Writing in Biology

            Throughout decades, NASA has been trying to improve their strategies to gaining access to places within our solar system and improve their technologies to enable its capabilities in future missions and support other spaceflight activities. One project that they are in the development is the Solar Electric Propulsion, or the (SEP). This new project is a cost-effective way to lengthen and improve the capabilities of space travel to enable NASAs ability to seek new missions beyond their current capability. This project will use on-board solar arrays that will use photons, or light rays, given off by the sun which will act as a solar propellant as oppose to the current chemical propulsion system, which has proven to be not only costly but also limited. The incoming solar rays will be absorbed by highly absorbent converters that will transfer this energy into electricity, similar to those we see on Earth with solar panels on houses and buildings. This new system will also use about 10 times less propellant but will cause the same amount of thrust and can provide a movement force of more than 65,000 mph. Not only will this new technology enable us to study deeper into our solar system, it can also be used to aid Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission which is a planetary defense mission in which we are able to redirect potentially hazardous Asteroids that can be seen traveling in the path of the Earth.

Mammals are unique in that they give birth to live young and all have mammary glands, these are the glands that secrete milk to nourish their young, with these glands comes nipples to secrete the milk. However, there are two types of mammals to go around this live birth and nipple present image we picture mammals of. The Platypus and Echidna are two of the only mammals that are an exception to this. The Platypus and the Echidna are mammals who’s young emerge from eggs, they also do not have nipples, however they do have mammary glands to produce and secrete milk from patches on their skin to nourish their young after being born. These types of mammals who are egg-laying are in the called monotremes, Class Mammalia, Order Monotremata. Many would think that these aren’t mammals since they produce eggs which their young hatch from which could be connected to reptiles of some sort but we keep them with the Class Mammalia because they hold mammary glands which are strictly limited to mammals and therefore can only be connected to mammals. In addition, to further accept them into the Class, they also have hair. This is also a distinct characteristic of the Class as no other class has hair to keep the warm-blooded animals from getting too cold. 

The figure I chose was from an article on the PLOS website titled "Mitochondria are physiologically maintained t close to 50C", and although the figure doesnt meet the goals I layed out in the previous draft, I find it very benficial as a template for what how I should set up my multi panel figure. I specifically liked the evolution of the pictures each one grew in complexity and specificity, which really enhance my understanding of the topic being presented. It was also color coded, which made the trends of specific circumstance very easy to follow. Considering the topic of my figure will most likely be less experimental and more observational I think the coloring and the evolution of figures will enhance my readers ability to replicate my procedure and enhance the likelihood that we end up with similar figure at the end. 

            Dr. Michelle Farkas’ research involves studying cancer and the spread, or metastasizing of cancer. More specifically, it focuses largely on the relationship between circadian rhythms and aggression in cancer, the tracking of changes in macrophage subtype, and the creation of new systems that can be used to deliver nucleic acids and small molecule therapeutics with gold and fatty-acid nanoassemblies. Dr. Farkas is interested in discovering new ways to diagnose and treat cancer. During this presentation, Dr. Farkas mostly discussed the binding sites and markers necessary to treat cancer and the correlation that has been found between aggression in cancer and abnormal circadian rhythms. The results discussed proved a correlation between the two, however the exact molecular reason is unclear and is still being researched.

Rod and cone cells are proven photoreceptors of the eye, and responsible for scotopic and photopic vision.  The natural circadian cycle is tuned to environmental influence and can be reset with exposure to light.  Mice and people that lack rods and cones still posses the ability to reset their circadian clock, meaning rods and cones are not the only way to perceive light.  Melanopsin is a protein that, according to the amino acid sequence, is very similar to proteins found in rod and cone cells such as rhodopsin and color opsins.  Melanopsin has been found to be present in retinal ganglion cells, which were previously thought to act only as output cells from rods and cones to the rest of the brain.  Circadian rhythm experiments have concluded that eyeless mice are unable reset their circadian clock, but mice genetically modified to lack rods and cones can reset their circadian clocks.  This means that the mechanism for setting this circadian clock lies within the retina and is still photosensitive in blind animals.  Recent experiments tested if melanopsin could act as the mechanism to set circadian rhythm, modify pupil size, and influence conscious visual perception.

Even if the brain is not bombarded with high amounts of sensory information, neuronal activity does not cease to occur.  There are high amounts of synaptic transmission that are non-random, and this non-random activity is hypothesised to influence the creation of engrams, the physical representation of memories. Optogenetics involves the use of light to control the synaptic transmission of neurons genetically modified to express light sensitive ion channels.  The Clozapine N-oxide (CNO) injections in mice take at least an hour to stimulate neuronal activity and is not a realistic depiction of real-time memory processing.  Running neuronal labeling, training, and retrieval tests with mice using optogenetics might depict formation of engrams more accuratly.  Scientists could include female mice in a separate experimental group that undergoes the same synthetic memory generation.   Male mice were tested in order to rule out any discrepancies resulting from a difference in hormones, and the subsequent affect on memory retrieval.  It would be interesting, however, to prove if there is a difference associated with hormones and memory.  This difference might explain why some sexes are more predisposed to certain neurological conditions associated with memory, such as women experiencing Alzheimer’s at higher rates.

Once developed, this assay can be used by any lab to understand the results of their experimentation. The design for the assay also uses the Tet-On system. Doxycycline is a drug which cannot normally penetrate the BBB. This means that under normal circumstances, the Tet gene will not activate. Adding a drug which breaks down the BBB allows doxycycline to penetrate, and gene transcription to occur. Using a fluorescent protein as the Tet product, a baseline level of fluorescence when only doxycycline is added could be determined. Using that level as a control, the effectiveness of a drug could be determined. If the drug breaks down the BBB, doxycycline will more readily enter the brain, and more fluorescent product would be produced. 

           According to Briticanna.com, nutmeg comes from a tropical evergreen tree seed. This tree is native to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. The nutmeg seeds look like walnuts and it is surprising that the nutmeg we all know comes from such a seed. Nutmeg trees can grow to be fairly tall at a height of 65 feet. They have fairly long lifespans of 60 plus years. Trimyristin is a saturated fat found in coconut oil, palm oil, and nutmeg. Through hydrolysis of trimyristin, myristic acid was obtained. Myristic acid is a fatty acid commonly found in coconut oil, palm oil, and other beauty products, and because of this it is vital to obtain the purest form of myristic acid during isolation. This is why it is best to obtain myristic acid from natural sources.

The nitrogen cycle is an essential process of life as it is helps turn nitrogen into a form that is available to animals and plants. Nitrogen is a necessity of life as it is essential for growth and reproduction for both plants and animals. A key component of the nitrogen cycle is the presence of plants as they help turn inorganic forms of nitrogen, such as ammonia and nitric acid, into organic forms of nitrogen that can then be move up the food chain. Clearing the forest would kill all the plants and trees in that area, ultimately having a major effect on the nitrogen cycle. With no plants, the conversion of inorganic forms of nitrogen to organic forms of nitrogen cannot happen. Instead, bacteria in the soil breakdown the plant available nitrogen into gases in a process known as denitrification. Another negative effect is that plant available nitrogen is very soluble in water, thus if plants aren’t there to take up the nitrogen, then it will be leached away into our rivers, lakes, oceans, and other bodies of water. In conclusion, clearing forests could have some unforeseen devastating effects on the nitrogen cycle and more importantly the environment.

- The nitrogen cycle is an essential process of life as it is helps turn nitrogen into a form that is available to animals and plants

- Nitrogen is important component of many cells and processes such as proteins and DNA.

-A key component of the nitrogen cycle is the presence of plants as they help turn inorganic forms of nitrogen, such as ammonia and nitric acid, into organic forms of nitrogen that can then be move up the food chain

- The process includes: nitrogen fixation, nitrification, ammonification, and denitrification.