Writing in Biology

Viruses demonstrate properties of life and properties of non-life, which makes them difficult to categorize as living or nonliving. However, they fall into both categories that ultimately puts them in a category of their own. Living properties of viruses include having genetic material (DNA, RNA), ability to reproduce with a host cell, and being able to evolve through mutations. On the other hand, viruses belong in the nonliving group because they do not have a metabolism or organelles, cannot maintain homeostasis, and do not grow and develop, which all living cells can accomplish. The most important aspect of viruses is that they are not able to multiply without host cells. These cells are crucial for viruses because they reproduce by attaching themselves to a specific host cell and injects its genetic material into it. Soon after, the host cell lyses and the replicated viruses are released to proceed the same cycle, resulting in greater viral genetic material in its environment.

My opinion on the matter is that there is nothing the human race can do to permanently win this theoretical arms race. The precautions that we already take is really the best that we can possibly do. If there was a way for us to cut out all diseases and have a clean world then we would have done it already. Unfortunately, whatever we do the disease will evolve to be immune to that certain treatment. With the numerous amount of ways diseases can spread to different hosts and with us not fully understanding the process of their evolution we have a tall hill to climb when it comes to eradicating diseases. Even in a place that we would think would be the cleanest such as hospitals diseases are still found and can easily spread. (“Hospitals installed more sinks to stop infections. The sinks can make the problem worse”) These are facilities that are cleaned every day and we still cannot control the pathogens there. Unfortunately, it looks like this is a war that will wage on forever.

The study of human eugenics is a field that can change the human race for good. It seems that the studies being done can make the human race be able to have less disease and live for a longer period of time. Scientists in the “pros and cons of genetic engineering in humans” article have said that we are in some ways playing god. This is a valid claim because we are essentially trying to keep certain traits and get rid of others. Years ago, we did not have the technology to do this and weren’t even thinking about it. Some may say that natural selection is being cheated in this situation. In the coming years you may be able to give your child the ideal features you want him to have, or the ability to be immune to certain diseases. (You're only human, but your kids could be so much more) Would I want my child to have the best features possible? Of course. This would go as a steep price though because everyone else wants the same thing. Being able to design every human how you wanted them may lead to even more competition than before. Would this be a good thing for the human race as a whole? Or would this slowly lead to our demise?

A jar of walnuts is turned to its side on the lawn. A squirrel propels off of the side of the tree and lurches toward it. It is gray with brown in its tail and face. It also has sprinkles of white fur. It has a bushy tail, bent in the middle so that the bottom half flaps in the air. It suddenly stops and darts in the opposite direction. It turns and hesitantly approaches the jar of nuts again. It darts to the jar and grabs a walnut. It jumps far from the jar and nibbles on the nut using both of its hands. With the nut in his mouth, it climbs back up the tree. Just then, a second squirrel approaches the jar in quick, sudden movements and reaches its arm inside to grab a walnut. It squats next to the jar and nibbles on the walnut, similarly to the first squirrel. It then darts away, across the lawn, with the nut in its mouth. The way it moves is that it jumps forward using its back legs and lands on its front arms. It's like taking little jumps forward. The squirrel scurries up the tree. 

The development of an embryo is a very unique and odd process when you really think about it. Two essentially halves of a cell come together to form a full cell with a full genome. This cell continues to divide, and along the way, these cells begin to differentiate and form different parts of the larger oganism that is being created. It's strange to think that cells that have organelles to regulate themselves and take care of themselves work together to form a greater being. They stop functioning for their own sake and begin to function for the survival and wellbeing of the larger organism it is a part of. Organs and different types of tissue are created, and these cells communicate using hormones and other cell signaling ligands. Eventually, a full human is formed that will continue to grow and develop outside of the womb. 

The family Canidae contains all species of living and extinct quadrupedal carnivores resembling the domestic dog. This includes domestic dogs themselves, coyotes, wolves, foxes, dingoes and many others. Some interbreeding can occur between coyotes and dogs, as well as dogs and wolves and wolves and coyotes. The offspring of these pairings are fully viable and usually fertile, begging the question are these three varieties of canines really separate species. The wolf, Canis Lupis, is the largest of these three species and has overlapping ranges with the coyote, Canis latrans. These ranges also unsurprisingly overlap with human settlement, meaning there is the potential for both of these species to interbreed with a person pet dog or a stray domestic dog, the species Canis familiaris. What separates these three as different species is their tendency under ideal circumstances to avoid breeding with members of the other species. Although interbreeding is possible, in a proper habitat with adequate resources and fertile mates available it will not occur. These rare hybrids only occur when there is a shortage of healthy and viable mates of the same species.

Although coyotes (Canis latrans), wolves (Canis lupus), and domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) are capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring, the article suggests that any instances of them interbreeding are brought on more by necessity for the survival of the species than by a preference for individuals of another species. For example, the article mentions that the latest hybridization event between dogs and coyotes is likely a result of female coyotes traveling into upstate New York, where a lack of coyotes was more than made up for by an abundance of feral dogs, and yet now that the coyote populations are thriving and growing, coyotes have no shortage of coyotes to mate with and so show no interest in mating with dogs. The same thing occurred a century ago when wolf populations were at a dangerous low in the Great Lakes, so they had to settle with mating with coyotes. Under normal circumstances they would not choose to breed between species, which suggests that coyotes, wolves, and domestic dogs are three separate species. 

My friends and I were time together last friday and somehow the topic of anti vaccination came up. We were talking about it and came to the conclusion that there was zero evidence to suggest that vaccines give you autism. I knew that the movement started after a discredited doctor published a fabricated paper claiming that there was an association with autism and the MMR vaccine. What I didn’t know is that this was the paper that antivaxxers use to support their argument to this day. It has recently been discovered that the doctor who published the paper, Andrew Wakefield, had a major conflict of interest in publishing this paper. He was in the process of developing an at home test for parents to screen their children for autism and projected that he could make over 43 million dollars a year on the tests. So it appears as though he created an autism scare in order to sell his at home tests.

Today I had my first lab for anatomy and physilogy 2. We pricked our fingers and drew blood into centrifuge tubes. The tubes were spun in the centrifuge, causing the plasma to rise to the top and the formed elements remained on the bottom. The formed elements consist of white and red blood cells. We then calculated the ratio of formed elements to the entire blood content. Following this lab section, the two fingers that I pricked bruised around the puncture spot. The area that had been pricked remained a red dot. Now the area is sore to the touch. It has been 4 hours since the lab, and I am wondering when the brusing will clear. 

Alpha-keratin is a type of protein found in all vertebrates to form a skin. Birds and reptiles have an additional protein called beta-keratin which is the main structure of feathers and beaks for birds, and reptilian skin and claws for reptiles. The primary feathers, known as contour feathers are the most common type of feathers found in birds. It has the long flat shape with a hollow stick called a calamus supporting the root and connecting to the rachis. Lateral barbs then branches off from the rachis creating the soft and smooth shaft of feather. The inner part of the feather serves as insulation, and the outer part is for different purposes. Barbs can be separated into three structure: barbule, barbicel, and ramus. Barbules is the thin flexible part of the feather which gives the texture. Then from that as the feather goes inward toward the body, it becomes more rigid structure to support the shape and give insulation.

    Feathers can also have a secondary structure. For example the Cedar Waxwing of North America has a modified fused barbs at the terminal with wax-like wing feather tips. The fused barbs allow water to soak the feather to reduce buoyancy but at the same time can air dry fast when coming out of water. Many water birds have feather modification specific for swimming.