Perfect Paragraph

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.

Often a debate that arises among biologists is whether or not viruses are considered organisms or if fall into their own categorization. Viruses exist alongside all domains of life. While the presence of viruses is undoubtedly influential on life on Earth there is still heavy debate as to how to we view them, with arguments on both sides of this debate. Viruses are quite unique in their physical structure, as they are in essence very simple, consisting of genetic material either DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein capsule. The presence of DNA or RNA in viruses is often used as an argument as to why they could be considered alive as the presence of genetic material and the use of that material to reproduce is a characteristic of life. However, while they may have genetic material, viruses cannot reproduce without a host cell to infect. They also do not have the ability to generate their own energy, respond to stimuli (outside of injecting a cell with their genetic material), and nor do they have a cellular structure that biologists recognize as the baseline for all organisms.

In DNA replication, the enzyme RNA primase adds a RNA primer to both DNA strands available. These primers serve as a basis for DNA polymerase III to bind to in order to begin adding new base pairs. DNA polymerase III works along both strands of parent DNA, not only adding new bases but also proofreading along the way by removing incorrect ones and replacing them with the correct ones. Once both strands have been replicated, DNA polymerase I replaces the initial RNA primers with the corresponding DNA sequence. A final molecule, DNA ligase, works to seal the gaps between any remaining base pairs. 

During reading these two articles, something that jumped out at me was that the review article was open access; the majority of research articles I’ve read are locked behind a paywall. Perhaps this was done so that the information is readily available to anyone who is interested in the topic. I also found it intriguing that the review article had more level 2 headings, but it made sense since the review was drawing from so many different sources and consequently had to cover more ground. The structure of the discussion in the research article was different than what I’m used to. The way that it presented a numbered list that answered the questions posited at the beginning of the article was unique. Furthermore, the writing style of the review came off as more digestible because it was meant to describe a more broad topic. In skimming through the research article, I’ve come to realize that the absolute structure of a research article is not concrete. There are basic guidelines, such as having an abstract at the beginning or a discussion at the end, but the way that they do it up to them. Authors present information in a way that they believe best showcases their work.

Whale ecotourism is a growing economic sector of many countries and coastal cities. Many of these large, aquatic mammals are threatened or endangered, according to standards set by both the United State’s Endangered Species Act and international legislation. Bringing these factors into account, it has become of interest to some conservationists the effect of boat traffic and especially whale-watching traffic on the welfare of these unique creatures. Boat strikes are the most concerning interaction between human vessels and whales, but there is plenty of evidence pointing towards other effects on their welfare besides physical injury and death. Presence of vessels can negatively affect whale behavior. The loud noises from vessels can block whale calls, ultimately affecting whales from communicating or mating effectively. Additionally, strikes can harm or even kill whales.

The Great Gatsby boasts a popular anachronistic music score. The film features songs that were constructed specifically for the film and pre-existing songs. The movie was underscored by The Bryan Ferry Orchestra who typically play retro-jazz music. Much of the music in the film is a fusion of jazz and hip-hop. The hip-hop music in the film is by popular artists that are still creating music today like Kanye West, Jay - Z, Beyoncé, and others. The music of the score is different than a lot of other film scores. The music does not confine itself to either jazz or hip-hop, which adds to the film's diegesis. By combining 1920s and modern elements both visually and sonically the film captivates the modern audience while also showcasing important aspects of the 1920s. 

Two contradicting stereotypes were given to the Native Americans in the United States: bloodthirsty savages who attacked the white settlers or helpless victims who had their land and resources striped away from them. The two stereotypes are opposites, yet they possess the same stereotypical image. Native Americans are thought be be wearing feathers, braids, beads and holding spears. Modern Indians do not wear that apparel in this era, therefore society has a preconceived idea that they are no longer present in America. This idea is not true due to the large amount of Native American populations and land that still exists. Native Americans blend in with contemporary society.

Native Americans are not aknowledged by most of the nation due to the fact that their history and culture do not fit into the “Master Narrative”. The “Master Narrative” is the idea that all Americans have one single experience. This experience is a success story of our nation’s growth, based on unity, liberty and equality (Calloway 2-3). Native American history did not follow the typical American experience of accomplishment and therefore was ignored by many historians and Americans to this day. Native American history included hardship, resistance, and tragedy. Most Native American history is not accurate because it has been documented by non-Native Americans. The biased opinions skewed the truth behind the Native Americans beliefs, intentions, and actions in the past. This created a misconception across the nation and has shaped many of the stereotypes seen to this day.

        To identify differences across families, it is important to have a general idea of the ancestral characteristics that each family share. For example, Myxiniformes, Petromysontiformes, and the rest of the vertebrates all have a braincase, neural crest cells, a tripartite brain and cranial nerves. They also each have an inner ear with at least one semicircular duct, an optic tectum, a muscularized gut tube, and respiratory gills with hemoglobin. Other shared characteristics include a pituitary gland that is divided into an adenohypophysis and a neurohypophysis portion as well as the use of water for respiration and feeding behaviors. These shared ancestral characteristics that are carried out throughout a taxon are referred to as symplesiomorphies.

My interests lie in environmental microbiology and astrobiology. I’ve taken a few of [REDACTED]'s microbiology courses, including his summer field course, [REDACTED]. Many of my class projects in his classes and during my summer research, I worked with samples collected from sites from Inyo County, California, including at Deep Springs Lake and the hot springs at Little Hot Creek. I’m interested in these areas because of the growing body of literature coming out of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other researchers publishing in the field of astrobiology. These researchers are looking at hot springs here on Earth—in Inyo County’s hot springs and in Yellowstone National Park—as in situ models for what life on Mars may have looked like millions of years ago. One study published in May this year—while we were on the field course—examined evidence of microbial respiration preserved in mineralized microbial mats. The authors of the study suggested that we may find similar-looking fossils on Mars. Of course, it’s hard for astrobiologists to get close enough to find fossils like these on another celestial body. Until we have the resources to send manned missions to other bodies like Mars, Saturn’s moon Enceladus, or Jupiter’s moon Europa, etc., we can observe them from afar and identify geophysical features—namely, liquid water—that indicate a hospitable environment.

I’ve built up experience in environmental microbiology through [REDACTED]’s classes, as well as a soil microbiology course I’m currently taking. I’ve also taken other environmental science courses, such as [REDACTED]'s biogeochemistry course. I think that geomorphology is probably a key subject for me to build up my knowledge in. Being able to identify the geological features that astrobiologists look for, like surface or subsurface water or evidence of such, historic glaciers, vulcanism, tidal heating, etc., understanding why astrobiologists may look for these things, would be very useful to me in the future.

The experiment was performed to determine whether salt concentrations directly affected with the bean’s germination and root length. The beans were placed into different solutions of  NaCl concentration. The control group of the experiment, Set one had been diluted with a solution of 0% NaCl, to determine whether salt had any effect on the other beans different bags labeled two through seven were watered with different sodium chloride concentrations. As the concentrations of NaCl increased the percentages of germination decreased along with root length, set two 0.025% NaCl  solution had the highest root growth 8.5 cm. Due to NaCl concentration increase all bean germination after the third experiment the third roots showed lower percent of germination decreasing from by 90% to 0%. Different to the first three sets of lower concentrations of NaCl solutions the beans that did germinate produced shoots in lesser lengths 0.05% 6 cm, 0.1% 7.5 cm, 0.5% 5.6 cm, 1.0% 4.7 cm, 2.5% 0cm, 5.0% ocm. The beans that did not germinate enabled a mold at sprouting phase.  The experiment did show that increasing the NaCl solution would affect bean germination because increased NaCl concentrate prevented shoot growth . ​