curbano's blog

9 cellar spiders will be obtained and used for this project to see how different temperatures affect web production. 3 spiders will be used for the cooler temperature, 3 will be used for room temperature, and 3 will be used for the warmer temperature. Room temperature is roughly 20°C, so we will use 10°C for the cool temperature condition and 30°C for the warmer temperature condition. For this experiment, 9 plastic cups with covers and straws will be used for each spider to live in and produce webs. Holes will be poked on the top of the container for air access. 3 plastic straws will be put in each cup and be used as points for spiders to make their webs. Each plastic cup and its 3 straws will be weighed before a spider is placed in it. Label each container with temperature condition and spider number and place one spider in each container.

The 9 spiders will then be put in their respective temperature environment. 3 containers with spiders will be placed inside in a space with room temperature. For the room temperature environment, the spiders will be in a styrofoam box in a room kept at roughly 20°C for insulation.

SPECIFIC AIMS

1. Determine how different temperatures influence spider web size. Since spiders are an ectothermic species, temperature can have a large influence on behavior and physiological processes in the body. This study is studying how temperature affects spider web production and web size at 10°C, 20°C, and 30°C in containers. Web size was measured by weighing the container with the spider before web production began and then again after 5 days of web production.

2. Determine best temperature for web production. We expect to observe differences in web weight and production in the three different temperatures. Each spider will be kept in cups with a straw in it to help promote web production. For the 10°C condition, spiders in closed containers will be placed over ice and the ice will be replaced as needed. The spiders in the 20°C condition group will be kept in a room at 20°C. A heat lamp will be used for the 30°C group.

While gene editing can be used for the wrong reasons, I do like the fact that CRISPR-Cas9 could be used to cure viruses such as Hepatitis B and HIV. This would be life-changing and completely change the world of medicine and treatment for these incurable viruses and other untreatable diseases. Like mentioned in the article, however, genome editing is not quite there to actually do this. While there has been promise of fixing these viruses, there has also been several cases of gene modification that can lead to the virus becoming more violent and aggressive. Although still a work in progress, I can only imagine how expensive it would be to cure things such as HIV, Hep B, leukemia, etc. I do think it would be beneficial to cure these viruses/illnesses, but at the same time who knows how effective gene therapy would be for these types of diseases. I wonder how patients would be after undergoing this treatment and how likely it would be for these diseases to resurface.

Due to a new retrovirus that is killing domestic dogs at rapid speeds, only one vaccine can be made to save one breed. Dogs are often referred to as “man’s best friend” and a breed that represents this should be saved. The Labrador Retriever, one of the most popular and beloved dog breeds, makes the most sense to save for many reasons.

Unfortunately, we must choose only one dog breed to save before all dog breeds go extinct for good. All dogs are special and can have a nice companionship with their owners, but Labrador Retrievers are some of the best well-rounded dogs in the world. They are beautiful, not hard to please, and easy to train.

The Labrador Retriever does well in a variety of environments and  is known for being an overall good dog. They have a loyal, loveable, and happy personality that any family would be happy to have in their home. They make for good companions and are happiest when they are with you. It is not difficult to please Labrador Retrievers and it is easy to form a meaningful bond with this beautiful breed.

You may think that cells just live, grow, and survive on their own, but cells actually need signals that tell them to survive. The survival signal pathway plays an important role for controlling cell survival and programmed cell death. If there are certain changes or mutations in this pathway, it can lead to uncontrolled cell death or survival. The key players in this pathway are RTK, PI 3-kinase, PIP3, Akt, Bad, and Bcl2. When the survival signal binds, it causes cross phosphorylation of RTK to occur. The added phosphates act as a binding site for PI 3 kinase. When PI 3 kinase binds to RTK, it is activated and phosphorylates PIP2, creating PIP3. Once phosphorylated, PIP3 is a binding site for Akt as well as protein kinase 1. Protein kinase 1 and 2 phosphorylate Akt, which leads it to dissociate from PIP3. As a result, Akt can phosphorylate Bad, preventing it from causing programmed cell death. Inactive bad allows Bcl2 to inhibit programed cell death and send the survival signal.

I found it interesting that parts of the plasmids often end up integrated in the original genome as well as that immune responses sometimes compete with the gene editing and influences its efficiency and effectiveness. While clearly with further research and understanding of the CRISPR-Cas9 pathway and function as well as its transfer to target cells can help limit this, it makes me question gene editing. I feel like our genome is our genome for a reason and when we mess with that, it messes with the function of our DNA, cells, and our entire system. Additionally, there is still a decent amount of complications and even patient death with this process and I feel like it is very difficult to have volunteers for studies with this due to the risk involved.

Gene editing has been researched and carried out since the 1970s. Since then, scientists have already made huge progress in understanding genetics, diseases, as well as finding better ways for gene editing and repair. If that much progress has already been made in about 50 years, I can only imagine how gene editing will evolve during my lifetime. Gene editing is still crazy expensive and unaffordable for most people. As scientists research and find more effective ways for gene editing, I can imagine gene therapy becoming more affordable and I can also see gene testing/repair becoming a standard/common occurrence. As time goes on, research of gene editing will allow scientists to cure/prevent even more diseases as well as help us make more advancements in medicine and living a healthy life in general.

Statistics can be applied to a variety of subjects. In statistics, we learned how to read and interpret graphs and other forms of data. Being able to understand and analyze data helps us improve our thinking and analytical skills. Additionally, statistics helps us design effective methods for data collection, analyze that data correctly, and share that data effectively. While it may differ, data analysis is used in many fields and has become an important skill for many jobs.

The main thing I remember from statistics are the probability tests. These tests allows us to see if the data we have has any significance. If the data is significant, that means the results were not just due to chance. Learning how to carry out these tests taught me the importance of sample size, paying attention to detail, and interpreting data. Additionally, outliers can affect the results. These tests are often used in scientific papers, so it is important to understand what those tests mean.

Genome editing has grown quickly in such a short period of time and I feel like this rapid growth makes the ethical logistics of it that more important. We suddenly have so much access to our genes through companies such as ancestry and now we can even change these germline genes. While genome editing can be beneficial in many ways, such as help prevent/cure diseases, it is difficult to know where to draw the line. I don’t have a huge stance for or against gene editing, but I think it could get out of hand very quickly if not regulated or people aren’t informed about it. I feel like messing with and changing germline genome gives humans a lot of control over the gene pool as well as natural selection and evolution. Instead of allowing us to naturally develop and evolve, we now have the power to look at our genes and we could potentially decide how we appear and what genes we have. I feel like if gene editing continues to evolve and progress, it could potentially lead to either overpopulation or extinction of species, depending how it is used.

The angle of the camera as well as the position of the person holding the camera led to differences in the photographs used for Panel A and Panel B. Since the replicated Panel B has the ceiling of the building, it seems like my partner’s camera was pointed upward while mine was straight on. Additionally, my partner did not include as much of the rug, wall, or doorway as I did. This is most likely due to them standing closer to the Morrill 4 sign than I did. I could have been clearer when stating how far away from the rug I was standing in my methods. In the duplicated Panel A, the photograph is focused on the radiator pipe rather than the spider web. While I did state to take the photo 6 inches away from the wall while facing the doorway, they may not have completely understood what I meant.