Writing in Biology

Turn on the sand bath right away after entering the lab keeping the temperature under 40 degrees. Phosphoric acid will be used however the measurement does not need to be exact. Amount of cyclohexanol used however must be exact, this can be done by taking rb flash 30 mL beaker upright then balance set it to zero. Measure about 2.0 grams of cyclohexanol using a pipet. Then use a buret in the hood to add 85% phosphoric acid (0.5 mL). Set up fractional distillation, can be done by using black plastic connector. Heat it up at a slow constant rate rather than a fast rate, the drops should be about 20-30 seconds per drop. Do it until only 10% is left. In the vial, there should be 2 phases of liquid which are water and cyclohexene. Pipet the contents of the vial into a test tube adding water (~1 mL). Mix the two liquids and then remove the lower aqueous layer and place it in a waste beaker. Add 1M sodium hydroxide (1 mL) then mix well to remove bottom layer again. Then add brine (1-2 mL) to mix and remove lower aqueous layer once again and place in the waste beaker after. Using a dry pipet, transfer organic layer, it is organic because there should not be any more water in the liquid. Add several spheres of calcium chloride and mix it well but not crushing the spheres. Repeat it until the spheres are no longer clumping together. Transfer the dried product then sign up for GC / IR analysis. Calculate the percent yield showing hand-written calculations on a separate piece of lab notebook paper. Chemical test will need to be done to distinguish alkenes from alkanes. Run the test reactions on the product that was formed and the cyclohexane. Dichloromethane is toxic so when using avoid touching. Rinse if it touched. Bromine is reddish-orange and it reacts with alkene to form a colorless dibromide. The solution will decolorize until all of the alkene has been reacted. Take cyclohexene (0.5 mL) and cyclohexane (0.5 mL) adding together, then take 3% solution of bromine in dichloromethane and add 3 to 4 drops. For potassium permanganate which is purplish color, add cyclohexene (0.3 mL) and cyclohexane (0.3 mL) together then drop about 2 or 3 drops of an aqueous solution containing 1 percent potassium permanganate and 10% sulfuric acid. Things to look out for in this lab is cyclohexene as it is very flammable. Handle phosphoric acid with care it is very corrosive to tissue. If the skin touches phosphoric acid even a little, immediately wash the contaminated area with water using soap. Clean up spills using sodium bicarbonate in the hood and rinse all the apparatus in the waste hood with a small amount of acetone. Dispose it in the organic liquid waste container after. Make sure to save copper wire, sponge, and aluminum foil for future use.

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. 

            The salt marsh is located in a protected, low energy zone just outside the highest beachfront dunes.  It is a depository zone, comprised of thick layers of mud and sand.  Salt marshes are a critical interface between the land and sea.  They provide habitat for fish, birds, and shellfish; protect coastal cities from storms; and they take nutrients out of the water coming from upland areas, which protects coastal bays from over-pollution.  At higher elevations in the upper marsh zone, there is much less tidal inflow, resulting in lower salinity levels.  Soil salinity in thelower marsh zone is fairly constant due to everyday annual tidal flow. Rainfall can reduce salinity and evapotranspiration can increase salinity during dry periods.  As a result, there are microhabitats populated by different species of flora and fauna dependent on their physiological abilities. The flora of a salt marsh is differentiated into levels according to the plants' individual tolerance of salinity and water table levels

An amino acid is made out of a carboxylic acid group, a side chain and an amine group. When two amino acids approach each other the carboxylic acid’s oxygen that is not in a double bond and one of the hydrogens from the amine group to form a water molecule and break away from the molecule. Then the amino acids form a peptide bond between the Nitrogen in the amine group and the carbon in the Carboxylic acid group.

ussion:

    The 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine test produced a yellow precipitate. 2,4-DNPH reacts via an imine formation mechanism, reacting with aldehydes and ketones but not with alcohols. This meant that the unknown compound was either an aldehyde or ketone. The yellow color of the precipitate also suggested that the carbonyl group of the unknown was unconjugated. The precipitate was used as a solid derivative to determine the melting point of the unknown. The Schiff test had no change in color, giving a negative result. Schiff’s reagent is very bulky, and as such will only be able to react with molecules which have enough space. Ketones are unable to react with the reagent due to its size, so only aldehydes will react and show a change in color. This meant that the unknown present was a ketone. Lastly, the iodoform test was performed to determine if the unknown was or was not a methyl ketone.

What were the authors trying to test, and what predictions did they make?

    The authors of the article were trying to determine consanguinity rates and the rate of inbreeding in the United Arab Emirates. The authors predicted that although the number of consanguineous marriages are generally declining, due to culture variances Middle Eastern Arabs will have a higher consanguinity rate. The purpose of the study is to find the inbreeding coefficient in the UAE.

What, exactly, did the authors do?

    The authors sampled 2,033 married UAE women, aged 15 or older. The women were interviewed face to face by physicians and qualified nurses. The genetic relationship between the two spouses and whether their parents were consanguineous was recorded.

What did the authors find (i.e, what were their data)?

The authors determined that the rate of consanguinity in the current generation was 50.5%. The coefficient of inbreeding was 0.0222. Marriages between first cousins was the most common type of consanguineous marriage. The authors also believed that their sample size was large enough to apply to the entire population: “It is believed that the sample size is adequate to achieve a high degree of precision in estimating the true incidence rate in the general population.”

How did the authors interpret their findings?

    The authors determined that the coefficient of inbreeding increased between the parent and current generation. The coefficient of inbreeding was 0.0243 versus 0.0158, and the consanguinity rate was 50.5% versus 39%. Over one quarter of all marriages were first cousin marriages. The authors state that this is similar to other Arab countries, and reflects cultural practices. The inbreeding coefficient is increasing in UAE, which is contrast to many populations such as Japan.

The question of this study is whether neurons that produce and release the neurotransmitter dopamine can also release the neurotransmitter glutamate into synapses within the adult brain. The rationale of the question is that it is known some neurons producing and releasing dopamine are also able to release glutamate at the same time while releasing dopamine. The relevance of the question is that this occurrence is still not very well understood to this day. Therefore, scientists would like to find out more about this occurrence. This is because scientists believe that dopamine and glutamate directory and signaling is critical when it comes to many human driven behaviors. 

Many people who involved themselves with physical activities often live longer than those that do not. The fact is, playing sports is good for our physical health. Not only is it good for our health, it is good for our body as it will benefits our cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness. It is scientifically proven that playing sports can increase our life expectancy and better our bone health which is critical for our life expectancy. I grew up playing sports and my mom always said that playing too much sports was bad for me. I would always be sore because I would either play too much sports or be at the gym for too long. I would play basketball everyday for about 3 hours at least in high school and I almost forgot how being sore felt because my body got so used to it. Playing sports is one of the best ways for weight maintanence as well. But due to the dangers of playing some sports, I wanted to play something that didn't put me in a great risk but also was physical and competitive to play. I chose to play basketball tennis and track in high school and I still play them in college as I enjoy playing. I don't regret picking up basketball as my main sport and I will continue to play.