#7-1 "FLOWERS HOLD THE WORLD'S SECRETS"

When I look at the traits that our family has in common the first thing I notice is the broad shoulders and the shape of our eyes. My grandfather, father, myself and my daughter all inherited these features. I never understood before how I had blonde hair and very fair skin and my dad has dark hair and darker toned skin. Everywhere my daughter and I go people comment how we look exactly alike. I have gone in places that know her and have never met me and they know who my daughter is before I say anything. I think sometimes it is hard for you to see the similarities yourself but others see them right away.

HW #5- JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE CELL

Well here we go.....I look at the cell like a working factory so I thought I would be a factory worker and take you on a tour. So first we arrive at the gates to the property that houses the factory and I have to show them my badge in order to proceed. They are very selective about who comes and goes through these gates; it functions like the cell membrane. After we park our car, we walk to the front of the factory and the walls are tall and there are doors to enter and exit it works like the cell wall, keeping the structure yet allows things in and out of the cell. Once inside I see the restrooms and I need to use it so I enter it and realize that it functions like the central vacuole in a cell, it houses the waste that may be harmful to the cell. On the way through I see the solar panels that capture the energy and supply it to the factory much like the chloroplast in the cell. There are maintenance workers all around cleaning and getting rid of old things that the factory no longer needs, this is like the lysosomes in the cell. As we look around the ceilings are high and the outer walls are strong they function like the cytoskeleton of the cell. We are getting a little gooey as we walk around it is the cytoplasm that is like the factory floor, it is where most of the activity takes place. Next we see mitochondria it is like the boilers or the main powerhouse of the factory. It transforms one form of energy into another. There are the forklifts, I will give you a ride on one later, and the vesicles are the forklifts in the factory. They move items to different departments within the factory. There are also conveyer belts every, the Golgi apparatus is like the finishing/packaging department in the factory. It moves the products that have been built to other locations for use or export. This is the assembly line in the factory. This is where the workers do their work. In the cell it would be called rough endoplasmic reticulum. There are even more conveyer belts, the smooth endoplasmic reticulum is the conveyer belt in a factory. It transports through a network to the different areas of processing in the factory. Before we go any farther we need to stop by the personnel department. There are chromosomes everywhere. They are like the personnel files that the CEO keeps. Chromosomes keep the important information safe and organized. Before we can talk to the CEO we need to get through the extra security measures the factory takes to protect what is inside. This functions like the nuclear envelope. Hurry up we need to take the elevator to the next level to meet the CEO. The nuclear pore is like an elevator it lets things pass between floors but if you are not in before the door closes then you don’t get to pass. This has been a tiring day but we made it, you get to meet the CEO of my factory, the nucleus is like the CEO of the factory. He is the one in charge of running the factory. Now you can tell him how bad you want to become a worker in his factory and hopefully he will let you become ribosome.

#6-3 CELLS AND MORE CELLS!

The way cells reproduce is important to me because cells make up all living things and without them we would not exist. Genetics is also studied from cells reproducing. Cell reproduction is also the way the body heals itself. So overall cell reproduction is the main reason we are here today!

#6-2 CELL RACE-WHO WON?

I believe that eukaryotic cells are the more advanced cells. I believe this is true because eukaryotic cells are larger and are more complex then prokaryotic cells. The eukaryotic cells have a nucleus that is held on by a double membrane and the prokaryotic cells do not have a nucleus. I also think that the eukaryotic cell is more advanced because prokaryotic cells multiply by simple cell division.

#6-1 MY MEMBRANE!

"Life is defined by the cell membrane." -jlw

What is meant by this statement is that the cell membrane is a selective layer around the cell that can let certain things in that the cell needs. It basically regulates what enters and exits the cell. So it helps with the transporting of materials needed for survival.

EXTRA CREDIT UNIT 6

Video on Mitosis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsgOl04PESI&feature=related

Inside plant cells:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7TJqPIzxSw&feature=related

Voyage inside the Cell: Membrane

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GW0lqf4Fqpg&feature=related

Inner Structure of an Eukaryotic Cell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMfGxWqW-Cc&feature=related

#5-3 AM I A "FOSSIL"?

There are many different ways a fossil can be formed. No matter what it has to do a lot with luck, one way is from the time of death until the discovery the body stays frozen. This is the best way to preserve it. Most things when they die are decomposed and recycled. The most common way is minerals fill the cellular spaces and crystallize. The shape of the original living organism is preserved in rock form.

I found the fossil of a Sinornithos from a 130-million year old forest that existed in what is now Liaoning Province, China.

This is a type of chineese bird lizard and it lived during the middle Jurassic period. It had feathers and is the closest dinosaur to a bird.


http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/52783517.jpg%3Fv%3D1%26c%3DViewImages%26k%3D2%26d%3D17A4AD9FDB9CF1939847EC77F5F8D1CEFE7252A5A71B8C0AA40A659CEC4C8CB6&imgrefurl=http://www.jamd.com/image/g/52783517&h=594&w=396&sz=57&hl=en&start=30&sig2=x6XVJWu9hiDdz55SAn_VQA&um=1&tbnid=6UMbwhlY4_oJMM:&tbnh=135&tbnw=90&ei=XuZiSOz4KJLApgTL7tW4DQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfossil%2Bof%2Bpast%2Blife%26start%3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN

#5-2 "SWIMMING" IN THE POOL

Darwin's theory of fitness comes into play here. Only the strongest will survive. Things change over time but their fitness is how healthy their gene pool is. If their genes are not strong and healthy they will not reproduce healthy offspring and eventually their species could die off. They are saying that human activities are the bottom line cases for endangering animals. I didnt understand exactly what they meant until I read about domestic animals transmitting diseases to wild animals and the domestic animals are vaccinated against it so they are only carriers. One disease could wipe out an entire population and that is a concern.

#5-1 PERFECT?

Absolutely not!! Natural selection will not ever make the perfect organism. Everything changes over time and therefore it would be impossible. Evolution may give them features that help them adapt but will not give them everything they need to be perfect.

#4-3 HUMAN POPULATION

I think that the bottom line message is that there are too many people on earth. We are using all of the Earth's resources and we are going to run out of resources. We need to find a solution soon or our children's children are not going to be able to survive. It scares me to think of the possibilities of having population restrictions like Chins does. We need to be making better choices now so that it doesn't come to that in the future.