msalvucci's blog

Inside the human cell are tiny structures called organelles; these organelles have various functions that are vital to cell life. Each organelle plays a role in keeping the cell moving along, and when these organelles are damaged they can negatively affect a myriad of body functions. One of the most important organelles is the mitochondria; the power house of the cell. A mitochondrion creates ATP which is the cells form of energy. The mitochondria have a distinct structure with a smooth outer membrane, and inner membrane and an inner matrix. The matrix is the soft substance in the middle of the mitochondria, and is accompanied by the folding cristae of the inner membrane. The cristae folds of the inner membrane are important as they create more surface area for reactions to synthesize in the cell; this makes the shape of the mitochondria optimal for performing its function. Inside the matrix and cristae are enzymes that break down food glucose to fuel the cell. This is why the mitochondria is considered the powerhouse of the cell as it is the main source of energy for the cell to function. The amount of mitochondria per cell varies as some cell types need more energy than others. For example, the mitochondria are abundant in muscle cells because the muscles require a ton of energy to move around. Overall, while the mitochondria plays an extremely important role in the cell, it is important to remember that all the other structures of the cell play a specific function as well. All the organelles in a cell work together and are equally as important to cellular health. 

It is often wondered how visual and sensory stimuli affect a child’s development. While ‘nature versus nurture’ is an extensive and prolonged debate, it is a relevant topic when trying to understand child development and growth. In a recent experiment, rats were split up and placed into three scenario cages: a cage with adequate resources and space, a cage without adequate resources and space, and a cage with an excessive amount of resources and space. After weeks of living in these the scenarios, the scientists collected the rats and measured each rat’s brain radius and brain activity. As a result, the rats living in the cage with excessive amounts of resources and space had a very different brain chemical make-up and size then the rats living under impoverish circumstances. More specifically, the cerebral cortex of the brains in the rats living in great conditions were larger and more developed; this indicates that brain development is dependent on outside experience or ‘nurturing’ factors.  This is significant in proving that brain development is affected by living experiences; and now the nurture side of the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate has a solid piece of evidence to back it up. 

Through my day yesterday, I did many activities more than once. To start off, I woke up and went on my computer to do some ‘housekeeping’ before classes. This consisted of checking emails, grades, and last minute homework. I also watched some Netflix in the morning because I had some downtime and wanted to relax. I went on my computer to check emails and other social medias before bed. I also watched Netflix before going to bed to wind down for the day.

            After going on my computer, I made sure to eat breakfast. I ate before classes to make sure I had enough energy throughout the day. I also ate lunch at around noontime, a snack at around 3 PM, and dinner at around 6 PM. I also went to Glazed with my friend to get a donut. This is a pretty standard meal plan for me. I always make sure to drink water throughout the day so that I don’t get dehydrated.

            After eating breakfast, I also brushed my teeth, showered, and did my haircare. I also brushed my teeth and washed my face before going to bed. Throughout the day I would make sure to wash my hands frequently to stay clean.

            After I went to classes, I did some homework and read through my textbooks to prepare for my classes on Friday. I also studied and did homework right after I ate dinner. I made sure to get my homework done before going to bed so that I would have some time to watch Netflix and wind down. 

Our source is from Wikipedia. We believe that one shouldn't always believe Wikipedia because anyone can edit or revise the information posted. Although there are sources, the information might not always be correctly portrayed. Some of the long passages only have a couple sources and these soures might not be enough to make the paragraph completely reliable. There are diagrams and images that seem to give the website more credibility from looking at it; however, these are just images most likely taken from Google. On a positivie note, it is helpful that there are links to vocabulary words so that the reader can comprehend the passage. 

The two halves of the brain are connected by the corpus callosum. Severing the corpus callosum will completely cut off the communication between the two brains, thus creating two seperate brain halves. Although this sounds like a destructive procedure to do, researchers have actually found many benefits to this procedure. Patients with epilepsy are found to significantly improve after having their corpus callosum severed, as it decreases their seizure duration and intensity. However, there are some confusing complications that can result from this procedure. As the left brain contols the right side of the body and vice versa, the brain gets confused when there is no way to communicate between the two halves. During an experiement, a patient with the severed corpus callosum saw a picture of a square/circle; one half of the picture was a square, where the other half of the picture was a circle. When they are asked what they see looking at the picture one eye at a time, the patient will verbally say square, but then point with their left hand to the circle. Although the right side of the body sees the circle, it cannot gather the information from the left brain have to verbally say "circle". Therefore, the patient can only verbalize "square" and point to the circle. This is a result of the two brian halves not becaus able to communicate with eachother. 

The research article had a slightly different structure. Rather than using an abstract, it began with a summary that provided the overview of the study. The introduction and proceeding paragraphs were not numbered, but were instead simply named, ‘Materials and methods’ and ‘Results’. There were no sub-paragraph headings either. This is most likely because the paragraphs in each section did not need to be organized as precisely as in the review paper. Additionally, the review paper had a significantly shorter introduction than the research paper, but this is a consistent pattern with other papers I have looked at in the past. As the review paper looks at multiple findings, it is more likely to be longer in overall length than a research paper.

            The in-text citations differed between the two texts. The review paper used citations without the author, while the research paper used citations including the author and publishing year. I noticed that the review paper cited over 170 papers. Therefore, it was not surprising to me that they did not cite the last name of every author. Overall, I learned that review articles seem to have a broader range of information regarding a field of research whereas research articles are more specific to one study.

The research article had a slightly different set up. For example, instead of using an abstract, it began with a summary that provided the overview of the study. The introduction and proceeding paragraphs were not numbered, but were instead simply stated as ‘Materials and methods’ and ‘Results’. This is most likely because the paragraphs in each section did not need to be organized as precisely as the review paper. Looking at both articles, the review paper had a significantly shorter introduction than the research paper, but this is a consistent pattern with other papers I have looked at.

            The in-text citations differed between the two texts. The review paper used citations without the author, while the research paper used citations with the author and publishing year. The review paper cited over 170 papers, therefore, it was not surprising to me that they did not cite the last name of every author throughout the paragraphs. Overall, the review article seemed to have a broader range of information regarding the field of research and thus resulted in a longer paper than the research article. The research article was more specific in one area of study. 

Throughout reading the two articles, I noticed many differences in the style and structure of the writing. The review paper began with an abstract explaining the objectives of this paper; this surprised me because I assumed that a summary of a review paper would sound redundant. However, it is helpful to start the paper with an abstract to prepare the reader for the extensive information regarding spider-ant associations that follows. After the abstract was a heading for the introduction, and this began with a number. The number system for paragraphs is useful as it helps the reader identify the paragraphs and sub-paragraph topics. As for the research article, the abstract was instead named the summary, which provided similar information regarding the journal. The introduction and proceeding paragraphs were not numbered, but instead stated as ‘materials and methods’ and ‘results’. This was different than the review article, but just as easy to understand. I did note that the introduction for the research paper was significantly longer than the introduction of the review paper. 

Neurons communicate in a fascinating way. All neurons have a resting state of -70 mv. When the dendrite is stimulated, positive ions flow into the cell which raises the charge to -65 mv. After this threshold is reached, an action potential is triggered and is sent as a wave down the axon of the neuron. Once the wave reaches the axon terminals, the neurotransmitters are releasd in the synapse. The synapse is the space inbetween one cell's axons and another cell's dendrites. The neurotransmitters will then bind to the receptor sites of the next neuron where the whole process can then start over. However, before starting a new action potential, the neuron must go through a refractory period, that is, a period where the neuron cannot fire again. This allows for the axon to return to it's resting state of -70 mv. 
          A few important neurotransmitters are acetylcholine and serotonin. Acetylcholine is responsible for things such as movement, learning and memory. Having an inbalance of acetylcholine can result in horrible diseases such as Alzheimer's or dementia. Serotonin is also extremely important for one's mood, hunger levels and sleep patterns. Having a shortage of serotonin can result in depression. However, scientists have found different drugs that can mimic seratonin; these can be used as a medication for those who suffer from depression.