damianszyk's blog

The differences between the two scientific panels are the angles the picture is being taken from, the fliter or lighting between the pictures, the overall sharpness or quality of the pictures, and the labeling of the pictures between the two figures. The reason for the two different angles between the two figures may be due to a lack of description of how the orginal person took the pictures of the plants. One possibe way to fix this difference, for example, would be to say something like "get to eye level with the plants and take a photo." As for the differences in lighting, background, and overall sharpness of the pictures in the two figures, this may have been caused due to different cameras that were used to take the photos. The filter on the camera can also be another factor that could explain the differences between the two figures.

The two categories to separate the differences would be overall quality of the image and labelling of the pictures in each figure.

Quality of images:

• Photos taken at different angles
• Left figure has sharper images than the right figure
• Different lightings, camera quality, or filter between the two figures

Labelling images in each figure:

• Different fonts used
• Figure right has a . after each letter

Today in my genetics class, the professor allowed us to work on practice problems similar to the ones that will be on the exam on Thursday. The topics on the exam include Mendelian genetics, determing chi-square and P values, and finding the probability the offspring or specific offspring will have a specific phenotype. I worked with my friend on the problems today and I have a very good understanding of the material so I should do well. I have been studying this past weekend and today. I also plan on studying up until the exam on Thursday, while having to do other assignments due Tuesday and Wednesday. This exam will be my first of the semester.

Last Wednesday, I walked out of the main entrance of Morrill I N375 and took a right down the stairs, through the set of doors, and walked down the hallway. After passing the bathrooms, which were on my left, I took a left at the first door after and walked down the stairs to go outsdie. Taking a right, I went down a flight of stairs and that's where I found plenty evidence of phytophagy on campus. After reaching the bottom of the stairs, I took a look to my right and found a big plant on the ground with several leaves with holes and brown streaks on it. Since these leaves were on the ground, it is safe to say that the holes were caused by plant-eating insects. There were at least 4-5 holes in most of the leaves on the plant. I took a picture of the plant from right above, on the walkway above looking down on the plant, and from the little brick wall closer to the street. 

Just the other day, I read an article on my phone about how researchers at Stanford and UCSF are one step closer to finding a cure for the common cold. They found that one protein is responsible for half of the common cold and other diseases. With this protein absent, researchers found that mice that were injected with a virus would be the ones who survived in comparison to the mice that did not have the formation of this protein blocked. These mice with the absent protein were unaffected by the virus. This certaintly gives us hope and is an important step in ultimately finding a cure for the common cold. The next step would be to develop a drug that would actually stop the synthesis of this specific protein.

I arrive on campus every Wednesday at around 9:10 am for my 9:25am physics lecture. During this class period, my table group and I work on word problems similar to the ones that will be on exams for practice. When this class ends at 10:40, my next class isn't until 12:20, so I have time in between to work om some homework. I usually stop working at around 11:30 to go to Blue Wall to grab lunch with a friend. After eating my rice bowl with chicken, I head over to the Morrill Science I where I have a genetics class. This lecture requires more note taking than the physics lecture. Class ends at 1:10 and I immediately walk to the ISB for my biology lab class that begins at 1:25. The work done in this lab varies on what the protocol calls for. For example, last week during lab, I dissected zebrafish brain and treated zebrafish with different drugs to continue the overall experiement for the semester. At 5:25, when lab is over, I walk to Blue Wall to eat dinner before heading back to my apartment to finally get a chance to relax. 

I have a set routine on campus that I follow every Wednesday of the week. At around 9 am, I arrive at the ILC for my 9:25am Physics class. The class runs until 10:40, and during most of the time in class, my group and I work on in-class word problems like the ones that would be on exams. When that class is over, my next class isn't until an hour and 40 minutes later. During this time, I sit in the ILC on my laptop to do my homework or just to pass time if I don't have any work to do. At around 11:30am, I meet up with my friend at Blue Wall to eat lunch. When I am done, I leave to go to my Genetics class at 12:20 which is located in Morrill I. I have a friend in this class that I sit next to. During this class, the profressor lectures and I take notes on what she is saying. Class ends at 1:10pm and I make my way to the ISB for my lab class that begins at 1:25pm. Before lab started, we had a short quiz on what we were working on for the day. During this lab period, we practiced with dissecting zebrafish brain and treated zebrafish with different drugs to study them. Lab ends at 5:25 so I can catch the 5:30 bus back to my apartment. Overall, these are the activites I usually perform on campus on a Wednesday.

I woke up.

I showered.

I got dressed

I made two waffles and a banana for breakfast.

I brushed my teeth and put on deodorant.

I left my apartment to catch the bus.

I got on the bus.

I arrived on campus for my Physics class.

I worked on in-class problems the whole time.

Class ended so I went to sit in the ILC to do work until 11:15.

At 11:15, I went to Blue Wall to eat.

I left Blue Wall to go to class.

I arrived to my 12:20 pm class at noon.

I sat with my friend.

I took notes.

I left class when it was over to go to my lab class.

In lab, I dissected zebrafish brain.

I ate dinner after lab was over.

I went back to my apartment and did homework.

I watched TV.

I left for tryouts.

I evaluated players trying out.

Tryouts ended.

I went back to my apartment.

I showered.

I did more work and watched more TV.

I brushed my teeth.

I went to bed.

Category 1: Activities done at my apartment ~ 5 hours

Category 2: Activities done on campus ~ 12 hours

With this assignment in the back of my mind, I am constantly looking for more and more plants on campus that provide evidence of phytophagy. As I was walking to the gym earlier today, I noticed another tree with many leaves that had holes in them and brown discoloring. It seems like every leaf on that tree had been chewed on by insects and had a brown discoloring around the entire leaf. The more I look and stare at a plant, it seems like almost every plant I see shows some evidence of phytophagy on this campus. This specific leaf that I took a picture of was near the bottom of the tree where leaves began to grow. The tree itself was located to the right of the main entrance of Boyden Gym near the first row of parking in the lot. The holes on the leaf werent perfectly round so that shows that something was eating it and in this case it was definitely insects. 

Today after my classes, I was walking back to the bus stop to go back to my place and do some work. On the way to the bus stop, I couldn't help but look at most of the plants and leaves as I walked because of this assignment. As I walked out of Morill, I took a look at the first planted tree in the area and noticed that a few of the leaves had holes in the middle of them that could be due to insects eating them. Along with the holes, I also noticed a brown coloring around the holes suggesting rotting of the leaves. Later in the day on my way back from the gym, I was passing Boyden and noitced holes in a few leaves that were hanging from a tree. These were located on the back side closer to the lacrosee field near the parking lot. On these leaves, the holes were larger than the ones I found earlier in the day near Morill. There is plenty of evidence of phytophagy across the whole campus of UMass that need to be photographed to show others.

The other day in my genetics class, we were talking about cloning and the idea of cloning your own pets such as dogs and cats came up. Although I don't have neither a cat or dog, I still would be againt cloning one of my pets. Aside from the ridiculous idea of cloning your pet, the price to do so was even more outrageous. It costs $50,000 to clone your dog and $25,000 to clone your cat. We took a class poll to see what the majority of people would answer to whether they would their pet, and the majority of the class voted no. This did not surprise me at all since this was never topic of discussion that has been brought up with anyone that I've ever talked to. I guess a valid reason to clone your pet is if it dies suddenly to a traggic accident; but even then, is that what's best to do?