The Frog Dissection

    To start off, our class started on our frog dissection on Tuesday the thirteenth and finished dissecting on Wednesday the fourteenth. Our goal was to be able to relate the systems of the frog to the systems of a human being. However, the main systems my group and I saw were the digestive system, the endocrine system, the urinary system, the nervous system, the respiratory system, and the circulatory system.
    After wearing our goggles and gloves, our frog was first put onto our tray. Then, our group opened up the frog by first "peeling" the layer of the skin and then the layer of the muscle on the ventral side of the frog. After we opened the frog, we found out right away that the frog was a female. This is because her eggs were all inside. The part that surprised me was the fact the eggs were not in one section. I thought that the eggs would either be in a sac or altogether covered by peritoneum, which is a membrane that covers the organs to keep it together. However, the eggs were not in one place nor were they in a sac; they were everywhere. After we took out the eggs, we identified the organs. The first organ we saw was the liver. The liver is the largest structure of the body cavity and is composed of three parts. Its job is to produce bile which helps digests fats. Another organ was the heart. The heart has the job of pumping the blood throughout the body to keep this organism alive. There were other organs such as fat bodies (which all frogs need), the lungs (which is what the frogs needs to breathe), the gull bladder, the stomach, both the small and large intestine, the spleen, esophagus, and many other organs as well.

    After identifying the gender and the organs, our dissection was now complete. I learned many new things from this dissection. First, the fact that frog guts do not smell very nice. Second, I learned that all systems humans have, other organisms have as well. Lastly, I learned that the systems of humans and of frogs have all the same function and that by using a frog as an example, we are able to have an idea on how some of our organs look, especially because most of human organs look similar to the ones of a frog.


http://www.scientificillustrator.com/illustration/amphibians/leopard_frog.html

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photos-gloves-and-goggles-image1413723
                

"As the Stomach Churns" Lab Response

        In the first day of this lab, we were seeing how the hydrochloric acid in our stomach digests our food and how acidic conditions affect protein digestion. 
       The first step was taking four test tubes and labeling all of them a different letter: A, B, C, and D. Then hard boiled egg-whites were cut into three centimeter pieces and three pieces was put in each of the four test tubes. After that process has been completed, we continued on putting either pepsin, or hydrochloric acid in different test tubes and seen what reaction occurred:
       For test tube A, with only pepsin and eggs, the immediate reaction that occurred was that the eggs started to turn a yellowish color and looked almost as if it were liquid.

       In test tube B, the water turned white and everything turned into a mushy substance (This was the tube that had the pepsin and water with the eggs).
       Test tube C had no immediate reaction, and this was the tube that had only hydrochloric acid with the eggs.
         Finally, test tube D had pepsin, the acid, and the eggs. Immediately, it felt as if the substances were bubbling lightly and started to form a white layer on the top as well as turning a clear white color.
       
         After testing all of this, we tested each of these solutions on purple-colored litmus paper. Test tube A made the paper look oily, but the paper was still purple. Test tube B made the paper look sort of a blue color. And test tubes C and D made the paper turn pink.
       Based on these observations, one day just isn't enough for out stomach to digest its food. This is why none of the test tubes had any major reactions right away. My prediction would be that maybe by the second day, the eggs will start to break down, and I think that test tube D will be the first of it. This  is because, this was the only test tube that had both the acid and pepsin added and it made a bubbly reaction, which made me think that the acid started doing something with the eggs, and possibly already starting to break it down. Also, there is hydrochloric acid in our stomachs so test tube A and B had no acid so it's least likely that any of those test tubes would start "digesting" first.

Sugar Cube Lab

This was a quick lab that was completed in class. The purpose of this lab was to see an example of digestion and how to speed it up:


First, a test tube was taken and a sugar cube was placed into it. Second, in another test tube, a sugar cube that has been crushed to little pieces was put into it. Third, both test tubes were filled with the same amount of water and were shaken for one minute. As the test tubes were shaken, the test tube with the crushed sugar cubes dissolved in the water first. 
By observing what happened, I was able to conclude that when eating, chewing your food first will help speed up digestion because the food is already  broken down and that it's less work when it reaches the stomach. However, if people were to swallow their food whole, digestion would be much slower because the stomach still has to break down the food.
 In other words, food that has already been crushed, digests faster than food that is still whole.

Chicken Wing Anatomy Lab (chicken wing dissection)

The purpose of this lab was to identify the different types of tissues and organs found in this structure.

             First, the skin had to be taken off the wing, and the wing of course is an epithelial tissue. The skin was a yellow color and a little bumpy. After getting the skin off, the muscle was shown. the muscle was a peachy-pink color. The muscle was attached to the bone, and the nerve was also located in the muscle, which looked like a red line. After observing that the muscles and nerve helps move the wing, the muscle tissue is taken out as well. That's when bones are shown and able to see the ligaments and cartilage, which are both white and shiny. The cartilage is attached to the ligament which helps attach the joints to the bone. 
             After observing all of this, I am able to see that the muscle tissue is the most tissue that helps the wing the most to contract and relax. 

Diffusion Lab- Classroom Response

         In the Diffusion Lab, we learned that Iodine is an indicator for starch, and that an indicator is a substance that changes color in the presence of the substance it indicates. After our group did the procedure, our observation was that the substance of the starch and water was supposed to change color because the iodine came into contact with the starch and the water; this is called "diluted". Sadly, the starch did not change color. We believe it's because of the material of the plastic-zip-lock bag we were using. But then again, as long as we were able to learn from our mistakes, it's fine; especially because even scientists make mistakes and end up finding something else that works for it.

The Crab Nebula

          "The Crab Nebula, the dusty remains of an exploded star, has unleashed a surprisingly massive flare that is five times more powerful than any eruption previously seen from the celestial object, leaving scientists struggling to explain the event," NASA says. 
             "The Crab Nebula's strong outburst lasted six days, and its exact cause has scientists scratching their heads, especially since the superflare followed an earlier gamma-ray flare from the nebula".
             This is definitely something new that is discovered. Though it may not affect us all the way on Earth, but this can always increase our knowledge about the outside world. 
              The Crab Nebula teaches me that even though a star explodes, it can always make a massive flare. This also shows that the universe is full of surprises and that it can always show you something you never expected.




http://www.livescience.com/14169-superflare-crab-nebula-defies-explanation.html

Zombie Ants?

           "Problem: you’re a fungus that can only flourish at a certain temperature, humidity, location and distance from the ground but can’t do the legwork to find that perfect spot yourself. Solution: hijack an ant’s body to do the work for you—and then inhabit it."

           Everyone knows that fungi can't move from one place to another, but did anyone know that they can climb into an ants' body and control them? Well, now scientists have figured out that Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus can infect Camponotus leonardi ants that live in tropical rainforest trees. Once the ant is infected, the spore-possessed ant will climb down from its normal habitat and bite down, with what the authors call a "death grip" on a leaf and then die. 

            Something like this is definitely a new and huge discovery. But even though this scientific discovery does not affect me, it is a new fact that I have just learned.  Every day, every hour, we learn something knew; but can something like this affect us?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fungus-makes-zombie-ants

  

Toothpick Fish

When examining alleles in a fish population, camouflage comes into deep help. To start off, the first generation of the gene pool started out with two heterozygous pairs of green and red, two homozygous pairs of yellow, one homozygous red, four orange, and three homozygous green. When all mated, the total number of color of offspring in the first generation was 41.5% green, 8.3% red, 16.6% yellow, and 33.2% orange. Sadly, because the yellow fish could not adapt in this gene pool, they died; that decreasing the population by 16.6%. During the second generation, the total number of color of the offspring was 70% green, 10% red, 0% yellow, and 20% orange. Next, in the third generation, the total number of color of offspring was 60% green, 0% red, 0% yellow, and 40% orange. As seen over time, the color of offspring decreased except for the green— because its allele is dominant—thus making its population increase. When the fourth generation came about, the offspring of green, increased to 80%, orange decreasing to 20%, and red and yellow stayed as 0%.

During the fourth generation, a disaster occurred. Factory waste was dumped into the gene pool, killing many seaweed and algae. The sand and rocks helped the red, yellow, and orange fish in camouflaging, while the green were easily seen and eaten. Now the only survivors are the 20% orange fish, while all the green died. The disaster shows that either human or natural causes can kill many organisms in any environment. If the environment changed in any way, it could change what happens to the organisms who are adapting to it. For instance if the waste from the factory, changed the color of the sand, seaweed, and algae, that can cause not only green fish to die, but many other colors of fish. As seen, camouflage can help many organisms in adapting and surviving, while many others can be eaten by their predators.

Cell Phone in a Crocodile's Belly?

           A fourteen-year-old crocodile swallowed a cell phone at the Ukraine aquarium, but how did it happen? The cell phone had been dropped by a women who was trying to take a picture of the creature. The cell phone caused the crocodile to have a stomach ache. The poor creature didn't eat or play with its other crocodiles for four weeks since the accident. Veterinarians say the last thing they would want to do was surgical removal, because the stitches would take about three weeks to heal.

          Something like this is very interesting, yet sad. The fact that a crocodile swallowed a cell phone is very new, but sad that the crocodile had to suffer like this. This shows that, because we are humans, accidents do happen and so we have to be careful of what we do because it could harm someone or something else.

          An incident like this helps me learn a lot of things. First, that whenever I go to an aquarium, I should always be careful of the distance I am in of taking a picture of an animal because I can drop the camera just as the woman did. Second, even if I did drop it by accident, the animal will not only know what it is, but it might eat the camera or cell phone just as the crocodile did. No matter how you plan things in life, you never know when something might go wrong-- and that's why it's better to be safe than sorry.

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/crocodile-swallows-cell-phone-110121.html

 

Sea Snails Glow?

         Knowing to many people, including myself, snails never occurred as an interesting topic. No one really knew snails can actually glow. Or can they?
         Sea snails reveal to shine from the inside for protection and for communication. The sea snail don't glow continuously, but only when touched.
         My opinion to something like this is very amazing. First, I never actually knew that sea snails can glow, not even if there were such thing as sea snails in the first place. Second, it's amazing how the sea snails only glow when touched. This shows that the glow helps the snail know when there is ever a predator. That obviously helps the snail for protection. Something like this always makes me wonder what other amazing things                                                                      
are in this world.
        Something like this means a lot to me. It helps me learn about things I never paid attention to in this world. Also this makes me learn my lesson of that not only big things in this world are amazing, but also the smallest. Snails are always something I never really thought as interesting. I always believed snails were slimy and disgusting, but now a learned a lesson. So just because something might not seem important, that doesn't meant it isn't.


http://www.livescience.com/animals/sea-snail-glows-from-inside-101214.html