Writing in Biology

For our experiment we choose to analyze and present the correlation between temperature in celsius versus number of arthropods present. When referring to number of arthropods present we took into account living and nonliving arthropods. The buildings we decided to examine were situated right on campus and available to all peers and faculty. These buildings were Morrill III versus Morrill IV South and access to these buildings and rooms to examine windowsills was no problem. They are positioned opposite from each other at each end of the Morrill building complexes. It has been known that when temperatures are warm the attraction of arthropods is high. So we decided to support this notion and take data for ourselves. We collected data during the afternoons around 2-4 for two weeks and had slightly different numbers each time. Factors that could have contributed to this was the warm and cold weathers that fluctuate throughout the weeks. The reason we choose these buildings was because of Morrill III close proximity to the Morrill Greenhouse and Morrill IV being close to the Reptile Exhibit which is a highly warm environment. We want to support that having high temperatures will mean an increase in arthropods present in the windowsills. As you can see in our data the trend is that when there was a high temperature recording there was also a high number of arthropods present.  

    Both films have similar opening birth-like scenes that indicate sexual themes will play a significant role in each film. Alien introduces the viewer to a dark and empty ship as it pans through the different rooms and corridors only to reach a state where there is a shift to a lit, white room. In this womb-like room, “men and women lay side by side, born in a micro-society that is ignorant to the inhibitions associated with sexual difference.” This is significant because it lays a foundation to take a stance on gender roles as the film begins with a sense of sexual equality. The members wake up from their hypersleep in the white, seemingly sterile environment with some brief disorientation and nearly naked. This is similar to what an infant would experience at birth in a hospital; a shift from darkness to light as they are being born, and in a daze, as they are crying and unaware of their overall situation. In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin makes use of the phrase “survival of the fittest”, where fitness is defined as reproductive ability/success. The desire and need to reproduce is a biological mechanism of living species, birth being the manifestation of sexual activity. Thus, this birth-like scene foreshadows the influence of sexually related themes throughout the rest of the movie.

The film Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, and Under the Skin, directed by Jonathan Glazer, both employ various aspects of sexuality intertwined with an extraterrestrial being to create fear, and do so while incorporating a powerful female character and breaking down traditional gender roles. Scott’s film utilizes an ambivalent gendered monster, known as a xenomorph, who preys on the crew of the Nostromo, a space vessel. On the contrary, Glazer’s alien is a seemingly human female, who seduces vulnerable men in Scotland. Although both creatures act to advance their own motives, isolation works as a humanizing factor in Under the Skin, but does not have the same effect in Alien. As a result of this, the strong female character in Under the Skin is the alien herself, whereas this position in Alien is fulfilled by a crew member who is determined to lead, Ripley.

Right before operation, the patients also need to have a score of 20 or higher across four weeks before the operation. The participants also need a score of 50 or less on the Global Assessment of Functioning. Although there were criteria to exclude participation. Patients could not have another medical or psychiatric disorder. The patients could not had substance use within the past twelve months, or a suicide attempt within the last 6 months of twice within the past two years. The patients could not be pregnant during the study.  The reason that humans rather than animals were chosen for the clinical trials is because it would be very difficult to replicate in animals. The study is based on having the patients describe how they feel emotionally which cannot be reproduced in animals.

In the data gathered above Table 1 describes the amount of food vacuoles observed in 10 random Tetrahymena cells with the average of the timeslot and standard deviation of the observation. In Table 2 the same readings are represented, but the difference is that the observed Tetrahymena have been treated with 1ul of serotonin. Figure 1 is a graphical representation of the averages of  Tetrahymena food vacuoles observed within the control group at various times, with the standard deviation noted with error bars and Figure 2 is a graphical representation of the averages of Tetrahymena food vacuoles observed within the experimental groups at different times, with the standard deviation noted with error bars. In Figure 1 we see a positive slope meaning that more food vacuoles on average were seen in the Tetrahymena as time went on and we also see a small value of standard deviation meaning that the counts among the 10 randomly selected cells were similar values compared to the mean. The only exception for the pattern of small standard deviation is seen when time 15 where it jumps to 4.3 meaning that the amount of vacuoles observed varied greatly from the mean at that time. Meanwhile in Figure 2 from time 0-10 a positive slope is observed meaning that the number of food vacuoles observed is increasing and then at time 10-15 there is a negative slope meaning there was a drop in the number of food vacuoles observed from 13.7 to 10.9 vacuoles on average and lastly in time 15-20 there is a positive slope meaning that there was an increase in observed food vacuoles again from 10.9 to 13.8 vacuoles on average. In the experimental the standard deviations at each time are relatively small meaning that the number of food vacuoles observed were more or less similar to the average of the entire time group. Between the two tables and figures we see that on between 0 and 10 minutes on average there are more food vacuoles observed in the cells treated with Serotonin, but in minutes 10 to 15 there are more vacuoles observed on average in the control group. Also in all times except for 15 minutes the standard deviation of the counts were greater in the experimental group meaning that the counts gathered in the control group were more similar to the mean at 0, 5, 10 and 20 minutes.

            DNA extraction was performed with our two mutant and two wild type plants. We followed the typical DNA extraction protocol which we previously performed. Once DNA was extracted, A typical PCR protocol was set up in the PCR thermocycler. This protocol called for the first step of 95 °C for 30 seconds to allow time for the PCR tubes to be placed into the thermocycler. Step 2 was the melting step which was set to 95 °C for 15 seconds. Step three was the annealing step, which we found by subtracting ~5 °C from the lower Tm of our two primers which was 59.4 °C, so this step was set to 54.4 °C for 30 seconds. The fourth step was the extension step, which we set to 72 °C for one minute. Step five called for a GoTo step to step to, to repeat steps 2-4 for 29 times. Finally, step six was the end step. These steps were input into the thermocycler and our program was saved as “MHN” in the class folder. After the program was set up, our DNA product from extraction was quantified using Nanodrop as done in previous labs.

The respiratory system has two forms of respiration: external respiration, which is the exchanging of gases between the lungs and the bloodstream, and internal respiration, which is the exchanging of gases between the bloodstream and the body tissues. Inside the lungs, oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide waste. Oxygen then binds to the hemoglobin component of the blood and is pumped into the bloodstream. The bloodstream then delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body. When the blood cells become deoxygenated, they then assist with transporting carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be released. When there is a lack of red blood cells in the body, our body isn’t able to transfer oxygen efficiently leading to many symptoms. When the brain doesn’t receive sufficient amount of oxygen, you may develop nausea, which our patient has demonstrated. Also our body cells need oxygen to produce energy. However, due to the lack of oxygen circulating in our patient’s body, their body cells are not able to produce a lot of energy, thus resulting in their symptoms of fatigue and weakness.

Upon collection of the traps, individual microslides were analyzed for density and diversity of species found using a standard microscope. The diversity of the species was calculated only by number of individual species observed, not by types of species. The density was analyzed by quantifying the number of different individual organism observed on each individual slide. This data was then organized into graphs and charts.

One end of a string was then tied around the slide, while the other end was tied around a branch. The traps were then submerged in >12 inches of water at the various locations. The first set of traps was collected after 5 days and the second set of traps was collected after 15 days.

Samples of the periphyton were collected in 3 different locations, separated by 100 m,along the Fort River in Amherst, Massachusetts. At each site, two sets of traps were put out. The traps were made of three glass microslides rubber banded together in a sandwich like fashion, and were separated by 1/2 inch cardboard cutouts.