cynthiaguzma's blog

Infrared waves were discovered in the 1800s by William Herschel and have longer wavelengths than visible light as well as ultraviolet. Infrared is something that is heard of often this is because infrared is often used for a variety of technology that the military uses such as night vision goggles. Infrared energy can be seen using appropriate equipments and it shows the different temperatures of what is around.Advancing in military technology is essential in fighting in wars and coming out victorious which makes infrared important. Infrared can also detect many things in the universe that visible light cannot detect, objects such as stars, nebulas, as well as planets can be seen. The James Webb Space telescope uses infrared energy to reveal objects hidden in the universe. Keeping infrared helps reveal the mysteries of the universe and plays a major role in astronomy. Infrared therapy is also common, the absorption of infrared rays expels the carbon dioxide found in the body and also helps with decreasing inflammation found in the body. Infrared improves the immune system which is helpful for people who get sick often. Infrared rays can help diagnose and treat illnesses. This allows for humans to get treatments for diseases and illnesses without having to undergo surgery.  The radiation that infrared emits is what satellites use to study the changes in land and sea surface temperatures. This is important for others to tell what is going on in earth. It heats up the earth and allows for humans to be able to survive on earth by keeping it at the perfect temperature which allows for humans to live. Infrared data also helps distinguish from a fire and just a hot place, meaning it allows for fires that are not easily detected to be put out. Helping the habitats of animals to not be destroyed. The negative aspect of infrared is radiation which can in turn damage the eyes of a person, taking the appropriate precautions will allow for a person to not have any more severe damaging effects.

Euthanasia is the painless killing of a patient who is suffering usually from a disease, there are two types of euthanasia that are often debated on, active and passive. Active euthanasia involves actually killing a patient, for example this can be done by lethal injection. Passive euthanasia means letting the patient die by not trying to cure the disease or whatever is bringing the patient pain. A patient who is dying of cancer would stop chemotherapy and stop taking the medication required that keeps them alive until they eventually pass away. Often it is argued that active euthanasia is worse than passive euthanasia because active euthanasia means that someone is actually doing the killing. James Rachel however, in “Active and Passive Euthanasia,”  argues that this is not true and that both forms of euthanasia are equal and both are morally the same. Winston Nesbitt takes Rachel’s article and argues against it stating that active euthanasia and the act of actually killing a person if far worse than passive euthanasia.

The effect of Ulva on Gigartina is best described as facilitation. This is because in the presence of Ulva, Gigartina is able to survive and grow. Ulva is making it more suitable for later species with its presence. When Ulva is removed the number of Gigartina recruits is close to 0. Which further backs up the idea that it is Ulva that creates the suitable environment. In figure 3 the control groups shows that the mortality for aspen and fir trees are about the same time with aspen having a slight higher mortality in comparison. When the aspen trees are thinned in early aspen successional stages the mortality for aspen stays around the same. However the firs experience an increase in mortality percentage by more than doubling their mortality. This means that there is a link between having thinner aspen and having less fir.The mechanism controlling these interactions is facilitation. Looking at Figure 1 it can be seen that aspen is the first colonizer after aspen is able to thrive fir then starts taking it’s place almost eliminating the fir. In figure 3 it can be confirmed that fir needs aspen in order to thrive. Thinning out the aspen creates higher mortality in the fir trees. This is facilitation because one of the species benefits with the introduction of another species and without that species fir is unable to grow.

On February 10th the larva that I had turned into a fly. The pupa stayed in its shell for five days befor it emerged from the shell. The pupa was a dark brown color and about an inch in length with a cylinder shape. There were small black ridges surrounding it and on one end there was a white ridge. The fly emerged from the side that did not have the white ridge, it created a small opening and got out. The fly explored the small container for a couple hours walking back and forth. The fly was black throughout and had transluscent wings. It had three legs on each side of its body for a total of six. I took the fly out to the trash room and placed on top of a garbage can. At first the fly struggled to walk it moved its wings a couple of times but could not make it more than two inches off of the ground. Fairly quickly the fly adjusted to its new enviornment and started to fly and it flew around the room.

Figure 2. Butterfly displays a posterior segmentation. The abdomen is divided into black and yellow segments. Photo by David Yu photography, available at  https://www.flickr.com/photos/davidyuweb/4890215697

It is surprising to see how many similarities fish have with all other vertebrates considering how different they physically appear to be. One of these similarities is their bony skeleton that also consists of a skull which is something that is found in both vertebrate and fish. Fish have been present for around four hundred million years as opposed to mammals who have been around for 200 million years. Although they have been around for drastically different times their similarities do start after conception. A piece of evidence of evolution can be found in an embryo. All animals start their earliest development the same way, as a single cell. A fish embryo and a human embryo look almost identical with one another. Small ridges can be found in both of embryos in fish they develop into gills and for humans they become the portion of the lower jaw as well as middle ear and voice box. To bridge the gap between land animals and water animals a Tiktaalikfossil can be examined. Although fish do not have necks they can be found in the Tiktaalik, although it is an extinct fish it had many features of a tetrapod. Including the bone ratio of one bone, two bones, little bones that is also found in humans which is why this animal helps fill the gap.

Schizophrenia can be described as a disorder which leads the victims to have faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feeling, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships, and difficulty distinguishing between what is real and what is just his or her thoughts.  “Schizophrenia affects about 1% of the world population. In the United States, about 2.5 million people have this disease, about one in one hundred people. Symptoms usually appear between the ages of 13 and 25, but often appear earlier in males than females.” (Bellenir) Two types of symptoms for this disorder are positive and negative. Symptoms for this disorder include hallucinations, disorganized speech, agitation, as well as disorganized behavior. (Schizophrenia Symptoms) There are a few types of schizophrenia these are paranoid schizophrenia, disorganized schizophrenia, catatonic schizophrenia, undifferentiated schizophrenia, residual schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder.

It would be suprising to see how many similarities fish have with all other vertebrates, one of these similarities being their bony skeleton that also consists of a skull. Fish have been present for around four hundred million years as opposed to mammals who have been around for 200 million years. If you look at an embryo this is a pierce of evidence for evolution much like fossils. A fish embryo and a human embryo look almost identical with one another. There are small ridges in both of these embryos one of which develops into gills for fish and for humans this becomes the portion of the lower jaw as well as middle ear and voicebox. All animals start their earliest development from a  single cell and the fact that a common ancestor is shared is a reason for multiple similarities. Although fish do not have necks an animal by the name of Tiktaalik does have a neck.  This animal is technically a fish but does have many features of a tetrapod. What is so special about this animal is that it has the same pattern of bones in the forelimb as humans. A pattern of one bone, little bone, and two  bones. This animal bridged the gap between land and water. 

The shape of a tooth can tell a lot about its function as well as a lot about what that specific animal looked like. Lophodont's are associated with an herbivorous deit. These teeth have a flat crown and ridges along the teeth that are for grinding. Selenodont's are also associated with a herbivorous diet these teeth are also flat but have a curved ridges. Some carnivores have something that is called the carnassial, these teeth are specialized in cutting and can be found towards the back. The upper tooth is known as a premolar and the bottom tooth is the first molar. Carnivorous teeth are a lot sharper in comparison to herbivorous teeth. 

There are also four types of teeth the inscisors, canines, premolar, and molars. The amount of each teeth varies by animal and even the same breed can have different amount of teeth for each type. However, the variation is not super drastic. In order for some animals such as cats to have such powerful teeth they need large muscles to help them use them. Larger animals require larger teeth since they need more food for survival.

Farming led to an increase in population because of the food that was available. People tended to settle down wherever there was fertile land which meant that people lived close together, closer than they would originally. This would be the perfect place for infectious diseases to flourish, with everyone so close together. This was not such a problem in hunter-gatherer civilizations.  “Whereas over a dozen major infectious diseases of Old World origins became established in the New World, not a single major killer reached Europe from the Americas. The sole possible exception is syphilis, whose area of origin still remains controversial.”(Diamond, 1992) Diamond stated the Americas were not as exposed to many infectious disease which meant that their population did not decline as often as those in the New World. This is true but since the New World was exposed to infectious diseases because of living so close with other people and from animals, they were able to fight off diseases the next time around. Agriculture did create more chances for infectious diseases to spread but they also were able to find different ways to help cure diseases due to them having more time.