Drafts

When the cell is not undergoing apoptosis, anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL sequester Bax and Bak.  When the cell wishes to undergo apoptosis, the anti-apoptotic proteins are sequestered by the BH3-only pro-apoptotic proteins, releasing Bax and Bak, which allow the release of cytochrome C from the mitochondrial membrane, uncoupling the electron transport chain and inducing the activity of caspases.  In healthy cells, p53 is a transcription factor for the pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins Bik, Bid, PUMA, NOXA, as well as for Bax, the pro-apoptotic protein with BH1, BH2, and BH3 homology and the most downstream member of the Bcl-2 family in the regulation of apoptosis.  Due to the fact that the majority of TP53 mutations present in HGSOC are in its DNA binding region, the transcriptional activation effect of p53 no longer is present for these pro-apoptotic proteins.  The major problem is that many of the BH3-only pro-apoptotic proteins responsible for inhibition of the anti-apoptotic proteins that, when active, inhibit the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and Bak, do not get transcribed enough without functional p53. 

The Bcl-2 protein family consists of proteins that contain at least one evolutionarily conserved BH domain out of the four that exist (BH1, BH2, BH3, BH4).  Within this family, there exists pro-apoptotic proteins and anti-apoptotic proteins that work together to govern the fate of the cell.  Anti-apoptotic proteins conserve all four BH domains, and include Bcl-2, Bcl-XL, Bcl-W, Mcl-1, and A1.  Pro-apoptotic proteins can be subdivided into two groups, those with multiple BH domains such as Bax and Bak, and those with only the BH3 domain such as Bid, Bim, Bad, PUMA, and NOXA. 

Multicellular organisms depend on several hormones to regulate their growth and development. Drosophila melanogaster is a small, common house fly most people recognize as the insects that appear out of “thin air” to feast upon rotting fruit or the trash in one’s kitchen. Drosophila melanogaster exhibits complete metamorphism, where the life cycle includes an egg, larval (worm-like) form, pupa and finally emergence as a flying adult. Fruit flies can lay hundreds of eggs during their lifetime. After about a day, a larva emerges from the egg. As it grows, the maggot goes through three instars, which it develops until the pupa is formed. Inside the pupa, larval structures and tissues break down and are reabsorbed, and adult tissues start to develop until the adult fly breaks out of the anterior end of the pupa. Soon the body of the fly becomes more rounded and dark and the wings expand. After ten more hours, the flies are sexually mature and ready to produce another generation.

I labeled two tubes as one (-) serum, and another as (+) serum. I pipetted 25µl of Candida albican culture in both test tubes. Then I transferred 5µl, 10µl, 25µl, or 50µl of mouse serum into the (+) labelled tube. To create a total of five tubes. I observed the sample under the microscope, then placed into a 37℃ incubator. I set the test tubes in the incubator for 2-3 hours, then observed under the microscope again to see the transition of cells.

Speciation is a concept created by humans to organize life, but nature exists as it is without need to be understood. The concept of a species can therefore, be defined in a variety of ways. A few common ways that species are understood by humans include the biological concept, the morphological, phylogenetic, and ecological concepts. The biological concept defines a species as a group of organisms that can produce fertile and viable offspring, but excludes asexual species, extinct species, and species that create viable and fertile offspring. The morphological concept defines species as having similar development and morphology (shape). Phylogenetic concept tracks the genetic evolutionary relationships between the species. The ecological species defines species by their niches. The different concepts help to understand species, but they are often imperfect and cannot include all life in the categories that humans have created.

In order to accurately compare the effects of resistance vs. aerobic exercise, the two exercises would need to be equivalent in terms of caloric expenditure. Aerobic exercises include: walking, jogging, stationary biking, treadmill, and stair climbing. Resistance exercises include free weight lifting and resistance bands. In a study done by Mueller et al a weight bearing (aerobic) vs non-weight bearing (resistance) exercise group performed an exercise intervention in which the non-weight bearing group saw better A1C levels following the study. Additionally, no patients in the non-weight bearing group reported feeling “worse” after the intervention. According to the standards of medical care, weight bearing exercises are not considered to be safe for patients with developed diabetic neuropathy. Balance training has also helped show improvements in the risk of falling in DPN patients which may be a sign of improved nerve function (Xi Pan and Jiao-Jiao Bai). In general the ADA recommends 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per day for 5 days a week in order to lower blood glucose.

Today I learned a lot about the ebola virus. The virus has many different ways that it can evade the host’s immune system. For example, one way that the virus can “hide” is by taking lipids from the host’s cells and making a membrane out of those lipids. This lipid membrane tells the host’s immune system that the virus is self and to not attack it. If the virus can evade the immune system it can successfully replicate in the cells of the host. Ebola has been a documented virus for quite some time with the earliest observations dating back to the 1970s. It has only recently made headlines. This is because the virus kills the host so fast that anyone who comes in contact with it dies before the virus can find a new host. So the majority of ebola cases were very limited because infected people couldn't travel to spread it. In 2014 there was an outbreak which ended up killing more than 10,000 people. This was a new strain of ebola, the Zaire strain. This strain is just as deadly as previous ebola strains however it is unique in the fact that it has an extended incubation period, meaning that it kills the host at a slightly reduced rate. This now means that sick people are able to come in contact with more people than with previous cases. This strain is the cause of the current outbreak in which almost 1000 cases have been confirmed.

I was asked to do an extra credit survey for my recent biochem exam. One of the questions asked was what we would do differently studying. I said that I would watch a lot more of the lecture videos before the  exam to clear up any confusion that I couldn’t on my own or from just looking at the slides. I think that re-watching something that you don’t understand is very helpful in figuring out what it really means. It also helps to just confirm what you already know. For example if you don’t understand protein folding you should google it and find some resources that might help explain it a little bit better, but after reading those and learning what it means re-watching the lecture so that you can understand it in the words of the instructor. Because after all they are going to be the ones writing the exam, so it is imperative that you understand what they are trying to say. One other thing that I will try and do for preparation for my next exam is write everything out. Write everything in words as well as in drawings. This will help me personally connect more abstract topics to something that is more tangible.

The METHODS project was had each student create multi-panel scientific figures and document the methods used while creating the figure. The set of methods was then followed by a different student, and the two figures were compared. The purpose of the METHODS project was to highlight the importance of specificity in method sections of scientific papers. While choosing an interaction to document, it was necessary to keep in mind that the interaction would have to be captured again by another student. Therefore, mobility was a key factor in the selection process. Any interaction with an organism that moves a lot would not be ideal. The location of the interaction was also limited by accessability and identification of the organisms. This interaction had to be somewhere that all students could get to on campus and there had to be a clear understanding of the exact organism used. Factors that had to be considerd while capturing an interaction were camera angle, distance from the object, and body position. 

In Ethiopia, those who follow Woga traditions and those who follow Protestantism differ in respect to their view on the land both spiritually and in utilitarian ways. The Protestants believe God gave the land to people to be used as they see fit, while followers of the indigenous practices of Woga believe that the sacred forests should not be tampered with and the grazing fields for local cattle should not be opened up except for special occasions, such as their seasonal festival known as Masqala. Also, sometimes the elders decide to deny access to certain parts of the land and allow them to regrow, meaning people must leave that area of land and its resources alone until further notice. People must ask before they cut down the trees and offer tribute as recompense. In contrast, many of the younger farmers are Christian converts who engage in forest clearing to make room for their growing fields as well as to discourage the presence of monkeys who steal their crop.