Writing in Biology - Section 1

The pursuit of green energy is a necessity to combat climate change; this much is certain. However, the way we are approaching this transition to renewable energy needs to be reevaluated. Green initiatives across the world tout wind, solar, and a distancing from fossil fuel-based energy production as goals not only in their respective countries, but globally. One green source of energy seems to be missing from this list, and that is nuclear. Nuclear energy has become unfavorable in the eyes of climate activists due to two factors; an association to nuclear weapons and the possibility of a meltdown. What these activists have not been studying, however, is new progress in liquid fluoride thorium reactors (LFTR). These reactors are meltdown-resistant via new safety features, and produce contaminated radioactive products which are not ideal for weapons manufacture. In addition, these reactors do not produce as much nuclear waste in general as traditional uranium-based reactors. What results from the implementation of LFTRs is a sustainable, safe, and efficient method of energy production that can out-produce any other form of green energy. Their acceptance by the public will assuredly result in a positive trend for carbon emissions globally.

I would like to write about lactate acid today and its relation with high intensity sport. Although I do not know too much about it, I am a swimmer and can feel it accumulate during a sprint set. When I say sprint set, I mean a fast swimming set that I must dispense all my energy on, and give it my 100%. Lactate acid is an organic acid and is used witha aerobic exercise. High lactate levels has a side effect of an increase in acidity of the muscle cells, and that is the primary reason that you begin cramping and say "I cannot feel my legs" after a lactate exercise. There is a severe life threatening disease called lactate acidosis and that is when the lactate levels are way way too high! Another way to get this is via the medication "metformin" which can increase your lactate acid level peaks to an unhealthy state. 

In order to get the best results possible I will attempt to control as much as I can in my descriptions. One important thing I can control is guiding the person to the proper plant and taking a picture from the proper angle. I will do this by describing the path they need to take from a set landmark to the intended location. Once there, I plan to instruct the person on what angles to use when taking pictures, especially for the ‘distant shot’. This one will require more detail because it can be very easy to step back and take a photograph of the plant with a completely different background. Likely, my instructions will include some directionality and some description of what to fit in the background. Another basic thing I can control is when to take the photograph. It is important they do so at a similar time of day to match the shadows. A third factor I can control is how the final figure will be constructed. Careful instructions will be written for each step, beginning from the software used to the final touches.

Bilirubin is a by-product of red blood cell breakdown.  When red blood cells break down, bilirubin is in the unconjugated form.  Bilirubin can only be removed from the body in its conjugated from which requires its breakdown by the liver.  In utero, the fetus’s red blood cells break down and is filtered through the placenta.  From there, the mother breaks down the bilirubin into the expendable form in their liver and its rid of waste.  When a baby is born, it is disconnected from the mother and its liver is not fully functional so it cannot breakdown the bilirubin themselves.  If levels of bilirubin are too high, the baby can be diagnosed with hyperbilirubin which appears are jaundice in the baby.  Babies exhibiting too much jaundice are placed under lights.  Why is hyperbilirubin so prevalent in babies? Bilirubin is antioxidant and could help prevent any damage that could occur to the DNA during fetal development.  This condition is prevalent in other species closely connected to humans as well.  If it did not benefit the fitness of the child, then natural section should have weeded it out.

Today I chose my example of phytophagy on campus fo the methods project. Although there will be many factors when directing someone to the phytophagy, there are only a few I can control. For example, the weather was nice today and I went outside at 12 pm to view the plant I am using. I can control the time at which to look for my plant, but I cannot control the weather on any given day. I can also control the exact coordinates of my plant, as well as the angle from which a person views it. I was able to clearly see the phytophagy when standing facing the northeast direction, but standing in front of the plant facing south would not be effective. I can also control the amount of confusion by referencing items around my plant, like the campus pond or the ILC. There are only a few factors I am in control of, so I am hoping that my photos and map will help me out a bit more. 

The major source of knowledge include observation, experiment, and reasoning by induction and deduction. Exploring one’s own mind or soul to discover universal laws and solution to life’s greatest secrets.

The mediocre can be educated, but the geniuses educate themselves.

Science is a perpetual creative process.

There are no small problems. Problems that appear small are large problems that are not understood.

Nature is a harmonious mechanism where all parts, including those appearing to play a secondary role, cooperate in the functional whole. Nothing in nature is useless.

It is logical to assume that a large brain size is needed to perform complex tasks. However, spiders seem to defy this trend by using tiny brains, small as the size of a pinhead, to produce sophisticated behaviors. Efficiency and compactness make the nervous system of spiders the perfect tool for studies in neurobiology. Their simple, yet efficient nervous system allows us to conduct and test hypotheses about the relationship between brain organization, connectivity, and behavior more easily than is possible in vertebrates. How is it possible that small sized animals such as spiders are able to show complex behaviors. My lab has recently found that we most of the behavior performed by the spider is due visual based. This finding has enabled us to perform physiological tests on the visual pathways on the brain of the spider.

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.

The leaf I finally chose to represent a phytophagy example on campus had a better display more than any of the other leaves I examined. The leaf itself was from a tree nearby. I was purposefully looking for fallen leaves, because I predicted they would be easier for land insects to eat without having to expend as much energy as it would have been if the leaf was still attached to the tree. The leaf itself is a vibrantly deep green color which I had guessed had recently fallen because the texture of it was just beginning to become stiff. On the leaf there are various sizes of holes with the smallest being some millimeters long and the largest being approximately 2/10ths of a centimeter. Around these holes are minuscule bumps. The bumps have noticeable discoloration. They are a faded light green with hints of brown. This does not look like a typical display of leaf decay, so it is highly likely that those areas are where the insects ate parts of the leaf. I kept the sample with me and plan to keep it in my bag in case I need to refer back to it in the future. 

In order to find evidence of phytophagy on campus, I needed to research photos and skim a few articles so that I had enough knowledge to be able to distinguish a regular leaf from an eaten one. When I gathered enough research, I took photos of leaves around campus and compared them to ones on the internet that displayed phytophagy. By carefully comparing and contrasting, I began to eliminate the photos of the leaves that were questionable rather than clear. It was difficult because some leaves at first sight resembled photos I saw online, but they were more likely just decaying. Though there could have been evidence on those leaves, I was more interested in finding a leaf that would unarguably display phytophagy without other factors to consider. Due to the cold change in weather, there is an increasing amount of leaves dying, so I had to be very careful when determining whether a leaf had clear evidence or not. When I did determine a leaf was eaten, I would compare it to another leaf of the same species and measure the differences between the two just to be sure that the leaf I chose was a good example.