Writing in Biology

The plant was in the Durfee Conservatory across the street from University Health Services. The plant can be found by entering through the West entrance door and then going through the next door. Once inside the second room, the plant called “Blc Momilani ‘The Gypsy’” will be in the middle of the far left row. Facing the plant, a picture was taken so the entire plant would fill up the photo. Next a picture was taking of the flower part of the plant. The picture was taken of the right-most flower on the plant, close enough so the flower filled the picture. In order to get a sense of the size of the flower, a picture was taken with a UCard oriented upright held next to the flower.

Water is one the most presen organic molecules on the planet. It is a foundation of organic life, without it humans are unable to survive. Water is a required reactant for various metabolic reactions, so one would be safe to assume that it moves from cell to cell with ease. And this is true most of the time water simply diffuses across the a membrane via a process of simple diffussion , called osmosis. This process though the most well know form of water movement is not the only way water moves through cells. Other processes include bulk flow, which is the movement of water and solutes due to pressure potential. This occurs in the xylem and phloem of plants. This transport as stated previously is primarily used to move large amounts of water throughout  system.  There is also the process of active transport, which normally occur when transporting over a membrane with very low permeability. In general water moves throughout the body and from cell to cell in various ways and without these processes life as we know it would cesae to exist. 

Photobleaching in standard microscopy results when a fluorophore in its excited state covalently bonds with another molecule and renders it unable to absorb or emit light, thus darkening the overall image. The rate at which photobleaching occurs is a function of excitation intensity and time and can differ based on certain variables. This lab explores how different conditions of the microscope and fluorescent elements of the sample effect the rate of photobleaching.

Green chemistry is set of principals whose purpose is to guide and regulate the production and use of new chemical undertakings in all facets of human life.  These principals are as follows.  Prevention: it is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created.  Atom Economy, where synthetic methods should be designed to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product with as little waste as possible.  Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses: where ever practical, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.  Designing Safer Chemicals: chemical products should be designed to affect their desired function while minimizing their toxicity.  Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries: the use of auxiliary substances (solvents, separation agents, etc.) should be made unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.  Design for Energy Efficiency: energy requirements of chemical processes should be recognized for their environmental and economic impacts and should be minimized.  If possible synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.  These principals set the guidelines used by chemical companies all over the world to allow for safe and environmentally friendly use and production of chemical products

The map was created via use of a website at “mapchart.net/world.html”. On this site, the countries China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea were highlighted in red. The image was then saved and downloaded in a .png format, which could then be used in the figure.    

3. People’s Requirement to Help Others.

-        Thomson suggests that there are no laws which require people to help others, aside from abortion. She sates that men are not legally required to be even minimally decent Samaritans by law, but women are required to be good Samaritans by the law not allowing abortion. (63)

-        Thomson suggests that there is no foul in extricating oneself from helping others. In the violinist example, she states that there is no injustice in choosing not to help. She uses this and the Fonda example to suggest that there is no special responsibility to help others in these scenarios. (64-65)

-        Thus, men and women who have children bear a special responsibility to provide for their children. But this responsibility stems from parents assuming the responsibility. So, Thomson suggests that people do not bear any kind of responsibility in helping unless they have assumed such responsibility. If parents chose not to have an abortion, they assume responsibility for the child. (65-66)

-        Finally, a comparison between a 14-year-old rape victim and a woman who is 7 months pregnant is made. Thomson suggests that the women is unjust in having an abortion if her reason in doing so is to allow her to go on a trip abroad. However, because the 14-year-old did not consent or assume responsibility for the child, it is permissible to have an abortion. Thomson likens this to a woman wanting a fetus terminated vs. putting the child up for adaption stating that the unnecessary death is unjust. (66-67)

Water is a foundation of organic life, without it humans are unable to survive. Water is a required reactant for various metabolic reactions, so one would be safe to assume that it moves from cell to cell with ease. And this is true most of the time water simply diffuses across the a membrane via a process of simple diffussion , called osmosis. This process though the most well know form of water movement is not the only way water moves through cells. Other processes include bulk flow, which is the movement of water and solutes due to pressure potential. There is also the process of active transport, which normally occur when transporting over a membrane with very low permeability. Overall water moves throughout the body and from cell to cell in various ways and without these processes life as we know it would cesae to exist. 

These researchers investigated whether cricket calling-bout length was correlated with predator avoidance behavior. It is known that male crickets call to attract mates, however this behavior also poses as a significant predation risk. Calling lengths were measured using audio monitors over several days. Predator avoidance was measured by analyzing cricket behavior; Specifically, their likelihood to emerge when transferred from a safe shelter to a new potentially dangerous environment. The data show that calling-bout length and latencies to emerge were significantly and positively correlated. The males that called for longer, also took longer to leave their refuge. This experiment related to Elder’s because it also deals with the balance of sexual selection and natural selection. However, this experiment shows that crickets with longer calls have adapted to the increased predation risk by exhibiting more cautious behavior.

The plant was located by entering the Durfee Conservatory via the West entrance. The plant was the closest in the left row along the aisle. To photograph the whole plant, the photographer aimed his phone camera at the plant and stood by the entrance door. He then moved backwards towards the right of the building until the whole plant could fit in the picture. The specific flower picture was taken of the closest flower to the door along the aisle side of the plant. The phone was moved close to the flower in order to frame the flower in the image and the photo was taken. To provide a scale, another picture was taken with a “Dunkin Donuts” gift card held above the flower. The flower was shown to be roughly the same length as the card.

2. Good Samaritans, Minimally Decent Samaritans or Not a Samaritan at all.

-        Example 3: Man on the road. Thomson refers to a story from the Bible where a man is robbed and left injured on the road. A priest and then a Levite pass by and neither offer help. However, a good Samaritan passes by and offers help to the man, providing care and brings him to an inn. Jesus tells his people to do as the good Samaritan had done. Thomson however states that this may be urging people to do more than they are morally required to do. (62-63)

-        Example 4: Kitty Genovese. This example discusses the murder of Kitty Genovese, who was killed while 38 people had either stood by or heard as she was murdered but did nothing to help. No one called the police, which Thomson state a minimally decent person would have done. Thomson argues however, if helping Kitty put the people in danger of their own lives, then they are not morally required to help. She uses this conclusion to argue that people are thus not morally required to give a long stretch of their lives, be it nine years or nine months to help others. She states that people are not morally required to sustain the life of a person who has no special right. (62-63)