pig dissection review

This lab went very well. The process of dissecting the pig was fun, but also a bit nasty at times. My team and i worked very well for the most-part, except constant rudeness and emotional break outs by one of the members of our team. Despite that inconvenience, we were able to come back together as a team and finish the dissection with time to spare. we took time to look at the sheet and locate each organ and vein in the body. After multiple times of going over the pig and where the different organs are, we filmed the final product which is in the URL below. This was a great experiment that will help me in the future to better understand animals and how they work, as i pursue a zoology career.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CAwDGzMq2c

20 time overview reflection

My 20 time project on channelization went great. i flew through all class sessions and knew what i needed to get accomplished. i have a good google slides explaining my idea along with pictures, and i am in the process of making a replica of what i am talking about. Choosing this topic was a big challenge to me because it was something i didn't know much about, and wasn't originally what i planned to do the project on. I learned while working on this project, that it did affect one of my strongest passions. Learning about the effects channelization could have on native wildlife really created a passion within me that i was happy to let out. I chose this challenge with the goal that i would find a way to have the benefits of channelization, but so that it was less threatening to the animals! i was able to better my skills and help myself by learning to use google slides, and practicing public speaking in front of the class. The process of achieving my goal went very well, and i was able to get my point across in a realistic way. This project was a success! i can recall a single problem i ran into during the process. The only problem i had was the lack of focus during a few of the 20 time days, when i wouldn't be able to gather my mind. if i had a chance to do this project again i wouldn't change a single thing, except incorporate animals into the process more and make it less about channelization. My next step is to perform this project in front of the class and pass on my knowledge to my classmates. I can also carry this information into my future and learn about knew ways to keep animals safe.

Unit 9 Reflection

Unit 9 the unit of evolution and change was one of my favorite units. In this unit we discovered the relationship between all animals, found common ancestors and learned about how different species evolved. we better furthered our knowledge on invertebrates, chordates and fish. 

This unit began with a mini dissection of a flower, to see how it reproduces and how it has evolved. We also did a lab, where we looked at different species of animals from fish to crabs. We had to look at and understand the differences between the species, and the jobs they do. My passion is animals or nature, so this unit was right up my alley. It was easy for me to understand the different characteristics and know the difference between different species. 

Later on in this unit after we learned the basics, we were all assigned an organism to research. This project was called "What On Earth Evolved" and we needed to teach the class about our organism and explain how it has changed and evolved. I did my presentation on the honey bee and was easily able to talk and explain it to the class. 

This unit has taught me a lot that i can use on future tests and in future labs. This information will stick with me forever, while i purse a degree in zoology and move on to work with all different species of animals. From invertebrates to insects, it can be explained how we are all related. 

google slides presentation "what on earth evolved"

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JupgO2-Nt6LBrPf02WaV2dRm3An4ZuaFRvVT5rBm3sA/edit#slide=id.g12e9ffc5ca_0_0

inner fish relate and review

After watching "Your Inner Fish" i began to better understand the connection between us and all other life forms. Not only did we watch that, but we also watched "Your Inner Reptile". These videos explained to me how all living things have connections. Whether its a fish, or a reptile, there are traces of ancestry and things that relate us to them. In embryo form, all living organisms look almost identical, with only minor characteristics to tell us apart.  Over millions of years they claimed, that we formed from the organisms. We are related to fish and reptiles the film said, and the way we form and the different bones in our body are related. These movie relate to the last unit we learned about, and how evolution has changed different species to help them adapt to better survive in this world. We can tie the film into the same category or unit because it helps teach us about how we were all embryos and basically the same, but evolution has changed each species and created differences between us. I can also now use what i learned in this video for the future units. I will be able to know how we all formed and that we all have a common ancestor. The information that i have absorbed from this film should also help me on the upcoming test that has information on evolution and adaption.

Invertebrates: The Cuddle fish

The Cuddle Fish or Sepiida! I'm doing my blog post on the cuddle fish because its a very unique invertebrate with many different features that are appealing to my interests. The cuddle fish is a species closely related to the squid and octopus families, in the Molluska invertebrate group. They have long stretched out bodies and a series of tentacles around their mouths. My favorite adaption that the cuddle fish has adapted is its ability to change color. The skin of the fish will change or often flash color pigments rapidly during fighting to scare off the contestant, or during mating to attract a member of the opposite sex. Just like their relatives, the cuddle fish contains a small sack witch it uses to discrete an inky liquid in times of danger to allow the fish a moment to flee from the scene. The cuddle fish comes in many different sizes, from just 15 Cm to sometimes half a meter in length! It is a real excitement to watch this cuddle fish eat its food. They are primarily carnivores, feeding on crabs, other crustaceans and sometimes small fish. They cuddle fish grabs the prey item in its tentacles and bites down on it using a hard beak that is hidden within. Cuddle fish are known all over the world and are known to live in any type of environment, from shallow warm tropics to cold deep ocean floors this animal thrives. This really is a magnificent invertebrate that still finds ways to shock the world and amaze scientists. Below are some pictures of cuddle fish and a chart helping better describe this animal and give a better idea of what the cuddle fish really is.

Cuttlefish Facts Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Order: Decapodiformes Family: Sepiida Common Name: Cuttlefish Scientific Name: Sepiida Found: Worldwide Diet: Carnivore Size (L): 15cm - 50cm (5.9in - 20in) Weight: 3kg - 10.5kg (6.6lbs - 23lbs) Number of Species: 120 Average Lifespan: 1 - 3 years Conservation Status: Threatened Colour: Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Pink, White Skin Type: Smooth Favourite Food: Crab Habitat: Coastal and deeper waters Average Litter Size: 200 Main Prey: Crab, Shrimp, Fish Predators: Fish, Sharks, Cuttlefish Distinctive Features: Long body shape and large eyes

3rd Blog Post

The last 3 weeks of working on my 20 time project went great! I was able to better further my interest and gain more information about channelization. I have finaly come up with a solution to fix the problem of channelization. I propose that we as people can eliminate all concrete channelization from local streams of rivers and then plant native plants in their place, so the river can take control and make its own path. Slowly but surely, overtime the rivers and streams will be good as new. I learned more about how channelization is affecting the animal populations because it is destroying their habitat, and I also began to see how I am good at thinking through problems and coming up with solutions, especially involving animals or the environment. I had no major setbacks during these 3 weeks. I felt I worked quite efficiently and finish what I set out to do by 3 weeks. I will now create a diagram or repusentation to show the class how channelization affects the environment, then pitch my idea and see how they react. I can use these learning methods in class to help me better come up with solutions to problems.

Unit 8 Reflection

Unit 8 was all about change, and how organisms and the world have changed. We started off this unit with multiple vodcasts to get our minds wrapped around the idea of change over time and natural selection. We then did two labs to demon strait natural selection, and how only the species willing to change and adapt will survive. The first lab we did was the "bird beak lab"; in this lab each group member was given a utensil to use as a "bird beak". We all had a certain amount of time to pick up as much food as we can with the beaks, and get a good idea of how natural selection can really affect a population. The second lab that we did as a class was the "Hunger Games Lab". This lab had the same idea as the other lab; to teach us more about natural selection and change over time. Both these labs demonstrated to us the importance of natural selection. I can use the information that i have learned today in the future because i look forward to having a job that includes working with exotic animals. By knowing how these things work, i will better understand how they have changed overtime, and what contributed to their change. This unit was very informing and helped better further my knowledge.

Geologic timeline individual reflection

The earth has gone through so many phases and stages. Some major events in earths history are the big bang theory, the extinction of the dinosaurs' and the Proterozoic eon, the largest period in the earths history timeline. The bib bang was probably the most important time in history because from this the moon was formed. if the moon wasn't formed then the earth wouldn't b able to function how it does. The extinction of the Jurassic period was in my book a big historical event. Everyone knows about the dinosaurs and knows how they were killed by an asteroid that collided into the earth. Finally the Proterozoic eon was very important because it was the longest period in the worlds history! While exploring the earths history I was surprised to see how the continents moved drastically and how many extinctions there were. After each major period in earths history, there was an extinction of the population. During our time on earth we have affected the climate so drastically from population to the destruction of forests and habitat for other animals. I believe that if we keep up with our habits, then the world will soon become a wasteland, and we will no longer be able to live within its atmosphere safely. We humans need to figure out permanent ways to help decline the amount of pollution and destruction of the land. The only question I have is what can we do to help save our world?

2nd Blog Post

My 20 time project of how channelizing rivers is affecting the wildlife populations that would be living within that environment, and how we should find a way to create a better niche for the organisms living there. I spoke with my science teacher Mr. Orre on this topic and was able to better understand

Hunger Games Final Analysis

1. In the hunger games lab, we the class separated evenly into 3 groups, the stumpys, the knucklers and the pinchers. These three groups acted as subspecies of an over all population. The point of this lab was to show how natural selection and evolution work. The 3 different groups would hunt for food and then tally it to see how many offspring each person would have. Those people from the group with the best adaptions would survive.

2. Pinchers had the best phenotype for capturing food because they could use two hands, they had a large mouth size and they could pick up food the quickest.

3. yes. The overall population did evolve. Before the battle for survival began there was a total population of 21 individuals, but as the years went on the population began to decrease to a low of 13 individuals. The years that followed that the population size was able to reach a stable population of 18 individuals.

4. Some random affects in this lab were where and how the food was scattered. The food wasn't always put where it would be easiest to get. The non random parts of this lab were the type of food we were getting and the number of individuals in each group.

5. If the food was bigger or smaller the outcome of this lab would be most definitely different. If the food was larger it would be a lot harder for the knucklers to pick it up and gather food, but the stumpys would have an easy time grabbing the bigger pieces of food. If the food was small both the knucklers and pinchers would thrive while the stumpys would die.

6. yes. If there was not incomplete dominance, then the outcome of this lab would be different. If no single group had an advantage over the others, then all groups would have a similar number of babies and the population would stay steady.

7. Natural selection is the backbone of Evolution. When natural selection begins to knock out the bad alleles and traits of a species, then the species begins to evolve.

8. Some individuals or groups would "cheat" in this lab. They would collect food using a different method in order to survive. By doing this, the allele frequency would change because the population with the cheaters would grow. The alleles from the winners would be passed on.

9. The species as a whole evolves in evolution. In evolution both the genotype and the phenotype change, to better give that species an advantage to survive.

10. none

bird beak lab

I did an experiment called the "bird beak" experiment. The purpose of this experiment was to see how different species of animals with different alleles will prosper under different conditions. In our experiment,  we found that the birds with the biggest beaks survived the longest, and the ones that were able to adapt. The graphs show that the spoonbills and the scissors shaped beak birds got the most food, and made more babies. Darwins idea of natural selection is taking place. The animals that are best adapted to survive in the given environment will thrive and their population will grow, while the ones who aren't adapted as well will fie out. Although the experiment went very well, and our results were appropriate, we didnt do everything perfectly. An error that we made was not stopping right when the alarm went off. I noticed some teammates sneaking a few pieces of food into their cup (bird stomach) after the alarm went off. These mistakes could have affected the total number of our baby chicks per year. We can fix thee problems for next time, by having someone monitor us and make sure we all end right when the alarm sounds and don't sneak extra food into our cups. Another possible thing we could have done to monitor our food intake, and to make sure we don't cheat is make a vow that we won't, and if one of us does cheat then we will be punished. Once again the main purpose of this lab was to show how natural selection controls a population, and how well they survive. For instance in the experiment the birds with a spoonbill beak will survive better because do to the size and shape of their beak, they were able to pick up the most food. In class, the main topic we learned about was natural selection and adaption. The lab helped me better understand adaption, and the idea of natural selection. I learned that animal species change gradually over time in order to better survive the environment they live in. I can apply this idea in the future when I am working with animals and studying mammalogy or herpetology in college.

20 time first blog post

let nature be and live? or change and die?

20 time is the process of spending 20% of your time in the classroom to focus on a topic of your choice, as long as it focuses on biology and benefits the class. The idea of 20 time originated from google, when they began allowing their employees to use 20% of their time at work doing whatever they want, as long as it benefits the company. My 20 time project is on the effects of channelization to the environment, and how it affects it. The question being asked is should channelization be allowed, and can we come up with a compromise that doesn't hurt the environment? I chose this topic to be my 20 time project because i care a lot about the environment, and the animals that live within it. It occurred to me that by channelizing the rivers and streams in this area, we kill many local species of plants and by doing that, we also kill whatever eats those plants. Not only does channelization hurt the local plant life that would be living on the riverside, but channelization can cause bad erosion further down stream. My goals for this project are to come up with a new way to get the safe effects of channelizing streams and rivers without harming the local wildlife, and causing serious erosion. I will measure my project by writing a blog ever two weeks to give an overview on how it is going, and moving forward I will wright a letter to the governor and other organizations stating my idea, and what can be done to help the cause.

unit 7 reflection

Unit 7 was all about ecology and the environment. A large part of this unit was about how we are affecting the environment in a bad way. We not only watched vodcasts and did activities demonstrating how the environment works, but we also talked about how plastic and other human made products are ruining this environment. The plastics and materials we use everyday send toxins and other harmful chemicals into the air. We watched two movies that really highlighted this idea. The first was "bag it", it highlighted the idea on how plastic in general is harming the world. plastic cant be dissolved or truly thrown away forever; it just sits in our oceans and on our streets. I'd like to learn more about not only the environment, but the animals that live in the environment. I'd like to explore the different traits of the animals that live in each niche. During this unit, we also did a project called the " conservation project". In this project, the purpose was to choose a certain habitat in the world and focus on how to help that local climate and niche prosper better. we worked very well in a group together, and found ways to share the work evenly. Our project was on the Citarum river, and how all of the trash that littered the banks need to be cleaned up.  This unit went very well for us, and flew by like a breeze.

20 Time Elevator Pitch

my 20 time elevator pitch on channelization.

gell electrophoresis virtual lab

Gel Electrophoresis Virtual Lab Worksheet Name_jake beine_

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/gel/

Make a prediction:

1. How do you think you could figure out the lengths of the strands in the tube of DNA? We could put the DNA strands in the gel and see how far they stretch.

Go through the simulation:

2. What is the process called in which we measure the DNA microscopically?   Gel electrophoresis

3. What is the “gel”?   The filter that sorts the DNA strands.

4. Write down the step of gel electrophoreses
1. make the gel

2.  put it in the other box with water

3. add an electric current to the gel

4. take out the gel and stain it, then put it onto the UV light to see how the DNA has moved.

5. What does the current do the DNA samples? the electric current carries the DNA away from the negative charge and through the gel.

6. What kinds of strand move quickly and further down the gel? the standard sized DNA strands moved the furthest down the gel.

7. What kinds of strand move slower and lag behind? The sample DNA strand moved slower and lacked behind the other strands.

8. What about the strand that are the same length? they both moved the same distance from the wells that they were placed in.

9. What helps us see the DNA strand in the gel? Staining the gel helps bring out the colors of the DNA and allows us to get accurate results.

10. What are the ingredients to make a gel? Tris-Acetate-EDTA (TAE) ,agarose, ethidium bromide and the seaweed gel.

11. After you load the DNA sample into the tray, what is the next step? connect all of the electrical cables and create a current of both positive and negative charges.

12. How do you know current is running through the gel? there will be bubbles coming up through the liquid.

13. After the gel is done, what must you do to it before you can analyze your results? you must put the gell in a liquid that will stain it and allow the DNA to be visible.

14. How long does this process take? around 30 min of waiting time.

15. What type of light do you use to view the gel? Is it safe and what precautions would you might need to use? You use UV light to see the DNA. UV is unsafe for long periods of time, so cover your skin and eyes.

16. Write your size estimates below:

1. Strand 1_____medium___________

2. Strand 2 _____small______________

3. Strand 3 _____large______________

17. Could you list one reason why we would run a Gel electrophoresis on someone and explain your answer. We could use gel electrophoresis on people to determine if their related, by seeing if their DNA is similar.

Relate and Review

Electrophoresis is the separation of DNA, RNA and proteins from a strand. We use this to determine how big or small the DNA strands are, or to compare and contrast certain sets of DNA. I better understand how DNA can be moved throughout using electrical currents. In this experiment the DNA strands moved away from the negative charge and showed up throughout the gel. This information could come in handy later on while doing other experiments along the line of DNA and RNA strands or movement.

unit 6 reflection

Unit 6 was an interesting unit. We learned alot about bioethics and biotechnology. Bioethics is important concepts. we Did many labs influenced by the concept electrophoresis. the ethics of medical and biological research. We went over the different ways that doctors use biotechnology to help cure diseases and defects. It has been tested on animals for years, but has just recently been used in small doses on humans. Unit 6 helped us to understand how all this works by teaching us about plasmids, restriction enzymes, ligase, PGLO and other Electrophoresis is the movement of charged particles in a fluid or gel under the influence of an electric field. This can be used for many things, but the reason we did it was to find out which food dyes are the worst for you and contain the most chemicals. I had some strengths in this unit such as being able to find the DNA pairs that match up and understanding that electricity makes the dyes move in electrophoresis. A negative of mine in this unit was my unability to understand the steps in the labs. On one lab i messed up and our results came out differently from other groups. I would love to learn more about how biotechnology can help cure mutations someday. At the beggining of the semester i made the goals to finish all CFUs and do all homework before it is due. I am exceeding on the CFUs, but i missed one homework assignment i didn’t know about. Overall this unit has helped increase my knowledge and made me a better student.  

pGLO Observations , Data Recording & Analysis

1.

Obtain your team plates.  Observe your set of  “+pGLO” plates under room light and with UV light.  Record numbers of colonies and color of colonies. Fill in the table below. Plate Number of Colonies Color of colonies under room light Color of colonies under   UV light - pGLO LB carpet white white - pGLO LB/amp 0 transparent N/a + pGLO LB/amp 110 white spots white + pGLO LB/amp/ara 640 yellow green fluorescent green

2.	What two new traits do your transformed bacteria have? The bacteria is resilient to ampicillin and it glows fluorescent green.
3.	Estimate how many bacteria were in the 100 uL of bacteria that you spread on each plate. Explain your logic. There were around 741 total bacteria colonies. we covered the bacteria with graph paper, measured the number of bacteria clumps in that area, then multiplied it by the number of spaces that the graph paper covered.
4.	What is the role of arabinose in the plates?
	Arabinose is used mainly as an inducer. Under regular temperatures and conditions the bacteria will not create fluorescent colors, but under the given conditions it will.
5.	List and briefly explain three current uses for GFP (green fluorescent protein) in research or applied science. Many scientists are trying to see if it could someday cure cancer. Other scientists use it in plants and animals to see if they carry curtain plasmids. They can also figure out what different bacterias are living within organisms by putting the PGLO solution in it.
6.	Give an example of another application of genetic engineering.

Another application of genetic engineering are frost resistant plants, by giving the plant the PGLO plasmid and the frost resistant plasmid, we will know if it is frost resistant when we shine UV light on it and it glows fluorescent.