My friend Davis Whalen and I created a video for future AP Biology students! We used iMovie with a video-vlog approach to discuss our summary of the year, and any advice for the students of next year. Enjoy!
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LiMPETS Reflection
This last Wednesday, our AP Biology class took a field trip to Fitzgerald Marine Resort to interact with the tide pools that line our coast. We all bundled up in layers and went out on the beach, viewing the marine life and collecting scientific data for Save The Bay along the way.
I learned a lot more things on this field trip than I actually expected. The first thing I spotted after stepping upon the beach were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of Velella Velella. They looked like plastic to me at first, but our naturalist, Abby, explained to us that they were actually jelly-fish-like-looking Cniderians! Velella are cobalt colored with clear sails (which I had mistaken for plastic) that help them move along the surface of the ocean. These mysterious beauties lined the sand and the rocks like confetti – it was quite the sight to see!
Something that became very apparent to me during this field trip was how dynamic the ocean and tides really are. Our teacher Ms. Girard researched the tide schedule beforehand to find the optimal time to go out when the tide was as its lowest so that we could explore more and see the most organisms. However, we ended up arriving about 20 minutes late, and it became very apparent that the tide was on the rise! While doing our research we had to check behind our backs every few seconds to make sure we weren’t swept up by a wave. We started out as far as we could go and worked our way back to the shore quickly in order to get the most amount of data. I thought it was so interesting how quickly the waves changed and found that change to be fascinating.
Another thing that I learned was about the ocean zones. After exploring the tide pools for a while, it became obvious that there were certain areas where organisms of the same type resided. After we collected data with our small groups, we all got together and counted the amount of Big Green and Sunburst Anemones in a larger zone and were astonished about how many we counted. I did some research on my own afterwards and learned that there are four commonly recognized tidal zones based on exposure during tidal periods, wave action and shoreline features. Factors that determine whether or not an organism can live happily in one of these zones includes temperature, water depth, exposure to water, salinity, and wave action. The zones are displayed in the picture below:
Unfortunately, I was not at the class where Abby came in and gave our AP Biology class information about the tide pools and the organisms that inhabit it. However, I was able to make some connections to various things we learned in class. First of all, I was able to see how many organisms had adapted to the environment in which they were living. For example, the anemones were able to live both in and out of water by holding different shapes depending on whether or not they were submerged. Another thing that was very evident to me was how all the organisms worked and lived together. I witnessed some organisms eating each other (and let me tell you, seeing an anemone eat a Sea Star was quite dramatic) but for the most part I saw everything living in peace and harmony. It really exemplified a working ecosystem for me. There were many memorable moments on this field trip, but perhaps the most was getting to see my classmate, Simone, pick up a Sea Star and hold it in her hands. I am quite a fan of Sea Stars, and I usually do not get to see them when I go to the tide pools on my own time, so that was very cool for me. I also enjoyed getting to collect data for a research organization such as Save the Bay – it was not hard at all, and it was in my opinion a better way to learn about all of the creatures living there. I would definitely recommend that future classes continue to go on this field trip – I am a huge advocator for hands-on learning and I think field trips are the best way to really experience that. The only thing I would change about this field trip would be to talk more and learn more about the Seals that were sunbathing on the rocks. There were even some pups there, and I would love to learn more about them! But overall, I had a blast, and would definitely be interested in going back!
Here is a link to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve!
https://parks.smcgov.org/fitzgerald-marine-reserve
Works Cited:
“Tidal Zones.” Tidal Zones. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://oregontidepools.org/tidalzones>.
Three Person Babies
On February 3rd, 2015, Great Britain passed a law to legalize mitochondrial DNA modification, thus allowing “three-person babies” or “three-person embryos”. Mitochondrial diseases strike many in the UK, and generally are fatal or reduce the life of a child significantly. Symptoms of a mitochondrial disease include seizures, diabetes, muscle atrophy, and general neurological problems. This new law allows doctors to replace the nucleus from an egg that has mitochondrial mutations with a nucleus from a healthy egg donor. This gives hopes to mothers with genetic mitochondrial disease to have healthy children.
The legislation of a “three-person embryo” has stirred up a lot of controversy. Many people are excited about the possibility of eliminating mitochondrial diseases and reducing death in children. However, others are worried that allowing modification of mitochondrial DNA would be a slippery slope to allowing nuclear DNA modification. This would open the door to modifying phenotype, physique, characteristics, and possibly personality type. Many think that this would be completely immoral and lead to a lot of societal problems, such as decreasing genetic variation and increasing the gap between the rich and the poor.
I personally am for mitochondrial DNA modification. I think anything that can help cure diseases and increase the lifespan of children is something that we should continue to invest in. However, I definitely understand why people are worried about this and how this could potentially lead to other things. I recently watched the movie Gattaca, which is a futuristic utopian movie created to highlight the dangers of normalizing genetic modification in humans. In this movie, parents are allowed to pick the genotype and phenotype of their children. Because of this, one’s position in society is based off of his genetics. I really enjoyed this movie, and I can see a lot of relations between Gattaca and the “three-person babies”. I’ll insert the trailer below:
To look at the KQED article, click here!
Don’t Sneeze, Please!
It is winter time, and you know what that means: Cold Season! While being in the cold does not directly translate to getting the virus for the common cold, lower temperatures often weaken the immune disease, inhibiting the body from properly fighting off the virus. There are over 200 different viruses of the common cold which circulate, causing most people to catch the cold two to three times per year. The common cold viruses are transmitted through breathing in the aerosol droplets of the virus and by touching your face with something that touched a surface that the cold resided on. I’m sure you’ve experienced it – the stuffy nose, itchy throat, runny eyes, and the all around feeling of grossness. You feel yucky, chances are you have to take off from school or work, and it just is generally not a good experience. So then, the real question is, how can I not catch the cold this cold season? Below are some tips as to how to prevent catching the common cold:
- WASH YOUR HANDS!!! Wash your hands as frequently as possible to avoid transmitting the virus by touching surfaces.
- Stay warm: keep your immune system strong and running by staying out of the cold and keeping your body temperature warm.
- Don’t share drinks.
- Cough into your elbow or arm.
- Eat foods that are high in Vitamin C to boost your immune system.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. In general, just avoid touching your face!
- Bring hand sanitizer with you in case you can’t find a sink before eating.
- Wear a medical mask. While you might think it looks silly, wearing a mask could be a good way to protect yourself from the virus.
Stay healthy!
Never, Ever Give Up!
In this TedTalk, Diana Nyad speaks to the public about her incredible journey; she swam 100 miles from Cuba to Florida at the age of 64. She is the first person ever to have made this swim, which is incredibly impressive. This had been Diana’s dream for a very long time, and it is amazing that she never gave up and worked until she accomplished this task, especially at her age. I love TedTalks in general, and this one was no exception. I found Diana’s speech to be very inspirational. Though I have no desire to even swim 1 mile (much less 100), I think her message is applicable to anyone who has a dream or a goal they want to achieve. I do not necessarily have a dream that I have been striving towards for years, but I have always wanted to become fluent in french. After five years of studying the language, I have definitely had my doubts about whether or not this goal could possibly be achieved. However, I know that as long as I keep trying, and make efforts to find new people to converse with and new vocabulary words to learn, I can achieve this goal – most likely before I am the age of 64! I am hoping to someday live in a french speaking country and become bilingual.
I think that Diana’s story is incredible. My favorite parts of her speech were the quotations she incorporated – especially the one from Socrates: “To be is to do”. This one line seems extremely simple and obvious – in order to be something or someone, you have to do what is required of that position or status. However, I think many people go through life thinking that they can just fake their way to their goal without actually having to work. This talk has impacted me by opening my eyes to this and reminding me that with big dreams comes big effort.
Here is the Diana Nyad’s Ted Talk! Make sure to microSCOPE it out! (ba doom tsss) http://www.ted.com/talks/diana_nyad_never_ever_give_up#t-800271
Works Cited:
Feydey. “File:Open Book Nae French Flag.png.” Wikimedia Commons, 7 Oct. 2011. Web. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Open_book_nae_French_flag.png>.
Cracking the Code of Life
Cracking the Code of Life is a documentary that focuses on the Human Genome Project and the race to decode the complete set of nucleotide pairs in the entire human genome. The race is between a private and public institution, both of whom had the same goal: to find a new and efficient way to map out the letter sequence of DNA in humans. The previous method, which was to decode each phosphate band – A, C, T, and G – by hand, was scheduled to take about 15 years. The race started when a man named Craig Venter created his own private company by the name of Celera Genomics to find a quicker way to do this in 2 years instead of 15. Machines were created which could decode 1,000 genes per second; humans, on the other hand, could only map out about 100 per day the previous way. In turn, the government (public institution) stepped up its game to create new machines and laboratories so that they could find the information first and therefore make the information open to the general public instead of patented. In the end, Bill Clinton declared a tie between the two organizations after they had mapped out all 3 billion base pairs by using each other’s work.
This documentary also focuses on two genetic disorders: Tay Sach’s disease and Cystic Fibrosis. We followed around two families who each had babies affected with with each disease. I personally found the parts that focused on these families and these diseases to be the most interesting.The idea of my future children being diagnosed with either scares me a lot though, because each are extremely small mutations in the fact that only one (Tay Sach’s) or three (Cystic Fibrosis) letters are changed. I think it would be so extremely sad to be a mother and hear that your beautiful child only has a few more years to live. Both diseases are incredibly evasive, and those few years the child has left will be spent in close to a vegetable state, with total reliance on the parents. I don’t know if I would be able to handle that as a parent, to be honest – it’s a scary concept.
Overall, I enjoyed this documentary. I personally think the movie would have been better if there was a stronger focus on documenting families who are affected by genetic diseases. However, I understand that really was not the main point of Cracking the Code of Life, and enjoyed watching nonetheless. I really find movies to be an engaging way to learn, and look forward to hopefully receiving more assignments such as this one in the future!
Save the Bay Reflection
Our class went on a field trip to the wetlands of the San Francisco Bay last tuesday. Save the Bay is an organization which specializes in restoration of the San Francisco Bay using both specialists and volunteers (i.e. citizen science). Since the early 1900s, the wetlands have been reduced 90%. This has greatly affected the wildlife, endangering many native species.
Here is what I learned:
1. Pickleweed evolved to be able to live in salt water. This directly relates to evolution and adaptation, which we learned about in Unit 1. Genetically, most species of wildlife has mutated somewhere along the line in order to adapt to the environment.
2. The California drought has been one of the worst droughts in the history of California, and has greatly affected the wildlife and the statistics of information that Save the Bay collects.
3. The San Francisco Bay is the second biggest estuary in the country, after the Chesapeake Bay. As an estuary, the San Francisco Bay harvests both freshwater and saltwater plants, thus increasing specie diversity.
Citizen Science is a branch of science where data and information is taken and recorded by citizens of the general public. Citizen science, while maybe not all as accurate as science performed by a professional, is important because there is a lack of scientists but a surplus of discoveries to be made. Generally, the more information collected the better for scientific purposes and projects, and citizen science encourages this. By taking this data, not only did collect data for the Save the Bay organization which can potentially go to new project and statistics, but I also gained respect for the San Francisco Bay and Save the Bay.
In my small group, I was the data collector. I highly enjoyed this position; being the scribe and organizing data is my specialty. We tested soil salinity, moisture, pH, conductivity, and biodiversity.
Overall, I had a ton of fun on this field trip. I always look for an excuse to get out of the standard classroom and this trip enabled my classmates and me to do so. Assisting on this Save the Bay project made me feel like we were doing a lab, except this time I was really able to connect a lab-like experience with real life experiences. I will always remember Ms. Cerels getting stung by a wasp, which I think is safe to say was a traumatizing moment for everyone involved. If I could change one thing about the field trip, I would have it on a day where the weather is a little bit better, because the fresh rain arose the wasps and made them a little bit angry. I really liked my leader, Mugwart (aka Brian), and for some reason the fact that this was his first time working on this specific project too calmed me down and made the experience more enjoyable. I definitely think this field trip was worthwhile and would love to go again.
Save the Bay: Pre-Trip
On Wednesday, November 17th, our class is going on a field trip to work with the organization Save the Bay to help do some research and learn about the environment and what we can do to preserve it. I personally am a huge fan of field trips – they are just as fun during 12th grade as they were during kindergarten. I believe that getting out of the classroom and having more of a hands-on approach to learning makes the material more memorable. Also, I think just changing up the environment and the normal schedule of a student makes the experience special and thus leaves more of a positive connotation. Field trips are similar to labs in the sense that they both demonstrate real life applications of whatever material is being studied to the real world.
I personally am really excited to observe the animals in the wetlands and learn about preventive measures to save the environment. As an animal lover I am primarily concerned with the negative effects pollution has on wildlife. I would like to learn more about how severely human activity is hurting the environment and what the future looks like for our planet if we do not make drastic changes to the way we treat it. Obviously, I would like to positively affect the environment. I don’t think anyone has the intention of having a negative impact on the environment (or at least I hope not), but I know the third option, apathy, may unfortunately be the dominant choice. Humans are naturally selfish beings, and many people simply do not care enough about what happens to the planet to make any efforts to improve its condition. I hope on this field trip to learn some basic ways that even one person can make a difference in order to try and solve this problem.
Visit http://blog.savesfbay.org to learn more about Save the Bay!
Ebola: The Merciless Killer
As Ebola has spread across Africa so has fear of this vicious virus. So far, according to the Center for Disease Control, Ebola has spread to a confirmed five countries since its outbreak in Guinea. The mortality has been thought to be up to 90%, meaning 9 out of 10 people infected with Ebola dies. One of the main challenges of fighting Ebola is containment: due to lack of proper health and sanitation care in African, this has become one of the most prominent reasons the virus has continued to spread. The international community has attempted to help control containment by putting international troops in these infected countries in attempt to try and contain the disease. However, I think the best way to control this virus (along with many other diseases) is to find the root of the problem – public health. By donating money and supporting foundations to help with public sanitation and health in Africa, other countries can in turn help with overcoming viruses such as Ebola. It is essential that other nations attempt to help in the fight against Ebola – otherwise, Ebola will go from some horrific-far-away-disease to a reality in our nation. Unless Ebola is stopped in its tracks, it WILL spread to other nations and become even more of a worldwide problem. This Ebola issue has affected how I think about health and medicine in my community because it has made me realize that access to good health care universally may be the ticket to stopping these diseases before they even start.
Works Cited:
“How Can We Help Fight the Ebola Outbreak?” KQED Education KQED Public Media for Northern CA. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
FLOW
FLOW (For the Love of Water) is a documentary about the water crisis which is occurring in the world today. This crisis includes sanitation of water worldwide, the lack of availability of clean drinking water in many countries, and how we are using up this essential, natural resource at a rapid pace. This film truly opened my eyes. As Americans with 100% access to fresh water, it is too easy for us to forget or not fully be able to comprehend that so many do not have access at all. In many places, especially in Africa, Southern Asia, and parts of Central/South America, getting water is a daily struggle which involves walking miles and miles in the burning sun just to get subpar, dirty water. We also do not seem to realize how much of this precious water we put to waste. After watching this film I am much more conscious of how much water I use and have been making changes to limit my water usage such as shorter showers and catching water in a bucket while I wait for the water to heat up.
This documentary has not only raised my awareness of this issue but has inspired me to try and help. There is a petition to make access to water a human right through the United Nations, and immediately after watching this movie I went to sign it. You can view this petition and sign it too by clicking here! (I highly encourage it – is there really ANY downside to helping others gain access to one of the bare necessities of life?) This movie has also made me hopeful that my school repeats a fundraiser that we have done in previous years to raise money (along with our brother and sister school) to build a well in a village in Africa. I will definitely be vying for it and if our school does decide on it, I will be donating all that I can.
Lastly, and most importantly, this video has really sparked an interest in me for traveling abroad and doing some peace work/charity in third world countries. I want to help in absolutely any way that I can. As I am applying to colleges, I am keeping this in mind and am looking farther into study abroad programs, emphasis on charity programs, and the passing out of grants in every college that I am applying to in hopes that maybe someday I can take part in a project such as building a well in Africa or funding a project to filter out water. In a couple weeks I will be flying to L.A. and meeting with a family friend who has just done similar projects in Kenya to get her input and learn about her experiences.
If you (like myself) are curious about FLOW and would like to learn more, I will post the link here for your viewing pleasures. Below I will also link a video that you can watch to farther educate yourself about the issue.
Thank you and have a great day!
Works Cited:
For the Love of Water. Dir. Irena Salina. Prod. Steven Starr. Oscilloscope Laboratories, 2009. DVD.
MicroSCOPE It Out 
