lgiron's blog

            With a new retrovirus killing domestic dogs at significant speeds leading to extinction within a few months, and with only enough vaccine to save one pregnant mother and her puppies, it is essential that we deliver this vaccination to a pregnant Doberman pinscher. The main reason being that it contains the DNA of many other breeds such as the Rottweiler, German Shorthaired Pointer, Weimaraner, Manchester Terrior, Beauceron, Great Dane, Black and Tan Terrior, and Greyhound. This being said with advancements in technologies and cloning capabilities in the process, we can extract the specific DNA for those dogs and potentially give rise to those breeds once again.

Dobermans are extremely noble dogs and are perfect for those who want a gentle dog and have a newborn to those who want a fierce dog to go hunting with. They have been used in war time in the front line with soldiers and have countless records of protecting and alerting their soldiers and even giving life to defend their soldiers, receiving honorable metals posthumously. This was seen during World War II in 1944 during the Battle of Guam when Kurt, the Doberman, warned his soldiers of enemy troops in the area and soon after was killed by a grenade, saving 25 other Marines. He became the first of 25 canines to be buried in the War Dog Cemetery, as well as a statue of him was erected in the cemetery with the 24 other dogs on it.  

Most importantly, Dobermans are extremely smart, and according to Canine Psychologists, they are the fifth most intelligent dogs in the world. It is extremely important to have one of the top intelligent breeds as we can use them for many purposes and can generate an increase efficiency in society and other parts of our social and economic structure.

Females are attracted to territories with more vegetation because it attracts more prey for them and serves as a water supply which they are able to retain well due to the reduced number of sweat glands. The females will go to the male with the most vegetation in his territory, eat and mate. The female American Rhingon mates once a year for the last three of her five-year life span. The females reach sexual maturity after two years while the males reach sexual maturity after only one, however both male and female are abandoned by their mother after six months of nursing. Mating season is during the months of April and May, this is because they estivate, deep in the sand, during the months of June to August due to the unbearable temperatures and no rainfall. During this period of dormancy, they develop their young who take the full three months to develop. Their core temperature cools due to the burrow which slows their metabolism enough to keep the mother alive and to nourish the embryo. They return from their dormancy period once the young have developed and temperatures have dropped, their young being altricial as their dormancy does not aid the full development but reach independency after six months.

Their physical and anatomical characteristics, like many other mammals, are tightly connected to their behavior. Being in a semiarid desert environment, their primary concern is shelter from the hot sun and sand. They are able to avoid them due to their long claws, which help them burrow into the sand and lose rock during the day time when temperatures peak. Their secondary concern is food and water. Due to their large eyes and ears, they have an advantage being nocturnal, keeping hidden from prey during the day from burrowing. They hunt insects, primarily grasshoppers, who they lure with their white hair tipped tail to simulate a plant. Once within distance, they use their large claws and lengthy body to lunge towards the prey and hatch them under their claws before consuming. They are able to consume water, or dew, that accumulates on shrubs caused by the change in temperature during night and day. Their large eyes and ears are extremely sensitive which enable them to see and hear both prey and predators during the night. Being nocturnal, they sleep during the day to limit movement to keep cool, and at night they hunt and mate. These mammals are very territorial as they are solitary and do not migrate, they do not like other males in their territory and will fight them off with their claws but will allow females into their territory for food access in return will mate.

Known for their hot climates and low precipitation, deserts are known to be one of the most difficult environments for any plants and animals to thrive in. However, different types of deserts are found throughout the world, all in the same 30° to 50° range from the equator. One of these variations is the semiarid desert. These deserts are primarily found in the western states of the United States, Europe and Northern Asia. Semiarid deserts have two seasons, summer and winter. Similar to the hot and dry deserts, the semiarid desert has an average temperature of 23° C during the summer, though it can reach to up to 38° C during the day and 10° C in the evening. During the winter, temperatures can reach as low as -3° C. Average rainfall is very low, at 2-4 cm a year. Although rainfall is minimal, dew accumulates on vegetation during the night which can equal and sometimes surpass the annual rainfall amount. The terrain is comprised of relatively flat land with large rocky mountains in the surrounding areas, the soil is composed of fine sand on the surface followed by loose rock beneath which lacks in vital nutrients needed to grow large vegetation such as trees, leaving vegetation to smaller trees, shrubs and well protected cacti, the shade from these used by the animals as protection from the scorching sun. With little vegetation to provide an abundance of food, animals are present but scares compared to the size of the land. Animals are relatively small such as lizards, snakes and small insects.

Whales are known for their shear size, specifically the blue whale, becoming the largest animal on Earth growing to an average 82 feet and weighing a massive 300,000 pounds. Given their reputation for their size, one thinks that these large creatures must eat other large creatures to gain vast amounts of energy to keep up with their energy expenditure, however, it is quite the opposite. These large whales feed on krill, which are no more than 2 inches long. These large whales have evolved to have baleen, which are sheets of keratin which are used as a strainer. These whales suck in large portions of krill filled water into their oral cavity and use their tongue to push out all of the water, leaving the krill stuck in the baleen which they can then scoop and swallow. There are many hypothesis' on how baleen has come into play. Dental Filtration Hypothesis states that filter feeding evolved from dental cusps, similar to teeth with ripples, that would be used as a sort of strainer. Analogous to the crabeater seal. Medial Baleen Hypothesis states that the beginnings of baleen formed in middle of the mouth, going from the tip of the rostrum to the back, as opposed to on the dental row. Baleen would be more medial. Posterior Baleen Hypothesis states that the baleen formed towards the back of the mouth rather than starting at the tip of the rostrum. Suction Feeding Hypothesis states that they transitioned from a hunting style to a suction style feeding, gradually growing baleen to boost efficiency. However, it is still unclear which of these is the correct hypothesis as it is very difficult to gather information on these animals due to their large size, large range of habitat and their global protection. 

As many know, reaction time is a measure of how quickly an animal can react to a stimulus, this involves the time that your brain can process and take action. Three main stimulouses are visual, auditory, and tactile, tactile being a physical contact. The quickest reaction time of the three usually being tactile. A tactile stimulus this is the fastest is because we have many sensors all throughout our body which enable us to react faster when we receive a stimulus compared to auditory and visual which both require more processing done by the brain. An examply of this is when we place our hand on a hot stove and almost immediately rectract our hand before serious damage can be done. A tactile stimulant moves through the nerve at about 390 feet per second which is the reason why we are able to respond in such little time. Visual and auditory stimulous has a larger processing time than tactile because for each, you first need to recieve the stimulus and then the information has to be processed by the brain and differentiate between a danger stimulus or a regular stimulus. Reaction time is also influenced by many factors. Sleep could impact the reaction time of an individual. If an individual is not getting enough, their reaction time will decrease because their body is lacking awareness and energy needed for the reaction time. In contrast, stimulants such as caffeine or drugs that increase your alertness or heart rate will have the opposite of lack of sleep. These will increase your reaction time because it increases your alertness which makes you more susceptible to processing stimulus faster.

As many know, reaction time is the time that your brain can react to a stimulus. Three main stimulouses are visual, auditory, and tactile. The quickest reaction time of the three usually being tactile. A tactile stimulus this is the fastest is because we have many sensors on our body which enable us to react faster when we receive a stimulus compared to auditory and visual which both require more processing done by the brain. An examply of this is when we place our hand on a hot stove and almost immediately rectract our hand before serious damage can be done. Visual and auditory stimulous has a larger processing time than tactile because for each, you first need to recieve the stimulus and then the information has to be processed by the brain and differentiate between a danger stimulus or a regular stimulus. Reaction time is also influenced by many factors. Sleep could impact the reaction time of an individual. If an individual is not getting enough, their reaction time will decrease because their body is lacking awareness and energy needed for the reaction time. Stimulants such as caffeine or drugs that increase your alertness or heart rate will have the opposite of lack of sleep. These will increase your reaction time because it increases your alertness which makes you more susceptible to processing stimulus faster.

When people hear the word "vitamins and minerals" many think of supplimental tablets or common vitamins such as vitamin A-K, however there are more than such. Vitamins and minerals are essential for all humans, without them we would get very ill and could potentially die, likewise, too much will cause serious health problems. One mineral that many do not know of is Chromium. Chromium is a mineral that is commonly found in meats, potatoes, fruits, vegetables and more. Chromium is one of the key components of the digestive body function. It is a key component of helping glucose move from the bloodstream to cells that can then use that sugar as energy to turn macronutrients (fats, carbohydrates, and proteins), into even more energy that we then use for our every day functions. Luckily, it is rare that individuals obtain to little of this mineral as our bodies only need a small amount to be able to process it. However, elderly and those with diabetes are those most likely to come across dificiency in chromium. A dificiency in chromium can lead to stomach problems and hypoglycemia, too much can lead to damage to liver, kidney nerves and even heart.  Benefits to chromium include management of type 2 diabetes, decrease risk of glaucoma and reduce bone loss in elderly. 

Melanoma is the most dangerous type of skin cancer. This cancer growth occurs when there is unrepaired DNA damage in the skin cells, predominately due to ultraviolet radiation due to the sun and tanning beds. However, it can also be caused from family history and other factors. There are many stages for melanoma, like many other cancers. Early stages being the start of these tumors which can end up being treatable, with the later stages being deadlier. Many can prevent this cancer from limiting exposure to the sun and using proper products if you are spending a lot of time outside such as sunblock. If someone gets this cancer, there are many treatment options, the most common treatment is one can go through surgery to remove these cancers and areas around it. This is the most common because it is skin cancer and stay on the surface of the skin rather than spread through the body, if caught early.

Fad diets are diets that promise quick weight loss through what is usually an unhealthy and unbalanced eating habit. This is mostly intriguing to those who are overweight and who need to lose weight but do not want to exercise. One fad diet I have looked at is the Zone Diet. The Zone dies claims that one will lose 1 to 2 pounds a week by reducing insulin and diet-induced inflammation which are the drivers of obesity. In this diet, one needs to balance every meal with 40% carbs, 30% protein and 30% fats. However, the carbs must be from fruit and vegetables, no bread or any grain. The protein needs to come from lean meats, such as chicken breasts, and the fats, need to be healthy fats such as nuts and avocados. Males must consume no more than 1,500 calories a day and women no more than 1,200 calories. This differs from other fat diets because this diet balances all categories rather equally, most others fad diets strictly limit the carb intake that is allowed. I do not think fad diets are healthy or the best way to lose weight. One needs to eat a good amount of carbs to be used for energy every day and need to exercise to lose weight and to improve physical and mental fitness. Exercise has many health benefits and is key to losing weight, along with this, you must have a healthy diet, not fad diet.