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.

         

Geological Timeline Individual Reflection

          There have been many major events in Earth's history, but there a certain three that have stood out to me. I think that one of the most major events was the creation of Earth. This is arguably one of the most important events out of Earth's history because if Earth hadn't been formed by the collisions that occurred 4.6 billion years ago, there would be nothing. There would be no animals, no plants, no humans, but most importantly, there would be no life. Another major event in Earth's history was the Cambrian Explosion that happened in the Cambrian Era. During this time, there was a lot of diversification in a short amount of time. This event is significant because it introduced lots of new species and created a huge amount of diversity. The last major event was the mass extinction of dinosaurs in the Mesozoic Era because it gave way to mammals and humans. Without this event, dinosaurs would still dominate the Earth and smaller mammals would not have been able to compete against them. Us humans also wouldn't have stood a chance against the dinosaurs let alone dominate the food chain and make as many advancements as we have.

          The scale of Earth's history is massive and it took an extremely long time to become what it is now. What surprised me the most was how so much of Earth's history was so bare and empty. Earth had no life until just recently when life and diversity started growing at fast rates.

          Although humans have only been around for a short amount of time, we have made a huge impact on this Earth. We have made so many advancements in technology, math, science, and so much more. Humans have changed the planet so much, when actually, if you think about it, we are merely a speck on the timeline of Earth. 

          One question that I still have is are other planets capable of undergoing changes like Earth did to create a habitable environment capable of sustaining life. Also, if humans can contribute this much in such a short amount of time, how many more advancements/improvements can they make in the many more years to come.

Hunger Games Final Analysis

1. We competed against each other with different ways of picking up food where only some of us would survive and leave offspring. Some people had the knuckler trait, some had the pincher beak, and some had the stumpy beak. Obviously, some traits were more favorable, and those were the ones that in the end, had the highest population. We simulated evolution, natural selection, and competition in this lab.

2. I thought that the pincher beak would be the best at capturing food, but it turned out that the knuckler beaks actually got the most food. This phenotype was the best at capturing food because this specific beak allowed someone to pick up food in between their knuckles on both hands while the stumpy beak could only pick up one piece of food at a time.

3. The population did evolve. I know it evolved because the gene allele frequency changed. As the years went by, the allele frequency for "a" started to grow bigger and bigger while the frequency for the "A" grew smaller and smaller.

4. The placement of the food in this lab was random. The placement of the food had a big effect on the evolution of this population because if the food was closer to one type of bird then they would probably pick up the most food and therefore leave more offspring. However, who one mated with was not random. Pinchers could purposely mate with pinchers so that it would guarantee offspring that is a pincher as well. This would affect the evolution of the population because one type of bird could dominate the population by using this method and essentially be the "winners".

5. The results would have been different if the food was larger or smaller. If the food was smaller then the stumpy beak would have a harder time picking up the food, and if the food were larger then the stumpy beaks would be able to pick up the food more easily. For example, if the food turned into soccer balls, then the stumpy population would dominate while the knuckler and pincher birds population would diminish. However, if the food turned into gumballs, then the knuckler and pincher birds would dominate the population while the stumpy birds die out. In nature, situations like this can happen and it's all just based on luck. Specific birds might have to find a different type of food to eat, or move to a different niche with less competition and more food.

6. The results would have been different if there was not incomplete dominance because then there would be no knucklers. There would only be pinchers and stumpys. The pinchers would then become the dominant trait and the "a" frequency would grow to a huge size while the "A" would go down to a very small percentage.

7. The relationship between natural selection and evolution is that natural selection causes evolution. The best traits are chosen and the ones with that specific trait survive better and reproduce offspring. The others without the trait start to die off, so as time passes, the population of the organisms with the best traits grow.

8. Some strategies that individuals used were picking up more food than their phenotype allowed by cheating and picking up food by the handful. Some people also used their hoods as extra pockets to put the food into. These actions would have affected the allele frequency by making it somewhat inaccurate. There could have been a higher allele frequency for "a" than "A" because people had advantages over others. These behaviors are similar to the ones in nature because competition is fierce and animals will do anything and everything they can to make sure they "win".

9. In evolution the single organism is not really the one who evolves. The population is what is really evolving. The alleles in a single individual do evolve, but it's really the population that evolves because the gene pool changes to match the best traits. Natural selection acts on the phenotype of an organism, not it's genotype because their physical traits are the ones evolving. Their genes aren't changing just the allele frequency.

10. A question that I still have is if there are ways birds can "cheat" to pick up more food. I also question if there really are techniques that birds use to "cheat", what methods do they use and do birds use them a lot.