CNS Junior Writing

All small animals that have hard skin and six legs get bigger by getting rid of their old skin and making a new skin hard. Young of these animals just have parts for feeding and growing, but older animals need parts for having sex and making babies -- and sometimes don't need parts for feeding any more.  

Some animals grow up by changing little by little but others change themselves completely at one point. When this happens, almost all of their inside parts actually die and a whole new animal grows again from just a few tiny bits of their inside parts. When the parts die the stuff they were made out of is used by the parts still alive to grow all of the new inside parts.

Often the new animal looks very different from its young form and may have body parts like wings and sex parts that the younger form didn't have. Often these new animals don't live very long -- just long enough to have sex and then lay eggs or have babies -- and then die.

Mantis Shrimp

https://theoatmeal.com/comics/mantis_shrimp

18 science ideas explained 

http://mentalfloss.com/article/48793/18-complicated-scientific-ideas-explained-simply

Rocket Science for Kids

https://www.universetoday.com/118059/spacexs-rocket-explained-so-simply-a-kid-could-understand/

What If

https://what-if.xkcd.com/152/
URL

I feel as if an Alaskan Malamute should be saved if there were a virus going on that is killing all dog breeds. I choose this breed because affectionate, devoted, dignified, loyal, playfiul and friendly. It features a powerful, sturdy body built for stamina ans strength. These dogs are sensitive and need open space. They are high energy dogs and therefore require vigiorous exercise. They love definitely a cooler climate. I would pick this dog because I feel I would an intelligent and loving companionfor life. These dogs haave a good adaptability they also posess tremedous strength, energy, endurance, and independance. Since alaskan malamutes look like wolves so it might scare an intruder off and they will protect you to any defense. Malamutes are very healthy dogs. They are also patient with children and love attention. They are quieter than most dogs but they tend to howl.

If the world was going to lose all of its domestic dogs except for one breed I would choose the closest decendant to the wolf. There is no concrete answer on the closest single breed but the general consensus from the internet would be a breed from the Spitz Dog family which originated in the Arctic Circle and were known to have bred directly with some types of wolves. You would want a close descendant from the wolf because that is originally how all domesticated dogs were even created. So by starting at the top of the genetic chain again you would eventually be able to create every domesticated dog breed over again. On the flip side if you started with a dog that was already a lot closer to the bottom of the genetic pool you wouldn't get as much of a variation of breeds that the world has now. Picking any of the Spitz breeds would be a good choice to carry on the domestication of dogs but to pick one specifically I would go with the Akita Inu from the Spitz family. They are a medium sized dog that can be extremely loyal and protective as well as being able to assist hunting trips for survival. The Akita Inu is a top choice because they are a strong dog with minimal genetic problems that could cause issue in restarting the dog population.

     The dog that is the most logical to save is the labrador retriever. Labrador retrievers make excellent service and hunting dogs. (AKC website) They are able to do search and rescue as well as drug and bomb detection. Even if they were the last breed left on Earth, handicapped people could still have help getting their needs met. Police officers would still be able to deploy them to find drugs and explosives and it would make the world a safer place. Labrador retrievers are also great family and companion dogs. Little children could still have their furry friends. It would be tragic to lose other dog breeds but saving the lab would make it a little less catastrophic. 

With the recent viral epidemic wiping out our canine companions, I offer the best selection possible for our single use vaccine. The American Pit Bull is the only choice worth considering the use of this medicine on. First, we need to consider the viability of the dog breed itself. Pit bulls are a short hair breed which makes them comfortable in warm climates. With human intervention, these dogs can sport cold weather gear to help adapt to frigid climates as well, making them viable in most temperature ranges, and allowing anyone to own them once the population becomes large enough. The American Pit Bull is also a mid to large sized dog, which allows for it to become a reliable service dog. According to an article at servicedogcertifications.org, The Pit Bull is capable of assisting with even the most strenuos of tasks, such as pulling a wheel chair. Pit Bulls are often looked upon with fear because of the misinformation that surrounds them. Pit Bulls are involved in a large amount of attacks on humans, however, they are also trained as gaurd dogs which makes them more likely to be involved in defensive scenarios. According to an article on therapypet.com, thier aggressive nature stems from the love they have for their owners, which is the same love that makes them safe around children, and loyal companions. The breed lives on average 12-16 years, which gives allows for the Pit Bull to undergo more mating cycles, allowing the population to recover faster. Overall, the only dog breed capable of surviving both extreme cold and heat, providing physical work, offering endless amounts of love, and with an acceptably long life cycle, the American Pit Bull is the only dog breed that is capable of filling in for the entire species.

        The American breed known as the Chesapeake Bay Retriever (Chessie)is a strong, reliable, intense, and built for endurance. This powerful working dog's ancestors were rescued from the icy waters of the Chesapeake Bay in 1807 (American Kennel Club). Originally this breed was use as a sporting dog, capable of retrieving 300 ducks in extreme cold in a single day. After the long day of retrieving these dogs were again tasked with defending the camp while the owners were out. Now Chessies are used for much more then that. They have an acute senting ability that has made them popular with K-9 handlers in the fields of search and rescue, drug, and bomb detection. This breed is a very loyal breed and forms a very strong bond with its handler. This versatile dog should be at the top of the list for saving because of its versatility.

Today you will write a science comic similar to those in the Thing Explainer.

Rules!

You must hand draw your comic (It's okay if it is not a masterpiece).

You must label your comic using only the 10,000 most commonly used words. 

You can use this website to find out if your word is part of the 10,000. :

https://xkcd.com/simplewriter/

Select one of the following scientific stories to tell in your comic.

1. Bombardier Beetles - Draw a cartoon explaining how bombardier beetles spray chemicals to defend themselves

http://news.mit.edu/2015/how-bombardier-beetles-produce-defensive-spray-0430

2. Barreleye Fish - Describe the unique anatomy of the barreleye fish, what the shield is used for and how they rotate their eyes.

http://www.mbari.org/barreleye-fish-with-tubular-eyes-and-transparent-head/

http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1643/CG-07-082

3. How Wolves Change Rivers - Describe how the reintroduction of wolves changed the rivers in Yellowstone.

https://www.yellowstonepark.com/things-to-do/wolf-reintroduction-changes-ecosystem

4. The sea cucumber and the pearlfish - Describe the unusual relationship between the pearlfish and the sea cucumber, the sea cucumbers unique defenses and how the pearlfish avoids them.

https://www.wired.com/2014/02/absurd-creature-of-the-week-pearlfish/

5. Decapitated flatworms can avoid light - describe the visual anatomy of flatworms and their ability to avoid light without heads

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2142167-flatworms-can-still-see-even-after-they-are-decapitated/

6. Slave making ants - describe how some ants make enslave other ant colonies rather than start their own.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20151028-a-few-species-of-ant-are-pirates-that-enslave-other-ants

When done, take a photo of your comic and upload it as an in-class activity. We will look at them at the end of the class.

This final review of the methods project has really beaten me down. My confidence level has drooped so much now I have no idea about what I am doing. I can clearly see that any aspirations of becoming a researcher have been completely removed. Now all I can hope for is at least a passing grade for this course. I do not see me attempting another course like this with a full course load. Writing has never been a strong suit of mine but up to this point I was feeling that my writing was at least adequate. Hopefully this next project will be better now that I have a better idea of what we are supposed to do (At least I think I do). I just have to remember that this research  has to be reproducible in order to be valid. Trying to write something that resembles a coherent paper is still going to be a challenge. 

        This was an observational study about differences replicating an original figure by using only the methods section of a research paper. To develop this section photos were taken of a plant that showed leafminer activity. These images plus a map showing where photos were taken are used to create multi panel figure. The process of how and where the photos were taken were then used to develop a methods section of a research paper. This methods section was then given to another student to follow and create a figure based on the methods that were written.