Scribe Post 5/3

Today in class we...

• Finished the notes packet
• Watched a video

Tonight's Homework...

• Digestion handouts due Friday
• UP p.47-51 Prelab due Friday
• Lab #55 due Monday
• Design a Quiz due Tuesday (closer than you think!)

In the Notes...

• The stomach engages in chemical, and mechanical digestion
• HCl, gastric juice, Rennin, and Pepsin chemically digest
• Constant churning from the stomach mechanically digests
• After the stomach, the "food" moves into the duodenum of the small intestine

• Villi and microvilli absorb the nutrients into the capillaries
• Villi and microvilli increase the surface area, expediting absorption

Moving on to something a little off topic in the notes...

• The old Food Pyramid is no longer effective (Right)
• Based on "servings" which can vary
• Made in 1992, it has recently been revived
• The new Pyramid focuses on easily measurable items

• Orange= Grains; 5-8 oz.
• Green= Vegetables; 2.5 cups
• Red= Fruits; 2 cups
• Yellow= Oils
• Blue= Milk; 3 cups
• Purple= Beans and Meats; 5.5 oz.

• Eating disorders are seriously dangerous, and present all around the world
• Malnutrition: a deficiency of one or more of the essential nutrients
• There are 8 critical amino acids for survival
• Kwashiorkor: Inadequate protein intake. Lack of blood proteins lead to swollen limbs
• Undernutrtion: Lack of the essential amino acids forces the body to break down muscles and brain
• Obesity: Too high of a ratio of weight to height
• 25% of Americans suffer from obesity
• Fat Cravings: Believed to be an evolutionary advancement, a craving for fattening foods
• Anorexia and Bulimia are more common in the US
• Largely caused by harsh media portrayals of "pretty"

Next Scribe: **MINJI WILL***

Scribe Post, 2/15

In Class We...

• Got pages 7-10 in the UP stamped
• Reviewed and turned in pages 11-14 from the UP
• Discussed the pill bug lab
• Took notes
• Did lab #44

Homework...

• Read chapter 16 if you haven't (you should be done)
• Complete lab 44- DUE tomorrow
• Complete two of the following activities in your UP: 15, 17-18, 19, 21-26- DUE 2/17
• Continue working on Nature magazine cover- DUE 3/2

The Pill Bug Lab...

• Turn to page 51 in your unit packet to the page titled "Observation of a Living Isopod"
• As explained on this page, we will be creating a tray with two or four connecting chambers, containing separate environments, and we must observe how the pill bugs (rolly pollys) react to these environments.
  
• Our homework for this lab is to research pill bugs and prepare lab ideas by 2/22 (next Wednesday) where we will be assigned groups to set up the lab with.

In the Notes...

As a warning, we skipped a few pages and began taking notes on page 11, about fungi.

BACKGROUND:

• Fungi is an organism that rots woods, spoils foods, and infects human skin (this is why we should wear flip flops in the shower!)
• Organic materials, such as dead animals, are decomposed by fungi. Going back to the first unit, ecology, fungi are the decomposers in most environments.
• Something KEY to remember: Fungi are eukaryotes, and heterotrophs, and TYPICALLY multicellular
• People used to classify fungi as plants, which is why some of us may stumble on a question regarding whether or not fungi are heterotrophic!
• Fungi digest their foods OUTSIDE their body by secreting enzymes to digest the material before consumption.
• These enzymes are called hydrolytic enzymes (hydro=water, lytic=breaking). With these they absorb the already decomposed nutrients.
• Some fungi are parasitic (we all know anything regarding parasitism grosses me out!!!)
• These parasitic fungi absorb the nutrients from living hosts. Remember from prior units that parasites harm their hosts but DO NOT kill them.
• This parasitic fungi can also harm humans though, inflicting them with diseases such as athlete's foot and pneumonia (pneumonia can be a result of other pathogenic substances also)

Fungi: Structure and Function:

Fungi grow most successfully in moist environments.

Constructed of hyphae- small threads made of tubular walls, surrounded by plasma membranes and cytoplasm

All of the hyphae come together to form a mycelium- the massive underground feeding system of fungi. An example of the enormity of the mycelium is seen in a fungus in Oregon that measures 3.4 miles in diameter.

Another example is when you see multiple mushrooms in your yard, they are all one organism because they are connected through the unseen mycelium.

Fungal Reproduction:

• Fungi reproduce by reducing spores, which are created either sexually OR asexually. (Remember, sexual reproduction creates diversity, while asexual reproduction is an exact copy)
• Spores, in produced in the trillions, can be carried by the wind or water and, if they land in a suitable, moist environment, they can germinate (grow).

Importance?!

• Fungus is edible, helps make bread rise, assists in fermenting beer and alcohol, it helps make cheese, and most importantly it is used in the production of some antibiotics (penicillin and sulfa)

Lab #44...

This lab was taken from our lab books (pages 261-265), not the UP....

• The main focus of this activity was to...

1. Identify the parts of a mushroom (stipe, cap veil, annulus, gills)
2. Observe basidia and spores of a mushroom
3. Observe the structure of lichens

• In this lab, we did not do the microscope questions (skip 8e and 8f from part 1, and 4c in part 2)
• We began this lab with a common mushroom, and examined whether or not the veil had broken yet. This would determine whether your specimen is mature or not.
• After this, you must draw your specimen in the space provided.
• Once done, remove the cap from the stipe and examine the gills within the cap.
• Tap the head on the ground and observe any material that falls from the gills.
• After this, continue reading questions 5-7, however you do not need to complete question 8.
• Once done, you must take a lichen sample from the front desk, and analyze your sample (Don't forget to read the background information on lichens above the problems!)
• After you complete questions one and two, continue to read, however do not complete the microscope activity. The following questions (1-5) are your homework

If you have read this far, thanks for your time.

NEXT SCRIBE:

ANNA !!!

Scribe Post 11/7

Today in class we:

1. Turned in the homework, UP pages 3-4, 9-11, and our spice lab write up


2. Finished the meiosis notes


3. Watched a video on meiosis

In the video, we reveiwed the process of sexual reproduction in cells, and got more into depth with crossovers in chromosomes, exchanging genetic information thus adding diversity to the cell.

IN THE NOTES:

In the notes in class, we began with explaining the 3 resons for variety in species:

1. 
   
   Independent Assortment: the arrangement of the homologous chromosome pairs at metaphase 1 varies and is a matter of chance. Each pair orients itself independently of the other pair. This affects the the resulting gametes=variety. Each human gamete has 8 million possible combinations.


2. 
   
   Random Fertiliazation: 1 egg (8 million possible combinations) with 1 sperm (8 million possible combinations) results in 64 trillion different potential combinations.


3. 
   
   Crossing Over: This is the exchanging of genetic information by homologous chromatids, creating a genetic recombination.

After this, we moved on to explaining possible errors that may occur during meiosis:

1. 
   
   Nondisjunction: This is when the chromosomes fail to seperate during Anaphase I or II. This occurs with autosomes or sex chromosomes, thus leading to a mutation.

Some examples of a mutation or disorder caused by a nondisjunction are:





• Trisonomy 21 (Down Syndrome): This is when a nondisjunction occurs in the 21st chromosome, resulting in three (a trisonomy) of chromosome 21.


• Klinefelter Syndrome- male XXY: This syndrome occurs when the X chromosome fails to seperate and the male is left with two X chromosomes and a Y


• Turner Syndrome- female XO: This syndrome also occurs in the X chromosome, except the female is missing an X chromosome due to a disjunction

2. Breakage of a chromosome:

• Deletion: if a fragment of genetic information is lost, the remaining chromosome has a deletion


• Duplication: If a fragment of a chromosome is inserted into another homologous chromosome, it produces a duplication there.


• Inversion: If a fragment of genetic information is detatch from the chromosome and then retatched in the reverse direction, an inversion has occured


• Translation: If a fragment of genetic information attatches to a nonhomologous chromosome, a translation of genetic information has occured.

Tonights homeworks is:

• Cut out page 21 and put it in a SEPERATE bag from your assigned page (B, C, or D)


• Study for quiz.

Next Scribe: ***Eleni***

6/14/11 Scribe Post

Today in class we:

-Finished taking notes in the Unit 1: Scientific Method Packet

-Did the activity on pages 73-75

In the notes:

TOPIC: Global Warming

-caused by an increase in the atmospheres CO2 levels

-largely due to the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation

-if the global temperature rises by 2 degrees C, then polar ice caos could melt causing sea levels to rise, flooding cities on the shore, and change in rainfall patterns, effecting farming

TOPIC: Ozone Layer Depletion

-caused by the use of chlorofluorocarbons (chemicals used for refridgeration and aerosals)

-Why is this bad?

1). increases amount of skin cancer

2). increases amount of cateracts

3). damages crops

4). increases phytoplakton (plankton that gains energy from the sun)

-in 1987 many nations ended CFC production which wasn't officially followed until 2010

-there's an ozone hole over Antartica that occasionally moves over area of Australia, New Zealand, and South America

-because of this, Australia has the largest skin cancer rate in the world

TOPIC: Biodiversity Crisis

-a decline in Earth's variety of life

-we are losing species: birds, plants, trees, freshwater fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals

WHAT CAUSES ALL OF THIS?

1). Habitat destruction- land, wetland, and marine

2). Introduced species-eliminate native species. Ex: Asian Carp outcompeting other freshwater fish in the Illinois rivers

3). Overexploitation- excessive commercial harvest or sport hunting. Ex: whales, dolphins, sea turtles, elephants

TOPIC: Why does biodiversity matter?

-We depend on species for food, shelter, clothing, shelter, oxygen, and soil

-25% of prescription medicines come from plants. Ex: Aloe is used to treat burns and dry skin

-Human populations could be altered by changes in biodiversity

-Field of Conservation Biology: seeks to counter the loss of biodiversity

-Doal: Sustainable developement balancing human needs with the health of the biosphere. Goal is prosperityof human societies and ecosystems that support them

In the activity:

Pages 73- 75

"Environmental Action Simulation"

In this activity we were all paired in groups of 4-5 people. We were to pretend we were part of the Granite City Environmental Action Organization. We were then given a $20,000 grant in which we were supposed to divide amongst several organizations in need of funding. We then wrote paragraphs explaining why we chose to divide the funds this way.

Homework:

-read the articles given by Mrs. Andrews

-answer the questions on the article

Next Scribe: ***Anna***