P.S.

Got this email from Joel Prock... check it out!

I saw this on tv earlier and I thought it was really cool! There was also a part of the episode that talked about forcing CO2 into the ground to extract oil but I couldn't find that part on the internet. Hope you're having a great summer!

-Joel

http://www.history.com/shows/modern-marvels/videos/green-algae

IMportant STuff...

Ok - so I LOVE your posts about The Hot Zone.  I too love it and agree that some of it can be confusing in the back and forth.. I found myself making notes in the margins and dog earring pages so I could go back and re-read or reference.  It's hard to remind yourself that this is non-fiction!! I agree that Nancy Jaxx is pretty impressive.  I don't know if I could do what she does.  Had it been fiction, Tyler, I think you are right that she would have been infected.  But not everyone comes out of this unscathed.   And Ansley, I am glad you are so candid with your response to the book.  It is pretty gross and yes, scary.  I hope that over the course of the year, you will find that being armed with information can make things a little less scary. Of course, that doesn't change the reality!  One of the ideas I get out of this is how, the more we know the less we know.  It's what I find so fascinating about biology and why I love it so much.

Now for some business: 1- I have only heard back from Tyler confirming that he understands about the text.  I want to hear from all of you.
2- Let's now get in the habit of commenting on each other's posts.  That's one of the main points of this blog - a way for us to have "class" discussions online.
3- Hope you are enjoying not only your summer, but also this assignment :)
4- P.S. after this past weel with College Board's APBio Summer Institute I am SO EXCITED to share with you!!!

HotZone1- Tyler

I found this book surprisingly...interesting. I misjudged it initially, but it's actually quite gripping- I have to say the Jaxx storyline is my favorite so far. The beginning in particular confused me, I like things to be in order and this book was all over the place, jumping from year to year back to the previous year and then ten years later... but I really like it! I knew a small bit about Ebola walking into this, but I didn't know it was divided into three types or anything... In my previous biology class we'd watched contagion and then discusses other viruses, so I knew about their travelling methods and cycles, and how they can be manipulated by animals, which is what I'm suspecting...

The most interesting part of the story for me was when Mrs. Jaxx was working in the Biohazard lab, with the caged animals. I thought for sure that she'd be infected- that's the latter stories typically follow. But I had to keep reminding myself as I was reading that this was real and exists. That makes it all the more interesting!

I did read ahead, I had a 16 hour car ride to kill... but not enough to figure it out yet! And it's driving me slightly crazy because typically I like to figure things out quickly and analytically. It's turned into one of my new favorites. :)

~Tyler

The Hot Zone Part 1

Well to be completely honest I love this book, but the beginning was a little harder to read. I believe it was due to the different time periods and who all was infected and such. I want to know who will find the cure first. Also the levels of the viruses were fascinating to me becuase I would have read it as one being the most dangerous instead of level four. Nancy Jaxx is my favorite character because it would take dedication to work at her high risk job; while having the job of a mother and wife. I don't remember if I read this or not but I was wondering if there was a guy in the boook that was infected with the Ebola virus and survived or was I imagining it? But anyways I love this book so far and can't wait to read more becuase it is very suspenseful.

This book has completely grossed me out. I honestly never imagined that a virus could mutilate a body in such a way that Ebola does. I get sick to my stomach when I read it. It is very interesting though. I can not wait to find out what is causing Ebola. The different dates have started to confuse me along with the similar names of places, people, and the viruses. If I was ever infected with something as destructive as Ebola I would be terrified. The scariest thing to me is the fact that they know so little about it and have virtually no way to cure it. As I read I have become more interested and can not wait to find out who will find the cause and maybe a cure for Ebola.

The Canadian Boreal Forest Food Chain.

(Organisms on different levels of the same food chain... kinda.) It required a few more pictures to tie it all together.

Alright, I'm going to attempt to explain one of Canada's food chain, because I discovered I have enough pictures for it. Some of them are a bit blurry because I took them from far away... I didn't really want to get that close to the animals... and most of then are located at my cottage in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, or the Yukon and Northwest Territories. These animals span all across Canada, it's the same food chain pretty much everywhere regarding large wild animals.

You should know that this food chain doesn't really have levels, it's more of a BIG mindmap. Animals are known to kill other animals all over the food chain, near the bottom, near the top,  but do not necessarily eat them for nutrients. They're just protective or have violent natures. The food chain also has animals that may have the same predators, but the 2 predators also hunt eachother regularly, to the food chain can change. There isn't really a dominant predator, or top of the food chain, so to speak.

So this is the Boreal Forest, specific to Canada and parts of Russia. Unlike the Deciduous forest, it does not usually contain pine trees. It houses all of the animals (although some travel in and out) that you're about to see, and provides a food source for specifically the rabbit and the moose.

The rabbits also feed off of the humans crops and things planted in the forest, and other green fertile things they can eat.. they're just kind of there as a source for the foxes.

This next animal, the fox, preys primarily on small animals such as rabbits and rodents that live in the forest.

Then comes the moose... Moose live in the boreal forest and gain nutrients by eating literally anything green within it. Moose also eat roots and strip the bark off trees (which is why I've included the picture of tree bark above.) They keep to themselves, which is why I kind of isolated this one, (it doesn't eat rabbits or foxes) but provide food to bears and wolves, yet more than usually kills them. They're strong forces against wolves, and the predators will not attack unless a single moose is by itself and there is a very large number of wolves ready in the pack.

The next two animals are constantly battling for dominance in the food chain and will eat anything above for their main diet (except the plants) ; The multiple types of wolves and the different types of bears.

The Grey Wolf (top far left) was taken at a hunting display in the Yukon. They will eat anything they can bring down in large groups, even bears, which is why the top of the chain is unclear. The arctic wolf travels through both the tundra and the boreal forest, and also preys on smaller animals individually (although it's rare that they're by themselves) and larger animals in packs.

Finally, there's the bears. the black bear at the dump at my cottage and the brown bear on display in the Yukon are protective of their offspring and will attack anything they deem threatening. Between wolves and bears, bears are probably more dominant in the food chain. Polar bears often venture into the northernly territories (if anyone knows anything about Canadian geography) but do not live in the forest. It's not natural.

So... that's the food chain! It was kind-of hard to isolate a single part of it, so I wound up covering most of it. And I know, Mrs. P, that you're only counting 5 pictures for points, but otherwise I wouldn't have been able to really put it together :)

David Bready Scavenger Hunt #2

 This is one of my three dogs named Humphrey. I am using him as an example of territorial behavior. Right now he is at his favorite spot on the stairs where he looks out through the door. He barks at anything he sees out the door. He "protects" both of the beds behind him that he considers "his". He used to bark and growl at his twin brother Bogart (yes we named our dogs after the famous actor Humphrey Bogart) but he has learned to "accept him". Now he barks at Izzy who is three times his size.

 This right here is my Coleus. My Coleus has a transportive tissue called the xylem (there are two transportive tissues and the other one is called phloem). Xylem is mainly used in plants to transport water and sometimes nutrients but 95% of the time its water.

 This is a Gerber Daisy. It is a long-day plant which means that it blooms in the spring as the days get longer and hotter. It is able to bloom in the spring because it has more time in sunlight to give it enough energy to begin to bloom and release its pollen.

This is my brother Stuart. You might remember him Mrs. Lory. He was a little tired from working out at crossfit when I took this picture. Stuart is interesting because I chose him as an example because of what he does not have. Stuart had his appendix removed when he grew ill with appendicitis. Your appendix is an example of a vestigial structure. Humans once had a use for the appendix which was say you swallowed a small rock, the rock would then be stored in your appendix for the remainder of your life. However over time we adapted and our bodies learned to get rid of materials we could not digest and just to get rid of them rather than to store them. Another example is the blind mole rat which has small eyes completely covered by a layer of skin.

Well this, Mrs. Lory, is a beer. Now i want to start off by saying i did not drink it nor have a drank any form of alcohol. Beer undergoes a process called fermentation where the yeast in the beer ferments over time to produce alcohol.

David Bready "The Hot Zone" #1

Alright Mrs. Lory, I am going to go ahead and tell you that while I was reading I got a little carried away and read to page 218. Now I hope you are not mad but I just completely love this book. The writing style is fantastic and I am now obsessed with the virus Ebola. I especially one of the new many facts i have learned about viruses which is that the virus lives safely in its host species and knows its boundaries but when the virus is able to infiltrate a new species it does not know when to stop and keeps going until there is nothing left. That makes me wonder if the common cold can effect a different species by doing what Ebola does to us. Thank you for introducing me to this book.

Kelly - The Hot Zone part 1

I've really enjoyed this book! It is very interesting. I have learned a lot about how bad viruses can be especially ebola. I can't even imagine having that happen to me. I have also learned a lot about how people go into a level four hot zone. I imagine people at the CDC that risk their lives every day going into environments like those with only a few layers of material between them and some of the most deadly viruses in the world. The multiple story lines in this book are kind of hard to follow. But this also makes it more interesting because it is dealing with multiple different situations and different places in the world. I was a little confused about the first virus mentioned in this book, marburg. Is this a relative to ebola? I wonder if they had looked for a longer period of time in the cave, maybe at the crystals that cut both the victims hands, if they would have found the source of the ebola virus. I can't wait to read more of this book!

Kelly - Scavenger Hunt post #2 and #3 (I will be in Disney all next week)

1. Well Ms. Lory, it's another consequence of my motion sickness. This is my eye. I got car sick and ended up bursting a capillary in my eye. Blood is a special kind of connective tissue. Connective tissues support and hold together other tissues, and transport nutrients. Connective tissue cells are found in a mixture secreted by the cells (extracellular material). Even though blood has some different functions than other connective tissues, such as tendons and cartilage, it does have the extracellular material.

2. This is a bunny that was in an environmentally protected area on my street. It was feeding on the grass and sat and watched us but then ran back into the brush. A niche is the relationship of a species in his ecosystem. His niche includes the biotic and abiotic factors he needs to survive.

3. This is a butterfly in my backyard. A butterfly is an example of a pollinator. Pollinators are crucial in plant reproduction. They carry the pollen from the male part of the flower to the female part of the same or a different flower. Last week was NATIONAL POLLINATORS WEEK!

4. The lighter areas in this picture are of lichen. A lichen is actually not one organism but an example of mutualism of a fungus an alga or cyanobacteria. It is classified as a fungus because that is the major part. I think this is lichen is Xanthoparmelia  and the other darker part is a moss.

Because they absorb water easily, lichens can survive in harsh environments.  They are sensitive to air pollution so they are used to map concentration of pollutants and they play a part in forming soil. They are also harvested for food for reindeer by people above the Arctic Circle.

5. This picture shows two different types of ferns (you can also see lichens). There are about 10,500 species of ferns and they can be from 2 inches tall to 30 feet.  Ferns don’t have leaves, they have fronds. They produce spores on the underside of the fronds that harden and fall to the ground. They germinate to produce new plants.  

6. Tropism is when an organism bends toward or away from a stimulus like light, heat, or gravity. The response can be positive or negative. For example when a seed germinates it is called negative geotropism because it is growing against gravity.

These are Wave Petunias in my back yard. You can see that they have grown to one side. This is an example of a type of tropism called phototropism and it is positive because it is growing towards the light. Auxins are plant hormones and they are involved in the growth of the cells in the plant. The sunlight gets rid of the auxin in the cells on the sunny side of the plant, so more cells are produced on the side in the shade and they are also elongated. This makes the plant bend towards the sun.

7. This squirrel was looking for food in the same area as the rabbits. He is a hetertroph, which means he can’t produce his own food and is dependent on organic materials from other organisms for energy. That makes him a consumer in the food chain.

8. Radial symmetry in an animal is when their body parts are arranged around a central axis. They don’t have a right or a left side, just a top or bottom.

Sand dollars are echinoderms that live on the ocean floor.  Their body has five equal parts.  They change from being bilaterally symmetrical as larvae and show radial symmetry as adults.

9. Genotype is the genetic makeup of an organism and phenotype is the way that makeup is expressed. Some characteristics are a result of simple inheritance. That means that the person can either have the dominant phenotype or the recessive phenotype. Examples of dominant phenotypes are cleft chin, dimples, and free earlobes.  

This picture shows one person with free earlobes(left) and one with attached earlobes (right). To have the phenotype of free earlobes the genotype of the person would be one dominant allele and one recessive (Ff) or two dominant alleles (FF).  To have the recessive phenotype the only genotype would be two recessive alleles ff).

10. Epithelial tissue covers the surface of the body and the lining of all internal organs. Human skin is an example. They form a layer where each cell is attached to another. There are different types of epithelial tissue, some only one cell thick. Some are more flat, like the lining of the mouth and some have cube shapes, like cells in the lining of the ducts of glands. Column-shaped epithelial cells can be found in cells that are used for sensory reception, like the nose, or taste buds.

Scavenger Hunt #2 Amanda

This butterfly is an example of bilateral symmetry. If you cut the butterfly into two planes, both halves are mirror images. Bilateral symmetry is a symmetrical arrangement of parts of an organism along a central axis.

These goldfish at Petsmart are described as an ectotherm. Fish, lizards, snakes, and frogs are all examples of ectotherm animals, because they are considered cold-blooded animals due to not being able to regulate thier own body temperatures. They have to adapt to their surroundings or environment.

This chicken egg is an example of an amniotic egg. The embryo develops inside an amnion which is the innermost lining of an egg and it encloses the embryo. These type of eggs are made from reptiles, birds, and egg-laying mamals.

















Both of these photos are examples of analagous structures. The wings of the bird and the wings of the misquito are features of different species but have the same function to fly.  

This warm-blooded animal called a territoral heifer with a calf is an example of a endotherm animal. Unlike ectotherm which are cold blooded animals who can not regulate their body temperature; endotherm generate heat to maintan its body temperature which is usually above the temperature of its environment. (P.S. I was almost ran over by this cow Mrs. Lory so all I got to say is I hope you like it, and I miss my own cows.)



Scavenger Hunt # 2 - Ansley Dieckmann

This moss is an example of a sporophyte. Moss contains only one haploid cell except for during the sporophyte phase when there are two diploid which produces spores and allows for reproduction. 

These raw eggs may contain a bacteria known as Salmonella. Bacteria are prokaryotic, unicellular, and free-living. Bacteria is found everywhere. There are good bacteria and bad bacteria. Bacteria is necessary for our survival. Prokaryotes lack a nucleus and and any other membrane-bound organelles.

The ovary of this flower is found where the petals and sepals are connected. The ovary is the female reproductive organ and contains ovules. Ovules are small eggs that are found in seed plants. 

These plants all contain ATP. ATP is a high energy molecule which stores energy. Without this energy the plants would not be able to perform photosynthesis. ATP is produced in the mitochondria and chloroplasts. 

This bunny is an example of bilateral symmetry. Which means if you drew a line down the middle of his back then both sides would be the same. 

TEXTBOOKS

As promised, I am getting back to you about textbooks:  good news, bad news. Good news is we are sticking with the current author that is listed on our website, bad news, it's the edition I HAVE been using. 8e NOT the 9th.  In other words, I will be sending out an email to last year's class to see who might want to sell them.  So, you have a few options here
 1-You can go ahead and contact a person from last year's class and buy their book.
2- you can buy one online which will be considerably less expensive since it's an older edition,
 3- you can wait to hear from me as to who wants to sell
Additionally, the Holtzclaw and Holtzclaw Test Prep will be the 8th edition.  Thank you and your parents for your patience!  It is up to you if you wish to purchase with Mastering Biology.  I will be giving you plenty of resources from which to pull - so it's your choice. 
PLEASE post a comment so that I know you have read and understand this :)

Info for my "gang"...

(Little St. Simon's Marsh)

Ok - so you survived your first photo posts and did quite well. I am proud and LOVE to hear you use biology speak!!  Wanted to let you all know I will be in Atlanta M-Th for an intensive APBio Summer Institute.  I will be getting some more training and education on the new College Board AP Bio Framework.  Make sure to keep up with your "Hot Zone" reading and this Blog as I will inform you ASAP about your text - I am hoping you all got the "memo" to hold off purchasing until I got back to you.  MORE THAN LIKELY the text will remain the one I have listed, but there is an outside chance I will switch authors all together.... Keep an eye out and try to stay cool in this oppressive summer heat! Ms. P

Ap Bio scavenger hunt 2

The alligator my brother is holding is an excellent form of an ectotherm. Which is an animal,  tends to be reptilian, which has a very negligible ability to control heat loss and metabolic production. By using environmental heat it can cope with these losses and have the necessary heat needed for the metabolic reactions.

 This bug that we found outside my house has an exoskeleton. An exoskeleton's  only purpose is to protect and shield the insect from being destroyed. Most species of insects have an exoskeleton but some don't. Crustaceans also have exoskeletons. Without one these animals wouldn't be able to function naturally.

 Many of the plants that live on level with the water tend to not be light dependent plants otherwise they would all die. To make it possible for these plants to live they need to use the calvin cycle. This cycle is the light absent reaction that allows the plants to live. By using ATP as a converter it makes the reactions very much so possible. To  create enough energy it also relies on the other sugars in the plant to make the reaction work.

 The plants at the base are also autotrophs, which involve being able to produce it's own organic compounds. Humans on the other hand are heterotrophs which can't but I'll explain that later on in the summer. The calvin cycle, when there isn't any sun, goes hand in hand with the ability to produce it's own organic compound by utilizing the carbon available and sugars and water.

My dog is a great example of an endotherm. An endotherm is an animal that is able to produce  and conserve it's own body heat. Endotherms can also be called warm-blooded animals. Heat loss is a big problem for small mammals that are endotherms because if they lose to much they will go into a hyperthermic state and could potentially die. To conserve heat and energy sleeping slows down the process to about two-thirds of the normal amount of heat produced.


The Hot Zone has been a thrilling book and one book that I'm actually excited for during this sumer. I love the ideas that are put out in the book like the fact that Ebola is over four billion years old and since viruses don't work with any of our classifications for life on Earth maybe they aren't from here. The author frustrates me though in how he never tells you whether the person that he is describing like Musoke lives or not until the very end of that chapter. I am glad I get to read this book because while I'm at NYLF I can bring up these questions.

This tree has gone under modifications to its roots so that it may survive while underwater. Otherwise without the roots being taller than the water it would drown and die. Since this tree lives in the Louisiana swamps, the modifications are necessary for it's life.

 Im using this ivy to show a plant adaptation that has occurred within New Orleans. This ivy has made itself capable of surviving on the sides of weathering and brick surfaces. As you can see it has made this adaption in the side of this house.

When an alligator reproduces with another alligator, they lay eggs. These eggs are called amniotic eggs. Amniotic eggs are eggs that are produced by reptiles, birds, and egg laying mammals. These eggs are calcium based and can be leathery.

On the end of the stick that the alligator is jumping for is some chicken, though this chicken is already dead. This can be called predation, which is when a predator feeds on its prey and many times on boat tours the prey is chicken. The alligator will use the nutrients to nourish its body.

An alligator, just like most animals, shows bilateral symmetry. Which means that if cut down the middle long ways it will have an equal amount of appendages and features, just like the other side. 

Kelly - Scavenger hunt post #1

1: This is a Hibiscus. The yellow part on the pistil, which is in the center of the flower, is the anther. The filament is the fiber that connects the anther to the pistil. The anther and the filament together are called the stamen. The stamen is the male part of the flower. The anther makes the pollen. The filament supports the anther.

2: This is a Zinnia. It is an example of an autotroph. In the food chain, zinnias are producers; they make organic molecules from inorganic material. Autotrophs make their own food through photosynthesis.

3: These are leaves of a mendevilla. These leaves have bilateral symmety. Bilateral symmetry is the same size and shape around a central point; in this case, the vein down the middle of each leaf.

4: These are the leaves of a hibiscus. The outer surface of each leaf has a waxy coating called the cuticle. Its purpose is to prevent the leaf from losing water. This layer is why lettuce does not wilt in the presence of water but does wilt in the presence of oils such as salad dressing.

5: Right above the word and is an ant. An ant is a segmented animal. It has three segments; the head, the thorax and the abdomen. The head has the eyes and the antennas. The abdoman has spiricals which the ant breathes through as well as the internal organs of the ant.