Pictures From the Pond and the Microscope.

Goldfishes turn white?

My interesting fact today is that goldfishes turn white in the dark.

As goldfish owners might have noticed, your goldfish turns white sometimes. You may ask why in the world is this happening? I learned that goldfish change color in response to light levels. Just like many other animals, they have pigment production which is the same thing as us getting a sun tan. The fishes have cells called chromatophores that produce these pigments and either give coloration or reflect the light. Goldfishes that are kept indoors are much lighter than goldfishes who are exposed to sunlight.If you keep the fish in the dark all the time, the chromatophores wont produce any more pigments so the fishes color will start to fade. This causes those chromatophores who have the natural color, to die and the new cells won't be stimulated enough to form the new pigment. So, to sum this up short and sweet, just like us losing a tan in the winter time, goldfishes get much paler, or a whitish color when they are not exposed to light.

Mid- Term Reflection

1) I love biology this year. There are so much interesting things to learn and know about.  This year in Biology, I'm most proud of the evolution video project I completed with Jaime. This particular project is important to me because I put so much time and effort into it. I'm glad that in the end, it turned out a success. Another project I'm proud of is the different creatures project. That project required a lot of creativity and was really fun to do. I as well as my partner, put our brains to work and tried to think of a way we could combine all these different creatures together, but creatively. Last but not least, I'm extremely proud of my virus blog post. I worked hard to find out the history of the small pox epidemic and found it quite interesting at the same time. I honestly enjoyed learning a bit more about biology as well as a bit of our history, no matter how disgusting the smallpox pictures were. 

2) My binder is generally clean ( well as clean as a teenagers binder can get.) I have all out "talk and write" papers and all the assignments. I like to keep everything I am given just in case I need it for a test or a quiz. I have been a bit late on maybe one or two blog posts but I'm usually on time with every other blog post and assignment.

3)  The blog post that means a lot to me is the Hammerhead Shark post. I love this one just because of the fact that I was so interested on the reason they are shaped that certain way. I love learning interesting facts so I was determined to figure it out. 

4) To me, engaging in class means that you are participating and are well aware of what is going on. I'm not much of a person that speaks up when I'm not called in class. Whenever I have a question, I raise my hand and ask it. I do listen to everything that is going on and engage in my own quiet way. When we get out of the classroom and go to the forest, pond, etc... is where I excel in engaging. I really like our class and have no problem saying my opinion and giving advice. I really enjoy when we get out of the classroom it gives me a chance to learn in a different environment actually witnessing things instead of looking at pictures of them in the overhead projector. 

5)  My goal for the rest of the semester is to continue my work ethics, if not, improve them. I also want to try something new and get out of my comfort zone a little bit. Overall, I want to be successful in this class and learn lots of new things in Bio 11.

Play dough cell

For the first shapes and arrangements photo:

A: staphlococcus

B: coccus

C: streptobacillus 

D: bacillus 

E: spirillum

The labeled cell photo: 

A: endospore - Used for survival in harsh conditions 

B: genetic material - Basically the DNA clumped up in a part of the cytoplasm

C: plasmid - Made of DNA

D: ribosomes - Where protein synthesis occurs

E: cytoplasm - Holds everything up in the cell

F: flagellum - Used for movement 

G: capsule- Used for protection of the cell. Extra defense before the cell wall. 

H: cell wall - Also used for protection. 

I: pili - Exchange of genetic material (via. conjugation)

Bacteria Lab

Some of the pictures from the bacteria lab today. It was really interesting to see how it looks like up close. It was nothing like I expected. 

Part 2 Virus

1) Smallpox is somewhat unique in having no animal or insect carrier. Exposure to infective material from humans was the only known for of transmission. It's usually person to person. When a person coughs or sneezes and a person inhales, there is a high chance that they now have the virus ( called variola) meaning that it is VERY contagious. 

2) The symptoms start 7 to 17 days after exposure. The initial symptom is a very high fever following with body aches. People are usually too ill to get out of bed. Within 24 to 48 hours, a rash begins to appear everywhere on the body, especially on the arms, legs, mouth and face. The eyes are affected as well. This could lead to potential blindness among survivors. The lesions ( red dots or rash) resemble a cold sore or blister filled with pus. After a week or two, the lesion with fall off leaving a deep scar. this can lead to death.

3) One out of three people infected died of smallpox. 

4) The origin of the smallpox is uncertain but it is believed that it originated from Africa, then spread to China and India thousands of years ago. The first recorded smallpox epidemic was is 1350 BC during the Egyptian- Hittite war. Smallpox reached Europe between the 5th and 7th centuries and was present in the major European cities by the 18th century.  In North America, the big epidemic occurred in the 17th and 18th century. After a while, smallpox was a significant disease in every country of the world except Australia and a few small islands killing hundreds of millions of people.

5) The circumstances were uncertain but it didn't help that these people did not have any hygiene therefore making themselves even weaker and ready for the virus if they weren't in that position already. This disease was spread from travelers that had gotten disease from another country and brought it into their country, infecting everyone.   

** I would add a photo but the disease is so disturbing I can't bring myself to do it... 
 A documentary on the history of the smallpox epidemic in the world: 

Part 1 Virus

PART 1
1) A virus particle is a nucleic acid (DNA, RNA) and is enclosed in a protein shell/coat

2) Viruses can have a double-stranded DNA, double-stranded RNA, single-stranded DNA, or a single-stranded RNA. These are only found in particular viruses. They are also covered in a protein coat so they are not exposed.

3) (pictures at bottom of post)

4) Tobacco Mosaic Virus- infects tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and tobacco

5) This is a hard topic because the question if a virus is living or nonliving can go either way. Even though there are some great facts on the fact that a virus is nonliving, I think that a virus is a bit more towards the living side because it contains DNA or RNA genetic material. Not only that but they can reproduce ( with the help of a host) which also means they can mutate. In addition, they are made of proteins.

6) Yes there are some beneficial viruses. For example, there are viruses that kills bacteria. ex. phage

3) 

The Truth

I found out that a hammerhead sharks head is shaped the way it is because it improves their ability to find prey. Their wide-set eyes give them a good 360-degree vision on the vertical plane, meaning they an see above and below them at all times. Because their head is so wide, they have highly specialized sensory organs that are able to fit in there. This gives them the advantage to scan the ocean floor more thoroughly for more food. For example, they use their head to attack stingrays, pinning them to the sea floor. More importantly than all these reasons though, the hammerhead sharks head looks the way it does because the unusual structure of its vertebrae is instrumental in making the turns correctly. 

Hammerhead shark

Why does a hammerhead shark's head look the way it does?

I think that a hammerheads shark's head looks the way it does because maybe it improves the way he sees based on position. Also, maybe the head makes it easier for them to pick up things without having their long nose to get in the way.