The Hot Zone Part 4

The ending of this book confused me a little bit at the beginning. I also didn't love the ending. I was hoping for some big outbreak or something exciting. This last part did not seem very important to me. I agree with Maggie that its impressive that Richard Preston went to Kitum Cave and the monkey house. If I was him I would definitely not do that. If Ebola Reston breaks out again I wonder how we will stop it since it is air born. It did not affect the people who got it but next time it shows up it might. It is scary that if this virus appears again we may not be able to stop it.

Scavenger Hunt Post #1

   

         1. Animal that has a segmented body - An animal with a segmented body has a head, thorax, and abdomen. This a photo of an ant.

          2. Parasitism - the relationship where one organism or species benefits
from another. These three photos are all examples of certain parasites. The jar and the model are heart worms. The scientific name is Dirofiliria Immitis. This parasite is transmitted by mosquitoes. The picture below is an example of hookworm eggs. Puppies and adult dogs can become infected with this intestinal parasite.

        3. Exoskeleton - an external supportive covering of an animal. 

The two photos shown are of a flea. Fleas are common parasites of dogs 

and cats. Their exoskeletons make them hard to kill.

Scavenger Hunt Post 1

The cuticle layer of a plant is a protective layer covering the epidermis of a leaf. It usually feels waxy and can cause the leaf to "shine".

An autotroph is basically an organism that creates its own food. This plant uses the process called photosynthesis to produce its food, which uses energy from light.

A frond is a large divided leaf. Plants like this fern are examples of fronds. 

Fermentation is a process that converts sugars into gases, alcohol or acids. When making bread yeast is used to convert the glucose to gases which cause the bread to rise.

An adaption of a plant is when a plant develops a part so it can survive in its environment. This plant has tendrils so it can climb to higher places to reach sunlight.

The Hot Zone Part 3

I don't know if I could work in a space suit. The actual work they do seems very interesting and fun to do but the suit would freak me out. I would be scared it had a rip and probably be a bit claustrophobic. I would also not be able to kill all of those monkeys. It would be a hard job to kill them even though they had the virus or would eventually get it. If Ebola Reston becomes harmful to humans how do they stop the virus from spreading? Especially if it is airborne which it seems to be. I'm very excited to see what happens in the last part of this book. 

Scavenger Hunt: Post 1

This whole scavenger hunt thing intimidated me, but it's fun once you start!

A frond is a large divided leaf. Fronds can be found on many types of plants like this palm tree in my back yard or even ferns.

The crusty stuff you see on this tree is a lichen. A lichen is part of a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an algae, they meet on a tree and grow together. 

 A gymnosperm cone is a pine cone. Pine trees use cones for reproduction. The male cones are smaller and produce pollen; they're located towards the top of the tree. Female cones are larger and located farther down the tree. 

 My dog Shadow is a K-Strategist. K-strategists have small amounts of offspring that they nurture from birth. Species who are K-strategists take longer to grow up and are more dependent on their parents.

This spider is an R-Strategist. R-strategists have shorter lifespans, more offspring, and are smaller. 

Scavenger Hunt Post #1

1. Animal with a segmented body- An animal whose body is divided into segments usually insects, Arthropods, and arachnids. Here is a colony of ants

2. Adaptation of an Animal- An adaptation of an animal is something that that animal uses to survive. Here is a lizard tail that a lizard cut off. This allows lizards to escape their predators



3. Amniotic egg- 

The type of egg produced by reptiles, birds, and some mammals in which the embryo develops inside an egg. The shell of the egg is either calcium-based or leathery. Here is an egg. 

4. Fermentation- chemical breaking down of a substance (as in the formation of alcohol from sugar) produced by an enzyme and often accompanied by the formation of a gas. Here is a bottle of wine that is undergoing fermentation

5. Adaptation of a plant- An adaptation of a plant is something a plant uses in order to be better suited to its environment. Here is flowering dogwood. The ends of the leaves have sharp spines on them which deters predators

Hot Zone Part 4

It's funny that the two places I said I want to go least are the two places Richard Preston visited. The beginning of this part confused me a bit but it got more clear as I read on. Robin seems like a very interesting person. He has had a lot of unique experiences. I am impressed that Richard Preston went to two of the major hot zones even after doing all of his research. After knowing all I do from the book I would not go. I bet it was really cool for him to visit the places he heard so much about though. This book was really good! I enjoyed reading something that was informative and interesting at the same time. I had to remind myself the story is true on many occasions! It is very scary to think that the Ebola viruses have the potential to have an outbreak similar to that of AIDS. That would be terrible. I agree with Isa that part 4 could have been left out, but this book is still one of my favs!