Unit 10 Reflection

          In this unit we mainly focused on learning about the different organs and organ systems in humans along with their functions and importance to the body. We learned about the jobs of the different systems and we saw how they all work together to create a healthy body. We also saw how the body wouldn't be able to function correctly if it was even missing one of its smallest organs, and we really got to see the importance of the different organ systems.

          We first started the unit off by learning about homeostasis and the circulatory and respiratory systems. We learned that homeostasis is when an organism maintains its internal temperature. We also learned that positive feedback is when it goes one way quickly while negative feedback is when it dances around a set point. In addition, we saw that negative feedback is a lot more common than positive feedback. After learning about homeostasis, we learned about the circulatory and respiratory systems. We saw that the circulatory and respiratory systems work closely together in order to maintain homeostasis. We learned that the circulatory system transports blood, gases, and nutrients, collects and carries away waste materials, and separates oxygen-poor and oxygen-rich blood. We then learned that the respiratory system delivers oxygen from inhaled air to the blood and expels carbon dioxide and water.
          After learning about homeostasis and the circulatory and respiratory systems, we covered the nervous, endocrine, and digestive system. We learned that the there are two parts to the nervous system: the Central Nervous System and the Peripheral Nervous System. The CNS includes the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord while the PNS includes cranial nerves, spinal nerves, sensory neurons, and motor neurons. We also learned that the the CNS processes information and the spinal cord controls reflexes. After the nervous system, we learned about the endocrine system. The endocrine system is a system made up of glands that release hormones. The nervous system and the endocrine system work together and coordinate communication in the body. The nervous system uses high speed electrical signals to control other cells while the endocrine system has slower but longer lasting control of bodily functions such as reproduction, growth, and metabolism. There are six endocrine system glands: hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, adrenal gland, and pancreas. After discussing the endocrine system, we moved on to the digestive system. We learned that the six types of nutrients are water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins and that the two types of digestion are mechanical and chemical. The absorption of nutrients mostly occurs in the small intestine and the folded lining, villi, and microvilli really helps it retain the nutrients.
          Nearing the end of the unit, we learned about the immune system and the lymphatic system. We learned about innate immunity (all animals) and adaptive immunity (vertebrates only). We saw how the immune system responds to pathogens and other infections. The lymphatic system is a system of tubes and sacs throughout the body that collect waste and blood from tissues (lymph). We learned that lymph nodes helps fight infection and that white blood cells engulf pathogens.
          I want to learn more about the lymphatic system because I think that it is really interesting to learn about how we fight pathogens and infections. An unanswered question I have is why is the small intestine so large compared to all other organs. I wonder more about the nervous system and I want to learn a lot more about because I think it is super interesting to see how it controls basically our whole body.
          I think that I have grown a lot since my first post back in the beginning of the year. I think that I have especially gotten better at my unit reflections and relate and reviews. At first I kind of just rattled off the things that we learned about in the unit but now I feel that I thoroughly discuss each of the topics we learned about. I have definitely accomplished a lot throughout the way. I am very proud of my blog and I am for sure going to keep it so I can look back at it when I'm older. I am most proud of my Unit 9 Reflection and my Hunger Games Lab because I think that my Unit 9 Reflection was one of my best summaries out of any unit and that for the Hunger Games Lab I did a very good job of relating it to what we learned in class.

Pig Dissection Lab

          In this lab we had to dissect a fetus pig and identify both its organs and their functions. We then had to create a video going over all the different parts of the pig and displaying our knowledge on its anatomy. I think that the main reason we did this lab was to learn more about not just the pig, but also the human body. Although there are a few differences between a pig's anatomy and a human's anatomy, they are actually pretty similar. Another reason why I think we did this lab was to see how different parts of the body work together with each other to create a healthy and well-functioning body. An example of this was when we were asked questions like "What is the importance of the stomach?" or "What does the spleen do?" By answering these types of questions, we really got to envision how the pig wouldn't be able to function correctly if it didn't have these parts of its body. As we were dissecting the pig it also gave us a lot of perspective on how large and small different organs are compared to its body. This lab related to what we learned in class because we were able to see the different organs in the reproductive system, endocrine system, digestive system, etc. We also were able to label the different parts of the pig and explain their functions from our knowledge gained through the information we learned. My favorite part of the lab was probably when we took a closer look at the heart because we could really see the different part of the heart such as the arteries and ventricles. I also really liked this part because we found some differences from our heart and the pig's heart. We saw that the pig had its oracles outside the heart while ours are inside, and I thought that that was really interesting. Overall, I think that doing this lab was a great experience and very eye-opening.

20 Time Final Post

          Now that my 20 time project is over, I would like to share the outcome of my project and just the overall experience in general. Although I didn't have a final physical product, I have gotten pretty close to what I wanted my overall project to be. I plan to carry my project into the summer because I think it is super beneficial for not only my peers, but also me personally. Veda, my partner, and I are planning to test more methods on more people in order to get more accurate results and further our knowledge. I have recently been using our best testing methods for upcoming finals and I have found that it actually helps me relieve a lot of stress. Of course I still feel a bit pressured and stressed out, but that's expected. So far we have created a presentation explaining our project and a data chart with all of our results from our experiment.

          

          This is a photo of a chart that I made showing the research that we did when it comes to dealing with stress. I listed some ways to deal with stress, some ways to not deal with stress, and also some common signs of stress. This was one of the most important steps for building our project because it was the foundation of our whole experiment. We are planning to add more techniques and methods for dealing with stress to this list so that it can continue to help us as we carry this project into the future.

          After being in the near finals steps of our 20 time project, we presented a TED Talk in class to showcase what we did with our time and our personal interests. This is a video of our TED Talk.

          I think that my TED Talk actually went really well. Going into it, I felt really nervous and sort of unprepared. I had practiced a lot and I did it well at home, but I thought that I would freak out. However, once I started talking, my memory kicked in. I felt really comfortable and it helped a lot that I had another person speaking with me. I thought that the best part of my TED Talk was how I didn't have any notes and I memorized all my lines. If I had to do it again, I would definitely try to cite other sources but also try and connect/relate with the audience more. I think my take-away from this experience would be getting better at public speaking. Throughout this year, I think that my speaking skills have grown tremendously. In the beginning of the year, not even in just biology, whenever I had to do a presentation I would tense up and not do my best, but I think that I have really managed to get pretty comfortable talking in front of the class. I still get nervous, but I mean who doesn't?
          I liked listening to others' presentations because not only was it informational, but I also learned a lot more about that person and their hobbies/interests. I felt engaged and I thought it was good to get a small break from learning strictly biology to seeing and becoming aware of other topics. This 20 time project, in my opinion, was a really great experience and the only thing I would change would be to have more time so that people can have more time. There seemed to be the common problem of time for most people and I think that next year it would be a lot better if the students started from maybe the middle of first semester rather than the start of second semester.

Unit 9 Reflection

This unit was all about the evolution of organisms on Earth. We learned how organisms are classified and how they all contributed to our world in one way or another. By watching "Your Inner Fish" videos and doing the What on Earth Evolved Project, we saw the history of many different organisms and how they were introduced onto planet Earth. We also learned about plants, fungi, invertebrates, and chordates, along with the importance of them. We first started the unit off by learning about how life is organized. We found that classification is the grouping of organisms based on their similarities, and we learned about taxonomy and binomial nomenclature. We were also taught the seven levels of classification. Listing it from largest to smallest, the order is Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. I think that one of the themes/essential understandings of this unit was knowing that organisms are classified not only by their physical appearance, but also by their evolutionary descents. In the second vodcast we covered the many kingdoms and domains. We learned that the three domains are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya and that the five different kingdoms are Monera (Prokaryotes), Protista, Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia. We found that protists are very diverse and can be either unicellular or multicellular. We saw that fungi can be both decomposers and heterotrophs, and plantae can either have or not have a vascular system. We also learned that there are many different types of plants such as gymnosperms, angiosperms, and many more.

         

After learning about domains, kingdoms, and the levels of classification, we were introduced to bacteria and viruses. Bacteria are unicellular prokaryotes and were Earth's first organisms. They come in a variety of different shapes with the three most common being spheres (cocci), rods (bacilli), and spirals. Bacteria is important in our lives because they recycle nutrients, fix nitrogen, and help in the field of biotechnology. Viruses are not cells, but actually a very small infectious particle consisting of nucleic acid enclosed in a protein coat and, in some cases, a membranous envelope. Some viruses have membranous envelopes that help them infect hosts called viral envelopes. Once a viral genome has entered a cell, the cell begins to manufacture viral proteins and use the host enzymes, ribosomes, tRNAs, amino acids, ATP, and other molecules. The reason why viruses make us sick is because they damage or kill cells by causing the release of hydrolytic enzymes from lysosomes.

         

Now that we were familiar with bacteria and viruses, we learned about plants and fungi. The first true plants probably grew at the edges of water and evolved through natural selection. Some plants have a vascular system allowing resources to move to parts of the plant, giving it a huge advantage. The major plant phyla are Bryophyta (mosses), Pterophyta (ferns), Gymnosperms (cone bearing plants), and Angiosperms (flowering plants). There are two major types of Angiosperms, monocots, which have a single seed leaf, and dicots, which have two seed leaves. Fungi, on the other hand, have completely different traits than plants. Their cell walls are made of chitin and they absorb their food through hyphae. Some types of fungi are sac fungi, bread molds, and club fungi. They are important because they can be eaten, used for antibiotics, and act as pathogens.

Finally, we learned about invertebrates and chordates. There are two types of symmetry in animals: bilateral and radial. Some phylums of invertebrates are molluska, cnidaria, and porifera (sponges). Some other examples of invertebrates are crustaceans, arthropods, and insects. Most organisms in the phylum chordates are vertebrates rather than invertebrates. The seven classes of vertebrates are agnatha, condricthyes, osteicthyes, amphibia, and the amniotes reptilia, aves, and mammalia. Reptiles and amphibians have three chambers in their hearts, while birds and mammals have four. They can either be endothermic (warm-blooded) or ectothermic (cold-blooded).

I want to learn more about how transitional organisms such as Tiktaalik and Archaeopteryx because they are the bridges between two completely different species. The "Your Inner Fish" videos really sparked my interest in how humans came to be. An unanswered question I have is are there any other transitional organisms that we haven't found out about yet? I also wonder about how the tallest and biggest animal, can have the same common ancestor as the smallest and tiniest animal.

The What on Earth Evolved Presentation was a huge part of this unit. I thought that the project went really well, and I really liked how we had the freedom to add in information that we thought we were important rather than have set guidelines. We had basic instructions, but we could really customize the presentation for our own creativity. I think that I presented really well and did a good job memorizing my presentation, but I think that I could have done a better job by putting less words on the slides so that the audience could be more focused on what I'm saying rather than my visual. I will definitely apply the skills I've learned from this project into my TED Talk. Next time I will make sure to have less on my visual so I can be the one leading the presentation.

My Inner Fish

The two episodes of "My Inner Fish" really helped me understand how we came to be. We learned how the first transitional fish was discovered, and we learned more about how fish slowly developed more amphibian like traits. In the first video we watched, scientists found that the Sonic Hedgehog was responsible for shaping and generating the pattern of the digits. One of the questions we were asked was "Why do people have extra digits?" We learned that some people have extra digits because they have mutations that alter the signal of the Sonic Hedgehog. One small mutation can cause a huge effect, causing people to have extra fingers or toes. In the second video, we learned how we are closely related to reptiles. Another question we were asked was "Why are mass extinctions important?" We learned that mass extinctions can be both good and bad. Even though it wipes out most species, the surviving ones have new opportunities along with new niches. The extinction of dinosaurs was one of the most important mass extinctions because it gave way to mammals and eventually, us humans.

Invertebrate of Choice: Moon Jellyfish

Aurelia aurita, or more commonly known as moon jellies, are part of the cnidaria phyla. It is a part of the Animalia Kingdom, in the genus Aurelia, and in the class Scyphozoa. Moon jellies are one of the widely studied species of the genus Aurelia. Aurelia aurita live in ocean water temperatures ranging from 6 to 31 degrees Celsius. Moon jellyfish distribution is during the months of July and August where temperatures are high and dissolved oxygen is low. They mainly feed on plankton that includes organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, and other small organisms. They do not have respiratory parts such as gills, lungs, or trachea. They also don't have excretory or circulatory systems. Their main predators are ocean sunfish and leather back sea turtles, but they are also hunted by a few herbivorous fish. Something unique about this species is that they are capable of lifecycle reversal. This means that instead of growing older, they grow younger. Because of this, Aurelia aurita are nicknamed the "immortal jellyfish."A question that I have is will humans ever be capable of lifecycle reversal. I can relate this to our vodcast when we learned about all the different invertebrates.

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurelia_aurita)

Unit 8 Reflection

          This unit covered many major topics. We first learned about the gene pool and allele frequency and how when a population evolves, the gene frequency changes. We also learned about the Earth's history, or it's geological timeline and how much it has changed to get to where it is now. But most importantly, we learned about evolution and its effects of it on planet Earth. I think that one of the biggest themes/essential understandings out of this whole unit is the process of natural selection and how it works in the favor of an organism who has a better phenotype than others. When we did the Hunger Games Lab, we saw that when organisms had the most favorable phenotype, they were able to reproduce and have more offspring. Their offspring then had a higher chance of having the same favorable phenotype which caused them to survive better than others. In this way, the population of organisms with that specific phenotype grows until it dominates most of the population. However, the organisms that don't have the specific trait slowly die off because they can't compete with the organisms that do have the better trait. In the end, the population of the organisms with the desirable trait start to look more like "winners" while the other organisms who weren't as lucky look more like the "losers". Another major theme of this unit was how vast the history of Earth was. Before this unit, I thought that a couple hundred years back was so long ago. I couldn't imagine what life was like without the technology and advancements that we have today. But now, I realize that we are only a speck on Earth's timeline. Us humans have only been around for a few hundred years. There have been so many major events before we were introduced to planet Earth. For example, if there had been no increase of oxygen in the atmosphere during the Ordivician period then there might only be a few or maybe even no organisms on Earth right now!
          I still want to learn more about Earth's history and go more in depth into specific eras. I think that Earth's timeline is so immense and I think it's really interesting how much humans have done in such a short amount of time. An unanswered question I have is what caused all of the mass extinctions and explosions on Earth. I also wonder about how such seemingly bad events helped so much to evolve our planet for the better.
          Since writing my Unit 7 Reflection, I have definitely tried to be more assertive. I started giving more ideas when doing projects and being much more involved. I think that before I was more on the quiet side and didn't really contribute as much as I could have, but now, I feel that I am really participating a lot more and even sometimes stepping up to be the leader. However, I still think that I have a long way to go. One thing that I can do to further improve is to try and be more of a leader during group projects but also make sure not to overpower other people and their ideas.