Drafts

The differences observed between the two figures could be attributed to multiple factors. The fact that figure 2 contained a flower with hints of white and Figure 1 did not is most likely because the flowers pictured in the respective figures are not the same flower. The varying sizes of flowers in panel A of Figure 1 versus panel B of Figure 2 or panel B of Figure 1 versus panel A of Figure 2, means that the pictures were taken from a closer location, were taken with a larger zoom or were taken with a different type of camera all together.

The overall construction of the figure, the color of the shading, the lack of arrows, panel label colors and what appears to be the switch of the close up of the flower and the far shot of the plant, in Figure 2 versus Figure 1 can simply be attributed to the lack of explanation of how to construct the figure in the methods section.

The authors covered the right antennae of one group, the left antennae of another group, and left the final group of bees’ antennae uncovered.  They quantified the bees’ ability to smell by extension of the bees’ proboscis when conditioning them.  There were two experiments to test for lateral differences in olfactory learning.  One version conditioned the bees to extend their proboscis when a scent was experienced and the other version conditioned bees to extend their proboscis to one scent but not another.  The predictions for the first experiment was that one of the groups that had one of their antennae covered would preform worse than the other covered group and uncovered control group for scent detection.  The predictions for the second experiment were similar in that one of the covered groups would preform worse than the other covered group or uncovered control group in scent discrimination.

    Dr. Rolf Karlstrom is a professor in the biology department at UMass Amherst. Since 1999, he has has performed research in his lab using the model species of the zebrafish. The research done in the lab covers many different subjects, with the overarching topic being the study of developmental neurobiology. The lab studies both larval and adult zebrafish brains to answer questions about how and why the brain forms in the way it does. The lab studies many different genes which influence the development of the brain. One of the main focuses of the lab is looking at the Hedgehog genes, specifically Sonic Hedgehog (Shh). The lab has published papers in the past detailing some of the ways Shh effects brain development, and is still today looking to answer further questions about the gene.

It is important in science for scientists to reproduce the same results that were obtained by the researcher. The purpose of the methods section is for another to obtain the same results as that person did by following their steps. These steps are the methods the person uses in order to get their results. When developing these steps, scientists must be able to identify factors needed to be controlled when doing the experiment. This requires scientists to distinguish between observation and inference. This is so that the experiment is successful and there will be no need to perform it differently multiple times.

How does alcohol affect our bodies? Well I found out the bad way this weekend by drinking way too much. According to the study done by NIH, alcohol has an effect on your brain, heart, liver, pancreas, and most of your immune system. It is crazy to think and know that many college students knowing that alcohol is bad for us still decide to drink every weekend. Alcohol interferes with your brain's communication pathways and it can also alter how your brain looks and works which I did not know about. Let's be real though, we go to the Zoo for a reason. I definitely do however have to cut back on it because I feel like I function way slower than I normally do which is bad.

The flowering plant selected was Camellia Japonica. C. Japonica was selected as it was a large tree and was in the first room of the Durfee Conservatory. Ease of access to the subject of the experiment seemed to be an important factor as it would be difficult to replicate the methods if the person following them could not find the plant. Also, this experiment was performed in the winter, so using flowering plants outside was out of the question. Choosing a plant in the Durfee Conservatory meant that the plant would be there for the replicator in the same location and in a location easy to find.

What I have done in the lab so far has been mainly learning how to do different procedures. Most of what I have done so far has been dissecting fixed larva, mounting the brains on slides, and imaging them. I have done some work with analyzing the images by counting cells. I have also recently learned the procedure for the dissection of adult fish which is being performed for the Atlas project.

                My goals for next month are to continue developing my skills at dissection of larval and adult brains, and to work on getting data out of the images. I also hope to work out what I can do experimentally to help move the projects forward.

 First, I went to the google scholar to find the article I was most interested in. Then, I clicked on "Cited by" right below the title of the article. Next step is to click on Get Full Text via UMLinks. Once I did that, I copied the whole link to go paste it to the Simple Text Query. I then typed in my email and then pasted it which gave me the DOI. With the given DOI, I pasted it to the bcrc.bio.umass.edu site where it says biblio, look up with DOI. Then it gave me the citation I needed which ended up like this,

Lo AY, Jim CY. Protest response and willingness to pay for culturally significant urban trees: Implications for Contingent Valuation Method. Ecological Economics [Internet]. 2015 ;114:58 - 66. Available from: http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S092180091500097Xhttp://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S092180091500097X?httpAccept=text/xmlhttp://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S092180091500097X?httpAccept=text/plain .

In this  lab we investigated the properties of magnetism and magnetic induction. We are using the knowledge that there is a magnetic field that mediates the force between magnetic objects. We were able to show  how magnetic fields can generate an electric current and how electric currents generate magnetic fields. First, we used a compass and magnet to show how magnets interact at opposite poles. Then, we utilized a magnet and coil combination to show how magnetic fields can generate current. Lastly, we used a two-coil system to prove there was a voltage across the terminals of the second coil.

Magnetic flux is basically the number of magnetic field lines that passes through a closed surface. Magnetic flux depends on and is also equal to the product of surface area and magnetic field. It depends on it changing with time. When a magnetic is near a compass and the south pole of the compass needle is pointing at the magnetic, the needle’s point must be at the north pole of the magnet (a compass needle is simply a small magnet balanced on a pin). We then can infer that when the compass needle is exposed to a magnetic field it will pivot (because it wants to  align with the field lines of the magnet). This is because the north pole will repel the north pole of the magnet and vise versa with south. On the other hand, the north pole will attract the south-pole (opposites attract).

We decided to investigate tree species richness and diversity of a small hill in Thatcher way and on University Drive behind the school parking lot in Southwest. These two places are at least 1.5 miles away from each other meaning the areas are different enough to have different populations. The trees of interest on Thatcher way are on a hill in an isolated area in the Northeast residential area on campus, whereas the trees on University Drive are surrounded by parking lots and involve a larger surface area. The trees on University Drive appear to be more spread out, therefore receive sunlight and rain more directly than the trees on Thatcher way. Temperature is most likely the same in both areas. The trees in Thatcher way are in a steeper area compared to the trees in Southwest. We predicted there would be more species richness and diversity in the Southwest area. Our predictions were based on observations of Southwest receiving more direct water and sunlight. This would make it easier for them to create their own food and energy through photosynthesis. An increased space promotes growth and resistance to stress whereas a tighter space makes the trees more vulnerable to disease, fire, and droughts. If our predictions are correct, the Southwest area will have a higher Shannon Index, meaning a greater variety of species and a somewhat equal distribution. If we are wrong, this means we overlooked other factors that could contribute to a reduced diversity in the Southwest area.