Drafts

In the Fall of 2018 in Bio 312 Writing in Biology students partook in a project in which they were required to create a scientific figure of a spider web and related images pertaining to its location. Once this figure was created we were instructed to create a methods section detailing how we individually went about creating our figure, which included but were not limited to how we found our spider web, the conditions of our photographs, and how we used digital tools to assemble images. With our figures and methods created, each student swapped their methods section with another student so that their colleague could attempt to recreate their figure. Once each individual received their recreated figure they were tasked with detailing the differences between the two figures in the RESULTS section of the report.  After, detailing these differences, the reasoning for the differences were to be explained by the DISCUSSION section. In my report approximately thirteen notable differences between the figures are distinguished and their causes are explored. This project demonstrated the difficulty of replicability in science, with factors such as human errors, conditional differences, and imperfection in the methods section affecting the outcome of having a recreated figure accurately reflect the original figure.

Picking only one dog breed to save is quite impossible as all dogs are friendly and amake great pets for families all around the world. However, if I had to pick one dog breed to save it would the labrador retreiver. These are the most popular dog breed according to the "Most Popular Dog Breeds List" from the American Kennel Club. Labrador retreivers have ranked number one since 2013 and are therefore an important breed to the American people. If we could only save one breed, saving the most popular breed would be a good choice because onec this litter begins to repopulate and grow, the majority of americans who lost a dog would have lost a labrador retreiver, so they could be given another retreiver. Although you can never replace an old dog, getting a new dog of the same breed is a good way to deal with the loss. Repopulating the dog population with the most popular dog breed would also ensure the majority of people that lost a dog would be happy with getting a new dog.

Labrador retreivers are also great dogs for anyone looking for a new pet. They are gentle and are perfect for families. They are athletic and high energy so they are perfect for young people looking for a dog to play with and to go on runs. They also make great service dogs and can be trained to be emotional support dogs or service dogs for anyone with a disability. They would be able to repopulate the service dog population. Labradors also calm with age and older dogs can make a good match for older people looking for a dog to keep them company while not being too high maintence, because they are short hair so they don't shed as much as other dogs and they are relatively clean. 

Repopulating the dog population with retreivers would ensure that we have a flexible and diverse dog for anyone interested in having a dog and they also are a popular dog, so a great majority of the population would be happy having this as the new dog. 

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.

Upon review of the video information, 62 actions and behaviors were analyzed and categorized into the tables shown above. Table 1 illustrates the behaviors we found to be associated with the state of feeding. Such behaviors include the actual feeding of the foal, drinking the mother’s milk, digging for food, and so on. In total, eleven feeding behaviors had been observed and categorized into Table 1. In video files three and five, it was observed that the foals were given free range to play and interact with each other thus introducing Table 2. Table 2 encompasses the 22 behaviors we denoted to be associated with play. All the specified behaviors occurred during the interaction between the foal and its partner(s) and so we deemed them to be playful. Table 3 establishes the behaviors associated with the foals grooming themselves. These primarily consist of the foal scratching, nipping, and licking its coat. This category contained the least amount of behaviors but was significant in that it displayed a very unique set of behaviors. Communicative behaviors are represented within Table 4. These behaviors range from mechanical and visual modalities of communication to even a few sporadic vocal cues. The foals were effective in getting the attention of their mothers and partners via these communicative behaviors and thus sending the signal they wished to get across. Lastly, Table 5 includes the behaviors associated with miscellaneous locomotion and movement. For example, behaviors like sprinting, non-playful trotting, and indiscriminate head bobbing are included in this table. These behaviors pertain no other use than moving from one location to the other and the ways in which the foal moves upon the initiation of said behaviors. To recap, each of the above tables aims to illustrate the a portion of the overall 62 behaviors within its set category. These categories were drawn from the analysis of the two video files provided and used as an organizational tool to effectively present the collected data.

 

When designing these reserves, my goal was for the subpopulations, or total reserve, to be highly connected in order to create a larger breeding ground to maintain heterozygosity and minimize genetic drift. The advantage of having subpopulations is that if one section had the loss of an allele, the whole population does not suffer. Yet, smaller subpopulations are at higher risk for genetic drift. This is because smaller populations have a greater chance of an allele being lost, altering the gene pool. The advantage of the reserve being one single unit is the larger breeding ground. This encourages heterozygosity due to the increased amount of interactions between the population. The disadvantage about this style of reserve shape is that if an allele is lost, it is lost in the whole population. Knowing all of the pros and cons of reserve shapes, I intended to create a perfect balance of subpopulations and a single unit reserve.

In this lab the number of organic compounds in two unknown analgesics and three known analgesics was measured by thin layer chromatography.  The two unknown analgesics were identified by comparing their elements to the elements in the known analgesics. During the first part of the lab, Aspirin, Acetaminophen, Caffeine, Unknown 1 and Unknown 2 were dotted onto a silica plate using capillaries.  The silica plate was then developed in about 4 mL of ethyl acetate. In order to stop the small samples of analgesics from being washed away it was important to ensure that the ethyl acetate level stayed below the dots. It was also important to keep the silica plate vertical so that the solvent did not move up the silica plate at a diagonal. Once the solvent reached about a centimeter away from the top the plates were dried and observed under UV light and in Iodine crystals.  The distance traveled by the solvent and spots was then measured and the Rfs calculated. The average Rf of Aspirin was found to be .3305, Acetaminophen to be .337, Caffeine to be .347, seemingly corresponding compounds in Unknown 1 to be .085 and .3565, and finally Unknown 2 to be .2625. After reading into research, it was discovered that caffeine should have a much lower Rf than was found. Therefore, the organic compounds that are in Unknown 1 appear to be the same organic compounds found in Caffeine and Aspirin. The organic compounds found in unknown 2 appear to be the same unknown compounds found in Acetaminophen and Aspirin. These results were found by comparing the Rfs of the known compounds to the unknown compounds.   

     For the second part of the lab, the effect of solvent polarity on Rfs was tested.  In order to accomplish this, two identical plates were prepared with Anthracene, Benzil, and Triphenylmethanol.  The difference between the two plates was their development solvent. One was developed in Ethyl acetate (the same solvent used in the first part of the experiment) and the other was developed in 95% hexane and 5% t-butyl methyl ether (a nonpolar solvent).  Since Ethyl Acetate is so polar, the Rfs of all three compounds dotted onto the silicone were close to one. This means that the distance traveled by the compounds was almost as much as the distance traveled by the solvent. This is due to the tendency of the compounds being more drawn to the polar solvent than the less polar silicone plate.  The Rfs of the compounds developed in hexane were much smaller meaning the compounds were more drawn to the polar silicone plate than the nonpolar solvent.

Cells are able to replicate themselves identically so that they can proliferate and increase in number and decrease in size. They do this cyclically, with different stages preceding the division and then the final separation. This is known as the cell cycle. The cycle is composed of the G1, S, G2, and M-phase. These stages are when the cell is going to divide, there is another phase, where the cell is not going to divide. G0 is also known as the cell being in quiescence. The G1 phase stands for gap or growth phase. This is the start where the cell checks for nutrients, energy and DNA damage to make sure it is ready to replicate the genome and then split the cell. It preps for replication by making nucleotides and proteins required for DNA replication. The S phase is the synthesis phase where DNA replication occurs. G2 phase is another gap phase where the cell grows some more, checks that the cell completed DNA replication, and checks the DNA for damage. The M-Phase is where there is chromosome segregation and spindle assembly. This is the phase that houses the steps of mitosis and includes cytokinesis. Cytokinesis occurs at the end of M-phase, after the stages of mitosis are complete, and cleaves the two halves the cell so that they are separated and now two different cells.

Isometric contractions are contractions in which that generate force without altering the length of the muscle. These muscles are common in body parts that are responsible for grips, such as your hands and forearms. These muscles are also prominent in maintaining posture. You experience isometric contractions when you are trying to lift items that are too heavy for you, leading to the object not being lifted. In this case, the maximum force a muscle can generate has been reached. In contrast, isotonic contractions do involve shortening. Force is generated by isotonic contractions by the change of length of muscles. These isotonic contractions can either be eccentric (the muscle lengthens) or concentric (the muscle shortens). With isotonic contractions, you are able to lift the object that you are attempting to lift, unlike isometric contractions. 

As a result of climate change, globally there are rising water levels everywhere and melting ice caps, leading to an increase in these sea levels. In the Mediterranean, a sea level increase of more than 2 feet is expected by the end of the century. However, a sea level increase of 1.7 feet would be enough to flood the beaches of Alexandria and displace 8 million people throughout Alexandria and the surrounding delta. Since 1964, a strong positive increase in sea level can be seen in Figure 1. This graph shows the sea level trends at Alexandria Harbour Station from 1944 to 2006. The area in gray was data collected prior to the building of the dam, so the increase here can likely be attributed to sediment build up and therefore disregarded. The completion of the dam between 1963 and 1964 is indicated by the change in color and this positive relationship is likely attributed to climate change. There is a clear indication of sea levels rising in Alexandria, which have lead to salt water infiltrating soil and irrigation as well as leading to increased flooding.

In our example, the population is increasing. When lambda is 1 the population remains stable. When it is below 1 the population is decreasing, and when lambda is above 1 the population is increasing. The table shows that the population is increasing. Looking at Figure 10.8 B we see that the population size is increasing. From year 1 to year 5 the population increased by 1037.3 individuals. Our lambda increased by .21 from year 2 to year 5. From year 2 to the next year was the biggest increase in lambda. After the first initial jump lambda continued to increase just by smaller increments every year. If we continued the table, we would notice that lambda would eventually reach a constant assuming our survival and fecundity rates remain constant.