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5/4/2021

Natural Selection

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Examples of NAtural Selection


Creatures that stand out are easier to see

CLimate CHange and Adaptation



Darwin's work in the Galapagos


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Penguin Random House
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bio16-speciation-64-728.jpg (728×546) (slidesharecdn.com)
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finch-beaks.jpg (768×777) (australasianscience.com.au)

Puffins and Food related natural selection


Older Post on SeaBirds
week of 12/10 to 12/14: Ocean/ arctic - ALMA D'ARTE (almadartebio.org)

Different COmbinations of Nucleotides lead to Different Genes


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Bases-1-e1354322315291.png (1664×1234) (knowgenetics.org)

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4/28/2021

Crystals and Geodes

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How Crystals Form


In this class we will learn about geodes, crystals, and their connection to biology.  The crystals in our geodes are made of quartz, it contains silica, a common mineral that is found in grasses and in most living organisms.  Crystals are used in many of the electronics that we see and use every day, let's learn about crystals and then about other components that rocks contribute to biological life.

Piezoelectric Energy


The piezoelectric effect converts kinetic energy in the form of vibrations or shocks into electrical energy.

Geodes


https://www.britannica.com/science/geode
Geodes are found in sedimentary rock and in some igneous rocks, we will be breaking geodes from Morocco, they are in sedimentary rock and have quartz crystals that are made of silica.

PHOSPHORUS Moves from living beings to Rocks


The geodes that we are using in this class are from sedimentary rock, this type of rock releases phosphorous as it breaks down, phosphorous is very important in biology. Here is a quick reminder of the phosphorous cycle:
Picture
https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/mineral_resources/student_materials/unit6reading.html

Phosphorous may be released by LIGHTING


Phosphorus is needed for life as we know it, below is a link to an article about lightning and the phosphorus cycle.
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https://www.sciencenews.org/article/phosphorus-earth-earliest-life-forged-lightning-chemistry

PHOSPHORUS is in DNA and ATP


Reflection Questions:
What does phosphorus have to do with DNA?
What does DNA have to do with an organism having different cell types?
What is ATP?
Where does ATP come from?
Where does the phosphorus for your DNA and ATP come from?
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA
New DNA molecules are made by copying, using old DNA molecules as a template during cell division/ mitosis.
ATP: Adenisone TriPhosphate
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https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Book%3A_Organic_Chemistry_with_a_Biological_Emphasis_v2.0_(Soderberg)/09%3A_Phosphate_Transfer_Reactions/9.04%3A_ATP_The_Principal_Phosphate_Group_Donor

How Fossils FOrm


Now we will learn about how biological creatures may be preserved in stone. After learning about what fossils are, you may select a fossil and tell us about it, what creature is it, what would be their ecologocical habitat and their niche?

What is your fossil's niche, habitat, trophic level?


After going around the class and talking about the fossils that each student chose, we will go outside and break pinatas that have been decorated by the students to look like cells and organelles. 

Assessment


Please complete the quiz that is on Canvas, we will have a review Kahoot during the next class.

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4/20/2021

Types of Cells

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review of human cell types


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https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(13)61208-8/fulltext
White Blood Cells
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https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=65372&section=3.1
Bone Cells
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https://histologyguide.com/
Epithelial Cells
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https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/anatomy/brightfieldgallery/simplecolumnarepitheliumsmall.html
Muscle Cells
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https://teaching.ncl.ac.uk/bms/wiki/index.php/Skeletal_muscle
Nerve Cells
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https://www.psypost.org/2015/06/scientists-uncover-unique-role-of-nerve-cells-in-the-bodys-use-of-energy-35041

Types of Bacterial Cells


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https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology/bacteria.html
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https://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-1-cell-biology/12-ultrastructure-of-cells/types-of-bacteria.html
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https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/multimedia-resources/std-multimedia-resources.html
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https://pharmaceutical-journal.com/article/ld/syphilis-diagnosis-and-management-options

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4/15/2021

Immune System

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How Immune System Works



How Coronavirus Infects Cells



Coronavirus Vaccine Spike Protein



The Lab That Worked on the Virus


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3/28/2021

Circulatory, INTEGUMENTARY, and reproductive systems

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Circulatory sYStem



INTEGUMENTARY System



Excretory System



Reproductive system


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3/9/2021

More on the Nervous SYstem

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WHat are Neurotransmitters? 


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https://www.compoundchem.com/2015/07/30/neurotransmitters/
Serotonin and Dopamine are naturally increased through art, exercise, good nutrition, meditation, taking care of pets, achieving goals, spending time in nature, anything that makes you happy.
https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/10-ways-to-boost-dopamine-and-serotonin-naturally-1212177
We have an endocannabinoid system:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2241751/

Synapses


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https://lifesciences.umaryland.edu/neuroscience/Research-Focus-Groups/Synapses--Circuits/

WHat natural NEUROTRANSMITTERS have to do with drugs


This web site does not promote drug use, a non-profit organization that shares information about psychoactive substances and how they work is Erowid:
https://www.erowid.org/


Loneliness as a biological response



Nerves connect to muscles


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https://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/d/d_06/d_06_m/d_06_m_mou/d_06_m_mou.html
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https://www.news-medical.net/health/Motor-Neuron-Disease-Can-Dietary-Supplements-Help.aspx
There are many types of neurons: 
https://stemcellthailand.org/somatic-motor-neurons-innervation/

Nerves connect to blood vessels and do much more


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https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Functional-anatomy-of-the-retina-Metabolic-interactions-in-the-retina-between-blood_fig2_6852766

Axolotl can regenerate entire limbs and organs, even nerves


Picture
https://dev.biologists.org/content/146/14/dev167700
Research to regenerate human limbs:

https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/regeneration-axolotl-can-teach-us-regrowing-human-limbs/

Learning more about the nervous system teaches us how to become better learners


Video games teach us to have a positive attitude

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2/27/2021

Nervous Systems

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How do nervous systems affect creatures?


In this class we will learn about the nerve systems of various species, the nervous systems of humans, how nerve systems help us survive, and how certain chemicals affect nerve cells.

Parts of a nerve cell


Picture
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/Biology/nervecell.html
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https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-Structure-of-neuron-with-axon-dendrites-and-synapses-b-Structure-of-a-synaptic_fig3_278827467
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https://lifesciences.umaryland.edu/neuroscience/Research-Focus-Groups/Synapses--Circuits/
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https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-biology2/chapter/nervous-system/
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https://amyloidosis.net.au/patients-and-carers/organ-involvement/nerves/

Nerve SYstem Vocabulary


The brain and the spinal cord make up the central nervous system (CNS)
The CNS interlinks with the peripheral nervous system, which through a network of nerve fibers sends messages around the body (hands and Feet etc.)
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The peripheral nervous system has three main divisions: Autonomic, Sensory and Motor. Below are types of nerves in the PNS:
  • sensory nerves, which connect to the skin.
  • motor nerves, which connect to the muscles.
  • autonomic nerves, which connect to the internal organs.
The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for intense physical activity and is often referred to as the fight-or-flight response.
The parasympathetic nervous system has almost the exact opposite effect and relaxes the body and inhibits or slows many high energy functions.
Afferent neurons: sensory, carry information to brain
Efferent neurons: action, motor, carry information away from brain
Somatic Nervous System: controls all the stuff you think about doing
Autonomic Nervous System: all the things we do without thinking, breathing, digestion, heartbeat
Sympathetic Nervous System: fight or flight
Parasympathetic Nervous System: bodily functions: digestion, heart, constricts lungs, makes nose runny
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How Neurons Connect to other Neurons


Sodium Potassium Pump: uses ATP to let 3 sodium ions out in exchange for 2 potassium ions getting in.
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Ion Channel: do not need ATP to function, ions such as Sodium, each cell can have around 300 different types of ion channels, each for a specific type of ion.
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Action Potential: the change in electrical potential associated with the passage of an impulse along the membrane of a muscle cell or nerve cell.
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https://www.britannica.com/science/action-potential

Depolarization and Repolarization


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https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/anatomy-and-physiology/nervous-tissue/transmission-of-nerve-impulses

Sodium Potassium Pump 



NERVOUS System Review



Nervous SYstems in various animals


A sea sponge is considered an animal, it is however one of the most ancient animal type that we know of, they do not have a nervous system like other animals do, each cell reacts to stimuli independently, a sea sponge is a collection of cells that are living together like lego pieces.
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https://edu.glogster.com/glog/phylum-porifera-sponges/2csujspgmw6?=glogpedia-source
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http://www231.pair.com/fzwester/courses/bis10v/week10/12nervevolution.html
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https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-biology2/chapter/diversity-of-nervous-systems/
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https://backyardbrains.com/experiments/roboRoachSurgery

The Nervous System of Deer


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2/21/2021

Ecology: Population Distribution and Reducing Competition

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Objectives


Content Objective: students will be able to explain what competition is and how animals reduce competition by studying animal behavior and distribution patterns.
Language Objective: students will use the target vocabulary covered in class to answer questions about ways to reduce competition, and describe population distribution patterns.

Ecology Concepts that we will Learn ABout This Week


Each organism interacts with other organisms and with the physical (abiotic) components of the environment.
Competition in Ecology: when two or more organisms are competing for the same limited resource, it may be food, space, or a mate.
Competition may occur between members of the same species or of a different species. Competition harms both competitors. The negative effects of competition limit population numbers because resources are limited and growth, reproduction, and survival are affected
Most species look for ways to reduce competition by considering other options for food, space, and other resources.
ln a forest, each species may feed on a different part of a tree (e.9. trunk, branches, twigs, flowers, orleaves) or occupy different areas of vertical air-space (e.9. ground, understorey, sub-canopy, or canopy).  Competition may also be reduced by using the same resources at a different time of the day or year.
For our assignment we will look at five species of warbler and learn what they are doing to reduce competition.

How Different SPecies of Warbler coexist?


Overall it is better to reduce competition by finding a niche

Ecology Vocabulary For Population Growth


Natural Selection: organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.
Carrying Capacity: the number of people, other living organisms, or crops that a region can support without environmental degradation.
Limiting factor: anything that constrains a population's size and slows or stops it from growing. Examples of limiting factors are biotic, like food, mates, predators, disease, and competition with other organisms for resources.

Forms of Competition


For mates

For Food



For Light



for SPace



Each species has a distribution pattern


Some animals live in large group while some are more solitary. 
Picture
https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/108151
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http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/160/160S19_26.html

Symbiosis can reduce the issues with overcrowding 



Why Swarm?



Crash COurse on Community Ecology



Human population Growth


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2/15/2021

Digestion and Metabolism

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Our food choices are connected to the environment


We have learned about nutrient cycles that explain how nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous get into our food.
We have learned about food webs and how everything is connected from the microbes to the whales.
Let's learn more about anatomy and physiology starting with digestion and metabolism.

Today we learn more about digestion


Digestion: the mechanical breakdown and chemical breakdown of food into subunits so that nutrients can be absorbed.
Ingestion: the act of taking food into the mouth
Digestive Tract: the central pathway of the digestive system; a long muscular tube that pushes food through
Salivary Glands: glands that secrete enzymes including salivary amylase, which digests carbohydrates in the mouth
Tongue: a muscular organ in the mouth that aids in swallowing. 
Esophagus: the section of the digestive tract between the mouth and the stomach
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Peristalsis: coordinated muscular contractions that force food down the digestive tract 
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Stomach: an expandable muscular organ that stores, mechanically breaks down, and digests protein in food.
Pepsin: a protein digesting enzyme that is active in the stomach
Chyme: the acidic "soup" of partially digested food that leaves the stomach and enters the small intestine
Small intestine: the organ in which the bulk of chemical digestion and absorption of food occurs
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Duodenum: the first portion of the small intestine; the duodenum receives the chyme from the stomach and mixes it with digestive secretions from other organs
Jejunum: 0.9 meters (3 feet) long
Ileum: the longest part of the small intestine, about 1.8 meters (6 feet) long. It is thicker, more vascular, and has more developed mucosal folds than the jejunum.
Picture
https://socratic.org/questions/what-are-the-parts-of-the-small-intestines-which-portion-connects-directly-with-
Pancreas: an organ that helps digestion by producing enzymes such as lipase that act in the small intestine, and by secreting a juice that neutralizes acidic chyme. 
Liver: an organ that aids digestion by producing bile salts that emulsify fats
Bile Salts: chemicals produced by the liver and stored by the gallbladder that emulsify fats so they can be chemically digested by enzymes.
Emulsify: to break up large fat globules into small fat droplets that can be more efficiently chemically digested by enzymes 
Gallbladder: an organ that stores bile salts and releases them as needed into the small intestine.
Lipase: a fat-digesting enzyme active in the small intestine
Epithelial cells: cells that line organs and body cavities; in the digestive tract they sit in direct contract with food and its breakdown products.
Absorption: the uptake of digested food molecules by the epithelial cells lining the small intestine
Villi (singular: Villus): fingerlike projections of folds in the lining of the small intestine that are responsible for most nutrient and water absorption. 
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Large Intestine: the last organ in the digestive tract, in which remaining water is absorbed and solid stool is formed
Colon: the first and longest portion of the large intestine; the colon plays an important role in water reabsorption.
Stool: poo, solid waste material eliminated from the digestive tract. 
Elimination: the expulsion of undigested material in the form of stool
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The digestive system works with the nervous system


Also the endocrine system

What is Gastric Bypass Surgery?


Picture
Picture

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1/31/2021

Global Warming

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We will see why the Earth is warming up


Greenhouse Effect is the normal process by which heat is radiated from the Earth's surface and trapped by gases in the atmosphere, helping to maintain the Earth at a temperature that can support life
Greenhouse gas is any of the gases in the atmosphere that  absorb heat radiated from the Earth's surface and contribute to the greenhouse effect, examples may be carbon dioxide and methane
Global Warming is an increase in the Earth's average temperature
Picture
https://climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect/
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https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

The temperature of the planet has gone up in recent times


As concentrations of Carbon Dioxide go up, the temperature goes up:
Picture
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience/climatesciencenarratives/climate-has-changed-before.html

And so have CONCENTRATIONS of Carbon DIoxide


Picture
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

Increased Gases are connected to rising temperatures



Warmer temperatures are CONNECTED to melting ice caps


Picture
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/sea-ice-arctic
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https://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/4/graphic-dramatic-glacier-melt/

As Ice melts, Sea Levels Rise and SHore land is lost


Picture
https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/coasts/graphics/projected-land-loss-sea-level-rise-coastal-louisiana

Vostok Ice Core Samples SHow the levels of CO2 over time


Picture
https://ib.bioninja.com.au/standard-level/topic-4-ecology/44-climate-change/climate-changes.html

Samples are readings of gas bubbles in ice cores


Picture
https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2616/core-questions-an-introduction-to-ice-cores/
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https://icecores.org/about-ice-cores

Connection between Carbon Dioxide and Ice Ages


Picture
http://www.antarcticglaciers.org/glaciers-and-climate/ice-cores/ice-core-basics/

There are areas where so much gas is trapped in the ice, it is flammable


Methane gas is naturally trapped in the ice when plants die and decompose, many microbes eat carbon and make methane gas while some bacteria eat methane,  there are also sources of methane gas that are connected to human activity such as cattle raising.  Permafrost thaws because of global warming, but without global warming it would stay frozen and keep the gas trapped.

Solutions


  • Reducing the number of cattle, eating less meat and dairy
  • Feeding cattle red seaweed, it has been shown to reduce the amount of gas that is produced by the cows
  • Biodigesters

asparagopsis taxiformis: a species of red algae that reduces methane in cow waste 
Picture
https://www.greenergrazing.org/

Mangrove trees along the coast reduce erosion


Mangroves are naturally supposed to line the coast in most parts of the world but people have torn them down to build resorts, and for shrimp farming and wood.  Letting them exist along the shore would reduce erosion and would also protect coral reef ecosystems.
Picture
https://www.britannica.com/story/amazing-mangroves
Mangroves are a carbon sink, they absorb more carbon dioxide than most plants and are part of the solution to our climate crisis. Mangroves release leaves that provide nutrients for microbes and eventually larger sea creatures.  They also store a bunch of the carbon dioxide that they absorb in their large roots, this is called carbon sequestration.
Picture
Picture
http://www.oceanhealthindex.org/methodology/components/mangroves-condition
Mangrove review: https://www.almadartebio.org/biology-page/mangrove-forest-carbon-trapping
Other Technologies that are part of the solution: ​https://www.almadartebio.org/biology-page/sustainable-energy
Sustainable Food Production: https://www.almadartebio.org/biology-page/future-of-food

Research in ANTARCTICA


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