fmillanaj's blog

The task of finding a spider web on the UMass Campus was tricky. I had to look in weird, unbothered places to find a web. After days of keeping my eyes open, I found a spider web on the way from my class, on the side of the Lederle Graduate Research Center. I noticed that without light, the spider web was pretty hard to see. So to make the web visible in my photo, I took a picture with the flash on, several times, until the web was clearly visible in my photo. Then, I marked my exact location on my maps app (on my phone) to show exactly where I had found this spider web. 

Polymorphisms can occur due to many reasons. The main type of polymorphism is RFLP (or restriction fragment length polymorphism). RFLP's are a result of a change of length fragments. They can occur due to SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism) mutations, Indels (insertion and/or deletions) mutations, or VNTR mutations (variable number of tandem repeats). 

The most important component of neuron transmission is probably the neuron itself. A neuron is made up of several parts, the dendrites (which receive information in the form of chemicals), the cell body, the axon, and the axon terminals (where a signal is sent out to other neurons). These parts of the cell work together to receive and transmit different types of signals. This transmission is possible through graded potentials and action potentials. Graded potentials can be either excitatory or inhibitory, based on the signals strength. If a signal is strong enough, it gets transmitted as an action potential. 

There are many ways to analyze DNA. Some popular methods include Gel Electrophoresis and Restriction Enzymes. The main purpose of Gel Electrophoresis is to separate DNA samples by size. The samples are attracted to the (+) end of the well, so they move in that direction. The smaller sized samples move quicker than the large ones, making it easy to distinguish by size. The use of restriction enzymes is to cut DNA at specific recognition sequences. The DNA is digested by some type of enzyme (for example EcoRI) and is fragmented into several sizes at specific sites. 

Genetic transformation is the direct uptake and incorporation of genetic material from the surroundings. This idea is the root of most bacterial cells, which can do exactly this. Another way of incorporating DNA into a different cell is through Enzymatic digestion (where cells undergo fractionation). The cell is split into component molecules, which can then be absorbed.

There are multiple reasons for the resting membrane potential of a cell to be at -70 mV. The most important is that 1) the cell pumps Na+, creating an ion concentration gradient between the intercellular fluid and the extracellular fluid (aka depolarization), and 2) the cell membrane is much more permeable to K+ than to Na+, meaning it allows a lot more potassium to enter the cell than sodium (known as hyperpolarization). 

When I wake up, I brush my teeth and shower before I do anything else. I usually shower again after working out later in the day, and brush my teeth before I go to bed. After showering and brushing my teeth, I check my text messages and emails, along with my social media accounts. I also do this activity multiple times throughout the day, especially when I have a few minutes before class.

    After getting ready, I usually eat breakfast at the dining hall (Hamp). I usually don’t eat here again until dinner time because of classes. For lunch, I get grab and go from Franklin dining hall. To finish off, I get dinner.

    I try to make as much studying time as possible, so I might study for an hour in the morning before class. Then, if I have breaks between classes, I continue doing assignments/readings. After I am done with classes for the day, I usually go to the library to get some more work done.

At first observation, the spider doesn't seem to be doing anything. It appears to be hanging on its web. The spider has 8 long and thin legs attached to a short, thick, and translucent torso. The spider appears to have several eyes on its head, but I can't be sure without some sort of magnification. After nearly dropping the container, the spider is awake and moving rapidly around it. This stopped after 10 minutes, and the spider is now hanging on its web again. I tried to elicit some sort of response by using my phone's flashlight, but even after 15 seconds of light, the spider did not move.

My spider is not doing anything, but it looks like its hanging in midair, probably with the help of really thin spider web. It has about 7 or 8 long and thin legs. It has a short thick body. It looks like it has a bunch of eyes on its head, but I am not sure. I almost dropped the containor and now the spider is awake/is thrashing around the container. I flashed my phone's flash light for a brief moment on the spider, and got no response. After 10 mintues, the spider stopped moving agan. It's body is almost transulscent.