and you find out that your kid could have some horrible disease and would live a very short life? Would you take that chance? The discovery of the structure of DNA has opened up many questions and possibilities.
I learned from David H. that there are more bacteria cells in the human body than human cells.

Anonymous said...

Radioactive dating, also called absolute dating, is the method of measuring rates of decay of radioactive materials to determine how long ago an event occurred in an organism's life. Radioactive elements break down at a steady, exponential rate, and the half-life of the element measures the length of time required for half of the atoms to decay.

In class, we used this method to determine how old a radioactive sample is, or how long it will take to reach a certain fraction of the radioactive atoms to remain. Geologists use this method quite frequently, especially to date materials such as wood and pollen trapped in sediment. Also, radioactive dating is mostly used on igneous and some metamorphic rock, not typically sedimentary. This is because the dating would only date the original rock material, not the sediments the isotopes have ended up in.

According to http://paleobiology.si.edu/geotime/main/foundation_dating3.html,the British physician Lord Rutherford was the first scientist to suggest in 1905 that radioactivity could be used to measure remains. Radioactive elements are unstable atoms that give off particles at a steady rate, which causes the rate of radioactive decay scientists (especially geologists) use.

This tool has been helpful for figuring out the history of the Earth, which is important for all of us to know.

I learned from Marina that DNA testing can now be done on pregnant women to determine if the baby will have a disease.

Anonymous said...

Han Phan - Hour 1
Right now my class is learning about the digestive system in a human body and we are using a baby pig for this experiment.
Two major tasks accomplished by the digestive system are:
-Digestion which breaks down food into molecules the body can us
-Two forms of digestion
-Mechanical which is the physical tearing and grinding of food to increased surface area
-Chemical which changes the food particles into molecules the body can use
-Abortion which is the movement of nutrients into the blood carrying nutrients to cells throughout the body
-The major organs of the digestive system and the passageway of food through the system is the mouth - pharynx(common passageway for food, water, air) - esophagus(throat) - stomach(churn and mix food) - small intestine(absorb nutrients and continue chemical digestion - via enzymes) - large intestine(eliminate solid waste, absorb water, absorb minerals/vitamins)
-Accessory Organs - Food does not pass directly through
-Pancreas - enzymes to help break down food
-Liver - Produces bile(stored in gall bladder) - yellowish - green salt solution
-The function of Bile: make things water soluble
-Gall Bladder - Stores Bile
This information impacts my life by helping me understanding more about the inside of my body and how digestion works properly.
One thing I learned from another post was that everything that affects an organism during is lifetime is collectively known as its environment.

Michaela M P1 said...

Going way back to the first unit in semester one I learned a lot about the scientific method and how to accurately test a hypothesis. The scientific method is a way to explain the world around us. It assumes all events in nature have natural causes and is used to explain what those causes are.

The scientific method is composed of six parts. 1) Observing and stating a problem, 2)Forming a hypothesis, 3)Testing a hypothesis, 4)Recording and analyzing data, 5)Forming a conclusion, and 6) Replicating the work. All of these steps are crucial in making sure your experiment is done right and that the results are accurate.

In this unit, I also learned about the different parts of an experiment and how they should be changed or maintained the same to insure accurate results. First, you start with two different groups, the experimental and control groups. Treatment is done to the experimental group whereas the controlled has everything the same as the other group except no treatment is done to this group. There are also two variables, dependent and independent. The dependent variable depends on the experiment and is what is measured at the end of the experiment. The independent variable does not depend on the experiment and is set up by the researcher in advance.

One thing that was never discussed in class was the truth in scientific research that is published. A number of empirical studies showed that 80-90% of the claims coming from supposedly scientific studies in major journals fail to replicate. (http://www.forbes.com/sites/henrymiller/2014/01/08/the-trouble-with-scientific-research-today-a-lot-thats-published-is-junk/) According to an expose of these practices by Gina Kolata in the New York Times, many journalists are eager to make money off of anything they can and are willing to publish anything they can, no matter how truthful it actually is.

This really impacts me as a consumer reading the news. It makes me wonder how much of the "scientific facts" are true, believable and accurate.

After reading Britton V.'s comment, I learned that humans were not able to digest milk and dairy products before cattle were domesticated. It was only a few thousand years ago when people began to drink milk into their adulthood.

Bria G. 3 said...

Within plants and algae, a process is always occurring that we rarely think twice about: photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is a process in which autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy, allowing it to survive while creating its own food. This energy is stored in carbon molecule bonds after occurring within the chloroplasts.
During first semester biology in Mrs. Weaver's class, we learned about the effects of photosynthesis as we demonstrated a lab in which indicator solution changed color with the presence of Carbon dioxide. The indicator changed color as Carbon Dioxide was released by the plant after the process of photosynthesis.
A possible expirement could include testing the factors that can change the rate at which photosynthesis occurs. For example, water may completely stop the process, and temperature might change the rate depending on if it is increased or decreased. Also, we crould try changing the lighting, for that plays a major role in when a plant's energy is created, and therefore when it is consumed.
This knowledge is important and beneficial because it allows us to have a greater understanding about the world around us. This leads to great discoveries about nature and humanity itself, possibly opening doors to even more complex, natural occurances.
I learned from Marina that DNA testing can now be used to detect diseases such as Down syndrome in babies not yet born.

Bria G. 3 said...

Edit: *experiment

Riley G. 5 said...

Mutations are changes or mistakes made when cells copy DNA. These can occur on genes or chromosomes. Point mutations of genes change at a single point in one or several nucleotides. Examples of point mutations are substitution, when one base has been changed to another, insertion, when an extra base is added, and deletion, when a base is deleted. Chromosomal mutations include deletion, or loss of part or all of a chromosome, duplication, when extra copies of all or part of a chromosome are made, inversion, or when the direction of parts of a chromosome are reversed, and translocation, when part of a chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome.
Most mutations that occur have little affect on the proteins; however, some can be very negative and cause abnormalities and even death. Not all mutations are bad though. Some can affect organisms in a positive way, giving them an advantage.
An example of a point mutation is sickle-cell disease. Instead of properly coding GAG, it codes for GUG, which is valine rather than glutamic acid. Cystic fibrosis is another example of a mutation, causing mucus in the lungs. These two examples are genetic disorders.
This impacts my life because anyone I know could be affected by these different types of mutations and it is good to know how they can occur so that future research can be done to help people with mutations and possible prevent them.
One other thing I learned from this blog is that before the domestication of cattle, people could not digest dairy products.

Anonymous said...

Genetic Engineering has been around for a long time and is affecting our lives more and more as the years pass by.
In class, we have discussed the different things genetic engineers do, and how it is used in the world today, along with in the past. Today, genetic engineering can be used for things like dog species, horse species, or, for the most part, any species you want. Genetic Engineering can be accomplished in a few different ways.
First, Selective Breeding has played a big role in Genetic Engineering. Selective Breeding is a method of breeding that allows only individuals with desired characteristics to produce the next offspring. Also, another method of Genetic Engineering is Manipulating DNA. This is accomplished by simply transfering genes from one organism to another. Well, its actually not so simple. You have to go through a few complex steps to achieve a genetically modified organism, like extracting the DNA, cutting it into smaller pieces, making copies of DNA, etc.
There are a few important tools to genetically engineering/modifying something. First, there is DNA Extraction. This happens by rupturing the cell and nuclear membrane by homogenizing in a buffer and then centrifuging the solution at low speed. Also, You could cut the DNA because the molecules are way too large to analyze. You do this by using restriction enzymes to cut the DNA into smaller pieces.
I have decided to research genetic engineering in humans. Although there aren't very many humans that have been genetically engineered, there are some studies and experiments that show the risks and benefits. Genetic Engineering works very well for the immune system, and making repairs to that. This is because the Immune system is purely genetic factors, which is a perfect case for genetic engineering. But, by replacing a gene to fix one problem, it can lead towards another, therefore, it can lead to another problem that may not have happened without the gene replacement. Don't get e wrong. I think it is a great idea to save lives by Genetic Engineering, but we really have to weigh the risks and the benefits and see what comes out on top.
Genetic Engineering has a huge impact on our lives today because this is a newer thing, meaning that it will only grow with time, and get more popular, and on the news, and affect many people that we know.
I learned from another post how people were once monkeys. its interesting to think how things evolve over time!

Emma D, P1 said...

In our unit of cellular energy, we somewhat discussed how the wavelengths of light relate to the colors we see.

The full range of radiation, from gamma rays to radio waves, make up the electromagnetic spectrum. Visible light constructs only a small portion of this range, with a color range of violet through red. Also, when sun shines on pigmented materials, certain wavelengths are absorbed and the rest are reflected back (which are the colors we see.) White has its color because of this and contains a mixture of all colors of the visible spectrum. Black absorbs all light, which explains it’s darkness to us.

The Sun makes up Earth’s most important energy source, and sunlight contains the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Additionally, wavelengths that are too short for humans to see is called “ultraviolet light.” Wavelengths that are too long for humans to see are called “infrared light.”

This process impacts our lives greatly because without it, we would not be able to experience the world as we can now, with our ability to witness colors through our vision.

Lastly, I learned from Michaela M. that the majority of claims made by scientists fail to replicate, meaning that they were not being truthful about the results of their studies.

Anonymous said...

Earlier in the year we spent a few weeks(at least for Weavers class)on the Chemistry unit. In this unit we covered a lot of the basics of chemistry including proton, electron, neutron, solute, solvent and this list goes on. When we began we started with types of bonds such as the hydrogen bond which is when a atom such as hydrogen is attracted to a highly electronegative atom such as nitrogen.

In Weavers class we also did a lot of experiments consisting of catalysts, solutes, solvents, and compounds. One of the experiments we conducted was the grinding of a chunk of liver.

Some interesting things i learned were that chemistry can be traced back to the ancient study of alchemy. Alchemy and chemistry are different now but alchemy is still practiced today. Although you may consider gold to be rare, there is enough gold in the Earth's crust to cover the land surface of the planet knee-deep. At room temperature there are only two liquid elements which are mercury and bromine.

How does this information impact my life? Well I will be taking Ap Chemistry next year and if I am able to retain this info I will be able to understand the basics of the subject.

One interesting thing I learned from another post was that a few thousand years ago humans were able to develop the ability to continue drinking milk into adulthood.

patty Jo E p5 said...

Global Warming is a reoccurring phenomenon that involves the release of chemicals into our atmosphere and the reduction of our precious Ozone layer. In class we discussed how chlorofluorocarbons are the main cause for global warming. Basically, chemicals and harmful gases that are used in factories and cars are released into the air after being used. The harmful substances pollute the air we breath and also clog the atmosphere. The "shield" surrounding our planet is called the Ozone layer and it protects us from the radiation from the sun. Because of the chemicals, radiation that is bounced off the Earth is unable to escape essentially heating up our earth and melting our ice caps which can lead to ocean flooding.

As you can see global warming can cause many problems, most of which we discussed in class. Something we didn't discuss is the solutions to global warming. To eliminate the gradual temperature of our Earth we need to limit the amount of chemicals we release into our atmosphere. Scientists on believe that technologies such as wind turbines, electrically powered cars, energy efficient home heating systems, condensed communities, and many types of renewable energy options. This influences my future greatly because of the potential for new technology.

Telsa, Honda, and Nissan along with many other companies have created electric cars, and 120,000 electric cars were sold in the United States in 2014. Currently, car makers are working on creating a "plugless" charging car, that would be much less harmful to the environment than regular cars.

In Dubai, a skyscraper was made out out of 80 separate rotating floors that are each their own turbine. Through each of these rotating floors is how the building gets it's energy.

Currently, in Alaska's Chena Hot Springs Park is using geothermal energy to power it's swimming pools, greenhouses, and other facilities. Scientists are working on being able to use the geothermal energy near Alaska (bc of proximity to Ring of Fire) to heat homes.

I learned from Emma that the immune system is almost purely genetic factors and that's why it is most easily genetically modified.

Bekah G Period 1 said...

Genetic Engineering is pretty neat. It allows people to manipulate living things, like dogs, and maybe one day children. How neat is that?
To begin you have to extract the DNA from the cell then putting it in a centrifuge until everything is stripped down into a single strand of DNA which can be used to study and maybe be put into a different specie. (Thats pretty neat) When putting different species DNA into another, you can't put in the whole string. You gotta cut it with restriction enzymes. Most plasmids used for recombinant technology have recognition sequences for a number of restriction enzymes. This allows a scientist to choose from a number of places to cut the plasmid with a restriction enzyme. Ligation enzymes can then be used to sort of paste in new gene.After all of that we then proceed to isolate the wanted gene.(http://askabiologist.asu.edu/restriction-enzymes)Isolating the gene is the hardest part of this entire process because there are 30,000 genes in the human genome, That takes forever to make a match, you can tell that it's a match because of the way it is set up. After inserting in new gene into the species DNA sequence you can have a whole new characteristic. For example: A dog that doesn't shed, or a fish that glows, or just a new looking specie all together.
There is growing controversy with this technology though. If a person can walk in and say they want a dog that doesn't shed that's one thing, but if a person walks in saying they want their kid to have blue eyes and black hair, that's when people break out their poster boards and megaphones because protesters unite.
Even though there will always be controversy, maybe there's a way to get rid of alzheimer's or something hidden in this science, and that's pretty neat.

Anonymous said...

Evolution of the Earth

Emily Bethel

There are many theories about how the Earth was formed. The common (scientific) theory for how the Earth formed is that it was formed approximately 4.6 billion years ago along with the solar system (a big magma ball basically). Six thousand years later it cooled enough for the magma to solidify into a rock hard Earth. Erupting volcanos and meteorites gave off carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water/ice and other carbon compounds and gases gave Earth its first atmosphere. However, at this point in time it was still to hot for liquid water.

Once the Earth cooled enough (3.8 billion years ago) miraculous things started to occur. At about 3.5 billion years ago the first prokaryotes were starting to thrive they were heterotrophs and lived off the surrounding "organic soup" they were also anaerobes. This was helpful at this point in time because Earth's atmosphere (the one we breathe today) was filled with harmful and poisonous gasses and the ozone was not yet formed. Then 3.4 billion years ago the first photosynthetic prokaryotes came into existence using hydrogen sulfide instead of water.

After the existence of photosynthetic prokaryotes modern photosynthesis came into existence (apx. 2.2 billion years ago). This was a great changing point in time because this released oxygen into the air. This oxygen traveled upwards into the atmosphere. By the time it reached the upper atmosphere it was broken apart by the sun forming ozone layer. Ozone creation lead to the formation of the ozone layer.

Finally 1.5 billion years ago the first eukaryote cells evolves . These were the first cells capable of sexual reproduction. Prokaryotes are asexual. Soon after (1.3 billion years ago) the first multicellular organisms came into existence. These were the first primitive beings and are the start of everything alive on this planet today.

This information impacts my life because it makes me think about how we got to where we are today and how greatly things change over time. Who knows how much the current version of us will change in a billion years or if we will be there at all.

One thing I learned from a post on this blog is:
Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA in 1953 after years of extensive research. The two were able to get an idea of what DNA looks like thanks to Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray pictures.
(Marina Lundell)

Anonymous said...

The Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium Equation can help estimate the Genotypes of a population, it also helps track the change in Genotypes over time.
The equation goes as follows, p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1. “P^2” represents the frequency of the homozygous dominant allele, the “2pq” is the frequency of the heterozygous allele, and the “Q^2” is the frequency of the homozygous recessive allele. “P”, the frequency of the dominant allele can be represented with the equation
P = AA + ½ Aa. “Q”, the frequency of the recessive allele can be represented with the equation Q = aa + ½ Aa. In both of the equations “½ Aa” is used, which signifies one half of the allele pair that are heterozygous. Because of this, the equation p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1 can be shortened to (p + q)^2 = 1, the total number of dominant alleles plus the total number of recessive alleles squared, equals 100% of the population pool. By knowing the total number of homozygous dominant genes, you can conclude how many homozygous dominant genes and heterozygous dominant genes exist.
The Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium Equation was created by Godfrey Hardy and Wilhelm Weinberg in 1908. They concluded that gene pool frequencies are constant and that evolution is expected in every population. The equation and the developers of it helped define the definition of Evolution through the creation of the equation. Evolution will not occur as long as seven key conditions are met in a population: mutation is not occurring, natural selection is not occurring, the population is infinitely large, all members of the population breed, all mating is totally random, everyone produces the same number of offspring, and there is no migration in or out of the population.
This equation impacts my life due because it helps me understand gene pools, and what causes them to change over time. It also helps explain how evolution occurs, if gene pools do not mix, evolution will not occur, if they do evolution occurs.
One thing I learned is that genetic testing can be used on pregnant mothers to determine genetic defects in their child(s).

Anonymous said...


Genetics are a major part of biology, they include the study of heredity, or how genes are passed down to offspring. Genes are also what makes you different and special. In 2003 the human genome was mapped. This was a huge step for mankind, as it revealed to us the genetic makeup of our bodies.

After the human genome project scientists found a way to have individuals genetically tested. This meant that you could look at your karyotype and see if you have any genes that could result in health defects. Getting genetically tested can have positive and negative results. For example, if pancreatic cancer runs in your family, you could get tested, see if you have the gene, and hopefully take some precautions like monthly doctor visits to check for any tumors. This could save your life or it could end it before you even have the cancer. This could occur by becoming depressed and not being able to find any happiness.

Another way genetic testing can have adverse effects is by allowing pregnant women to have their unborn baby genetically tested for diseases/disorders. If the baby has a disorder, the mother could choose to abort it. Genetic engineering could pave the way to creating designer babies which could be going against our beliefs and crossing the line of ethics.

This impacts my life because in 15 years when I am having my own children I am sure the scientific and technological advances will allow for people to do this. The question we have to ask ourselves if how far we are willing to go and I don’t want any child to be aborted because it was not good enough for people’s standards. I also don’t want my children to be looked down upon by “designer children” because they don’t seem good enough.
In another blog I learned about selective breeding. This is method of breeding that allows only those individuals with desired characteristics to produce the next offspring. I wonder how this would play into genetics in the future.

Anonymous said...

Brady Torborg, Pr.3
Cloning, cloning is the process of having organisms with exact genetic copies. Every little piece of DNA is identical.
Clones can happen naturally though by having identical twins. But many different scientist have done the process of cloning with different animals. Such as the first cloned organism "Dolly the Sheep". She was cloned in 1997. But there was many different artificial cloning technology before Dolly. There are two ways to clone an organism.
Artificial embryo Twinning. Instead of the natural way of twinning this type of twinning is carried in a Petri dish instead of a mother. Scientist divide the embryo into two so that there can be two identical babies of what ever organism they are trying to reproduce. Then the embryos are put into a surrogate mother, where they finish developing. Once again, sense the embryos came from the same fertilized egg they are genetically identical.
The other way Nuclear Transfer.(This method was to clone Dolly). They take a nucleus from a organism(the fertilized egg) that they wish to clone and then take some of the DNA out of it.Then put into another egg of an other organism. Then place it in a petri dish and hope that the egg will become normal with the new DNA. And then place it in the surrogate mother and you will end up with a clone.
Right now it is illegal to clone any human and some animals you are not able to clone. Many people are trying to make cloning humans possible but right now it is not possible.
Cloning is a big step and a amazing discovery in science. Many of the technology will keep evolving and taking shape to where it is possible to cloning things 100% safely.

McKenna K, P5 said...

Cell division is one of the most important systems in this world. It reproduces new life from one tiny cell into a human being. Living organisms can reproduce either from asexual reproduction, from a single parent, or from sexual reproduction, through two parents. Sexual reproduction gives a genetic variation in the offspring because it inherits genes from two parents versus one. Offspring from a single parent would be identical to the parent.
Cells divide through mitosis, which consists of interphase, prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, and cytokinesis.
Interphase is the stage where all of the cell’s contents double and the DNA replicates itself. Two centrosomes form, and the DNA is still tightly wound, but getting ready to unwind. In prophase, the spindle fibers form from the centrosomes, the DNA unwinds and the chromosomes coil and become compact. The nuclear membrane also disappears in this stage. During prometaphase, the spindle fibers attach to the centromeres, while the chromosomes begin to move towards the center of the cell, and the centrioles move and get positioned at the poles. Metaphase occurs when the chromosomes align at the cell equator and the sister chromatids face the opposite poles. Also, the centromeres are connected to the spindle fibers. Then, in anaphase, the sister chromatids separate at the centromeres and the daughter chromosomes are pulled by the centrioles to the opposite poles. The cell starts to elongate during this phase. In telophase, the cell continues to elongate and the spindle fibers disappear. The two cells are now starting to put themselves back together. The nuclear membrane forms around the DNA and the cell starts to pinch in the middle. In the last stage known as cytokinesis, the cytoplasm divides into two separate cells, known as daughter cells.
Without this process, all life on Earth would discontinue because there would be no reproduction and new organisms.
Something I learned from another post on this blog is that there are more bacteria cells in the human body than human cells. Since bacteria cells reproduce much faster, this is believable, but still really surprising.

McKenna K, P5

Megan M 5 said...

The water cycle is the movement of water from the atmosphere to the earth and back up into the atmosphere. The cycle has three main parts, evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The cycle is vital to our Earth; it keeps our forests flourishing and our oceans filled with water.

The water cycle starts with evaporation, which is the process of water from lakes, oceans, streams etc., turning into a vapor or gas. Heat, also the source of energy for evaporation, turns the liquid molecules into gases that rise up into the atmosphere, thus starting the next phase of the water cycle.

Condensation is the process of changing water from its gas form into liquid water. Condensation also is responsible for the formation of clouds. Condensation is the opposite of evaporation. Condensation occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises and cools down, changing the water vapor molecules into liquid, which condenses to form clouds, and then rain.

Precipitation is the last stage in the water cycle. Precipitation is any rain, sleet, or snow that falls from the sky. Precipitation happens when tiny water droplets condense on even smaller dust, salt, dirt, or smoke particles in the cloud. Those particles act as the nucleus of the droplet. The small water droplets grow when they collide with other condensing droplets around them, and if they get heavy enough, they will fall to the ground as precipitation. And once that water collects in a lake or ocean, the process of the water cycle starts all over again!

This information impacts my life because the water cycle is a big part of my life. Without the water cycle, vegetation would not grow and oceans would dry out. Also understanding the water cycle helps me understand the weather more and how to prepare for it.

One thing I learned was that the existence of modern photosynthesis came into existence approx. 2.2 billion years ago.

Megan M 5


Sam Clifford Hr2 said...

The Oxygen Cycle is able to happen, and is the reason life is on this planet, because of two formulas. The formula for Photosynthesis (6 CO2 + 6 H2O -> C6 H12 O6 + 6 O2) and the formula for respiration (C6 H12 O6 + O2 -> CO2 + H2O + energy). The way the oxygen cycle works, is that when we breathe in air, we get it from the plants who give it to us from photosynthesis. We breathe in that air for cellular respiration, and we exhale CO2 for the plant to then absorb for photosynthesis, which then makes the plants create more oxygen for us to use. The Carbon Cycle is another cycle that uses the formulas for cellular respiration and photosynthesis, but this time incorporates the oceans and our human interactions too, like factories and cars. There is CO2 in the atmosphere, which is one of the gasses that keeps the sun's heat from escaping the Earth entirely. The Carbon Cycle makes sure that this supply doesn't run out, and doesn't grow too much so we overheat the planet. The plants and oceans keep the amount in check, but we humans are producing a massive amount of CO2, due to factories and cars.

Michael T 5 said...

The Carbon Cycle is important to life because like the nitrogen cycle and water cycle, it helps the earth sustain life of many form in many shapes and sizes. The carbon cycle is the way carbon goes through the biosphere and atmosphere of the earth. The carbon cycle is important because carbon is necessary in everyday life as it is one of the main compounds for life.

The relevance of the carbon cycle is that carbon is in many compounds, and exists in many different ways. Carbon dioxide is one of the many ways that carbon is in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a green house gas which take part in the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is one of the ways the average temperature on the earth is getting warmer and warmer. The global temperatures can not stay the same if the carbon dioxide emissions keeps rising and going into the atmosphere. It is important to slow down the pace of carbon dioxide emissions so that the atmosphere can adjust to the change as levels of emission are higher than ever. If the levels are not slowed down we are at risk for global warming to happen which would lead to flooding when the polar ice caps melt if the pace of emission is not reduced.

Michael T 5

Anonymous said...

The Nitrogen Cycle is important to humans. It affects me by allowing humans to produce the amino acids they need to make proteins which are essential for everyday life.
The cycle starts with bacteria on plant roots that turn atmospheric nitrogen into the usable kind. That is known as nitrogen fixation.
Then that nitrogen is absorbed by plants and eaten by a primary consumer. the nitrogen is used in the consumer for amino acid production. That is know as assimilation.
Nitrogen continues to be passed down the food chain from predators eating the prey, and using its nitrogen. Eventually when the top predator dies the nitrogen is either passed to scavengers, or onto certain decomposing bacteria that can turn the usable nitrogen back to the atmospheric kind. The Cycle then repeats.
I learned from further research that the breakdown of bedrock can actually release nitrogen.
From Will Barnes I learned that although you may consider gold to be rare, there is enough gold in the Earth's crust to cover the land surface of the planet knee-deep. I also learned from Britton's comment that humans could not digest milk from cattle until they were domesticated only a few thousand years ago.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Annabelle B. P1

Mitosis and cytokinesis are very crucial processes to eukaryotic cells to grow and multiply. Mitosis is the process by which the nucleus of the cell is divided in to two nuclei, each with the same number and kinds of chromosomes as the parent cells. Cytokinesis is the process by which the cytoplasm divides, thus forming two distinct cells.

Mitosis is divided in to four stages: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Prophase is the longest stage of mitosis, and during which the centrioles separate and go to either side of the cell. The chromosomes become visible and become attached to fibers in the spindle, and the membrane begins to disappear. In metaphase, which is the shortest phase, the chromosomes line up at the center of the cell. Also, microtubules connect to the centromere of the chromosomes. Next is anaphase, where the sister chromatids split and become individual chromosomes. Lastly is telophase. In telophase the nuclear envelope begins to form around the tangle of chromatin, and also the nucleolus begins to form in the nucleus of the two daughter cells. Cytokinesis is simply the splitting of the cytoplasm directly after telophase.

One thing we didn’t learn in class is bout the history of mitosis. Alther Flemming coined the term “mitosis” from the Greek word meaning thread, because of how the chromosomes resemble thread. Mitosis first began to be studied in the 1880s, but was more clearly seen due to live imaging in the 1920s-50s.

Mitosis impacts my life, because it helps me to know how my cells multiply and how I’m able to grow.

In an earlier post I learned about genetics, and more specifically about polygenic traits and how skin color is one of these types of traits.

Jackson Paradise said...

Nitrogen is very important to humans and animals because of the amino acids, nucleic acids, and the building blocks to protein including DNA and RNA being produced. When we breath, 80% of the air in our atmosphere is made up of nitrogen. Our bodies do not use the nitrogen that you inhale with each breath. But, like all living things, your body needs nitrogen. Your body gets the nitrogen it needs to grow from food.

Most plants get the nitrogen they need from soil. Many farmers use fertilizers to add nitrogen to the soil to help plants grow larger and faster. Both nitrogen fertilizers and forest fires add huge amounts of nitrogen into the soil and nearby lakes and rivers. Water full of nitrogen causes plants and algae to grow very fast and then die all at once when there are too many for the environment to support. Denitrification is very important for nitrogen. Denitrification is the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas. Denitrification is a natural process carried out by many microorganisms when sufficient oxygen is lacking. Instead of using oxygen as the final electron acceptor in metabolism nitrate is used.

Denitrification is carried out according to the following reaction:
NO3- + CH2O + H+ -> ½ N2O + CO2 + 1½ H2O

Jackson Paradise pd.2

Anonymous said...

In the Ecology Unit of second semester we learned about food chains of ecosystems. The basic idea is that a food chain is the indication of the energy flow of an ecosystem.
The energy ends up flowing from the sun in the form of sunlight which then plants can turn into food through a process we know as photosynthesis (we learned this in an earlier post by Bria. From her post we now know that the autotrophs can convert the sunlight into chemical energy) The autotrophs or producers use that newly created energy to survive and thrive in their environment. The energy can then be transferred to a primary consumer, or an animal that is unable to make its own food so it consumes the producers(herbivore). As we go up the chain the energy can then be transferred to A secondary and tertiary consumer. The secondary and tertiary consumers are slightly different than the primary consumer, in which they receive their energy from another consumer, not directly from a producer (carnivores). Some animals consume both producers and consumers in which they would then be classified as an omnivore. Each of the primary, secondary and tertiary consumers as well as the producer are various trophic levels. This entire process, once it is made up of multiple feeding relationships can then be classified as a food web. A trophic level is a feeding step of a food web and in each step consists of a species that obtains energy in similar ways. For example one level of all producers. Energy is lost each time it enters a new trophic level- for example when a consumer eats a producer. Each time this happens, only 10% of the energy is available on the next trophic level. The trophic levels make up the pyramid of energy.
We also briefly talked about invasive species in class. Types of species that are introduced to an ecosystem can abruptly alter the entire food chain and could potentially harm the food web (all the food chains/ feeding relations of an ecosystem). When this happens an affected species could then cause gaps all the way up the food chain.
An entire food web can be completely harmed even by the finest organism within it. For example a new problem has been presented in which toxins and pollutants are easily absorbed by plankton. These small organisms are then consumed by small fish and other small aquatic life. Pollutants and toxins include: mercury, and other heavy metals. As the fish are eaten by larger fish and seagulls etc. the pollutants can now be found within the tissues of the plankton, small fish, larger fish and various birds. As the food chain continues it can potentially end up in large animal such as bears who consume fish. As the pollutants travel through the food web the toxins/pollutants begin to build up. As it reaches the top of the food chain, so much as built up that it begins to affect the animals heath. This can lead to various problems such as birth defects, harm of organs, growth abnormalities and can possibly lead to death. As you can see a tiny organism has now caused harm all the way through that ecosystems food web.
Another thing I learned from another post is from kelby's post. She brought up many points about the future and it made me stop and think. So many foods are now being genetically modified and like she said it is very scary to think how "real" the future will be.

Anonymous said...

Sarah M. Period 5
The Cell Cycle can be seen as both a simple and complex part of biology. It is the system that is responsible for the growth and division of cells throughout the body and is composed of several stages.

The four main stages include mitosis, (where the cell divides) G1 or gap 1, (cell growth) S phase, (DNA Replication) and G2 or gap2 ( preparation for mitosis). These phases are relatively self-explanatory except for mitosis, where it goes through a series of stages within itself.

To begin, the cell goes through the longest stage of mitosis known as prophase. In this stage The chromosomes become visible, the centrioles migrate to the poles, and the nuclear membrane disappears. This is followed by the alignment of chromosomes in the center of the cell known as metaphase. It is also the shortest stage of mitosis. Once the microtubules have connected the centrioles of the chromosomes to the poles, anaphase begins. The microtubules pull the sister chromatids apart to become individual chromosomes. Finally, telophase completes mitosis when the nuclear envelope reappears and the spindle fibers along with the centrioles disapper.

According to http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k4ch8mitosisnotes.html cancer is a disease of mitosis. Cancer spreads rapidly through the body because it causes mutations in the cells, impairing the from going through cyclins. ( Checkpoints for the cell cycle) In 50% of all cancers the gene mutated is the p53 gene which is responisble for the regulation of the cell cycle. This impacts my life because I know or have known several people diagnosed with cancer and knowing why it occurs sheds more light on the situation.

From a previous blog i learned how geneitcally modified foods ( GMO's) are being used to help save lives of those in developing countries by enriching them with vital nutrients.

Anonymous said...

Josie S. Period 1

Genetics played a big role in how we all became ourselves before we were born. Genetics cause both our physical characteristics (phenotype) and our actual genes (genotype). These traits come from our parents by their alleles, the different forms of the same genes, coming together.

We get our specific traits from either the dominant or recessive genes that they give us. For example, brown is a dominant eye color so if there is one gene for brown, no matter any of the other genes you will get brown. Colors such as hazel, blue and green, have to come together in other ways. A way to get a recessive physical trait could be two recessive genes coming together. The same could happen with hair color, a recessive hair color being red while dominant would be a dark color.

Genotype is not the physical description of us, yet it is the genes in our DNA that cause a trait to occur. One of these traits that occur in us could be a disorder. Many of these disorders are very hard to get but if genes match up just right a person could be born with a disease such as Klinefelters.

I learned from and earlier post that mitosis first started being studied by people in the 1880s.

Anonymous said...

Trevor T-5
Cloning is a cell, cell product, or organism that is genetically identical to the unit or individual from which it was derived. There are two different types of cloning: Reproductive and Therapudic.
Reproductive Cloning is the production of a genetic duplicate of an existing organism.
Therapudic Cloning refers to the removal of a nucleus, which contains the genetic material, virtually any cell of the body
There are three major problems that can result from cloning: Arthritus, Premature Aging, and Trouble Breeding.
In order to clone individuals you must have embriels cells. But clones are never identical to each other.
Dolly the Sheep was the first animal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. Dolly the Sheep lived just shy of seven years. One interesting fact about this cloning is that Dolly was just 1 of 277 attempts of cloning the lamb.
Now that we know how to clone, there is a debate on how far we should take this. Some people don't want cloning to happen period, while others want just animals, and lastly others want everything to be cloned, even humans. No one knows to what extent cloning will be.
I learned from Josie that genotype is not the physical description of us, yet it is the genes in our DNa the cause a trait to occur.

Anonymous said...

Grace A. Period 1
Meiosis is a form of cell division but it is only used for sexual reproduction. During my meiosis there are two divisions that occur, unlike mitosis which only has one. That means that after meiosis, if there was one cell there are now four cells. There are two steps in meiosis; meiosis one and meiosis two. Both steps go through prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase, with a short interphase between the two steps.

Division of meiosis one is identical to mitosis. Pairs of chromosomes line up at the center and are gradually pulled outward, closer to the far end of the cell. As they are pulled the middle begins to split, eventually creating two new cells. There is one difference between mitosis and meiosis one in this step. Before meiosis one happens, crossing over happens. Crossing over is an exchanges of genes. The genes get mixed up and end up not resulting in a perfect duplicate like in mitosis.

Division of meiosis two is slightly different. The DNA is not duplicated again. Because of this the cells eventually formed will be haploid cells. During meiosis two, chromosomes line up in one line at the center, as opposed to two lines. The centrioles on the opposite ends of the cell pull a part of chromosomes at the centromere which is the center of the chromosome. As the chromosome pieces move further to the edge of the cell the middle begins to pinch eventually creating for new haploid, or half, cells. Haploid means that each daughter cell only has half of what the original so had. These four haploid cells are called gametes.

www.biology4kids.com

This information has just mainly made me understand the differences between meiosis and mitosis.

I learned from another essay that mutations cause abnormal traits that can sometimes be good and sometimes be bad.

Anonymous said...

Natalie M period 5
The Earth is around 4.5 billion years old. Hutton was one of the first to argue that the Earth was over a few thousand years old in 1788. Over the years scientists realized this idea was true and started to try to figure out when exactly other organisms lived on earth.
There are two main types of techniques that one can use to determine the age of fossils. The first one is relative dating, with does not have as much of an absolute date because you compare your fossil to other fossils around it in the different rock layers.The second technique would be radioactive dating with would have a closer guess to the actual age of the fossils. When using this technique one would use radioactive elements because they break down at a steady rate. For example, many geologists will use carbon 14 with has a half life of 5,730 years.Therefore, depending on the amount of carbon left in the fossil scientists can determine the age of when that organism died.These fossil records help us understand what life was like thousands of years ago and how organisms have evolved over time.
I learned after researching dating fossils that radioactive dating with carbon 14 you can date not just bones but also cloth, wood and plant fibers. Also, that it is hard to use carbon 14 to date when an artifact is over 50,000 years old.
Learning about the date of fossils impacts my life by teaching me about the way the Earth looked like before humans and how organisms have evolved over time.
I learned about Alther Flemming coined the term “mitosis” from the Greek word meaning thread from an earlier post.

Anonymous said...

Caden Jones Period 5
Evolution is the continual improvement of a species throughout time through natural selection. All traits have been developed throughout time by evolution, starting with the first micro organism four billion years ago.
Evolution was originally theorized by Charles Darwin in the mid 19th century. He developed these beliefs throughout his life by studying embryos of many different types of animals and recognizing uncanny similarities which he could not explain. Later in his life he visited the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Western South America. Here he observed the many different types of finches found on this small clustering of islands. He noticed that each breed had a different type of beak depending on which island it lived on and what they ate. Each bird had developed to become the best bird it could be for what it does.

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Cloning
My favorite thing we learned about this year was if we could clone and if was even ethical that we do clone. To clone an animal or human you need to have a skin cell or any cell that you can replicate. Then you put the DNA of that cell into an egg cell that has its nucleus out of it. Then the newly formed embryo cell is shocked with electricity. The electricity helps it start to multiply. The cells then start to multiply and then the clump of cells are put into a female of the same species.

Dolly the sheep was the first live animal to be cloned. The scientists Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell found out that you need to shock the embryo so they start to replicate. What most people don't know about Dolly is that she was like the 150th attempt. They screwed up on the process over 100 times. That is what raises the question about how ethical cloning is. Most of the animals getting cloned don't live as long and some have unforeseen side affects. Also, many people say we are altering what god does to living things. We are tampering with the circle of life. It is an issue that science will have to deal with. They will need to come up with a reason that is good enough to persuade the public. As for right now it would be heavily scrutinized to clone a human or even human organs. But, we are at the point where it is okay to clone animals such as cows. We sometimes clone animals so some of their bad traits go away.

Cloning has made me see that we are going to far with what we can do with science. There will have to be a cutoff where we say we are going to far. I feel that if we clone people then we are going to far. You only have a certain amount of time on earth and I think that we should keep it that way. I feel cloning is tampering with what god had in store for us. I wouldn't get cloned in my lifetime.

Unknown said...

Nick W, Period 2
Biomes are an important portion of ecologic study, they are home to many species of plants and animals most of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Biomes are classified as regions of the world with similar climate plants and animals. There are five primary biomes in the present day they include, Aquatic, Desert, forest, grassland, and tundra. We will look at all of these biomes and see what they have in common and how they differ throughout the world.

Tundra biomes are the coolest of all the biomes. They cover about a fifth of the land on the earth and come from the Finnish descriptive word of "treeless plain". There are few over all plants and animals but those who do live her thrive do to low competition. Deserts are the most rapidly changing biome on earth as they reach scorching highs and bone chilling lows. Deserts cover another fifth of the world and are home to a few species of plants and animals that have adapted to live in these harsh conditions. Grasslands are a biome that are primarily composed of, you guessed it, grass. Grass lands are home to a wide spread of plants and animals and even draws in humans to for the natural rich soil. There are two primary types of forest deciduous and coniferous to be exact. Conifers are your typical pines while deciduous are your leafy oaks and maple trees. They each have different types of flora and fauna and the wildlife is specialized based on which forest they live in. Marine biomes are by far the largest in the world as they cove nearly 70% of the earths surface. You wont be finding many above water life here as the plants and animals here live in the water. Many plants live in the shallows while fish swim freely through the sea.

I really want to do something in the ecological science field for my job so I have always taken a liking to the natural world and how things interact with each other. I think the coolest thing i read about in this blog was that there are more bacteria cells in the human body than our own native cells.

Brandon Wentworth - P2 said...

Atoms make up the basic structure of the Earth. They are made up of 3 units; protons, neutrons, and electrons. Protons have a positive charge and are found in the nucleus of an atom (the number of these determines an atom's atomic number), along with neutrons, which have no charge. Electrons orbit the nucleus on multiple shells, which can contain a set number of electrons each. The electrons in the outer shell, which are referred to as valence electrons, are used to form bonds between atoms. This sharing of electrons forms covalent bonds.

Atoms will bond with other for maore stability. But, bonds come in different ways. There single, double, and even triple covalent bonds. A single, the most basic covalent bond, it when 1 atoms bonds with another, or exchanges electrons. A double and triple bond is when 2 pairs, or 3 atoms all share electrons, a more complicated bond. (http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Theoretical_Chemistry/Chemical_Bonding/General_Principles/Covalent_Bonds#Single_Bonds)

Atoms have an impact on our lives because they make up everything around us. Everything we see in our daily lives.

Finally, I learned from Patty Jo that global warming is heating the Earth's surface.BRANDON WENTWORTH P2

Anonymous said...

Tyler G Per 5
Something that has caught my eye during the year was the unit of genetics. Genetics is the study of genes, heredity, and genetic variation in living organisms. It is generally considered a field of biology, but it intersects frequently with many of the life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems. A gene is the basic physical and functional unit of heredity. Genes, which are made up of DNA, act as instructions to make molecules called proteins. In humans, genes can vary in size from a few hundred DNA bases to more than 2 million bases.

Genetics was first introduced into the world when Austrian monk Gregor Mendel's mid-19th century experiments led to the discovery of the basic mechanisms of heredity. Heredity is the science of genetics, was born and humanity took its first steps towards figuring out the genetic code. A gene can be expressed in pretty much two ways, genotype and phenotype. The genotype is the genetic makeup of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific characteristic under consideration. The genotype decides what the phenotype is going to be, or the physical appearance/ traits of a specific cell, organism, or individual. These traits are given by the father(one) and by the mother(one). The parents can be either heterozygous or homozygous. They then create this punnet square that shows what the likelihood of the baby having this color hair, or this color eyes.

This information of genetics real affects my life by showing what the chances of a child having a disease that could end their lives very quickly. But as more studies and research are coming up on this topic, scientists hope that they can be able to prevent these diseases in the future.

One interesting thing that I learned from an earlier post is that Genetically Modified foods (GMOS) are being able to help tackle some of the world's greatest nutritional problems.

Anonymous said...

A food web shows all the possible feeding relationships in an ecosystem. It is used instead of a food chain because it is on mire than one trophic level. Food webs usually start with the sun that supplies energy to producers. Then follow the producers that supply energy to primary consumers (herbivores). Then the primary consumer are energy for secondary consumers (carnivores or omnivores). THen the secondary consumers are energy for tertiary consumers (bigger carnivores and omnivores). Which then all ends up going to decomposers.
There is a problem with how energy is passed though. it only gives 10% of the energy from the previous animal that it ate so primary consumers get the most from producers and ect. One way to see how the energy gets passed is a pyramid of biomass which shows how much energy is passed in one trophic level.
There is another way of seeing the pattern of feeding in an ecosystem. It is called a food chain. It is not as useful as a food web in my opinion because it only shows one trophic levdel. It start with producer to primary consumer to secondary consumer to tertiary consumer to decomposer, like a food web. But it only shows one of each not the entire ecosystem of animals.
This impacts my life by letting me see how energy is passed and knowing how and why certain animals eat others.

Anonymous said...

Sarah O'Connell P3
In the Ecology Unit we learned all about food chains and webs. The difference between the two are that food webs are interconnected chains and chains only show one line of a food web. Food webs can be severely altered with something very simple.

For example, if the grasshopper were to go extinct, a lot of other things would be affected. There would be more grasses because there wouldn't be grasshoppers to eat it. Certain types of mice would have a problem, also, because they would have less of a food supply, possibly causing another endangered species, if grasshoppers are the only thing they eat. This would also create a problem for certain types of foxes and birds that rely on these mice for their food supply. One little change to a food web can cause a major one to an ecosystem. That is why it is so important for humans to do all they can to preserve the ecosystem and help the endangered species in it.

I learned that GMOs can be used to save people's lives for people in developing countries that need certain nutrients from an earlier post.

Anonymous said...

One of the interesting things I've learned in this class is about the scientists in the "Diversity of Life" unit. We learned about mainly 3 scientists, Lyell, Lamark, and Darwin. Lyell was a geologist that demonstrated earth was very old and had changed over time. Lamark was among the first scientists to recognize that living things have changed over time and that all species were descended from other species. Darwin was an English naturalist and geologist, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory. Darwin sailed all over the world on the HMS Beagle and noticed the plants and animals varied noticeable among different islands. These three scientists were helping each other solve the mystery without even knowing. Different birds on specific islands differ due to the skills they need to survive on the island. "Survival of the Fittest" means those individuals with characteristics best suited to their environments survive the struggle for existence. "Fitness" is the combination of physical and behaviors that helps organisms survive and reproduce in their environment.

This information was important for us to find out, so we could understand why things change over time. To make sense of what is happening around us.

I read the first Ecology, Environment, and Ecosystems post and thought it was full of important information. I likes the way they put the definition of environment, and how the explained the components of the living environment.

Anonymous said...

Clarice T. 2
The human body is composed of over thirty seven trillion cells. There are around 200 different types of cells in the human body.
All of the cells have specific functions to support the body. All cells are made of smaller parts that are called organelles.

There are two primary types of cells which are prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. It is thought that eukaryotic cells are descendants of prokaryotes, but eukaryotic cells have a nucleus. The nucleus is a major organelle because it is the control center and contains DNA. Another important organelle is the mitochondria with give the cell it's energy.
Understanding life and how it works changes me because it lets me know everything can be made out of something you cant see with the naked eye.
I learned from Riley G. that mutations have little affect on the protein itself but have more negative affects of the being.

Anonymous said...

Our ecological footprint is causing a harmful effect on the Earth. Our footprint, meaning the natural area required to satisfy our needs is proving that we are willing to sacrifice our Earth to satisfy our wants that we dont need. The global footprint is 30% bigger than the carrying capacity of Earth, and we are polluting the air, water, and land because of this. The average Americans ecological footprint is 6-12 acres, causing forests to shrink, food sources to decline, and erode soil faster than it can be replaced.
When researching, I found that by 2080 there will be a 15-50% reduction in agricultural productivity because of the increased CO2 emissions. The United States alone would need 5 planets in order to meet everyones wants and needs. Americans alone use 2 billion trees per year. Bio diversity diminishes as an ecological footprint grows, meaning that damage done would include that species of animals will die off, and damage various species of plants. If we continue to demand like we do, we will run out of available resources to live.
This information impacts my life because I am part of the future generation that will have to deal with the consequences, and live through it.
From another blog, I learned that the cell cycle is both complex, but simple at the same tim, depending on how you break it down.

Brett B. Period 2 said...

An energy pyramid is a graphical model of energy flow in a community. The groups are represented by levels on the pyramid. There are:

-Producers: Lowest level on the pyramid, they get their energy from nonliving sources. An example of this would be a plant getting its energy from the sun.

-Primary consumers: Second level on the pyramid, they get their energy from the producers. An example of this would be a grasshopper eating grass.

-Secondary consumers: Third level on the pyramid, they get their energy from the primary consumers. An example of this would be a rat eating a grasshopper.

-Tertiary consumers: Final level on the pyramid, they get their energy from the secondary consumers. An example of this would be a snake eating a rat.

The useful energy entering each level is shown by the shape of the pyramid. An average of 90% of the energy entering the next level is lost due to producing ATP so the organism can survive. Since only 10% of the energy from each level is passed on, the pyramid shape gets smaller towards the top. This is why tertiary consumer populations are so small, they don't have a lot energy to support themselves.

I am very interested in biology field, so knowing how energy flows is very fascinating to me. Now when I look at a food pyramid, I will be able to know how it works and why it does.
I learned that tundra biomes are the coolest of all the biomes.

Anonymous said...

One of the things that I have learned about this year is how the Greenhouse Effect is affecting our environment in such a negative way. We are emitting so many toxic gasses into the atmosphere and our planet is getting increasingly warmer every year. The Greenhouse Effect causes our planet to get warmer because the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is incresing causing the sun's heat to be captured which makes the planet incresingly warmer. If we do not stop this then the polar ice caps will melt and the whole world will be flooded.

From class I learned that human beings are mostly responsible for the change of temperature in our atmosphere. We keep emitting greenhouse gasses and fossil fuels polluting our air and trapping the heat inside the Earth. The way that we can try and solve this would be to take better methods to try and be more environmentally friendly and make a better point to not emit so many toxic gasses into the atmosphere. Some of the ways that we can reduce the pollution would be to install more solar panels, use wind turbines, and use water power all for energy. By taking small methods to reduce pollution in our world we will make it a better place to be for the years to come.

One thing that I learned was that mutations happen when mistakes or changes are made when a cell is copying its DNA.

Drew Ahrenholz, Hour 1

Haley R. Period 2 said...

Cellular respiration is an important process that takes place in animals. This process is used to turn oxygen and food/glucose into energy. This energy is carried by cells in a chemical called ATP. This energy is used in an abundance of ways throughout the body. Every function is dependent on ATP.
The first step to cellular respiration is glycolysis, which is the breakdown of glucose by enzymes. This produces pyruvate. Glycolysis requires 2 ATPs and produces 4, therefore producing a net of 2 ATPs. 2 NADHs are also produced. NADH helps produce energy in redox reactions. These transfer electrons between species.
Cellular respiration is an interesting topic to me because it is very apparent in human life. Sometimes when someone is hungry their body reacts. They may experience a headache or become tired. After eating their body makes energy and they may feel much better. When I am very hungry it is hard to concentrate on anything else. It really amazes me how inside your body your cells are working so hard yet you cant even tell.
A source today told me that cellular respiration usually takes place in the cytoplasm, not the mitochondria.
I learned from a post on this blog that there are more bacteria cells in the human body that human cells.

Anonymous said...

Genetic Engineering has been slowly changing the living world around us. Starting with manipulating the heredity of dogs, people have been using selective breeding for a long time. Evidence has shown that the earliest changes to dogs have occurred in remains buried in a cave 33,000 years ago. During investigations, the remains indicated that the skull and jaw of the dog were shorter, wider, and with crowded teeth, like the modern dog, instead of a wolf. Dog breeding became popular in the Victorian era where it became almost a sport of which dog owner could come up with the best type of dog.

Recently, cows have started to be genetically changed and scientists have found that a mutation found in the Belgian Blue Cow reduces the production of a protein called myostatin, which would normally limit muscle growth. It is great for companies which sell meat from cows, but for the females, it is hard for them to give birth. C-sections are performed on the female cows to keep the newborn alive.

I learned that we can help stop global warming by limiting the amount of chemicals we release into our atmosphere and using technologies such as wind turbines, electrically powered cars, and energy efficient home heating systems.

Anonymous said...

Karlie S. Hour 1

One unit that I enjoyed in honors biology this year was genetic disorders. A genetic disorder is a disease that is caused by abnormalities in one's DNA. These abnormalities can range from a single base (Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine) in a gene to gaining or losing an entire chromosome.

Some genetic disorders we learned about this semster include Down's syndrome, Klinefelter syndrome, and Turner syndrome. Down's syndrome occurs when three chromosomes are found on the 21st chromosome. Klinefelter syndrome is when a male has two X chromosomes and one Y chromosome on his sex gene. And Turner Syndrome is when a female only has one X chromosome on the sex gene rather then two.

Genetic disorders can be found by karyotyping tests which show any abnormalities in ones gentic structure. Many gentic disorders are passed down from generation to generation, but not always. Genetic disorders are not preventable but can be caught and controlled at an early age.

Gentic disorders was one of my favorite units because I enjoyed learning about all of the different types of abnormalities in the gentic structure.

Anonymous said...

Conner Berger p.3

Earlier in the year something that caught my eye was the structure of DNA. It is a double helix made up of Thymine, Adenine, cytosine, guanine more broadly know as the nitrogen bases. It also contain a phosphate and a sugar group.
The people who discovered the shape of DNA were James Watson, Francis Crick who used the data collected by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.The first structure was published in the Journal Nature in 1953 by James Watson.
To go more into the helical structure, it makes one complete turn about its axis every 10.4-10.5 base pairs in solution. This helps create the twist in the strand. A unique feature of the helix is that there grooves between the strands. These grooves may help create a binding site. A binding site is a region on a protein, piece of DNA or RNA to which ligands (specific molecules or ions) could form a chemical bond.
This helps with life because so much information can be stored in this simple shape. This information is the building blocks of who you are.
By reading other projects I learned there are more units of bacterial cells in the human bodies then in actual cells.

Anonymous said...

Conner Berger p.3

Earlier in the year something that caught my eye was the structure of DNA. It is a double helix made up of Thymine, Adenine, cytosine, guanine more broadly know as the nitrogen bases. It also contain a phosphate and a sugar group.

The people who discovered the shape of DNA were James Watson, Francis Crick who used the data collected by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.The first structure was published in the Journal Nature in 1953 by James Watson.

To go more into the helical structure, it makes one complete turn about its axis every 10.4-10.5 base pairs in solution. This helps create the twist in the strand. A unique feature of the helix is that there grooves between the strands. These grooves may help create a binding site. A binding site is a region on a protein, piece of DNA or RNA to which ligands (specific molecules or ions) could form a chemical bond.

This helps with life because so much information can be stored in this simple shape. This information is the building blocks of who you are.

By reading other projects I learned there are more units of bacterial cells in the human bodies then in actual cells.

Syd Case-5 said...

In a biosphere, there are communities of different species,which are made up of populations. All of these factors combine to make a functioning ecosystem.
Interaction between these species is important in order for the habitat to be successful. Each species have their own niche, and own section of the food chain. The producers would be at the bottom,primary and secondary consumers in the middle,and tertiary consumers at the top. For example, plants would be the producer, rabbits would eat the grass, coyotes would eat the rabbits, and crows would eat the coyotes. This helps create a balanced environment because every organism has a certain role they need to perform in order for the habitat to function properly.
A good example of a habitat relying on the food chain is the ocean. Without the smallest organisms,the largest ones could not find a way to receive their food without throwing the whole habitat of balance.
This effects everyday life because without the food chains of different animals,humans would not receive the resources they need to survive.
From Rachel's post,I learned that the water cycle Is a central for the maintenance of most life and ecosystems for this planet.

Anonymous said...

Tia R 3

A subject we've covered pretty extensively is populations, predator-prey relationships, and growth curves. These are a few of the things I'm going to elaborate on now.

A population is all the organisms of the same species living in an area. Many populations live together in a community, and are connected through niches and food webs. All consumers eat something, hence the name. The consumer is the predator, and what they eat is the prey. For example, a lynx and a hare have a predator-prey relationship. What is interesting about these relationships is that when one population is doing well, so is the other. When there are lots of hares, lots of lynx can eat them. But when the hare population reaches it's carrying capacity (the number of individuals that can be supported in an environment with the resources available), it drops off, and so does the lynx population. We can measure this using a logistic growth curve. On a growth curve graph, there are two lines representing the two populations. The two lines have similar patterns, one being a few years behind the other (it is usually the prey that is ahead of the predators, because the predators are more dependent on the prey than vice versa)

Anonymous said...

Additionally, by reading Tyler H's post about genetic engineering, I learned that the reason Belgian Blue Cows are so huge is because they lack enough of a protein called myostatin, which limits muscle growth.

Rachel B. hour 5 said...

Rachel B. hour 5
The water cycle is the movement of water from the atmosphere to the earth and back to the atmosphere. The water cycle consists of an alteration of evaporation and condensation in the clouds and returning to the earth in a form of precipitation such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail. After it rains, it runs off into rivers or lakes and then evaporates into the atmosphere. In class we learned that the water cycle is continuous and that there is about the same about of water on the earth over time. Throughout the cycle, water goes through phases such as solid, liquid, and gas.
After further research, i found that the water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes and ultimately leads to climate. The water cycle is also essential for the maintenance of most life and ecosystems for this planet.
The water cycle works because of the sun. The sun heats the water in rivers, lakes, and oceans and that water evaporates into the atmosphere then comes down to the earth in the form of precipitation and just keeps continuing this cycle.
I learned from Syd that in order for a habitat to be successful and to thrive, it must have a food chain that is balanced by having several different producers and consumers.

Kayla S, P.5 said...

Homeostatic regulation is a statis characterized by balance in chemicals, temperature, and other such internal conditions in living organisms. Homeostasis is defined as the process by which organisms balance measures of composition conditions at a steady constant in the midst of their continuously changing environmental conditions. Not only does this knowledge apply to the realm of biology and chemistry, but it ordains to all of life.

In class, we discussed how homeostatic regulation includes the balance of temperature as well as pH. PH is a measure of alkalinity (OH-excessive) and acidity (H+ excessive) that is stabilizes blood at 7.365 pH. The necessity of glucose in humans was also discussed, applying the knowledge to the 29 million with diabetes in need of insulin/glucagon, seeking homeostatic regulation. The "normal", or stabilized human body maintains glucose (C6H12O6) levels at a relatively constant value, even after 24 hours of fasting. Diabetes is thought to have evolved from the Younger Dryas Age of human history, a period of great cold and the need for the excess supply of glucose molecules in the blood.

According to http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Homeostatic_Regulation_of_Neuronal_Excitability, a field of homeostatic regulation is neuron excitability, which refers to the target level of electrical emittances of nuerons during external stimuli. It is noted that many internal homeostatic regulation processes occur in varied experimental preparation and contexts. Homeostatic plasticity (a feedback control measure) is a vital regulation function of single neuron cells; the intrinsic properties of neurons specifically depend on the regulation of an ion channel, an "activity-dependent" function part of neural homeostasis. This topic applies to the nervous system's processes of enacting homeostasis, which is noted to decay as the genetic disease Alzheimer's takes control over humans' synaptic regulation and mental capacity. If such ion channels may be hyperpolarized in the presence of the disease characterized by depolarized membrane channels, a delay of impact may occur.

Homeostatic regulation acquires importance in our understanding of regulatory processes and related interference as we act to limit or eradicate the effects of intervening diseases in our modern world.

I learned from Britt that the theory of evolution directly applies to our modern world, given the evidence of the independent evolution to continue consuming lactate.

Anonymous said...

This year in class we learned about chemical bonds. Chemical bonds are what holds the atoms in a chemical compound together. They are formed using electrons and there are 2 main types of chemical bonds.
The first type of chemical bond is called an Ionic bond. An Ionic bond is formed when one or more electrons is detached from an atom and then reattached onto a different atom. Or in other words, when an electron transfers from one atom to another. The atom that loses an electron is now considered to have a positive charge because it has more protons than electrons and the atom that gains an electron has a negative charge because it has more electrons than protons. An example of an ionic bond is sodium chloride(NaCl).
The second type of chemical bond is called a Covalent bond. A Covalent bond is formed when pairs of electrons are shared between two atoms instead of transferred. When the atoms share only 2 electrons the bind is called a single covalent bond, when they share 4 electrons its called a double covalent bond and so on. Atoms that are joined by covalent bonds are called molecules which are the smallest unit of most compounds.
One thing I learned in further research was that there are several other types of bonds, such as metallic bonds and hydrogen bonds. Hydrogen bonds are formed by the attraction of polar molecules( hydrogen is attracted to the negative area of other molecules).
Overall this information impacts our life's because just about everything we use it made up of at least one kind of chemical bond. Including just about everything in our body's(nucleic acids, proteins, lipids etc.)
One thing I learned from another post is that cancer is a disease of mitosis and that it spreads so rapidly because it causes mutations in the genes(Sarah M).

Anonymous said...

Cells are the basic building blocks for all human life. Cells in your body form tissue. Tissue is classified as a group of cells with the same shape and same function. There are four types of tissue in the human body epithelial, connective, muscular, and nervous. Tissues make up organs and organs make up organ systems. This allows your body to function properly. A group of organs or an organ system makes up an individual or a single organism. A group of similar organisms, also called species, is called a population. Populations then make up communities which is defined as all living organisms in a defined area. A community can be as small as a log or as big as a forest.

The next stage is an ecosystem, like a community it is comprised of all living things in an area, but it also takes into account the abiotic factors. Similar ecosystems then make up biomes. Biomes are large regions with similar climate conditions, an example of this would be the tundra or tropical rainforest. Many biomes together make up the largest stage the biosphere. The biosphere is the layer of Earth that holds every living species known to man.

From Tyler Holzer I learned that mayo station is a chemical that regulates muscle growth.

Sophie L. H2 said...

A niche is the way in which a species interacts with its' environment. However, this definition has changed over time. The term "niche" was first used by Joseph Grinnell to describe something like a habitat in the year 1917. Today, we use George E. Hutchinson's version of the term, which was coined in 1958.
For an example of a niche, we could look at a Sunflower's role in an ecosystem. A sunflower's ecological niche consists of absorbing nutrients (including sunlight and water) for photosynthesis, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere, and providing food and shelter for other organisms.
Several species can live in the same ecosystem, as long as they have different niches. An owl, a squirrel, a spider, and moss can all live on the same tree, but two squirrels could not. This is because the roles of the owl, the spider, and the moss are different than the original squirrel's.
This information impacts my life in a few different ways. By knowing about niches, I could determine why certain species fight each other over territories. It also ties into things, such as food webs.
From reading some of the other comments on this blog, I learned that the Tundra is the coolest of all of the biomes, and the origin of the word "Tundra" is Finnish.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Alec Loftus P2

A food web, as defined by Oxford dictionary, is a system of interlocking and interdependent food chains. The basis for a food web/chain is that all organisms in an environment fulfill a certain role. Plants produce energy that will then be eaten by herbivores and omnivores, which are then eaten by carnivores. This makes each organism very dependent on its predecessors in the food chain, meaning that the patterns of movement, eating, and reproduction of one organism in an ecosystem could have a great effect on its predators and/or prey.
For example, if a rabbit is the primary prey of a fox in a habitat and a water shortage causes less grass to be available, then that could cause the rabbit population to decrease because of the inability to feed large numbers on a small supply of food. This, in turn, could influence the fox because the rabbits could not be a consistent, sustainable primary prey for the fox, so it may choose another animal to fill that role, which then influences an entire other food chain.
As I learned and researched more about food webs, I discovered that humans are the most influential creatures on the planet to any food chain, even if it is no where near them. Supply and demand from people in the U.S. for a product that has resources in Argentina may cause the resources down there, i.e. a forest, to be used up, destroying homes for animals and causing them to move, thus affecting their predators and prey. I also looked at someone else’s comment about invasive species and how adaptive traits have allowed them to survive, even if they are being actively pursued/killed by other species.

Anonymous said...

Recombinant DNA is the product of two different strands of DNA, usually from different sources, are combined to form a single DNA strand. Scientists use these strands in everyday animals and bacterium to produce certain useful chemicals.
For example scientists have already commenced in making Humulin. This is the equal to insulin, instead it is made by modified bacteria. The humulin can be used for patients who have type 1 diabetes to help regulate the level of glucose in their bloodstream. To create Humulin there is a very delicate and precise procedure. To manipulate the gene for creating insulin, scientists will use plasmids. Plasmids are microscopic, circular DNA molecules that can carry a gene and be passed down generation to generation. Once they have found that certain gene, scientists mixes the gene with cut plasmids for them to combine again as one. The bacteria take in the plasmid with the certain gene and multiply itself creating thousands of more copies of the insulin gene which we now call Humulin. Scientists can now harvest the Humulin for human use directly or to insert it into other organisms. Recently biologists have been using yeast because it can perform more of the complicated cellular processes that occur in humans, making it a more useful organism to create chemicals for human use.
Recombinant DNA is also used in the food market. In almost every piece of fruit you eat or bowl of cereal you have for breakfast, it is the work of scientists through Recombinant DNA. Scientists change foods to have a delayed ripening time for longer shelf life and make it resistant to insects.
This impacts my life immensely because recombinant DNA and genetic engineering could be a bigger asset in our lives than it already is today. It is the next step in our future as humans to make tougher medicines and more reliable medicines and more nutritious foods.
In an earlier post i learned about the DNA structure and who discovered it. Also that your DNA is about five feet long and women who are pregnant can be tested to see if their child has any diseases.

Anonymous said...

In our previous unit we talked about the greenhouse effect. Climatologists believe that the earth heats up in much the same way as a greenhouse does. Heat from the sun becomes trapped in the atmosphere and is radiated back down to the earth's surface. While the glass in a greenhouse traps the heat, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere controls the earth's greenhouse effect.
Even though carbon dioxide is a relatively small component of the air, it plays a major role in determining the earth's climate. Carbon dioxide absorbs energy at infrared wavelengths. Without carbon dioxide, energy at these wavelengths would pass through the atmosphere back into outer space. Scientists estimate that the earth would be 30 to 40 degrees cooler were it not for the greenhouse effect.
The heating up of the earth can cause serious problems in the long run for humans and other forms of life. Life forms in the colder areas of the world will start dying of as the earth becomes so warm that the arctic areas start melting. Scientists are still arguing as to whether they should take immediate action on the issue or wait for further research to be conducted.

Anonymous said...

Sofia R. P2
Cloning is copying the DNA of one organism and putting it into another. This being said, a clone is member of a population of genetically identical cells produced from a single cell.

Cloning happens all the time, bacteria clones itself and spreads. It is harder to clone multicellular organisms. It is possible though, scientists can start it by taking out the nucleus of an egg. Next, the egg cell is fused to a cell from another organism. they are fused together by electric shock. Then the fused cell begins to divide and turns into an embryo. The embryo is then put inside a foster mother to grow.
The first organism to be cloned was an adult sheep named Dolly. It was cloned in 1997 by Ian Wilmut. Now cows, pigs, mice and many other animals have been cloned. Humans, even though it is possible, have not been cloned yet. It raises huge ethical and moral issues that most people oppose.
Animal cloning is inefficient and risky. Normally for every 100 animals cloned, only 1-3 become viable offspring. This is part of the issue with the idea of human cloning. If we started cloning humans, those numbers would probably not improve.
Most clones have abnormalities. Scientists are not sure where the abnormalities for sure come from but they have an idea. They think they come from genomic reprogramming. Genomic reprogramming is the process of configuring the way the cell works. Sometimes the configuration does not fit to what the cell needs. Animal cloning needs to become more accurate and efficient before humans are cloned.
This impacts my life because one day I might have the option of cloning someone or being cloned. The ability to clone humans would change the way the world works.

Anonymous said...

One topic we covered this year was during the evolution unit in which we learned about a man named Charles Darwin. Most people have heard of his theory of Natural Selection and many associate him with the concept of evolution. While this all correct he also had these along with some other theories of which we covered in class:

1. Evolution: species come and go through time, and while they exist, they change.

2. Common descent: organisms are descended from one, or several common ancestors and have diversified from this original stock.

3. Species multiply: the diversification of life involves populations of one species diverging until they become two separate species.

4. Gradualism: evolutionary change occurs through incremental small changes within populations; new species are not created suddenly.

and, of course:

5. Natural selection: evolutionary change occurs through variation between individuals; some variants give the individual an extra survival probability.

Charles Darwin gained a lot of his ideas and theories when he was able to go on a voyage on the Beagle for five years. He visited many places; the most substantial one being the Galapagos Islands. It was on these islands that Darwin made a big discovery; there were several finches there of the same type but with different beak shapes on different islands. He established that this was because different beaks were needed based on what the finches had available for food. One thing lead to another and he began working on his theory of Natural Selection. Instead of publishing it alone, he published it with another man in the hopes that not all of the disagreement with the theory would be thrown upon him. The theory, as Darwin expected, wasn't accepted right away, largely due to the religious society, but over time it began to become more accepted.

This information personally impacts my life because I myself am a product of natural selection It is human nature to want to understand ourselves and where we come from. Natural selection helps answer some of these questions. It also helps me to understand how two species can be alike but different based on where they reside.


I learned from another post that a few thousand years ago people developed the ability to digest dairy milk and dairy products which was not possible before the domestication of cattle. It was then in Europe and Asia where a few people independently developed the ability to continue drinking milk into adulthood.

Carly A. P5 said...

Genetic engineering is a way that humans have been manipulating the genetics of living organisms. Selective breeding is a way that owners could pick and choose characteristics for their animal so that they could get just what they're looking for. Hybridization is a technique in which you cross dissimilar organisms to get the best of the traits. Finally, inbreeding is when you continue to breed similar individuals to maintain those characteristics. This is all done by extracting DNA and then replacing it into the nucleus of another organism. Without genetic engineering, this would be impossible. There are many steps to successfully clone/ genetically engineer: DNA extraction, cutting DNA, isolating a gene, separating DNA, etc... In 1986, Steven Howell inserted the luciferase gene into tobacco cells, and made the tobacco plants glow in the dark. Because of this, scientists learned mechanisms of gene expression and that they're the same for plants and animals. People aren't too worried about transgenic microorganisms because it's important in finding cures for cancer and such. But there is a lot more controversy when it come to transgenic animals because it's modifying them unnaturally. Along with that, transgenic plants are usually inserted with chemicals or insecticides, therefore they're controversial as well. This is a very impactful topic because it gets in the way with some religious views such as unnaturally creating a human being. It's so interesting to learn what the future has in store for our world and the individuals living in it. It can stir up a lot of questions such as, will cloning of humans be considered normal? Will cancers be cured? Over all, genetic engineering is such an interesting topic because it explains so much about science and the world today. One fact I learned from David H was that there are more bacteria cells in the human body than human cells.

Anonymous said...

Cellular respiration occurs when people breath in and breath out. The process of cellular respiration is, essentially, when oxygen and glucose are taken in and carbon dioxide is released and ATP and water are formed for the body. This process, like many others is essential for life. The equation for cellular respiration is C6H12O6+6 O2 >> 6 CO2+6 H2O+38 ATP. The process of cellular respiration occurs in three steps, glycolysis, citric acid cycle(Krebs cycle), and the electron transport chain.
The first step in cellular respiration is glycolysis. This step occurs in the cytoplasm of the cell. The goal of glycolysis is to break glucose down to form two pyruvates. It is performed by all living things on Earth. Glycolysis produces 4 ATP and 2 NADH, but uses 2 ATP to complete the process, so the total output is 2 ATP and 2 NADH.
The next step in cellular respiration is the citric acid cycle or the Krebs cycle. This step occurs in the mitochondria of a cell. The goal of this step is to complete the breakdown of glucose to the byproduct CO2. Prior to entering the Krebs cycle, the pyruvic acid molecules are altered. Each three-carbon pyruvic acid molecule undergoes conversion to a substance called acetyl-coenzyme A, or acetyl-CoA. During the process, the pyruvic acid molecule is broken down by an enzyme, one carbon atom is released in the form of carbon dioxide, and the remaining two carbon atoms are combined with a coenzyme called coenzyme A. This combination forms acetyl-CoA. In the process, electrons and a hydrogen ion are transferred to NAD to form high-energy NADH. Also during the process 2 ATP molecules are formed and 6 CO2 molecules are released as waste.
The third and final step of cellular respiration is the electron transport chain. This step also occurs in the mitochondria of the cell. In this process the NADH/FADH2 that was created in the pervious two step is oxidized which releases ATP. It is the stepwise release of high energy electrons down "the staircase" which releases small amounts of ATP. In the end this step produces 32 ATP molecules, for a grand total of 38 throughout the whole process.
Cellular respiration is a very important part of my life. Without this process happening every second of my life, I would not be able to live. Also, this process is very cool because our bodies have found a way to maximize the amount of energy that we produce. Compared to fermentation, the anaerobic harvest of food energy, which can only produce 2 ATP molecules in the same process. Overall, cellular respiration has a major impact on all living things lives.

I learned that if we stop burning fossil fuel, polluting the Earth, and releasing so much CO2 into the atmosphere, that we can prevent global warming.

Unknown said...

Addie T, 5
Organic chemistry includes all the compounds that contain bonds between carbon atoms. Carbon has 4 valence electrons, and are able to bond with other carbon atoms. The main compounds we learned about are carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. Carbs are living things' main source of energy. From Iowa State University's website, I learned that complex carbs (starch) are most important for an athlete because when it is broken down, the glucose can be stored in the liver and glycogen in the muscles. That stored glucose is used when blood glucose levels are low due to high intensity activity.

Lipids also can be used to store energy, but are more important for membranes. They are formed by combining a glycerol molecules and fatty acids. Saturated lipids are determined by carbons joined by a single bond and unsaturated lipids have double-bonded carbons. Unsaturated are the easiest to digest and the healthiest lipids.

This information helps me understand what goes into my body and why we need it.

I learned from Sophie L that the term niche was first used by Joseph Grinnell in 1917

Graeson K hr3 said...

Evolution is the force causing the change from species to species over millions of years throughout the existence of life on Earth. Evolution is the mutation of genes in an organism that benefits that organism to the point that it eventually takes over the original gene in the majority of the population. This is done through natural selection or the strongest survive while the weak die.
The theory of evolution came from the mind of Charles Darwin when he noticed that on the Galapagos islands the beaks of the finches changed from island to island. He theorized the beaks were different for the food they ate changed on the islands. This single theory sparked one of the most debated topics in science and religion. Another example of evolution could be how similar all organisms are in the earliest stages of development, such as pigs, birds, and humans,(humans have been scene to have gill slits). Another example is vestigial body parts or parts that serve no purpose in that organism. In humans this could be the appendix or the tail bone.
the popular argument from many religions is if people evolved from monkeys why are they still here and don't give birth to humans. While this argument would make sense to someone unfamiliar to the theory. The reason is we came from a common ancestor who split into humans and modern primates based on habitat and ecological pressures. Evolution takes place in millions of years not overnight. The reason for monkeys not giving birth to humans is the environment does not warrant it nor is the time frame accounted for. Evolution has impacted my life because it makes me think how special life is and how we are the product of a billion years of change and may be only a stepping stone to an even greater species and ecosystem. It opens your eyes to the world and how complex and beautiful life truly is. I learned from another blog is that we evolved the ability to digest lactate in adulthood from Europeans and Africans.

Anonymous said...

Food chains may seem very simple, but in reality they are very complex. Each level of a food chain also represents a trophic level. Food chains are diagrams that depict the series of organisms which eat each other, starting with a producer (generally a plant) and ending with the most dominant species.

Beginning with a producer, next a primary consumer, then secondary consumer, then finally the tertiary consumer. food chains are also known by:
Plants, herbivores, carnivores,and top carnivores.
Autotroph, 1st order heterotroph, 2nd order heterotroph, 3rd order heterotroph.

Each level of the food chain has an important role of feeding its predator, if this is not possible then the whole pattern will become disrupted and the chain broken. Another form of how feedings take place is the food web. Food webs explain all the possible feeding relationships that could take place within an ecosystem.

Energy flows through the chain and web, but not how one might think. It would make sense that the top level of the chain would gain the most energy, but in reality every time you move to up the chain 90% of all energy is lost. Only 10% of that energy is transferred to the next level, then 10%, of that and so on. The 90% that is lost has transferred into heat according to http://utahscience.oremjr.alpine.k12.ut.us/sciber08/8th/bio_ener/html/enrgyflo.htm

I learned from Alec Loftus that when a food chain or web is effected that most of the time it is a human's fault. Humans are the most destructive creature on the planet, destroying habitats of other animals to further ourselves in the world. This impacts myself because if we kill of all of the animals and plants, WE will no longer survive. Other plants and animals are crucial to human survival and I want to live a long time.

Anonymous said...

Anna M. P1
The Earth is thought to have been formed 4.5 billion years ago but the first life was not recorded until 1.5 billion years later and humans have only been on earth for 3 million years!! All of the changes on Earth over time were due to evolution, first explained by Charles Darwin, as the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient ones.
Darwin was not the first person to notice that different animals seem to have similarities, but he was the most correct and most detailed. His discovery started aboard the HMS Beagle where he sailed all over the world and collected samples of thousands of different species. The most important place he traveled was the Galapagos islands where he discovered that each of the islands had a different food source and that the birds on those islands had adapted to better eat the food that was available. this lead him to the terms of Fitness, Natural Selection and Adaptation. The one thing that escaped Charles Darwin, however, was how the animals inherited the desired traits.
Today we know all about evolution we have discovered how humans came to be, descended from apes, and how every land animal today came from a fish called Tiktaalik. The process is not as hard to believe as it was in Charles Darwin's time. Natural Selection is the process in nature that allows the most fit to have offspring, Adaption is the process that enables organisms to become better suited to their environment, and all of that leads to Fitness which is the combination of physical traits and behaviors that helps and organism survive and reproduce in their environment. Take the Giraffe for example, it didn't always have a long neck, but competition for food caused the animal to evolve to reach the food that no one else could. Much of the information we know today has come from the discovery of fossils, which are preserved remains of an ancient organisms. We have learned how to date them and piece together a fossil record which is a collection of fossils that represent the preserved collective history of the Earth's organisms. We have learned that the first living things were tiny prokaryotes in the ocean an that it took over 2 billion years for anything we would recognize as an animal to evolve and still another 2 billion years for humans to walk the Earth. its all pretty amazing!
This is important to me because it is important to know about the world around you and how truly spectacular it is! I learned from another post that Alther Flemming coined the term “mitosis” from the Greek word meaning thread, because of how the chromosomes resemble thread.
Anna M. P1

Anonymous said...

Lynne O hr3
The definition of an invasive species is "a plant, animal, or pathogen that is non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely t cause harm." Ever since the Americas have been discovered more and more species have been taken over and corrupted native habitats in this land we call home.
Invasive species have many effects on an environment once it has been introduced, and they have known to effect many habitats. When the Japanese Shore Crab was introduced to the New Jersey coast in 1980, it found that it was the ideal spot to live. Ever since this species has been in America, it has caused a decline in the population of native crab species all along the east coast and affected the habitats' natural state. Because of the booming Shore Crab population, many species other than crab are declining, but in instances such as this, the competition is not the only ones with falling populations. The prey of invasive species greatly falls because now they have gained yet another enemy. For example, Zebra Muscles filter plankton which is what thy use as a food source, although it does help with the clarity of the water, the amount of plankton in the water has greatly declined causing other species that eat the plankton to decline with it. This only goes to show that if a species thrives where it isn't supposed to, it will hurt many of the native species that originally reside in that habitat.
Invasive species don't only cause harm. Many native species that are higher up on the food chain are thriving on their new found food source. If we look back at the Japanese Shore Crab we will find that species of seagull and fish are benefiting from the introduction of this crab. Their populations have gone up because this invasive species has introduced new food source to these animals. Alien animals have the potential to benefit a habitat by bring a new resource into the food web of a specific area.
Invasive species can be both beneficial and detrimental to ecosystems that have not been previously exposed to these life forms. They have become a problem in America because they altering food webs and changing untouched habitats. I believe awareness of invasive species must spread so future generations know how to control them before any habitats are destroyed

Anonymous said...

Sydney Kappenman Hour:1 DNA sequencing is finding a single gene amid the vast stretches of DNA that make up the human genome. Knowing the sequence of DNA can be useful to study specific genes, compare genes with other organisms, and discover the function of genes and gene combinations. First to read the sequence you must have DNA polymerase and the four nucleotides are added into a test tube. As the enzyme works it uses the unknown strand to make one new DNA molecule after another. DNA sequences can be changed by DNA synthesizers.
In class we did not cover that after DNA is sequenced it is called a "raw" sequence. Scientist also use another word called finishing. Finishing means that both assembly, in which individual reads are hooked together in the proper order, and a laborious process of double checking and refining the sequence to eliminate mistakes and close gaps. Finishing actually often takes loner than the sequencing itself.
DNA sequencing could impact us greatly in the future we could be able to clone ourselves possibly or make an extra heart for us if ours doesn't work properly. Even today you could go to the docter and see if you carry any rare diseases or types of cancer etc.
I learned from Patty Jo that in Alaska's Chena Hot Springs Park is using geothermal energy to power it's swimming pools, greenhouses, and other facilities. Scientists are working on being able to use the geothermal energy near Alaska to heat homes. Which could possibly help the global warming issue!

Allison M P1 said...

The cell theory is one of the most basic principles of biology. It states three things in which we learned about in class. They are that all living things are composed of cells, cells are the basic unit of life, and all cells come from preexisting cells. The modern version of the cell theory states that energy flow occurs within cells, hereditary information is passed on from cell to cell, and all cells have the same basic chemical composition.
Cells were first discovered in 1665 by Robert Hooke. He created the word “cell” from the Latin word “cella” meaning a small room. However, he didn’t know the function or real structure of the cell. This discovery led to the development of the cell theory.
The Cell Theory was developed from three German scientist's discoveries. They are Matthias Schleiden, Theodor Schwann, and Rudolph Virchow. Schleiden discovered that plants were made of cells in 1838, Schwann discovered that animals were made up of cells in 1839, and Virchow stated that all living things come from other living things.
This impacts my life because we are all made up of cells. If all cells come from preexisting cells, then where did the first cell come from?
I learned that there are more bacteria cells in the human body than human cells.

Kevin R P3 said...

Gel Electrophoresis is an important being an important part of criminal investigations. DNA is added into wells at the top of a pre-made gel. The gel is submerged in a tank of liquid. A power pack is attached to the tank. The current of electricity excites the gel to move and separate. DNA has a charge and It will split into the As Ts Cs and Gs. It can be used to see who's blood matches and evidence found at a crime scene. But before they can analyze it they need to mass produce the DNA with a PCR. They add a chemical to the DNA sample so the DNA will react to the UV light and you can see the in a sense photograph of the DNA sample.

Anonymous said...

Allie H hr 1
The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies on the food chain. There are 4 trophic levels: primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers. Plants and animals are placed into each level based on how they obtain energy and what they eat. Green plants such as grasses make up the first trophic level or the primary producers. They make their own food using photosynthesis and pass the energy onto the second level. Herbivores make up the second level. They eat plants and some examples are rabbits and squirrels. The third and fourth levels are made up of carnivores. The third level consists of smaller meat eaters such as dogs. The forth level is made up of the
large predators like bears and wolves. Energy is always cycling through the trophic levels. The primary producers give ten percent of their energy to the primary consumers when they are eaten. Ten percent of that energy is then given to the secondary consumers when they are eaten and the same for the tertiary consumers.

This information impacts my life because it gives me a larger inside into what happens in a food chain. It describes it in more detail and shows what happens within each organism of the food chain.

I learned from a previous post that originally humans were unable to digest dairy products.

Anonymous said...

One of the very first subjects we learned about this year in Honors Biology is The Chemistry of Life. One of the main concepts we learned in this unit was that all living things are made from chemical compounds. All compounds start with atoms. Atoms are the most basic unit of matter and are made up of 3 subatomic particles called neutrons, electrons, and protons. Neutrons don't have any charge at all and they are used to bond together with protons to make up the nucleus which is at the center of the atom. Protons have the same mass as neutrons, instead of having no charge they have a positive charge. Electrons, however have negative charges and are always in constant revolutions around the nucleus. Electrons are 1/1840 the size of protons. The word atom came from the ancient Greek word meaning "undivided". This is because they believed it could not be broken into anything smaller. We now know today that that is not entirely true. Also in one drop of water there is approximately 2 sextillion atoms of oxygen. Atoms make up everything around us and atoms are in everything we do without atoms there would be no life. So we have a lot to thank them for if you think about it.

Anonymous said...

(Sorry my last comment was not correct this is the right one)

One of the very first subjects we learned about this year in Honors Biology is The Chemistry of Life. One of the main concepts we learned in this unit was that all living things are made from chemical compounds.

All compounds start with atoms. Atoms are the most basic unit of matter and are made up of 3 subatomic particles called neutrons, electrons, and protons. Neutrons don't have any charge at all and they are used to bond together with protons to make up the nucleus which is at the center of the atom. Protons have the same mass as neutrons, instead of having no charge they have a positive charge. Electrons, however have negative charges and are always in constant revolutions around the nucleus. Electrons are 1/1840 the size of protons. The word atom came from the ancient Greek word meaning "undivided". This is because they believed it could not be broken into anything smaller. We now know today that that is not entirely true. Also in one drop of water there is approximately 2 sextillion atoms of oxygen.

Atoms make up everything around us and atoms are in everything we do without atoms there would be no life. So we have a lot to thank them for if you think about it.

Molly W 3 said...

For genetic engineering, I've learned how it is possible and people involved in it. Genetic engineering makes it possible to transfer DNA sequences from one organism to another. Steven Howell isolated luciferase which makes fireflies glow and inserted it into tobacco cells. Later, the plant grew and the enzyme was activated and the tobacco plant glowed in the dark. There are many issues surrounding generic engineering and for most of the world, it is tightly controlled by the law. But it is not the techniques of genetic modification but the uses of living organisms.

What I haven't learned much of is gene therapy and how it works. Gene therapy is the introduction of normal or genetically altered genes to cells, generally to replace defective genes involved in genetic disorders. Also, the use of insulin (humulin) injection for type 1 diabetes is a type of genetic engineering.
This genetic engineering has been used to produce a type of insulin, very similar to our own, from yeast and bacteria like E. coli.

Genetic engineering impacts my life in many ways. The food we eat is genetically modified to have more nutrients and last longer in our homes to make our lives betters, even though many people would rather have it the natural way. Many people with diabetes rely on genetic engineering to stay alive which makes it a very positive process in that area of the medical field.

Something I learned from another post is that when a food chain or web is effected that most of the time it is a human's fault. Humans are the most destructive creature on the planet, destroying habitats of other animals to further ourselves in the world. This impacts myself because if we kill of all of the animals and plants, we will no longer survive. Other plants and animals are crucial to human survival and with one disruption, just like any food web, all aspects could collapse. We eat plants and animals and use them for recourses other than food also so without any of that, we would not exist.

Kendra N 3 said...

One thing I learned about this year is global ecology. Some problems for the global environment are: population growth along with economic development, atmosphere changes, loss of biodiversity and life support ecosystems declining.
Because the population is drastically increasing, the global footprint is bigger than the earths carrying capacity. Because of this we are living off of what we would be living off of in the future. The ecological footprint are the natural areas required to satisfy human needs in food, housing, transportation, and consumer goods. The average Americans is 1 acre while our country's is 1.5 times our national area. Because we are living off of future stuff, polluting makes forests shrink and fish decline. While the more poor countries develop economically, their footprint does also.
One of the biggest problems we face for the global environment is increasing renewable resources.
One thing I learned from another post is that without atoms, life wouldn't exist.

Evan H. Hour 1 said...

Cellular Energy is something that effects us every second of every day. The process by which cells convert food into energy is amazingly simple, as cells are the most basic building blocks of life, yet still complex.
Food that we eat is broken down into glucose. In the presence of oxygen, those glucose molecules are broken down into pyruvic acid. The acid enters the mitochondria and goes into the citric acid cycle. The product is 32 ATP and some CO2 and H2O waste.
In the absence of oxygen, the glucose will stay in the cell's cytoplasm, only producing 2 ATP and lactic acid.
The ATP produced is not energy itself, but energy is produced when ATP loses a phosphate and becomes ADP. This simple action is how all of the energy that humans use every day is made.
Outside of the unit, I learned about how electrons are involved in the energy making process.
From Britt's comment, I learned about the evolution in humans to be able to digest milk, and about all evolution in general.

Jacob B . period 5 said...

In class we learned about the energy pyramids and what it is made of.

Producers: Producers are the ones who can make their own energy ie plants trees grass.

Primary consumers: animals that eat the producers. Such as deer mice ducks.

Secondary consumers: they are the ones that eat the primary, they can be foxes birds and coyotes.

Tertiary consumers: These consumers can eat almost anything, they are at the top of the food chain, they are animals such as: Hawks, eagles, bears, and wolves.

Anonymous said...

In class we learned recently about the digestive system. The digestive system is very important. It is good to know how your body works to tell if there is something wrong with you. I did not know (prior to biology) how the digestive system worked beyond the stomach. The food that you chew up in your mouth mixed with saliva is called bolus. You swallow food and it goes down your esophagus and leads to your stomach. The gross mushy food is then broken up by the different chemicals in your stomach. It gets broken down by stomach acid then moves through your intestines which is just mushing it all together. and then you poop. isn't anatomy just beautiful.

Grace B 3 said...

I learened about chemical bonds and atoms. I was interested in the way different chemicals bond together to make a bond and the different types of bonds. Some bonds include Ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and polar bonds.

An ionic bond is the transfer of electrons between atoms. (54) Sodium chloride is a fantastic example of ionic bonding, a very very good and basic example.

A covalent bond on the other hand is when two atoms share electrons. There are polar and non polar bonds when talking and thinking and studying covalent bonds. (100)

Another type, and the final type of bond is a hydrogen bond. Hydrogen clearly means water.

The terms hydrophobic and hydrophilic are also two vocab words I remember from this unit. Hydrophobic means water fearing. If you were not sure what that word means you could probably figure it out because if you break it apart hydro means water and most would be able to infer that phobic means fear. Hydrophillic is less self explanatory but if you know the two are sort of a pair it would be inferred it means attracted to water.

Anonymous said...

Jack A hr3
I learned about Cell Structures. I was interested in this topic because I think it’s cool how the cell has these little organelles inside it. There are 2 groups of cells, Eukaryotic cells, and Prokaryotic Cells. Eukaryotes are cells that multi cellular organisms such as ourselves, are made up of. Prokaryotic cells make up single celled organisms such as bacteria.
Eukaryotes are more complex than Prokaryotes. Eukaryotes have a cell wall or membrane. This gives shape and holds everything together in the cell. Only plants have cell walls. Eukaryotes also have cytoplasm and cyto-skeleton, which holds things in place in the cell. It also a nucleus with a nuclear envelope and contains the DNA and chromosomes. These cells also contain Smooth and Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum. They work as a packaging system for the cell. The Golgi Apparatus can also be found in the cell as well with the vesicles, which works as a shipping system. Ribosomes have a similar job, but they contain proteins.
Prokaryotes lack a nucleus, so the DNA is in a ring, called a Plasmid. The chromomes are in a nucleoid region floating freely around in the cytoplasm. They have a cell wall as well as an outer capsule. Something that stands out in these cells are the flagellum and Pilli, which are used to move the cell around. They contain ribosomes like Eukaryotes

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cameron Z hr3 said...

nside every cell in an organism is a complete set of genetic information. This set of genetic information is unique to each person, except identical twins. the probability is almost zero that two different people could share the same genes. This information is contained in pairs of chromosomes, made of DNA. Humans have 46 chromosomes (23 homologous pairs): other organisms may have more or fewer. Each chromosome in the pair performs the same purpose, but has been inherited from a different parent. Each chromosome caries on it thousands of genes: each gene is responsible for a single aspect of that organism.

DNA is made of a regular arrangement of a few simple building blocks known as nucleotides. The sides of the DNA strand contain alternating sugar and phosphate groups. Between opposite sugars are two joined bases; only adenine (A) and thymine (T) can join together, likewise cytosine (C) and guanine (G).

The structure of DNA is known as a double helix. Like a spiral staircase . This shape ensures that the longest length of DNA can be contained in the smallest volume. The length of chromosomes if unravelled would be tens of centimetres or even meters. We did experiments on this and we checked out own DNS with meat tenderizer and powerade. This impacts me because if I have a genetic disorder, that means I could possibly have it removed via scientist near the future if I'd like. This could be a great thing or a terrible mess up. Who knows.

Molly L P1 said...

One thing that we have learned this year that has interested me was chromosome disorders. I thought it was cool to learn about this because it can happen to anyone. Chromosome disorders are when you either have an extra chromosome or you are missing a chromosome. Here are some examples of disorders:

Down Syndrome is when you have 3 copies of chromosome 21. Patau syndrome is 3 copies of chromosome 13. Edwards syndrome is when you have 3 chromosome 18.

Not only do you have to be missing a whole chromosome or have an extra, but they can also have structural abnormalities. Examples of these are:

Deletion, duplications, translocations, inversions, and rings.

Chromosome disorders can happen through mitosis or meiosis, where an error in the cell division happens and it can result in extra or missing chromosomes, or missing parts of chromosomes.

This information impacts my life because now I can understand why people have these disorders. It has made me realize that anyone with this disorder is just the same as all of us except 1 little chromosome in their body is different, that is all.

I learned from Taylor S that there are polygenic traits which are traits controlled by several genes.

Anonymous said...

Farley, M, P5

A mutation is a change/mistake made when cells copy their DNA. Most mutations have little or no effect on the proteins. Although, some mutations are very harmful and result in death or abnormalities that affect the organism in negative ways. There are two types of mutations, gene mutations and chromosomal mutations.

Some gene mutations include substitution, insertion, and deletion. Substitution is when one base has been changed to another. Next, insertion is when an extra base is added, this causes a frameshift. Deletion is when a base is deleted, this also causes frameshift. These are all point mutations, which change at a single point in one or a few nucleotides.

Some chromosomal mutations include deletion, inversion, duplication, and translocation. Deletion is the loss of part or all of a chromosome. Next, inversion reverses the direction of parts of a chromosome. Duplication is extra copies of part or all of a chromosome. Lastly, translocation is when one part of a chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome.

A condition caused by mutations in one or more genes is called a genetic disorder. When researching I found out that genes themselves do not cause diseases, instead genetic disorders are caused by mutations that make a gene function improperly.

I learned from reading other comments that humans are the most influential creatures on any food chain.

Anonymous said...

Ryenne, H, P1
The cell is the basic structural, functional, and biological unit of all known living organisms. Cells are the smallest unit of life that can replicate independently.
Cells consist of cytoplasm enclosed with a membrane, which contains many biomolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids. The number of cells in plants and animals varies, the human has approximatley 100 trillion cells.
The cell was discovered by Robert Hooke in 1665, who named it for its resemblance to cells inhabited by Christian monks in a monastery.
There are, in humans, about 200 different types of cells. These cells belong to either prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. The main distinguishing feature of eukaryotes as compared to prokaryotes is compartmentalization: the presence of membrane-bound organelles in which specific metabolic activities take place. Most important among these is a cell nucleus, an organelle that houses the cell's DNA. This nucleus gives the eukaryote its name, which means "true kernel".
Cells impact my life because without them, nothing would exist. There pretty neat too. (I don't know if this has been posted already, I didn't wanna look through 92 posts to find out haha)

Anonymous said...

The chromosomes that were are given at birth decide our gender, if we have a chromosome disorder, and our genetic make up along with many other things. Chromosome disorders can be caused by many different abnormalities in our chromosomal make up. Having an extra chromosome 21 is one of the most common causes of mental retardation. Down syndrome is one of the results of having an extra 21 chromosome, and older women who have children are more likely to have a child with Down syndrome. Edwards syndrome is the result of an extra chromosome 18 which produces severe mental disabilities and other physical features. Turners syndrome is the result of only having one X chromosome the offspring is a female anatomically and physiologically, rudimentary ovaries, and no menstruation or ovulation. Klinefelter's syndrome is the result of having XXY which causes a person to have a make appearance, underdeveloped testes, and enlarged breasts and are often mentally retarded and usually sterile. There are many different kinds of chromosome disorders but these are just a few of the most common disorders. Normal humans are suppose to have 46 chromosomes. The 23rd pair of chromosomes determine the sex of the offspring. Chromosomal disorders affect many people around the world and you don't expect your child to be born with a chromosomal disorder and there is really no way to know for sure if your child will be born with one unless your tested for some of the common causes of the disorders and even then your not guaranteed that your child won't have one. I learned from Sydney K that knowing the sequence of DNA can be useful to study specific genes.

Anonymous said...

The chromosomes that were are given at birth decide our gender, if we have a chromosome disorder, and our genetic make up along with many other things. Chromosome disorders can be caused by many different abnormalities in our chromosomal make up. Having an extra chromosome 21 is one of the most common causes of mental retardation. Down syndrome is one of the results of having an extra 21 chromosome, and older women who have children are more likely to have a child with Down syndrome. Edwards syndrome is the result of an extra chromosome 18 which produces severe mental disabilities and other physical features. Turners syndrome is the result of only having one X chromosome the offspring is a female anatomically and physiologically, rudimentary ovaries, and no menstruation or ovulation. Klinefelter's syndrome is the result of having XXY which causes a person to have a make appearance, underdeveloped testes, and enlarged breasts and are often mentally retarded and usually sterile. There are many different kinds of chromosome disorders but these are just a few of the most common disorders. Normal humans are suppose to have 46 chromosomes. The 23rd pair of chromosomes determine the sex of the offspring. Chromosomal disorders affect many people around the world and you don't expect your child to be born with a chromosomal disorder and there is really no way to know for sure if your child will be born with one unless your tested for some of the common causes of the disorders and even then your not guaranteed that your child won't have one. I learned from Sydney K that knowing the sequence of DNA can be useful to study specific genes.

Anonymous said...

The chromosomes that were are given at birth decide our gender, if we have a chromosome disorder, and our genetic make up along with many other things. Chromosome disorders can be caused by many different abnormalities in our chromosomal make up. Having an extra chromosome 21 is one of the most common causes of mental retardation. Down syndrome is one of the results of having an extra 21 chromosome, and older women who have children are more likely to have a child with Down syndrome. Edwards syndrome is the result of an extra chromosome 18 which produces severe mental disabilities and other physical features. Turners syndrome is the result of only having one X chromosome the offspring is a female anatomically and physiologically, rudimentary ovaries, and no menstruation or ovulation. Klinefelter's syndrome is the result of having XXY which causes a person to have a make appearance, underdeveloped testes, and enlarged breasts and are often mentally retarded and usually sterile. There are many different kinds of chromosome disorders but these are just a few of the most common disorders. Normal humans are suppose to have 46 chromosomes. The 23rd pair of chromosomes determine the sex of the offspring. Chromosomal disorders affect many people around the world and you don't expect your child to be born with a chromosomal disorder and there is really no way to know for sure if your child will be born with one unless your tested for some of the common causes of the disorders and even then your not guaranteed that your child won't have one. I learned from Sydney K that knowing the sequence of DNA can be useful to study specific genes.

Anonymous said...

Logan Gudmundson A.
Period 1

Ecology is the study of the relationships between a living organism and its environment. an environment is the sum of all external forces that affect an organism. IN environments there are biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to make up that environment.
Biotic factors are the organisms that make up the living portions of an ecosystem which is the interactions of all living organisms with the nonliving factors in a given area powered by a flow of energy. Biotic factors include population, species, diversity, and community. Species make up populations that make up communities. Abiotic factors are the nonliving factors of an environment. They determine what organisms can live in a given area. Examples include the sun, temperature, and water.
There are interactions among organisms within an ecosystems as well. A habitat is the physical location in which an organism lives like the home address of a species. A niche is different from a habitat. A niche is the way a species uses the resources of its habitat and what it does in the community. A niche is like the role an animal plays in its habitat to survive.
This Impacts my life as I can now see somewhat of how animals are a lot like humans, but then I realized that humans really are animals. I also learned from David H. that there are more bacteria cells in the human body then there are total human cells.

Anonymous said...

Natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. Charles Darwin used natural selection to help his theory of evolution. He learned about natural selection on his trip to the Galapagos islands. While there he noticed many different species of tortoises which had special modifications to help them live in their own habitats. Charles proposed that nature would select those best fit to survive and the other would die. Since the best would survive even better babies would be born. This cycle is never ending and also may be the reason why humans are the way we are. Natural selection allows plants and animals to change and become better and without it we might not be the way we are.

Without natural selection many animals such as pigs wouldn't be the way they are. Farmers around the world changed the ways animals and plants looked by choosing to breed only the best. Because of this we now have better tasting foods and stronger animals.

I learn from Ryenne H that there are, in humans, about 200 different types of cells.

Laura MacDonald said...

Laura M. hour 2
the Wikipedia definition of pollution is "the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance or thing that has harmful or poisonous effects" (because obviously Wikipedia is the most credible and teacher loved source on the internet.)
In class we learned that pollution is bad and impacts the environment and different environmental cycles in very negative ways. There are a bunch of different kinds of pollution and in order to meet the word number I shouldn't expand on those examples.
I decided for my further research I would look up some statistics so ya here they are (ooh hq transition Laura.)
1-pollution and effects of pollution kill over 100 million people globally every year
2-in 1975 it was predicted that ocean based pollution (ie cargo ships) dumped about 14 billion pounds of pollution into the ocean (that's about the weight of 14 billion pounds of coffee beans!!)
Both of those riveting facts were found at
Something that I learned from another blog post that I didn't know before was that Abortion is the movement of nutrients into the blood carrying nutrients to cells throughout the body. I was not aware of that but I think it's interesting.

Anonymous said...

Alex L p.1

Populations within a ecology are groups of similar organisms that are found in the same area. These are very important because different species or organism have different niches so that all effects the environment. All the factors that affect communities are due to niches because they can help populations grow or also cause the mortality rate to rise. An example of population in the work force of America are doctors and engineers. Doctors save lives with tools and devices that engineers developed or create. If the doctors didn't have those tools they may not be able to save that life.
I think communities are critical on this planet because everything relies on something. We (students) depend on our parents or care takers to provide food, clothes and shelter, and the depend on their boss to pay them so they can provide. If communities didn't exist species wouldn't mix because there would be no need for communication.
Finally there are 2 basic categories for communities terrestrial( land) and aquatic (water). These contain even mor levels known as biomes, in this situation the distribution is controlled by climate.

Anonymous said...

Kristin F hour 5
This year in biology, I have learned a lot about ecology, which is the study of relationships between living organisms and their environments. In an environment, there are both biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving)factors that affect organisms. Abiotic factors would include the sun and temperature, and often determine what organisms can live in a given area. Each organism has a habitat, or the place it lives, and a niche, which is the way a species uses the resources of its habitat and what it does in the community.
Within ecosystems, there are three kinds of organisms: producers, consumers, and decomposers. Producers are organisms that can create their own food, such as plants. Consumers cannot produce their own food, and rely on producers for food. There are three kinds of consumers: herbivores, which eat producers; carnivores, which eat only consumers; and omnivores, which eat both producers and consumers. Decomposers are also consumers, but they break down the complex compounds of dead and decaying organisms into simpler molecules. There are also food chains and webs that show the energy flow through an ecosystem, and all the possible feeding relationships within an ecosystem.
Ecosystems impact everyone's lives because whenever they change, they can impact our food and/or water sources or availability.
From other posts, I learned that at one point humans could not digest dairy, but we have clearly evolved and become able to do so.

Anonymous said...

One subject that we have covered in class is ecology, which is a branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to their physical surroundings. For example; food webs and food chains are comparisons of different organisms in a biosphere. Looking further into the topic of ecology, it is broken down into different parts, like population ecology, community ecology, and ecosystems ecology. In class we learned that there are both biotic and abiotic factors to environments, also that an ecosystem is the interactions of all living organisms that all play a part in affecting populations. The biotic factors are organisms that make up the living portion of an ecosystem. Abiotic factors are the non-living factors of environment. All organisms have a role in an environment; like the producers who make their own energy and make their own food. There are also the consumers that cannot manufacture its own food or energy, like the herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores. Lastly there are decomposers that break down the complex compounds of the dead an decaying organisms.

Looking further: Most food chains start out as food webs, they start out showing simple representations of an ecosystem like what eats what and then the food chain becomes a web when it has several trophic levels and shows how an entire ecosystem can be disrupted if an organism is gone or decreased. So mostly saying that the food web is just a more complex model. This information impacts my life beaches it can show me how humans could possibly be affected and changed because of an altered food web causing changes in our ecosystems. It can also give us good information when planning for the future and making choices that benefit all organisms. One thing that I learned from this blog is that animals rely on humans as much as human rely on animals.

Jack v. Hr 1 said...

Jack van Dyke, Hour 1
One thing I enjoyed learning about this year was bacteria and the human body. Specifically, the soap lab we did near the beginning of the year. I learned that there are hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands upon millions of bacteria cells on your hands at all times. This was further proven by the lab we did, since even when you washed your hands thoroughly under warm soapy water, a great amount of bacteria was still present.
Upon further investigation, which I did just now, it would seem that there is a chance the soap can become contaminated. This means that bacteria can "invade" the soap bottle, and render the soap essentially useless. Despite this unsettling news, the public health risk associated with this contamination is still unclear.
This information doesn't have a profound impact on my life, however, in some cases, I may choose to just not wash my hands. Now, i know what you're thinking. I must be a dirty dirty boy. I just don't know if it's worth the risk of possibly getting sick from trying to prevent sickness.
One thing I learned from another comment is that the word tundra derives from the Finnish descriptive words of treeless plain.

Anonymous said...

Ecology = organisms and their environments
Ecologists DO NOT study organisms: they study how organisms interact with other organisms and how the interact with the no living part of their environment but ecology is nothing but simple its a range of many different aspects such as how everything fits together to make any ecosystem.
Populations=community
Ecology its in the Greek word oikos wish means household or living place.
There are two branches the autecology and synecology
Ecology was introduced into the field of sociology at a critical period in development of the latter discipline.
A natural phenomenon which developed independently of a plan.
Id there was no ecology there would not be anything because we would not be able to survive or interact with other humans and I feel like that would be very hard. Also the affect of the food chain and how consumers eat producers and its just a big chain but in a food web if something gets taken out of that the whole balance is upset.
Through these posts I've learned that the body has over 200 cells, if the food web is affected it is usually the humans fault and that the human body used to not be able to digest dairy.

Anonymous said...

Tony M hour 5
One thing we learned about this year was how soap works. We learned that soap is made of two ends, one hydrophilic (water loving), the other hydrophobic (water hating) this works because the hydrophobic end attached to the dirt, bacteria, ect. and the hydrophilic end attached to the water. So when you wash your hands the water attaches to the dirt, bacteria, ect. and takes it with it down the drain.

What I learned from my research was that soaps are sodium or potassium fatty acids salts, which are made from the hydrolysis of fats in a chemical reaction called saponification. Each soap molecule has a long hydrocarbon chain, sometimes called its "tail", with a carboxylate "head". In water, the sodium or potassium ions float free, leaving a negatively-charged head.

This impacts my life everyday because we use soap for everything from washing our hands to a cleaning things. Knowing these facts about soap helps me understand what's really going on, and that soap is not actually killing the bacteria but is just removing it.

I thought it was interesting in another post how people could not originally digest milk, but over the years humans have evolved to do it.

Anonymous said...

Moerbitz S 5
Organelles are the most important part of a cell because they do all the important things in a cell. One organelle is called the mitochondria.

The mitochondria is the organelle responsible for turning sugars into ATP. Also, the mitochondria has its own set of DNA so the human body cannot recreate it during cell division. Scientists think that mitochondria and human cells grew together at one point in history because they both benefited from each other.

Another organelle is the lysosome. This acts as a waste removal system for the cells. Lysosomes are only found inside of an animal cell .

The chloroplast is an organelle that is specific to plants. The chloroplasts are a vital part of an plant cell. This is where photosynthesis (taking the suns energy and carbon dioxide gas, and creating glucose and oxygen molecules) takes place. Photosynthesis is a very important part of any plants life, because it provides them with energy to live, but it also helps out humans a lot too. Without photosynthesis we wouldn't be able to breathe. Also glucose is an important energy source for our body.

One thing that I have learned from other peoples posts is that there are more cells of bacteria in the body of a human than there are the cells that that person actually makes.

Anonymous said...

Sorry for being late, I don't know how I forgot.

Anonymous said...

Jon S, Hour 2
Selective breeding is an interesting thing we learned about this year. Selective breeding is the process by which humans breed other animals and plants for particular traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is normally done by a professional breeder. The offspring of two purebred animals of different breeds are called crossbreeds. Almost all animals can be selectively bred.

There are two types of selective breeding, the "Breeder's approach", and "controlled selective breeding." In animal breeding, inbreeding, linebreeding, and crossbreeding are techniques that are utilized by breeders. Similar methods are used in plant breeding. Purebreds are animals with specifically one breed in them. Purebred breeding is supposed to establish and maintain traits, that animals will pass on to the next generation. A breeding stock is a group of animals used for the purpose of planned breeding.

Selective breeding of both plants and animals have been dated back to prehistoric times. Wheat, rice, and dogs are three species that are much different that their originals because of selective breeding. Romans practiced selective breeding. Selective breeding was established as a scientific practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century.

Anonymous said...

Mary H hr 5
Food webs and food chains
A food chain is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community or an ecosystem to obtain nutrition and survive. A food chain starts with the primary energy source, usually the sun. Or boiling vent chambers If under water. The next link in the chain is a producer (grass), an organism that make its own food from the primary energy source (the sun) and chemosynthetic bacteria that make their food energy from chemicals in hydrothermal vents under water. These are called primary producers or autotrophs. The chain goes on and on with producer being eaten by primary consumers . The primary being eaten by secondary consumers and secondary eaten by tertiary consumer. Grass ---> cricket ---> mouse ---> owl.
A food web is the totality of interacting food chains in an ecological community. With a food web everything in the ecosystem can survive but if one organism is taken out the whole food web is affected. Let's say we have a food web with grass deer and wolves. if the deer die out the grass and weeds will go tall and spread where the wolves would slowly starve to death. Without the deer the whole ecosystem would be out of wack.

Tyler kuhns said...

In chapter 13 we learned about Genetic Engineering. Genetic engineering is the process of manually adding new DNA to an organism. The goal is to add one or more new traits that are not already found in that organism. This is mainly used for food purposes or for giving pets better genes.

For example, if you want to be able to get bigger and fatter cows, you can add certain genes into a cell, the cell will replicate and reproduce, making more cells, therefore giving the cow and the cows' offspring the same cell hence genes. You can also breed animals. Breeding is the reproduction that is producing of offspring, usually animals or plants. Breeding can allow to combine different traits from different breeds of animals and combine them to create an animal with similar traits of both the animals. You could combine 2 dogs, a bloodhound and a retriever, that is fast and has a good sense of smell, great for hunting.

This unit has helped me better understand genetics and how all these new breeds of animals have come about. It is very interesting how these new breed of animals are made and is a very delicate process. Hopefully someday humans will be able to take genetic engineering further.