Drafts

My biochemistry lecture covered the properties of amino acids. The general structure of all amino acids is the same. They have a carboxyl group, amino group, central carbon, and R group. Each amino acid falls into one of the four groups: nonpolar, polar, acidic, or basic. The group the amino acid falls into is based off of the structure of the R group. The R groups of the acids and bases, depending on the pH, can be protonated or deprotonated. The carboxyl and amino groups, which are present in all amino acids, also have that properity. The carboxyl group becomes deprotonated at far lower pH levels than the amino group. This is because the structure of the carboxyl group is more electronegative and willing to donate a proton. The acidic and basic amino acids al vary at which pH their R group is deprotonated. The acidic R groups will deprotonate at a lower pH than the basic amino acids. In a protein, the charge can be calculated based off of the pH. 

In my biochem class today we were discussing the folding of proteins and how whatever structure they are in affects the function that they perform. One protein can change it’s structural conformation based off so many different factors. They can change because of their environment, because of signals they receive, and because of other proteins that they interact with. It is incredible to think how little we actually know about the world around us. We might be able to identify all of the proteins in one species but we are not able to identify the function of a vast majority of them. These proteins that we are trying to understand are also always change shape and function so that further complicates making a catalog of all proteins. On top of that we aren’t even able to identify all living species on Earth, we just have an estimate and may never know how many organisms actually inhabit our planet. With all of these unidentified species lay many unidentified proteins. I don’t think it will be anytime soon that someone devises a way to identify every protein within an organism is a relatively quick fashion. Additionally finding the function of the identified proteins will take exponentially longer. So much of science is just guess and check and concrete answers can take forever to find if they are able to be found at all.

There are many ways to approach diagnosing abnormalities in a human. The behavioral learning theory makes basic assumptions and alludes to the fact that abnormal behaviors are learned. Some examples of learned behaviors are classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and modeling/observation. Classical conditioning explains seemingly irrational responses to a host of neutral stimuli and targets associations made between emotions and stimuli. Operant conditioning shapes new behaviors by rewarding desired behaviors and punishing undesired behavior. With operant conditioning comes the idea of extinction in which someone can learn to eliminate a learned behavior by creating negative associations with something. Modeling/observation shows that new behaviors are learned by imitating the behaviors modeled by important people and a person who observes rewards behave accordingly to also receive rewards. Other approaches include cognitive, psychodynamic and humanistic, family systems, and emotion-focused approaches.

In lab today we looked at several different bones of different animals and focused on trying to label the bones. There was a lot of different information present but there were specific facts that stuck out in my head. We focused on what organisms were called when there were holes near the temple of the skull. Animals such as turtles would be considered an an anapsid. Meaning that they don't have holes near the temple of their skull which means that it's harder for them to move their jaws since the muscles don't attatch through the hole of the temples if their is no hole. A diapsid is a crocodile or a lizard, an animal that has two holes in their skull. This means that they are able to move thier jaw up and down and they are able to chew, something that turtles are not able to do. The other type is a synapsid which are mammals, there is a larger opening in the skull. This allows for mammals to chew and move their jaw up and down as well as side to side.

Relative to the common ancestor of mammals that bear live young the group that has been evolving for the longest amount of time is all of them. All of the mammals on the phylogenetic tree have been evolving for the same amount of time. This is because they all share a common ancestor and since the beginning of this common ancestor they have all started evolving. Going back mammal-like reptiles started evolving 250 million years ago. About 66 million years ago is when there started being more changes and that is when mammals really started changing. So although there are a lot of differences that have been acquired over time within the mammals in the phylogenetic group they all originated at the same time. 

On Monday I wrote a draft about my anatomy and physiology lab. In this lab, we pricked our fingers and collected blood samples. Since then, both of the fingers that I pricked have bruised. After the first day my fingers were soar to the touch. Doing daily tasks, such as locking or unlocking my phone, became annoying because I had to use my non-dominate hand. Luckily, this only lasted a day. The next day my fingers were still bruised, but they were not soar. Now, three days later, the bruising is gone, but there is still a dot where they were pricked. I wonder how much longer it will take for this mark to go away. 

    At the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, there lies an infrequent interspecific relationship at all dining commons. Although the relationship occurs infrequently, it still occurs from time to time. Whenever students are dining at the dining commons, and in the kitchen glassware is broken, the sound is usually capable of reaching into the dining rooms where the students can hear it.
    When glassware or silverware is broken, it is sometimes followed by an applause. Yet this does not happen all the time. In fact, the reaction is quite inconsistent even amongst each dining commons.
    For example, in dining commons closer to the southwest region of campus, the applause is usually louder and cheering can typically be heard as well. Yet in dining commons closer to the northeast region of campus, the applause is much quieter (if at all), and usually consists of scattered clapping. Yet across all dining commons, a common factor includes the possibility of no clapping occurring.
    The reaction varies by the time of day as well. It’s much more likely that an applause is heard during night time, compared to day time. From personal experience and other testimonies from other UMass students, very few have actually heard an applause occur following the breakage of glassware during the day, yet at night it’s much more likely to occur.

Caspases are enzymes that are involved in apoptosis.  They are naturally transcribed and translated in the cell, but their unmodified form includes a domain that keeps them inactive.  Once apoptosis is triggered, modifier proteins cleave this domain, allowing the caspases to tetramerize into functional units. A caspase cascade is initiated, in which caspases sequentially cleave the inhibitory domains of their downstream caspases.  In order to kill the cell, caspases work primarily by destroying membranes. They form pores in mitochondrial membranes, allowing Cytochrome c release. This dissipates the membrane potential, so the mitochondria are unable to produce energy for the cell.  Caspases can also perforate the cell membrane, allowing the osmotic pressure to run to equilibrium, which spells disaster for the cell.