jhussaini's blog

The interspecific interaction I chose to photograph was between a moss and a tree. I chose this specifically because unlike motile animals, a tree stays in place and can easily be located by another photographer. The tree that I chose is set apart from other trees due to its distinct name “Honey Locust” otherwise known as Gleditsia Tracanthos. I took multiple images from different distances in order to showcase the interaction from a variety of angles. In my methods I sought to control multiple aspects of photography. I made sure the sign “Honey Locust” appeared in at least one of my photos. I specified the contents of the background of each image. I also specified which parts of the tree were visible in the image. In creating a figure, I attentively recorded sizes and colors of labels on the figure so that they could be easily replicated.

Free will has some truth to it, though it is an idealized concept. If our actions were completely determined by our genes, then we would be much more predictable as humans. It would be easier to pinpoint the cause of a disease. In the article “Missing Gene Link to Aggression,” researchers were able to find a gene (PET-1) that may give rise to anxiety and violence, however they also agreed that other factors were involved. People with the gene can make choices in their daily lives to put themselves more or less at risk. They can exercise, minimize stress, interact with others regularly, and do other things to take care of their health. Our ability change our actions to counteract the deleterious effects of inherited genes is evidence that we have some form of free will. 

The paper investigates the divergence of cephalopods. The limited fossil record makes it difficult to find divergence times and patterns. The researchers used molecular clocking, a technique to track the timing of when groups in the cephalopod phylogeny split off from one another. Molecular clocking measures genetic mutations over time in different groups to show measure how they evolve differently, and this data is subsequently compared to their fossil records. The paper showed that cephalopods diverged during the Mesozoic Revolution, 160-100 millions of years ago. During this time there were not only dinosaurs above land, but there were also dramatic changes below the sea caused by competition. Many adaptations arose around this time in response to the competition. For example, cephalopods lost their shells, which made them more lightweight and improved their agility. Predator-prey arms races influenced many of the adaptations that arose among cephalopods. The researchers tracked when these adaptations came into existence in different groups in addition to the rate of diversification.   

The paper talks about the divergence of cephalopods. The limited fossil record makes it difficult to find divergence times and patterns. The researchers used molecular clocking to figure out where groups split off from one another. Molecular clocking measures genetic mutations over time in different groups to show measure how they evolve differently, and this data is subsequently compared to their fossil records. Cephalopods diverged during the Mesozoic Revolution, 160-100 millions of years ago. During this time there were not only dinosaurs above land, but there were also dramatic changes below the sea caused by competition. Many adaptations arose around this time in response to the competition. For example, cephalopods lost their shells. The researchers tracked when these adaptations came into existence in in addition to the rate of diversification.   

You could use antibodies specific to cdc20 protein to see if it is expressed in the Naegleria. The primary antibodies would bind to cdc20 (if it is present) and the secondary antibodies would bind to the constant region of the primary antibodies. Using polyclonal antibodies as the primary antibody would be a good idea because they can detect low expressing proteins. If we detect cdc20 protein in our experimental group, then the gene silencing and RNAi didn't work. If we do not detect cdc20, then it was silenced, which is what we expect. In our negative control, since cdc20 is not silenced, we expect detection of it. Antibodies can therefore help us make sure that any changes in phenotype between the negative control and the experimental group are because we silenced cdc20.

Summary of Capturing the Tree and Moss

I took a picture of a tree named “Honey Locust” located to the side of the parking lot next to the Life Sciences Building. I took a few steps away from the tree and captured a wide shot at eye level. The camera was in portrait mode showing the tree in the middle of the frame. The picture was from the ground to the top of the tree before branches extended from the tree. Behind the tree was a gray fence and the Life Sciences Building. The Life Sciences Building stood to the right of the the Honey Locust tree and there was another tree to the right captured in the shot. For the second picture, I stepped closer to the tree just until the words “Honey Locust” came into focus. The Life Science Building was also in the background of this image and the tree to the right of Honey Locust was also present. The lowest two branches extending from the tree were more visible than in the previous picture. Finally, I took a close up image of the tree showing the moss and the bark just below the sign. The tree occupied most of the frame but not all of it. The moss was the focal point of the image. 

Summary of Making the Figure

First, I imported the 3 pictures into Inkscape. Then I set the width of each picture to 500 mm. I aligned the pictures from corner to corner. Then I made a text box of width 40 mm and typed in the letter “a.” Then I made a white rectangle of width 80 and layered it under the letter. I then centered the letter “a” in in the rectangle. I dragged the rectangle with the centered letter to the top left corner of the figure. I repeated this process with letters “b” and “c” for the next two figures. Then I made two freehand lines of width 6. I put a marker on both of them to make them arrows. I put a white filling on the markers. I positioned the first arrow to point to the moss and the second arrow to point to the bark on the tree. Then I exported the file to create a PNG image. I saved this image onto my computer. 

I took a picture of a tree named “Honey Locust” near the parking lot next to the Life Science Building. First I took a wide shot of the tree from the ground to the top of the tree before the branches extend from it. The tree was in front of a gray fence with the Life Science Building in the background. Then I took a picture of the tree with the camera focused on the words “Honey Locust. ” There is the Life Science Building and a tree on the right that is visible in the background. Next, I took a picture of the tree very close up showing the moss and the bark. This picture did not include the sign on it and the fence is only barely visible to the left of the tree. ​

First, I imported the 3 pictures into Inkscape. Then I set the width of each picture to 500 mm. I aligned the pictures from corner to corner. Then I made a text box of width 40 mm and typed in the letter “a.” Then I made a white rectangle of width 80 and layered it under the letter. I then centered the letter “a” in in the rectangle. I dragged the rectangle with the centered letter to the top left corner of the figure. I repeated this process with letters “b” and “c” for the next two figures. Then I made two freehand lines of width 6. I put a marker on both of them to make them arrows. I put a white filling on the markers. I positioned the first arrow to point to the moss and the second arrow to point to the bark on the tree. Then I exported the file to create a PNG image. I saved this image onto my computer. 

I agree that artificial selection should be used as a tool in medicine. No one deserves to be born with a life-threatening disease. If we have the capability to prevent that, then we should. But there is a difference between selecting traits to save someone's life and selecting traits based on personal whim. The latter is changing fundamental parts of someone's core identity without their permission. What if a parent designed their kid to have amazing hearing but it backfires by causing anxiety due to noise sensitivity? Or what if a parent chooses for their child to have a beautiful eye color, but it somehow limits the child's visuo-spatial skills? Because many genes control more than one factor I agree that we need more research to be done.