Writing in Biology (Brewer)BIOL312section1; Spring2011; Brewer Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The external world is perceived by our senses. Our senses, eyes for example, encode the light we see into what is known as our sensory memory. This sensory input is filtered in our sensory memory. Meaningful input is stored in our short term memory and un-meaningful input is forgotten. From there memories can be forgotten or stored in our long term memory. Once in long term memory, information is stored forever and can be retrieved. Sensory memory is extremely short, short term memory is also short, but not as short as sensory memory, and long term memory is long and unlimited. To move input from the external environment into our long term memory, one must rehearse the meaningful information over and over. Rehearsing something simply means to repeat or practice something that you want to remember. This long and complicated process of memory can go psychologically wrong somewhere and result in disorders.

ORIGINAL:
There are two types of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical condition occurs when a stimulus is associated with a particular response and operant conditioning is a learning process that involves shaping behaviors by using reinforcement or punishment. In classical conditioning, for example, if a dog hears a bell before receiving its food all the time, then the dog will associate the bell with the arrival food. Operant conditioning for example, a child will continue to eat his vegetables if his is reinforced with a treat afterwards. These two methods of learning help shape our behaviors today.

REVISED:
Two types of learning include classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical condition occurs when a stimulus is associated with a particular response. For example, if a dog hears a bell before receiving its food all the time, then the dog will associate the bell with the arrival food. Operant conditioning is a learning process that involves shaping behaviors by using reinforcement or punishment. For example, a child will continue to eat his vegetables if his is reinforced with a treat afterwards. These two methods of learning help shape our behaviors today.

There are two types of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical condition occurs when a stimulus is associated with a particular response and operant conditioning is a learning process that involves shaping behaviors by using reinforcement or punishment. In classical conditioning, for example, if a dog hears a bell before receiving its food all the time, then the dog will associate the bell with the arrival food. Operant conditioning for example, a child will continue to eat his vegetables if his is reinforced with a treat afterwards. These two methods of learning help shape our behaviors today.

After taking the required English/writing class when I was a freshman, I must admit I was not looking forward to taking the bio writing class. The number of essays and time that was required for the class was not reasonable, and I was afraid that this class would turn out similarly. The class turned out to be very useful, and helped guide my writing to a biological perspective. I figured that if we've made it to our junior year of college, then we must be doing something write with our writing. I was very pleased that this class was aimed at making us look at writing from a different perspective, rather than attempting to change our writing styles or formats that we had been taught in previous classes. I felt like this was much more like a science class than a writing class, which is definitely a good thing.

The methods project really demonstrated the importance of replication. Going into it I did not consider all of the factors that play a role in terms of how results can be greatly altered. After having someone follow my methods, I saw how what might have seemed like a little detail affected the results in a big way. This is a very important concept, especially if we plan on testing our own experiments or hypotheses in the future. I understood the goal and the importance of the project much more after it was conducted.

After conducting the methods project, I felt much more comfortable when my group and I jumped into the research proposal. The one area that we were concerned about was coming up with an experiment that could produce results to be used for an agent-based model. None of us had any experience with these models, and it appeared to us that there were many different factors/behaviors/conditions that needed to be taken into consideration before designing a model. We had originally planned on observing duck behavior; however, this turned out to be much too broad. Thanks to your advice, we decided to go forward with pill bugs. We conducted research on pill bugs, and quickly realized that we could divide some of their behaviors and preferences into eight different experiments that each of the groups could conduct. Your guidance with the methods project helped us formulate an experiment, which ultimately ended up be chosen. This project helped me to realize how when trying to test a hypothesis and develop a model, it is usually good to avoid trying to observe too much. There are many human factors that influence animal behavior, and limiting these factors is very key in order to get an understanding of their true behavior.

Finally, my group was feeling pretty confident when the research project came around. I was concerned about the poster development, I don't think that any of us had any experience in how to create a good scientific poster. Looking around at the posters that researchers at UMass had created made us realize the many factors that go into making a good poster. We already had our experiments designed and ready to go, it was presenting the results that was the most concerning. Your direction in using the programs and providing us with the technology to create the posters was very beneficial, and will likely be useful regardless of the direction we take after undergrad with biology degrees. Writing out the abstract, methods, and discussion was the easiest this time around, due to the experience in writing that we obtained in the methods project and the proposal.

Even though we had several snow days, and the class only met once a week, I think that the class was especially useful in helping me to think about writing from a different angle. All of the same rules apply, but you definitely helped me to see how the context for writing in science is much different. Thank you for your help throughout the semester, and I hope you have a great summer

I have often heard that humans are more closely related to the common chimpanzee than any other animal. A recent study led by James Rilling seems to have shown that, at least emotionally, humans have more in common with the other member of the Pan genus, the bonobo. An analysis of the brains and the behaviors of the two species brought Rilling to this conclusion. He claims that the parts of the brain in humans that control anxiety, empathy, and aggression are more similar to that of the bonobo than the chimpanzee.

Evolutionarily speaking, chimpanzees and bonobos are very closely related (they speciated about two million years ago), yet socially the two act in a very dissimilar manner. Bonobos are more anxious, socially tolerant, playful, sexual, and less aggressive than chimpanzees are. Using non-invasive neuro-scanning technology Rilling was able to compare the gray and white matters of the two monkeys. The results were conclusive with Rilling’s hypothesis, the bonobo have much more developed limbic systems than the chimps did. The limbic system is the “emotional” part of the brain, with components related to such feelings as empathy. Bonobos are actually capable of feeling remorse for their actions according to Rilling. We may still share more alleles with chimps than any other animal, but it is interesting that despite this there is an animal out there we can relate to more emotionally.

Info gathered at http://www.wildbiology.com/research/Chimp_bonobo_study_sheds_light_on_th...

Original:
Researchers in Hong Kong University in China have been developing an interesting new method for data storage. In a world where the quality of digital information is getting better and better the amount of space each of these bits of information takes up is getting larger and larger. We are certainly nowhere close to running out of places to store this information, but these researchers may have found a much more efficient way (or at least more interesting way) to go about it. Believe it or not, the researchers have found a way to store information inside the DNA of E-Coli! This is part of a relatively new branch of science referred to as BioStorage. Created about ten years ago, BioStorage is defined as the technique of storing digital information within a living organism. A semi-famous example of this occurred in 2007, when researchers were successful in encrypting the E=MC² equation into a bacteria. As the bacteria reproduce they reproduce the encoded information as well, and thus as long as the culture can be kept alive the information will be kept alive within it.
Revised:
Researchers in Hong Kong University have been developing an intriguing new method of data storage. We currently live in a world where the quality of digital information is getting so extreme that data takes up way more hard drive space than it used to. We are certainly nowhere close to running out of places to store this information, but regardless these researchers may have found a much more efficient, or at least more interesting, method of going about it. Believe it or not the Hong Kong team has been working on a means to store information within the DNA of E-Coli. Their research falls under the relatively new category of BioStorage, which is defined as the technique of storing digital information within a living organism. In 2007 a team of researchers were capable of encrypting the E=MC² equation into bacteria. The Hong Kong team claims to have had a break-through that blows that accomplishment out of the water.

Dear Dr. Brewer,
Overall this has been a fun and refreshing class for me, and I feel that I have learned a lot about myself as both a writer and as a potential biologist. The methods project was definitely one of the more interesting assignments I have undertaken here at Umass. It really made me realize how meticulous one has to be when trying to describe how they went about their work to another. If the wording is even the slightest bit unclear the person trying to recreate my experiment could come up with completely different results (which I saw in the dramatic difference in angle on one of my pictures). I know some of my wording in my methods must have been confusing to my partner, and I hope to work on clarity in my work in the future. The project really made me realize that no detail is too small when it comes to writing about science. Hopefully I’ll have my own scientific articles to publish someday, and I know I will have the premise of this project in mind if I ever get the possibility.
The research proposal project was another interesting challenge. I feel the Methods project certainly helped prepare me for describing my intentions in writing (again no detail of the experiment could be considered too small). In retrospect I see that there is so much more I could have done with this project, or at least I could have found a way to make my data more easily quantifiable. Indecision played a large role in the start of this project for me, as I felt overwhelmed with the amount of possible projects I could put together. I realize now that the real world has far more options for study than this campus does, and I cannot waste so much time on indecision in the future. One other lesson I learned from this assignment was how valuable a partner can be. I’m used to taking on assignments by myself, but I feel I would have been slightly overwhelmed had I tried to do this entire one alone. Having an extra mind around to bounce ideas back and forth with was something that I think really helped pull this project together, and I look forward to seeing what teams I become a part of in the future.
Conducting the research project itself was a lot of fun. I hope to be able to jump into some scientific study sometime after college. This project I feel prepared me slightly for being a part of a big team all working towards some common goal. It was interesting weighing our results with the results of other groups and trying to find patterns amongst the data. I do with that there was some way we could quantify everything that the class collected, but I suppose there was not enough time in the semester for such a detailed analysis. Following someone else’s proposed methods again came a lot easier this time. We did not follow their methods word for word, and in retrospect I would have changed a couple more things about how we ran the experiment (like taking actual temperatures as time progressed), but overall I was happy with the results we produced. Taking someone’s battle plan and turning it into presentable data was a refreshing experience all around.
Overall I really enjoyed this class. Keeping up with the assignments was a little tough on top of everything else I have had on my plate this semester, but each project felt rewarding upon completion. I also enjoyed the concept of the three hours a week writing (as daunting a task as it seemed at first). I came across some truly interesting articles this semester because of those assignments, and I am going to make it a point to stay in tune with what is going on in the biological world now as a result of this.
Thank you for your guidance through this course,
George Egan

Original
When finding out that I needed to take a “Writing in Biology” course, I had no idea what to expect. I didn’t think biologists had to be good writers. I could not think of what instances they had to write about anything other than maybe describing their research to others through writing. After taking this course, I realize that writing is a skill that biology majors use all the time, and need to be very good in order to get their information and messages across.

Revised
As a biology major, I was always more science and math inclined, and writing was not a very good skill of mine. I never really thought you had to "write in biology." I thought of different instances on where a writing skill may be important, and the only idea I had was to maybe describe your research to others. After taking this course, it became clear to me that good writing skills is as important in biology as any other major, and it is important to practice and perfect these skills in order to get your ideas across to others.