Self Evaluation
1. What are the 3 aspects of the assignment I've submitted that I am most proud of? I love my pictures. Finding the pictures that relate to the concepts make the topic interesting. Also, I like the online labs and the project lab. I believe I learned a lot from them and did a great job on them!
2. What 2 aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement? I am not too sure because I tried very hard to get it all done the right way.
3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit? I believe I deserve an A for this unit, as I have put a lot of time and effort into this unit. I really like what I've done and I believe I managed to get it all done properly and efficiently. It allowed me to learn a lot more about biology.
4. How could I perform better in the next unit? Once again, I need to manage my time better. I usually don't post my work until the last minute whereas I should probably just do it immediately after I'm done. I don't want to have to search for it all and re-read it to remember everything for the quizzes.
Unit Evaluation
1. At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course? All three labs got me into the course. I enjoy learning things by doing more than just reading from a textbook.
2. At what moment did you feel most distanced from the course? Doing the quizzes, we found that our kitchen had flooded so I had to quickly end the 1st quiz to clean up the flooding water (4 inches in our kitchen and utility room! ...and moving into the living room). Then for my second quiz, I was rushing because my sister needed a ride to work and so I had to quickly finish that quiz, too.
3. What action did anyone take during this unit that you found most affirming and helpful? My boyfriend encouraged me and kept me on track by continuously tapping on my laptop whenever I got distracted. He's my hero! :)
4. What action that anyone(teacher of student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing? Nothing really...probably just the flood from my mom doing laundry and/or my sister in needing me to give her a ride.
5. What about this unit surprised you the most? The labs were fun this time! I mean really fun! I wasn't too stressed out this time either.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Ethical Issues Essay #2
America's Favorite Killer
What is food, really? Is it even edible or has it transformed to being just the nutrients and preserved they are advertised to be? Maybe food will lead our world to inevitable obesity. Finally, maybe food is the way to spiritual fulfillment? Okay, now that I've got you thinking, I should probably elaborate on the subject.
What do we know about how food is produced? Food produced in local farms is healthiest for people. Simply, food isn't shipped very far to get to supermarkets and the food has just been sprouted. If an individual were to go to their local farmer's market, they would not only be finding a relatively healthier food source, they would be providing their community with more support. By purchasing from these markets, these farm owners are able to maintain business, even purchase more equipment and land to cultivate. That means more healthy food to you and at a lower cost. These farm owners are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs create competition which in turn create business as we know it. Lower prices are the results and who wouldn't love to pay less for something they are going to buy anyway?
There was this commercial to buy some juice, I think. There was a family on a road trip, passing all these signs that read something like "high in preservatives," "high in trans fat," "color dye red 45," etc. At the end was their product, say, cranberry juice, and they went on to describe its "natural goodness." So is our food even food or is it just some form of nutrients that we need to live long, healthy lives? (Pollan). Are pies healthy because they are made organically? What about all those sugars? Though natural, I don't see this to be true. Food needs to nurture your body. A hundred years ago, there wasn't "low-cholestrol" cereal. There was cereal. The body needs whole foods such as apples, eggs, rice, and carrots, not nutri-grain bars, south beach diet muffins, pills, enriched rice, or other processed foods.
Obesity is at its highest ever. Just about one-third of all American adults are considered obese. Unfortunately the problem doesn't stop there. More youngsters and teens are obese now than ever before. This obesity is known to be a factor in developing heart disease, America's number one killer; hypertension, shorter life spans, and diabetes. (Mader). Obesity is a problem but is it food that is doing this to people? I don't necessarily believe that to be the case. We need food to live...when we make it a hobby is when it becomes a problem. Our sugar-high diets are what give us the tummy aches, the headaches, and the unforgiving cravings. People need to break the addiction these sweets and extra helpings are just as harmful, if not more, as smoking and drinking. Food is meant to feed life. Life doesn't need much to go on, and if a person wasn't spending all their time eating, they would probably be more productive. They could also save a lot of money! So, is food the enemy or is our real enemy ourselves?
In the Middle East, pork is never to be eaten, as a spiritual choice. Fasting is also another popular trend in religious faiths. There's are people who avoid food groups due to religious values but there are also groups of people who eat food to grow spiritually. They find pleasure and extreme happiness while they eat. In response to my question as to why he eats so much junk food, my dad stated, "why take away the happiness food gives? It's the taste that counts and you only live once, so live it in happiness." This is one that I can not fully debate because I believe it'd be cruel to take away someone's happiness. People live individual lives and day by day it's their choice to do what they want.
I know I've asked a lot of questions but that is because no one has that one absolute answer. Food is all about opinion...at least at the moment. It is something that people can control and decide how to use it. Some may find it beneficial when coping, while others find it spiritually soothing or pleasurable. Food is not meant to be eaten as if it were the nutrient, rather it should be eaten if it is healthy. Food, also should not constantly be abused as if it were a 3 meal buffet.
Works-Cited
Mader, Sylvia S. Human Biology. Boston: McGrawHill Companies, Inc. 2008.
Pollan, Michael. "Unhappy Meals." New York Times 28 Jan 2007 25 Jun 2007.
What is food, really? Is it even edible or has it transformed to being just the nutrients and preserved they are advertised to be? Maybe food will lead our world to inevitable obesity. Finally, maybe food is the way to spiritual fulfillment? Okay, now that I've got you thinking, I should probably elaborate on the subject.
What do we know about how food is produced? Food produced in local farms is healthiest for people. Simply, food isn't shipped very far to get to supermarkets and the food has just been sprouted. If an individual were to go to their local farmer's market, they would not only be finding a relatively healthier food source, they would be providing their community with more support. By purchasing from these markets, these farm owners are able to maintain business, even purchase more equipment and land to cultivate. That means more healthy food to you and at a lower cost. These farm owners are entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs create competition which in turn create business as we know it. Lower prices are the results and who wouldn't love to pay less for something they are going to buy anyway?
There was this commercial to buy some juice, I think. There was a family on a road trip, passing all these signs that read something like "high in preservatives," "high in trans fat," "color dye red 45," etc. At the end was their product, say, cranberry juice, and they went on to describe its "natural goodness." So is our food even food or is it just some form of nutrients that we need to live long, healthy lives? (Pollan). Are pies healthy because they are made organically? What about all those sugars? Though natural, I don't see this to be true. Food needs to nurture your body. A hundred years ago, there wasn't "low-cholestrol" cereal. There was cereal. The body needs whole foods such as apples, eggs, rice, and carrots, not nutri-grain bars, south beach diet muffins, pills, enriched rice, or other processed foods.
Obesity is at its highest ever. Just about one-third of all American adults are considered obese. Unfortunately the problem doesn't stop there. More youngsters and teens are obese now than ever before. This obesity is known to be a factor in developing heart disease, America's number one killer; hypertension, shorter life spans, and diabetes. (Mader). Obesity is a problem but is it food that is doing this to people? I don't necessarily believe that to be the case. We need food to live...when we make it a hobby is when it becomes a problem. Our sugar-high diets are what give us the tummy aches, the headaches, and the unforgiving cravings. People need to break the addiction these sweets and extra helpings are just as harmful, if not more, as smoking and drinking. Food is meant to feed life. Life doesn't need much to go on, and if a person wasn't spending all their time eating, they would probably be more productive. They could also save a lot of money! So, is food the enemy or is our real enemy ourselves?
In the Middle East, pork is never to be eaten, as a spiritual choice. Fasting is also another popular trend in religious faiths. There's are people who avoid food groups due to religious values but there are also groups of people who eat food to grow spiritually. They find pleasure and extreme happiness while they eat. In response to my question as to why he eats so much junk food, my dad stated, "why take away the happiness food gives? It's the taste that counts and you only live once, so live it in happiness." This is one that I can not fully debate because I believe it'd be cruel to take away someone's happiness. People live individual lives and day by day it's their choice to do what they want.
I know I've asked a lot of questions but that is because no one has that one absolute answer. Food is all about opinion...at least at the moment. It is something that people can control and decide how to use it. Some may find it beneficial when coping, while others find it spiritually soothing or pleasurable. Food is not meant to be eaten as if it were the nutrient, rather it should be eaten if it is healthy. Food, also should not constantly be abused as if it were a 3 meal buffet.
Works-Cited
Mader, Sylvia S. Human Biology. Boston: McGrawHill Companies, Inc. 2008.
Pollan, Michael. "Unhappy Meals." New York Times 28 Jan 2007 25 Jun 2007
Compendium Review #4
• Glucose & Diabetes
• Digestion
• Nutrition and Diet
**Diabetes & Glucose**
Diabetes are can lead to blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage. Diabetes is also an important factor in accelerating the hardening and narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), leading to strokes, coronary heart disease, and other large blood vessel diseases. It takes part in the lives of nearly 17 million people which is actually 8% of the population. To think that most of those are from people who are obese. That's almost 8 out of 33 people. More surprisingly, 12 million MORE people have the disease and don't have a clue...yet. Diabetes is very expensive and is the third leading cause of death. Heart disease is the big #1 and cancer is #2. Insufficient production of insulin, production of defective insulin, or the inability of cells to use insulin properly leads to hyperglycemia and diabetes. The lacking of insulin is found in type I diabetes. Type II diabetes deals with the dcline of beta cells. Glucose is an essential nutrient that provides body cells with the power to do their work. Glucose can't enter the cells by itself though! It needs insulin to get into those stubborn cells. When they are unable to get in because of the lack of insulin, the cells lose energy even though the blood stream is full of it. Instead, that glucose is digested and emptied from the body in the form of urine. When food enters the body, the blood glucose level rises. The pancreas tends to release more insulin into the bloodstream to help glucose enter the cells and lower blood glucose levels. When the blood glucose levels are lowered, the insulin release from the pancreas is lowered, too.
**Digestion**
The beginning of the process of digestion takes place inside the mouth. Teeth are needed to chew and break apart the foods we eat and our saliva contains enzymes that help to break apart that food. The tongue helps the body swallow, taking in the food. As you swallow this food, a palate and epiglottis patch up the air passage so the food can continue to flow through without a collision.
The food will end up in the stomach where it will be further broken down from the acidic juices that the stomach secretes.
The small intestine, specifically, the duodenum, will get these broken down substances from the liver and the pancreatic juice comes to join from the pancreas. The process of chemical digestion finishes up the digestion to where the molecules and nutrients are stored and distributed throughout the body. The pancreas, liver, and gallbladder are three organs that send these molecules to the duodenum.
The pancreas produces enzymes that are used for digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The liver produces the bile, which breaks down fat and gets it ready for further digestion. The liver also destroys dysfunctional, old blood cells and detoxifies the blood. It stores iron, and glycgen, breaks down gycogen to glucose, produce urea and plasma proteins, and it also helps regulate cholestrol levels. Last but not least would be the gallbladder. This gallbladder has the job to store the bile made from the liver. The nervous system and the body's hormones regulate the gallbladder's processes. At the end of digestion is the emptying of the body. This is also called defacation.
The large intestine has the important role of retaining water, salts and a few vitamins. It forms the feces and it finishes the process of defacation. There are many parts to this system, including the colon, cecum, rectum, and the anus. This entire system, the digestive system, takes place in the gastrointestinal tract. here are for layers of the wall in the digestive tract: the mucosa, submuscosa, muscularis, and the serosa. The mucosa is the first layer that produces the mucus, keeping the wall safe from the digestive enzymes. The second layer, the submucosa, is made of loose connective tissue with blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves throughout it. This layer helps keep away disease. When disease gets its way, however, several illnesses such as chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and weight loss can occur. (Inflammatory bowel disease). Next is the muscularis which is actually a layer made from two layers of muscle. The inner layer is circular around the tract. These muscles will contract making digested food go from the esophagus to the anus. Problems with this layer can turn into irritable bowel sndrome (IBS). This is seen with abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea. The last layer, the serosa, is the internal lining of the abdominal cavity. It is the most important in protecting the body from serious disease.
**Nutrition and Diet**
Nutrition--something America is lacking on.
33% of all adults in the United States are now termed obese. Not only is obesity affecting adults, but young children and teenagers are being given the title of being obese more now than ever before.
Obesity brings with it a much larger risk of getting diabetes type II, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, an early death, gallbladder disease, respiratory disfunction, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. It is seen that those countries with a higher increase in income are seen with the higher obesity rates.
An obese person has a BMI of 32.3 to 39.9. An individual how has a BMI of 40+ is referred to as morbidly obese. There are many weight programs such as the atkins diet, zone diet, south beach diet, pritikin diet, etc. These are not the best as they limit foods and sometimes eliminate entire food groups. This prevents your body, starves your body, of the nutrients it needs to survive.
Mader describes that to reduce dietary sugar in your diet a person should:
1. Eat fewer sweets, such as candy, soft drinks, ice cream, and pastry.
2. Eat fresh fruits or fruits canned without heavy syrup.
3. Use less sugar--white, brown, or raw--and less honey and syrups.
4. Avoid sweetened breakfast cereals.
5. Eat less jelly, jam, and preserves.
6. Eat fresh fruit; especially avoid artificial fruit juices.
7. When cooking, use spices, such as cinnamon, instead of sugar to flavor foods.
8. Do not put sugar in tea or coffee.
9. Avoid potatoes and processed foods made from refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, rice, and pasta.
Also, Mader's advice on how to reduce saturated fats and trans fats in the diet:
1. Choose poultry, fish, or dry beans and peas as a protein source.
2. Remove skin from poultry, and trim fat from red meats before cooking place on a rack so that fat drains off.
3. Broil, boil or bake rather than fry.
4. Limit your intake of butter, cream, trans fats, shortenings, and tropical oils (coconut and palm oils).
5. Use herbs and spices to season vegetables instead of butter, margarine, or sauces. Use lemon juice instead of salad dressing.
6. Drink skim milk instead of whole milk, and use skim milk in cooking and baking.
And to reduce dietary cholesterol (also Mader)
1. Avoid cheese, egg yolks, liver, and certain shellfish (shrimp and lobster). Preferably, eat white fish and poultry.
2. Substitute egg whites for egg yolks in both cooking and eating.
3. Include soluble fiber in the diet. Oat bran, oatmeal, beans, corn, and fruits, such as apples, citrus fruits, and cranberries, are high in soluble fiber.
Carbohydrates are the source of our energy. Proteins are needed to produce proteins. ---> Beans are rich in both!
Vitamins and Minerals are also very crucial to a person's diet
Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chloride, and magnesium those minerals that are needed in larger quantities of more than 100 mg a day. Zinc, iron, copper, iodine, selenium, and manganese are needed in smaller quantities of 20 mg a day.
Fat-soluble vitamins include vitamin A, D, E, and K. Vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, B12, Biotin, Pantothenic acid, Folic acid, and Niacin are water-soluble vitamins.
The USDA changed the beloved food pyramid in 2005. Now, you are supposed to eat 6 oz of grains every day; 2 1/2 cups of veggies every day; 2 cups of fruits every day; 3 cups milk every day; and 5 1/2 oz of meats and beans ever day.
Works-Cited
Photograph representing the digestive system (man eating apple):
www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk
Photograph of yummy fruit:
www.thomsonedu.com
Photograph representing weight control:
www.extremefitness.info
Photograph representing obesity and it's effects on the body:
health.allrefer.com
Photograph of man made of food with little person inside:
keepitoff.blogs.com
Photograph of child obesity:
www.stolenchildhood.net
Photograph of the fat cat:
www.stuff.co.nz
Photograph of the stomach:
bio.bd.psu.edu
Photograph of the small intestine:
bio.bd.psu.edu
Photograph of the large intestine:
www.acm.uiuc.edu
Photograph of the many pills (nutrients):
brainblogger.com
Photograph joke of carrot prescription:
www.newmediaexplorer.org
Photograph of circular display of healthy foods:
www.wipp.nhs.uk
• Digestion
• Nutrition and Diet
**Diabetes & Glucose**
Diabetes are can lead to blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage. Diabetes is also an important factor in accelerating the hardening and narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis), leading to strokes, coronary heart disease, and other large blood vessel diseases. It takes part in the lives of nearly 17 million people which is actually 8% of the population. To think that most of those are from people who are obese. That's almost 8 out of 33 people. More surprisingly, 12 million MORE people have the disease and don't have a clue...yet. Diabetes is very expensive and is the third leading cause of death. Heart disease is the big #1 and cancer is #2. Insufficient production of insulin, production of defective insulin, or the inability of cells to use insulin properly leads to hyperglycemia and diabetes. The lacking of insulin is found in type I diabetes. Type II diabetes deals with the dcline of beta cells. Glucose is an essential nutrient that provides body cells with the power to do their work. Glucose can't enter the cells by itself though! It needs insulin to get into those stubborn cells. When they are unable to get in because of the lack of insulin, the cells lose energy even though the blood stream is full of it. Instead, that glucose is digested and emptied from the body in the form of urine. When food enters the body, the blood glucose level rises. The pancreas tends to release more insulin into the bloodstream to help glucose enter the cells and lower blood glucose levels. When the blood glucose levels are lowered, the insulin release from the pancreas is lowered, too.
**Digestion**
The beginning of the process of digestion takes place inside the mouth. Teeth are needed to chew and break apart the foods we eat and our saliva contains enzymes that help to break apart that food. The tongue helps the body swallow, taking in the food. As you swallow this food, a palate and epiglottis patch up the air passage so the food can continue to flow through without a collision.
The food will end up in the stomach where it will be further broken down from the acidic juices that the stomach secretes.
The small intestine, specifically, the duodenum, will get these broken down substances from the liver and the pancreatic juice comes to join from the pancreas. The process of chemical digestion finishes up the digestion to where the molecules and nutrients are stored and distributed throughout the body. The pancreas, liver, and gallbladder are three organs that send these molecules to the duodenum.
The pancreas produces enzymes that are used for digestion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The liver produces the bile, which breaks down fat and gets it ready for further digestion. The liver also destroys dysfunctional, old blood cells and detoxifies the blood. It stores iron, and glycgen, breaks down gycogen to glucose, produce urea and plasma proteins, and it also helps regulate cholestrol levels. Last but not least would be the gallbladder. This gallbladder has the job to store the bile made from the liver. The nervous system and the body's hormones regulate the gallbladder's processes. At the end of digestion is the emptying of the body. This is also called defacation.
The large intestine has the important role of retaining water, salts and a few vitamins. It forms the feces and it finishes the process of defacation. There are many parts to this system, including the colon, cecum, rectum, and the anus. This entire system, the digestive system, takes place in the gastrointestinal tract. here are for layers of the wall in the digestive tract: the mucosa, submuscosa, muscularis, and the serosa. The mucosa is the first layer that produces the mucus, keeping the wall safe from the digestive enzymes. The second layer, the submucosa, is made of loose connective tissue with blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerves throughout it. This layer helps keep away disease. When disease gets its way, however, several illnesses such as chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and weight loss can occur. (Inflammatory bowel disease). Next is the muscularis which is actually a layer made from two layers of muscle. The inner layer is circular around the tract. These muscles will contract making digested food go from the esophagus to the anus. Problems with this layer can turn into irritable bowel sndrome (IBS). This is seen with abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea. The last layer, the serosa, is the internal lining of the abdominal cavity. It is the most important in protecting the body from serious disease.
**Nutrition and Diet**
Nutrition--something America is lacking on.
33% of all adults in the United States are now termed obese. Not only is obesity affecting adults, but young children and teenagers are being given the title of being obese more now than ever before.
Obesity brings with it a much larger risk of getting diabetes type II, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, an early death, gallbladder disease, respiratory disfunction, osteoarthritis, and some cancers. It is seen that those countries with a higher increase in income are seen with the higher obesity rates.
An obese person has a BMI of 32.3 to 39.9. An individual how has a BMI of 40+ is referred to as morbidly obese. There are many weight programs such as the atkins diet, zone diet, south beach diet, pritikin diet, etc. These are not the best as they limit foods and sometimes eliminate entire food groups. This prevents your body, starves your body, of the nutrients it needs to survive.
Mader describes that to reduce dietary sugar in your diet a person should:
1. Eat fewer sweets, such as candy, soft drinks, ice cream, and pastry.
2. Eat fresh fruits or fruits canned without heavy syrup.
3. Use less sugar--white, brown, or raw--and less honey and syrups.
4. Avoid sweetened breakfast cereals.
5. Eat less jelly, jam, and preserves.
6. Eat fresh fruit; especially avoid artificial fruit juices.
7. When cooking, use spices, such as cinnamon, instead of sugar to flavor foods.
8. Do not put sugar in tea or coffee.
9. Avoid potatoes and processed foods made from refined carbohydrates, such as white bread, rice, and pasta.
Also, Mader's advice on how to reduce saturated fats and trans fats in the diet:
1. Choose poultry, fish, or dry beans and peas as a protein source.
2. Remove skin from poultry, and trim fat from red meats before cooking place on a rack so that fat drains off.
3. Broil, boil or bake rather than fry.
4. Limit your intake of butter, cream, trans fats, shortenings, and tropical oils (coconut and palm oils).
5. Use herbs and spices to season vegetables instead of butter, margarine, or sauces. Use lemon juice instead of salad dressing.
6. Drink skim milk instead of whole milk, and use skim milk in cooking and baking.
And to reduce dietary cholesterol (also Mader)
1. Avoid cheese, egg yolks, liver, and certain shellfish (shrimp and lobster). Preferably, eat white fish and poultry.
2. Substitute egg whites for egg yolks in both cooking and eating.
3. Include soluble fiber in the diet. Oat bran, oatmeal, beans, corn, and fruits, such as apples, citrus fruits, and cranberries, are high in soluble fiber.
Carbohydrates are the source of our energy. Proteins are needed to produce proteins. ---> Beans are rich in both!
Vitamins and Minerals are also very crucial to a person's diet
Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chloride, and magnesium those minerals that are needed in larger quantities of more than 100 mg a day. Zinc, iron, copper, iodine, selenium, and manganese are needed in smaller quantities of 20 mg a day.
Fat-soluble vitamins include vitamin A, D, E, and K. Vitamin C, B1, B2, B6, B12, Biotin, Pantothenic acid, Folic acid, and Niacin are water-soluble vitamins.
The USDA changed the beloved food pyramid in 2005. Now, you are supposed to eat 6 oz of grains every day; 2 1/2 cups of veggies every day; 2 cups of fruits every day; 3 cups milk every day; and 5 1/2 oz of meats and beans ever day.
Works-Cited
Photograph representing the digestive system (man eating apple):
www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk
Photograph of yummy fruit:
www.thomsonedu.com
Photograph representing weight control:
www.extremefitness.info
Photograph representing obesity and it's effects on the body:
health.allrefer.com
Photograph of man made of food with little person inside:
keepitoff.blogs.com
Photograph of child obesity:
www.stolenchildhood.net
Photograph of the fat cat:
www.stuff.co.nz
Photograph of the stomach:
bio.bd.psu.edu
Photograph of the small intestine:
bio.bd.psu.edu
Photograph of the large intestine:
www.acm.uiuc.edu
Photograph of the many pills (nutrients):
brainblogger.com
Photograph joke of carrot prescription:
www.newmediaexplorer.org
Photograph of circular display of healthy foods:
www.wipp.nhs.uk
Project Lab #2
1. Introduction: In this experiment, I will be observing the effects on the metabolic rates of the human body when compared to those rates at a calm, resting state. I will be looking at four primary rates: pulse, respiratory, systolic, and diastolic rates. There will be four activities to observe. Will the vital signs rise or lower? Will they all sky-rocket because of a change of movement or will some go up and others down?
2. Your hypothesis:
In comparison to my baseline, resting rates, for my first activity, all vital signs will increase. In my second activity, I expect the same results. In my third activity, the pulse and respiratory rates will decrease and the systolic and diastolic rates will increase.
3. Materials and Methods:
For all activities, I will be using a ____ to determine my pulse, systolic, and diastolic rates. I will use a clock and my own superior counting abilities to calculate my respiratory rate. :) In the picture above, is the position I took for my baseline reading. I sat, rested for 10 minutes, then check my vitals. I would wait 10 minutes before taking another vital reading and I did this activity 5 times. I will find the average for each of the pulse, systolic, diastolic, and respiratory rates and put them in a data sheet. (Also, I had my boyfriend step in for the pictures, as I was unsuitable at the moment--sleepy clothes!)
This is what I labeled as "activity 1." In this activity, I laid on the bed for 10 minutes then slowly shifted my body further to the edge of the bed so I was hanging upside down. I took and recorded my vitals and timed my breathing. I did this activity 5 times and calculated the average, again, for each of the vital readings.
In this picture, is "activity 2." This one worked my abs. I hung off the bed, holding myself up for 10 minutes at a time. Afterwards, I repeated the process of taking and recording my vital signs and repeating the process 5 times. Again, I took the mean and recorded that as well.
In this final activity, "activity three," I was ready to take a shower...a long shower. I would be in there for 10 minutes, then half-way dry off to take my vitals once more. As with the other activities, I repeated this process 5 times, took the average, and recorded all the rates. Trust me, 50 minutes in the shower makes a person very wrinkly...and thirsty.
4. Your data:
These two pictures would together be my table of data for this experiment. This is where I recorded each rate throughout the experiment.
This is the graph of the averages of my pulse rates for each activity.
This is the graph for the averages of my respiratory rates for each activity.
This is the graph for the averages of my systolic rates for each activity.
This is the graph for the averages of my diastolic rates for each activity.
5. Analysis of your data. To my surprise my hypotheses were not correct. I had expect that for the first and second activities, all the metabolic rates would have increased in comparison to my baseline readings. I had also expected that for the third activity, the pulse rate and respiratory rates would have decreased and the systolic and diastolic rates would increase. Instead, for both the pulse and respiratory rates, the averages showed that the first activity was below that of the baseline data. The second and third activities showed that the metabolic rates had increased. For the systolic rates, the first and second activities' vitals both decreased, while the third activity metabolic rates increased. Finally, for the diastolic rates, all three activities showed vital signs that had decreased from the baseline, resting data.
6. Problems with your data or technique. I think my data would have been more accurate had I done various activities such as running, swimming, skateboarding, etc., and/or if I had done more activities. I believe I did this experiment correctly, however, as I had even used a doctor prescribed, blood pressure cuff.
7. Conclusion. The blood needs to flow throughout the body and when the body is moving around, the more it does, the harder the heart needs to work in order to get this blood, with the nutrients and oxygen, throughout the body at a faster pace. As seen in this experiment, the more movement I was doing, the higher my metabolic rates would be.
2. Your hypothesis:
In comparison to my baseline, resting rates, for my first activity, all vital signs will increase. In my second activity, I expect the same results. In my third activity, the pulse and respiratory rates will decrease and the systolic and diastolic rates will increase.
3. Materials and Methods:
For all activities, I will be using a ____ to determine my pulse, systolic, and diastolic rates. I will use a clock and my own superior counting abilities to calculate my respiratory rate. :) In the picture above, is the position I took for my baseline reading. I sat, rested for 10 minutes, then check my vitals. I would wait 10 minutes before taking another vital reading and I did this activity 5 times. I will find the average for each of the pulse, systolic, diastolic, and respiratory rates and put them in a data sheet. (Also, I had my boyfriend step in for the pictures, as I was unsuitable at the moment--sleepy clothes!)
This is what I labeled as "activity 1." In this activity, I laid on the bed for 10 minutes then slowly shifted my body further to the edge of the bed so I was hanging upside down. I took and recorded my vitals and timed my breathing. I did this activity 5 times and calculated the average, again, for each of the vital readings.
In this picture, is "activity 2." This one worked my abs. I hung off the bed, holding myself up for 10 minutes at a time. Afterwards, I repeated the process of taking and recording my vital signs and repeating the process 5 times. Again, I took the mean and recorded that as well.
In this final activity, "activity three," I was ready to take a shower...a long shower. I would be in there for 10 minutes, then half-way dry off to take my vitals once more. As with the other activities, I repeated this process 5 times, took the average, and recorded all the rates. Trust me, 50 minutes in the shower makes a person very wrinkly...and thirsty.
4. Your data:
These two pictures would together be my table of data for this experiment. This is where I recorded each rate throughout the experiment.
This is the graph of the averages of my pulse rates for each activity.
This is the graph for the averages of my respiratory rates for each activity.
This is the graph for the averages of my systolic rates for each activity.
This is the graph for the averages of my diastolic rates for each activity.
5. Analysis of your data. To my surprise my hypotheses were not correct. I had expect that for the first and second activities, all the metabolic rates would have increased in comparison to my baseline readings. I had also expected that for the third activity, the pulse rate and respiratory rates would have decreased and the systolic and diastolic rates would increase. Instead, for both the pulse and respiratory rates, the averages showed that the first activity was below that of the baseline data. The second and third activities showed that the metabolic rates had increased. For the systolic rates, the first and second activities' vitals both decreased, while the third activity metabolic rates increased. Finally, for the diastolic rates, all three activities showed vital signs that had decreased from the baseline, resting data.
6. Problems with your data or technique. I think my data would have been more accurate had I done various activities such as running, swimming, skateboarding, etc., and/or if I had done more activities. I believe I did this experiment correctly, however, as I had even used a doctor prescribed, blood pressure cuff.
7. Conclusion. The blood needs to flow throughout the body and when the body is moving around, the more it does, the harder the heart needs to work in order to get this blood, with the nutrients and oxygen, throughout the body at a faster pace. As seen in this experiment, the more movement I was doing, the higher my metabolic rates would be.
Compendium Review #3
For Chapters 5, 6, & 7:
--Cardiovascular System, Blood Vessels
--Blood, Blood, & more Blood
--Microbes, Immunity
--HIV/AIDS
**Cardiovascular System**
The heart and its blood vessels make up the cardiovascular system, in a nutshell, of course. The heart's function is to take its power to distribute valuable nutrients and precious oxygen throughout the entire body. It does its crucially important task day in and day out through the use of its transporters--blood vessels. These transporters, or blood vessels, have three kinds: the arteries, the capillaries, and the veins. Arteries serve the important purpose of taking blood AWAY from the heart. They have thick walls that are able to hold the blood pressure quite easily. From the arteries to the capillaries, the blood is able to get rid of its extra baggage (waste products) and get an exchange for something the body needs (carbon dioxide for oxygen and vise versa). These small, invisible to the naked eye blood vessels continue on to connect to the veins. Veins are especially important, as they take the blood TOWARDS the heart. Their walls aren't nearly as thick as those of the arteries, which allows blood to continue flowing, naturally, in one direction.
The heart itself is the key to the body's functioning. It's so vital that it is even protected by THREE layers of muscle: the epicardium, pericardium, and myocardium. In the heart four chambers can be located: a left and a right atrium and a left and a right ventricle. Now, that we've discussed all the intricate little parts, here is how it does all its magic! When the atrium gets blood that lacks O2, it is taken to the ventricle, which takes it to the lungs. When the atrium receives blood that has plenty of O2 back from the lungs, it is shipped back through the body. The SA node is also a crucial element to the heart's work cycle. It makes the atria contract, creating our heart to begin beating. THere's also an AV node, which works on the ventricles, making them contract. That's how we get the heart beat that has two beats close together.
Parts of the cardiovascular system:
Pulse: This rate gives your heartbeat rate.
Blood Pressure is what gets blood to move in the arteries. It's the flow of the blood that is slowed down in the capillaries, while it is taking a stop for exchanges. That same flow continues into the veins and then is returned back to the heart.
The pulmonary circuit is very different from the systemic circuit. One exchanges gases and the other exchages with tissue fluid, respectively.
Currently, cardiovascular disease (heart disease) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Hypertension (high blood pressure) has many possible factors in its uprising, which may include age, gender, body weight, a family history of cardiovascular disease, a salt-rich diet, a lack of exercise, and alcohol consumption.
**BLOOD**
First of all, there's more than one type of blood. There's Type A, Type B, Type AB, Type O, and one that is not normally recognized--Agglutination. These are called the ABO blood groups. The type A blood has "type A surface antigens; plasma has anti-B antibodies", whereas type B blood has "type B surface antigens; plasma has anti-A antibodies." The AB blood has "both type a and b surface antigens; plasma has neither anti-A or -B antibodies," (Mader, 118). People with this rare blood type are referred to as universal recipients. Type O doesn't have any type a or type b surface antigens but it's plasma has both anti-A and -B antigens. A person with this type of blood is called a universal donor. Mader, of the human body, states, "contains about five liters of blood." (Mader, 106). All of which is pumped by our strong hearts.
The blood has several jobs it needs to do everyday. It can't call in sick and it needs to do its job completely every time. The blood has to: move hormones, oxygen, and nutrients to cells; transport carbon dioxide and other wastes from cells; fight against infections and other problems to the body (bruises); continue to maintain blood pressre (watch what you eat!); regulate body temperature; and control the body's PH levels.
The blood doesn't have nearly as many parts to it as the heart does. Three key elements are the red blood cells, white blood cells, and the platelets. As for plasma, it is composed of 9/10 water. It's proteins are found and created in the liver, and plasma itself keeps osmosis going and the pressure constant. It helps to control the PH levels of the body as well as moving molecules from place to place. The plasma proteins have three main purposes: to be the taxi and move things around, keep immunity, and help blood clotting function properly.
All about red blood cells: They don't have a nucleus but they have hemoglobin. The hemoglobin found in these red blood cells is used in combination with oxygen in the tissues. These blood cells are created due to the oxygen concentration of the blood itself. If the oxygen is lacking, the kidneys step in and produce more red blood cells with erythropoietin.
Here's more about blood cells, white ones. These are larger than the red blood cells and quite circular, like a ball. These have nuclei and they are see-through. A granular leukocytes, neutrophils, are plentiful and are the first to the rescue at the sight of infections. Monocytes, agranular leukocytes, are the biggest of the blood cells, and they get rid of extra cellular wastes, whereas the lymphocytes are used to preserve immunity. Two other white blood cells are eosinophil and basophil, both granular leukocytes.
**Microbes**
Microbes include bacteria. Overall, they are unfriendly neighbors that no one really cares to keep around. However, they do serve some purpose, plenty actually. Our food supply is in part made from bacteria, some of which are yogurt, beer, wine, and cheese. These bacteria can also be decomposers which get "eat" dead things, preserving our biosphere. In organisms, bacteria also has its bad side, and is reputable of it. The body's defenses are to create barriers and attempt to keep the bacteria out (skin, or the mucous in your throat and nose), first responders (the white blood cells are the Mr. Fix-Its), and by killing the actual disease. These microscopic organisms are everywhere! Unfortunately enough, you can contract the bad bacteria (pathogens) at any moment, may it be in the bathroom, or at the beach.
There are, like everything else, different kinds of microbes. There are some that produce the flu, the common cold, sore throats, and much more. Immunity is a relatively new subject, as the technology as increased so dramatically.
Immunization is meant to stop those viruses. However, there are some that just refuse to quite, such as the flu, which is known to mutate year to year. Immunization helps the body by building barriers and sending WBCs to "eat the pesky viruses. The B and T cells find the antigens, which are seen as unknowns by the immune system, and they attach them to the receptors. Antibody-Mediated Immunity refers to the defense system and copy-making of B cells. Cell-Mediated Immunity deals with gathering a group to fight the bad cell. the T cells. Types of T cells include: cytotoxic, helper and memory. Two kinds of acquired immunity are passive and active. The passive one is serves temporally from one person to the next. Active immuity refers to the vaccines that help the body find antigens--immunizations sought to keep a person "safe" from the virus for a particular amount of time.
**HIV/AIDS**
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, damages and weakens the immune system and is cause by HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is believed to have come from Africa. AIDS's damages to the immune system deplete the brain's production, forever killing off parts of the brain in as much as 15%. These tissues are used mostly in memory, movement and planning.
By being in direct contact with any blood or other bodily fluids, an individual is putting his/herself at risk of receiving this painful disease. Fevers, weakness, hot/cold flashes, rapid weight loss, and swollen glands are all characteristics fo the disease.
Unfortunately, there isn't a cure (but there are therapies to help ease this process) for this insanely deadly disease, YET, but there are many in support and in action to help prevent the further contracting of the disease.
WORKS CITED:
Mader, Sylvia S. Human Biology. Boston: McGrawHill Companies, Inc. 2008.
Quotes
Photograph of the blue man:
www.thewellingtoncardiacservices.com
Photograph of representing cardiovascular system:
www.besthealth.com
Photograph under cardiovascular diseases:
www.faqs.org
Photograph of blood composition:
codeblue.wikispaces.com
Photograph of needle with blood droplet:
www.cbc.ca
Blood Pressure Chart:
www.vaughns-1-pagers.com
Photograph of blood donors:
www.belfastcity.gov.uk
Photograph of a patient with AIDS--the mouth:
www.dentistry.leeds.ac.uk
Photograph representing the damage to the brain due to AIDS:
www.loni.ucla.edu
Photograph representing a prayer with a AIDS fight symbol:
dsc.discovery.com
Photograph of HIV budding:
upload.wikimedia.org
Photograph of nine microbes:
www.sdnhm.org
Photograph of silly microbes with their causes:
shop.advanceweb.com
Diagram of Immunity types:
faculty.ircc.edu
--Cardiovascular System, Blood Vessels
--Blood, Blood, & more Blood
--Microbes, Immunity
--HIV/AIDS
**Cardiovascular System**
The heart and its blood vessels make up the cardiovascular system, in a nutshell, of course. The heart's function is to take its power to distribute valuable nutrients and precious oxygen throughout the entire body. It does its crucially important task day in and day out through the use of its transporters--blood vessels. These transporters, or blood vessels, have three kinds: the arteries, the capillaries, and the veins. Arteries serve the important purpose of taking blood AWAY from the heart. They have thick walls that are able to hold the blood pressure quite easily. From the arteries to the capillaries, the blood is able to get rid of its extra baggage (waste products) and get an exchange for something the body needs (carbon dioxide for oxygen and vise versa). These small, invisible to the naked eye blood vessels continue on to connect to the veins. Veins are especially important, as they take the blood TOWARDS the heart. Their walls aren't nearly as thick as those of the arteries, which allows blood to continue flowing, naturally, in one direction.
The heart itself is the key to the body's functioning. It's so vital that it is even protected by THREE layers of muscle: the epicardium, pericardium, and myocardium. In the heart four chambers can be located: a left and a right atrium and a left and a right ventricle. Now, that we've discussed all the intricate little parts, here is how it does all its magic! When the atrium gets blood that lacks O2, it is taken to the ventricle, which takes it to the lungs. When the atrium receives blood that has plenty of O2 back from the lungs, it is shipped back through the body. The SA node is also a crucial element to the heart's work cycle. It makes the atria contract, creating our heart to begin beating. THere's also an AV node, which works on the ventricles, making them contract. That's how we get the heart beat that has two beats close together.
Parts of the cardiovascular system:
Pulse: This rate gives your heartbeat rate.
Blood Pressure is what gets blood to move in the arteries. It's the flow of the blood that is slowed down in the capillaries, while it is taking a stop for exchanges. That same flow continues into the veins and then is returned back to the heart.
The pulmonary circuit is very different from the systemic circuit. One exchanges gases and the other exchages with tissue fluid, respectively.
Currently, cardiovascular disease (heart disease) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Hypertension (high blood pressure) has many possible factors in its uprising, which may include age, gender, body weight, a family history of cardiovascular disease, a salt-rich diet, a lack of exercise, and alcohol consumption.
**BLOOD**
First of all, there's more than one type of blood. There's Type A, Type B, Type AB, Type O, and one that is not normally recognized--Agglutination. These are called the ABO blood groups. The type A blood has "type A surface antigens; plasma has anti-B antibodies", whereas type B blood has "type B surface antigens; plasma has anti-A antibodies." The AB blood has "both type a and b surface antigens; plasma has neither anti-A or -B antibodies," (Mader, 118). People with this rare blood type are referred to as universal recipients. Type O doesn't have any type a or type b surface antigens but it's plasma has both anti-A and -B antigens. A person with this type of blood is called a universal donor. Mader, of the human body, states, "contains about five liters of blood." (Mader, 106). All of which is pumped by our strong hearts.
The blood has several jobs it needs to do everyday. It can't call in sick and it needs to do its job completely every time. The blood has to: move hormones, oxygen, and nutrients to cells; transport carbon dioxide and other wastes from cells; fight against infections and other problems to the body (bruises); continue to maintain blood pressre (watch what you eat!); regulate body temperature; and control the body's PH levels.
The blood doesn't have nearly as many parts to it as the heart does. Three key elements are the red blood cells, white blood cells, and the platelets. As for plasma, it is composed of 9/10 water. It's proteins are found and created in the liver, and plasma itself keeps osmosis going and the pressure constant. It helps to control the PH levels of the body as well as moving molecules from place to place. The plasma proteins have three main purposes: to be the taxi and move things around, keep immunity, and help blood clotting function properly.
All about red blood cells: They don't have a nucleus but they have hemoglobin. The hemoglobin found in these red blood cells is used in combination with oxygen in the tissues. These blood cells are created due to the oxygen concentration of the blood itself. If the oxygen is lacking, the kidneys step in and produce more red blood cells with erythropoietin.
Here's more about blood cells, white ones. These are larger than the red blood cells and quite circular, like a ball. These have nuclei and they are see-through. A granular leukocytes, neutrophils, are plentiful and are the first to the rescue at the sight of infections. Monocytes, agranular leukocytes, are the biggest of the blood cells, and they get rid of extra cellular wastes, whereas the lymphocytes are used to preserve immunity. Two other white blood cells are eosinophil and basophil, both granular leukocytes.
**Microbes**
Microbes include bacteria. Overall, they are unfriendly neighbors that no one really cares to keep around. However, they do serve some purpose, plenty actually. Our food supply is in part made from bacteria, some of which are yogurt, beer, wine, and cheese. These bacteria can also be decomposers which get "eat" dead things, preserving our biosphere. In organisms, bacteria also has its bad side, and is reputable of it. The body's defenses are to create barriers and attempt to keep the bacteria out (skin, or the mucous in your throat and nose), first responders (the white blood cells are the Mr. Fix-Its), and by killing the actual disease. These microscopic organisms are everywhere! Unfortunately enough, you can contract the bad bacteria (pathogens) at any moment, may it be in the bathroom, or at the beach.
There are, like everything else, different kinds of microbes. There are some that produce the flu, the common cold, sore throats, and much more. Immunity is a relatively new subject, as the technology as increased so dramatically.
Immunization is meant to stop those viruses. However, there are some that just refuse to quite, such as the flu, which is known to mutate year to year. Immunization helps the body by building barriers and sending WBCs to "eat the pesky viruses. The B and T cells find the antigens, which are seen as unknowns by the immune system, and they attach them to the receptors. Antibody-Mediated Immunity refers to the defense system and copy-making of B cells. Cell-Mediated Immunity deals with gathering a group to fight the bad cell. the T cells. Types of T cells include: cytotoxic, helper and memory. Two kinds of acquired immunity are passive and active. The passive one is serves temporally from one person to the next. Active immuity refers to the vaccines that help the body find antigens--immunizations sought to keep a person "safe" from the virus for a particular amount of time.
**HIV/AIDS**
AIDS, or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, damages and weakens the immune system and is cause by HIV, or human immunodeficiency virus. HIV is believed to have come from Africa. AIDS's damages to the immune system deplete the brain's production, forever killing off parts of the brain in as much as 15%. These tissues are used mostly in memory, movement and planning.
By being in direct contact with any blood or other bodily fluids, an individual is putting his/herself at risk of receiving this painful disease. Fevers, weakness, hot/cold flashes, rapid weight loss, and swollen glands are all characteristics fo the disease.
Unfortunately, there isn't a cure (but there are therapies to help ease this process) for this insanely deadly disease, YET, but there are many in support and in action to help prevent the further contracting of the disease.
WORKS CITED:
Mader, Sylvia S. Human Biology. Boston: McGrawHill Companies, Inc. 2008.
Quotes
Photograph of the blue man:
www.thewellingtoncardiacservices.com
Photograph of representing cardiovascular system:
www.besthealth.com
Photograph under cardiovascular diseases:
www.faqs.org
Photograph of blood composition:
codeblue.wikispaces.com
Photograph of needle with blood droplet:
www.cbc.ca
Blood Pressure Chart:
www.vaughns-1-pagers.com
Photograph of blood donors:
www.belfastcity.gov.uk
Photograph of a patient with AIDS--the mouth:
www.dentistry.leeds.ac.uk
Photograph representing the damage to the brain due to AIDS:
www.loni.ucla.edu
Photograph representing a prayer with a AIDS fight symbol:
dsc.discovery.com
Photograph of HIV budding:
upload.wikimedia.org
Photograph of nine microbes:
www.sdnhm.org
Photograph of silly microbes with their causes:
shop.advanceweb.com
Diagram of Immunity types:
faculty.ircc.edu
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Online Lab #4
Food Nutrition Lab
My Breakfast:
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
4 oz Fat-Free Milk (to put in the cereal)
My Lunch:
A Chocolate Brownie
Fresh Red Raspberries
A Banana
24 oz Water
My Dinner:
Plain Hamburger (minimal ketchup)
Diet Iced Tea
20 oz Water
The guidelines for this nutritional tracking system were as follows:
Interpreting Nutrient Values
The values in the "CUMULATIVE RESULTS FOR SELECTED ITEMS" nutrition information panel contains ONLY those foods you have selected, and in the portion size identified.
The percentages are based on a "Daily Value." For this reason, one must be careful to consider these percentages in the context of not only what food items have been selected for this analysis, but all of the other items that one has consumed during the 24-hour day.
These values are for the recipes that are prepared and served in this establishment. Foods that you have consumed from other sources may not be included in this data set of nutrition information. This means the "% Daily Value" may be incomplete when this is viewed from a 24-hour day perspective.
The actual portion size (or amount of a serving) that you actually consume will affect your nutrient intake. If your portion size was larger than the amount stated, or you did not eat all of the portion, these conditions need to be considered when evaluating the "% Daily Value."
The "% Daily Value" of the cumulative results is the percent of the defined standard used for the Nutrition Facts labeling purposes. Remember, your "100%" of the "% Daily Value" is likely to be different - based on your body and activity level.
The questions and answer:
-How healthy a daily diet do you think this is? Why?
I believe I'm doing alright because I'm well within my weight range, 112lbs at 5'3". Also my diet has fruit, meat, breads, and lots of water. It needs variation from day to day but I do each breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and never forget to add a snack in there. I'm lucky because nothing (including all the fats!) goes above the daily value level, however I didn't consume 2000 calories.
-What would you change about this day's eating, if anything?
Rather than eating sugary cereal, I was rather change it to cherrios or healthy start, or even granola. Anything that isn't so high in sugar or salt would be optimal. I would also like to get more daily fiber. I would like to eat more calories but find it in foods that are healthier and have more in them such as vitamins.
-Do you find this kind of nutritional tracking helpful? Why or why not?
I like this nutritional tracking device. It's very simple, fast, and it's available. It was nice to see what it was I was putting in my body in an easy format with just a point and a click. Also, you are able to check out other foods and see how they may or may not be healthy for you.
Works-Cited
Photo developed at:
www.balancemindbodysoul.com/nutritioncalc.html
My Breakfast:
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cereal
4 oz Fat-Free Milk (to put in the cereal)
My Lunch:
A Chocolate Brownie
Fresh Red Raspberries
A Banana
24 oz Water
My Dinner:
Plain Hamburger (minimal ketchup)
Diet Iced Tea
20 oz Water
The guidelines for this nutritional tracking system were as follows:
Interpreting Nutrient Values
The values in the "CUMULATIVE RESULTS FOR SELECTED ITEMS" nutrition information panel contains ONLY those foods you have selected, and in the portion size identified.
The percentages are based on a "Daily Value." For this reason, one must be careful to consider these percentages in the context of not only what food items have been selected for this analysis, but all of the other items that one has consumed during the 24-hour day.
These values are for the recipes that are prepared and served in this establishment. Foods that you have consumed from other sources may not be included in this data set of nutrition information. This means the "% Daily Value" may be incomplete when this is viewed from a 24-hour day perspective.
The actual portion size (or amount of a serving) that you actually consume will affect your nutrient intake. If your portion size was larger than the amount stated, or you did not eat all of the portion, these conditions need to be considered when evaluating the "% Daily Value."
The "% Daily Value" of the cumulative results is the percent of the defined standard used for the Nutrition Facts labeling purposes. Remember, your "100%" of the "% Daily Value" is likely to be different - based on your body and activity level.
The questions and answer:
-How healthy a daily diet do you think this is? Why?
I believe I'm doing alright because I'm well within my weight range, 112lbs at 5'3". Also my diet has fruit, meat, breads, and lots of water. It needs variation from day to day but I do each breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and never forget to add a snack in there. I'm lucky because nothing (including all the fats!) goes above the daily value level, however I didn't consume 2000 calories.
-What would you change about this day's eating, if anything?
Rather than eating sugary cereal, I was rather change it to cherrios or healthy start, or even granola. Anything that isn't so high in sugar or salt would be optimal. I would also like to get more daily fiber. I would like to eat more calories but find it in foods that are healthier and have more in them such as vitamins.
-Do you find this kind of nutritional tracking helpful? Why or why not?
I like this nutritional tracking device. It's very simple, fast, and it's available. It was nice to see what it was I was putting in my body in an easy format with just a point and a click. Also, you are able to check out other foods and see how they may or may not be healthy for you.
Works-Cited
Photo developed at:
www.balancemindbodysoul.com/nutritioncalc.html
Online Lab #3
Blood Pressure Lab
Table of my results.
Graph of my results.
Journal:
1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.
Several factors contribute to hypertension, including a family history of hypertension, a high-salt diet, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, height, weight, age, and gender. As an individual gets older, they become more prone to high blood pressure; males tend to have higher systolic and diastolic averages. In grade school, the body's metabolism works very quickly and for those with poor health diets, the effects may not be seen. When they age, however, they may find that with age their metabolism slows and they cannot eat those burgers and fries anymore (or in such large quantities). Exercise will probably be needed to lose those unwanted pounds and lumps but with the many responsibilities that come with adulthood (work, children, housework) exercise is not always an easy thing to fit into your life. All of these affect a person and they really just hurt the body. The body needs certain vitamins and minerals in order to live a healthy life and such diets including lots of salty or sugary foods deprive the body from such. Instead, the body needs to work harder with its blogged arteries, hurting the heart. Thinking about gender, females and males have different bodies and therefore are able to eat different kinds of foods and often in different portions. That would contribute to blood pressure averages.
3. How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow? What data will you record?
I will begin by taking the blood pressure of an entire group of 10 patients alike in gender and age group. There will be a series of 10 groups (5 groups female, 5 groups male) separated by age group. Starting with the first group, I will add together all the systolic pressures for the ten patients, then I will divide that number by 10. This will give me the average systolic pressure for that group. I will add together all the diastolic pressures for that same group and continue to divide by ten. This will have given me the the average diastolic pressures for that group as well. Then, I will record those averages in the table provided. Finally, I will take a look at each patients' medical report, especially of those with hypertension, to help me decide on the factors that lead to hypertension for that group. Finished with that group, I will continue the same process for each of the remaining 9 groups. All the data set into the table will provide me with a graph, showing the relationship to age and blood pressure. I will get this table with a click from the "table icon" button once all my information is inserted into the table.
4. Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.
I was interested to find that there were more men with hypertension than women, most in the age group of 45-54 (14 men to 5 women). Both genders had an incline of blood person over time but the females went down from the 1st age group, then up for the rest of the age groups. The leading causes of hypertension for each sex surprised me as well because they were different. For men, a lack of exercise was the leading factor, while for women, it was a high-salt diet that lead to hypertension.
5. Did the result of your experiment support your hypothesis? Why or why not? Based on your experiment what conclusion can you draw about the relationship of age and gender to group blood pressure averages?
The results of my experiment did support my hypothesis in that as age increases, the possibility of hypertension increases. Both men and women had higher blood pressure averages as their ages increased (with the exception of the woman age groups from 11-17 to 19-24). Based on my experiment, I can conclude that the gender and age of a group does relate to blood pressure in that men have higher blood pressures compared to women but both genders did have an overall increase in their blood pressure averages.
6. During the course of your experiment, did you obtain any blood pressure reading that were outside of the normal range for the group being tested? What did you notice on the medical charts for these individuals that might explain their high reading?
The hypertension patients were the ones with blood pressures that were outside of the normal range for their groups. I had 19 out of the 100 patients with this condition. Their medical charts might explain their high blood pressures in that the men mostly had the same characteristic--a lack of exercise, and for the women, it was a diet high in salt.
7. List risk factors associated with the hypertension. Based on your observation, which risk factor do you think is most closely associated with hypertension?
The risk factors associated with hypertension include family history of hypertension, obesity, a high salt diet, a lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, gender, and age. Based on my observation, the biggest risk factor to hypertension would be a lack of exercise.
8. What effect might obesity have on blood pressure? Does obesity alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure? What other factors, in combination with obesity, might increase a person's risk for high blood pressure?
Obesity may affect blood pressure because that extra body mass hurts the heart. The heart has to strain itself to pump our blood with the oxygen and nutrients to all the parts of the body. From all the bad dieting, these people are clogging their arteries and making it even harder for the blood to flow through. In combination with obesity, a lack of exercise and/or a high salt diet will most likely increase a person's risk for high blood pressure, however there are several more factors including age and gender.
Overall, due to my observations, I am able to conclude that men and women both have different risk factors that are more risky than others in getting hypertension. For men, lack of exercise would be their major risk factor. For women, a high salt diet would be their major risk factor. Although gender and age are both factors along with a family history of hypertension, an individual's life decisions, specifically diet and exercise, are the major factors in a person developing high blood pressure.
Table of my results.
Graph of my results.
Journal:
1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.
Several factors contribute to hypertension, including a family history of hypertension, a high-salt diet, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, height, weight, age, and gender. As an individual gets older, they become more prone to high blood pressure; males tend to have higher systolic and diastolic averages. In grade school, the body's metabolism works very quickly and for those with poor health diets, the effects may not be seen. When they age, however, they may find that with age their metabolism slows and they cannot eat those burgers and fries anymore (or in such large quantities). Exercise will probably be needed to lose those unwanted pounds and lumps but with the many responsibilities that come with adulthood (work, children, housework) exercise is not always an easy thing to fit into your life. All of these affect a person and they really just hurt the body. The body needs certain vitamins and minerals in order to live a healthy life and such diets including lots of salty or sugary foods deprive the body from such. Instead, the body needs to work harder with its blogged arteries, hurting the heart. Thinking about gender, females and males have different bodies and therefore are able to eat different kinds of foods and often in different portions. That would contribute to blood pressure averages.
3. How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow? What data will you record?
I will begin by taking the blood pressure of an entire group of 10 patients alike in gender and age group. There will be a series of 10 groups (5 groups female, 5 groups male) separated by age group. Starting with the first group, I will add together all the systolic pressures for the ten patients, then I will divide that number by 10. This will give me the average systolic pressure for that group. I will add together all the diastolic pressures for that same group and continue to divide by ten. This will have given me the the average diastolic pressures for that group as well. Then, I will record those averages in the table provided. Finally, I will take a look at each patients' medical report, especially of those with hypertension, to help me decide on the factors that lead to hypertension for that group. Finished with that group, I will continue the same process for each of the remaining 9 groups. All the data set into the table will provide me with a graph, showing the relationship to age and blood pressure. I will get this table with a click from the "table icon" button once all my information is inserted into the table.
4. Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.
I was interested to find that there were more men with hypertension than women, most in the age group of 45-54 (14 men to 5 women). Both genders had an incline of blood person over time but the females went down from the 1st age group, then up for the rest of the age groups. The leading causes of hypertension for each sex surprised me as well because they were different. For men, a lack of exercise was the leading factor, while for women, it was a high-salt diet that lead to hypertension.
5. Did the result of your experiment support your hypothesis? Why or why not? Based on your experiment what conclusion can you draw about the relationship of age and gender to group blood pressure averages?
The results of my experiment did support my hypothesis in that as age increases, the possibility of hypertension increases. Both men and women had higher blood pressure averages as their ages increased (with the exception of the woman age groups from 11-17 to 19-24). Based on my experiment, I can conclude that the gender and age of a group does relate to blood pressure in that men have higher blood pressures compared to women but both genders did have an overall increase in their blood pressure averages.
6. During the course of your experiment, did you obtain any blood pressure reading that were outside of the normal range for the group being tested? What did you notice on the medical charts for these individuals that might explain their high reading?
The hypertension patients were the ones with blood pressures that were outside of the normal range for their groups. I had 19 out of the 100 patients with this condition. Their medical charts might explain their high blood pressures in that the men mostly had the same characteristic--a lack of exercise, and for the women, it was a diet high in salt.
7. List risk factors associated with the hypertension. Based on your observation, which risk factor do you think is most closely associated with hypertension?
The risk factors associated with hypertension include family history of hypertension, obesity, a high salt diet, a lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, gender, and age. Based on my observation, the biggest risk factor to hypertension would be a lack of exercise.
8. What effect might obesity have on blood pressure? Does obesity alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure? What other factors, in combination with obesity, might increase a person's risk for high blood pressure?
Obesity may affect blood pressure because that extra body mass hurts the heart. The heart has to strain itself to pump our blood with the oxygen and nutrients to all the parts of the body. From all the bad dieting, these people are clogging their arteries and making it even harder for the blood to flow through. In combination with obesity, a lack of exercise and/or a high salt diet will most likely increase a person's risk for high blood pressure, however there are several more factors including age and gender.
Overall, due to my observations, I am able to conclude that men and women both have different risk factors that are more risky than others in getting hypertension. For men, lack of exercise would be their major risk factor. For women, a high salt diet would be their major risk factor. Although gender and age are both factors along with a family history of hypertension, an individual's life decisions, specifically diet and exercise, are the major factors in a person developing high blood pressure.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Unit and Self Evaluation #1
REGARDING YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE
1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?
I'm proud of it all! I gave biology my full attention (an incredible feat!) and I got what I wanted out of it. To pick three, I'd say my work ethic, dedication, and having to work against (and with) time.
2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?
Again, I truly am proud of my work. Perhaps my essay because I probably would have done better if I had sat down and thought harder. Also, my pictures for the mitosis in the project lab weren't of the highest quality so I'll need to work on keeping it steady.
3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?
An A+. Look at it! It's ALL amazing! :)
4. How could I perform better in the next unit?
This week, do to a family problem, I was unable to start earlier and ended up using every waking minute to put this together. For the next unit, I'm starting tomorrow morning!
REGARDING THE UNIT (adapted from Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas "Critical Incident Questionnaire")
1. At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?
The lab helped plenty because even though it was relatively simple, it got me away from the computer and forced me to interact. Overall, it gave me a greater understanding of what it was I was dealing with.
2. At what moment unit did you feel most distanced from the course?
At the beginning, when I realized that I had ONLY finished ONE compendium review. Then, I felt nausea when I realized I had only earned myself a maximum of 20/200 points at that moment. Talk about nerve-wracking! :)
3. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit that find most affirming and helpful?
I looked at the grading scales to help me make sure that my work was exemplary. Also, I kept on checking the guidelines or rules for how to set up each blog.
4. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing?
The online lab with the fruit flies and Punnett Squares had me when I found out that there was more to do, located at the bottom of the page. It forced me to worry and to look back at the other labs to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
5. What about this unit surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to the course, something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)
I learned a ton! Biology has never interested me before and it really didn't catch on until I got probably halfway done with all that I had to do. By then, I was understanding and elaborating on the things I had learned and to my surprise, it became pretty fun! I love this feeling of accomplishment, knowing I finished this unit. I guess that means it's off to the next unit!
1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?
I'm proud of it all! I gave biology my full attention (an incredible feat!) and I got what I wanted out of it. To pick three, I'd say my work ethic, dedication, and having to work against (and with) time.
2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?
Again, I truly am proud of my work. Perhaps my essay because I probably would have done better if I had sat down and thought harder. Also, my pictures for the mitosis in the project lab weren't of the highest quality so I'll need to work on keeping it steady.
3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?
An A+. Look at it! It's ALL amazing! :)
4. How could I perform better in the next unit?
This week, do to a family problem, I was unable to start earlier and ended up using every waking minute to put this together. For the next unit, I'm starting tomorrow morning!
REGARDING THE UNIT (adapted from Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas "Critical Incident Questionnaire")
1. At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?
The lab helped plenty because even though it was relatively simple, it got me away from the computer and forced me to interact. Overall, it gave me a greater understanding of what it was I was dealing with.
2. At what moment unit did you feel most distanced from the course?
At the beginning, when I realized that I had ONLY finished ONE compendium review. Then, I felt nausea when I realized I had only earned myself a maximum of 20/200 points at that moment. Talk about nerve-wracking! :)
3. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit that find most affirming and helpful?
I looked at the grading scales to help me make sure that my work was exemplary. Also, I kept on checking the guidelines or rules for how to set up each blog.
4. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing?
The online lab with the fruit flies and Punnett Squares had me when I found out that there was more to do, located at the bottom of the page. It forced me to worry and to look back at the other labs to make sure I wasn't missing anything.
5. What about this unit surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to the course, something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)
I learned a ton! Biology has never interested me before and it really didn't catch on until I got probably halfway done with all that I had to do. By then, I was understanding and elaborating on the things I had learned and to my surprise, it became pretty fun! I love this feeling of accomplishment, knowing I finished this unit. I guess that means it's off to the next unit!
Ethical Issues Essay #1
Welcome to the 21st Century
Surprise, surprise, technology is on a rise. Cloning is the topic and even though the concept has been around for years, scientific cloning breakthroughs are relatively recent. The information about this laboratory activity has become widespread and has given many people, including myself, a little shock at the advancement of the technologies of not only today, but of tomorrow. Cloning may be seen on the news displayed as a horrific event that should frighten us all until we fight the government, without learning the facts. My goal: to give further insight on the pros and cons of the three main hopeful uses of cloning for the future. Again there are three main types of cloning. There is recombinant DNA technology, otherwise known as DNA cloning. There is reproductive cloning and there is also therapeutic cloning. Each are quite different and need to be analyzed separately.
Up first is recombinant DNA, which has been around since the 1970's. Simply, the process is to replicate the DNA from an organism and transfer it to a sort of bacterial plasmid, where it will grow. These plasmids are able to hold up to as many as twenty-thousand bp of DNA from another organism. These plasmids are not alone, however, for there are other alternatives to be used such as injecting the DNA into viruses, or bacteria/yeast artificial chromosomes,which can withstand 45 kb of foreign DNA.
These host cells are probably seen as the least destructive and in many ways they are. Recombinant DNA has been used to genetically engineer food sources as well as organisms. Scientists are now able to alter the taste of a food product or even its characteristics. Through the use of DNA cloning, genes can be tweaked to create crops with more food production, or they can make our other food sources such as salmon, to be fuller and heavier, and reproduce faster. Those who oppose further development and use of recombinant DNA have problems with the depleting of the environments' creatures. Some crops have been genetically modified to keep pests away. Problem is that those pests are losing their food source, thus they are being killed off. Furthermore, these pests are no longer eating off the other creatures and while their population declines, the population of these other creatures is increasing, creating more complications.This can also lead to hardships that have been unheard of before to where the human population, perhaps mainly farmers, would need to find new ways to deal with these new pests.
Without a doubt the most confrontational of the three, reproductive cloning, has the eyes and ears of just about every news station and/or of the most fanatical conservatives. Reproductive cloning is far from cheap and so far it has gathered poor statistics of failures being over 90%. Dolly, a member of the privileged surviving 10% and the sheep that only lived to be half its expected age, is most closely linked to this form of cloning. Though her death was by lethal injection rather than by natural causes, she still "[suffered] from lung cancer and crippling arthritis." Despite everything, Dolly managed to give birth to 6 lambs and is famous for being the only success out of 276 attempts. Her existance began with a process called somatic cell nuclear transfusion. This is where an animal is created with the same DNA of another animal may it be living or dead. Another way to understand this would be to think of Dolly as the twin of her "parent" (the sheep from which her DNA was extracted).
Dolly served the scientific community in another way. Her existance proved that a specialized cell, in this case, an udder cell, can be used to create an entire living thing rather than just duplicating the same cell. Every miracle seems to have its price, however, as most reproductive clones have a series of problems including high death rates, deformity, disability, poor immune systems, more infections, tumor growth, and growing to be much larger than they should be. As with those advertisements for those popular pills (birth control, steroids, weight loss, hair loss, etc.), there are always risks. Pushing that to the side, it is hoped that with further research, meaning further cloning, one day the ability to reproduce animals with characteristics they never had before, may exist. Perhaps, the endangered species list could be dramatically shortened with the advancement of this cloning technology. Sardinia has even managed to clone an endangered mouflon, which lives on. On the otherhand, some argue that by performing this embryotic procedure, with each failure could have been the loss of a possibility for life, the natural way, if things weren't tampered with.
Many animals have been cloned. A tadpole in 1952 was the first success (with the embryotic procedure). Later, through the process of nuclear transfusion, came the sheep, goats, cows, mice, pigs, cats, rabbits, gaur, and mouflon. Unfortunately, monkeys, dogs, chickens, and horses remain to be unsuccessful in the cloning process but it doesn't stop there; human cloning is still on the top of the list. Even though more information on the brain and it's functioning have been discovered in the past 10 years than ever before, our brains still remains a mystery. Key points still needing to be deciphered are our intelligence capacity and our moods which are highly important to function in our daily lives. At the moment, with the help of the media, reproductive cloning of humans remains a scare. This has led to a controversial ban in the U.S. on whether human cloning should be legal.
Finally for what may be the most hopeful of all three types: therapeutic cloning, otherwise known as embryo cloning, is correlated with stem cell research. This kind of research deals with obtaining the stem cells from an egg after a short 5 days of division. Like abortion, the problem with this procedure is that the embryo no longer can continue on to create a baby. This is seen as an almost absolute loss of a possible life and creates huge concerns. Scientists debate that their research is for the greater good, that with it they hope to find cures to the many cancers that threaten so many lives. So far, pigs are our best hope for an organ transplant. The act of putting an organ made from an animal into a human is referred to as xenotransplantation. Perhaps healthy organs may be developed from single cells to replace defective ones.
Though cloning may seem to be a generic term, there remains different forms of cloning: recombinant DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Of those three, we have discussed the most controversial, the easiest and most used, and the most hoped for types of cloning. The concept still may be relatively young, but its technological advances are coming quickly and its wise that we know what we are dealing with.
Surprise, surprise, technology is on a rise. Cloning is the topic and even though the concept has been around for years, scientific cloning breakthroughs are relatively recent. The information about this laboratory activity has become widespread and has given many people, including myself, a little shock at the advancement of the technologies of not only today, but of tomorrow. Cloning may be seen on the news displayed as a horrific event that should frighten us all until we fight the government, without learning the facts. My goal: to give further insight on the pros and cons of the three main hopeful uses of cloning for the future. Again there are three main types of cloning. There is recombinant DNA technology, otherwise known as DNA cloning. There is reproductive cloning and there is also therapeutic cloning. Each are quite different and need to be analyzed separately.
Up first is recombinant DNA, which has been around since the 1970's. Simply, the process is to replicate the DNA from an organism and transfer it to a sort of bacterial plasmid, where it will grow. These plasmids are able to hold up to as many as twenty-thousand bp of DNA from another organism. These plasmids are not alone, however, for there are other alternatives to be used such as injecting the DNA into viruses, or bacteria/yeast artificial chromosomes,which can withstand 45 kb of foreign DNA.
These host cells are probably seen as the least destructive and in many ways they are. Recombinant DNA has been used to genetically engineer food sources as well as organisms. Scientists are now able to alter the taste of a food product or even its characteristics. Through the use of DNA cloning, genes can be tweaked to create crops with more food production, or they can make our other food sources such as salmon, to be fuller and heavier, and reproduce faster. Those who oppose further development and use of recombinant DNA have problems with the depleting of the environments' creatures. Some crops have been genetically modified to keep pests away. Problem is that those pests are losing their food source, thus they are being killed off. Furthermore, these pests are no longer eating off the other creatures and while their population declines, the population of these other creatures is increasing, creating more complications.This can also lead to hardships that have been unheard of before to where the human population, perhaps mainly farmers, would need to find new ways to deal with these new pests.
Without a doubt the most confrontational of the three, reproductive cloning, has the eyes and ears of just about every news station and/or of the most fanatical conservatives. Reproductive cloning is far from cheap and so far it has gathered poor statistics of failures being over 90%. Dolly, a member of the privileged surviving 10% and the sheep that only lived to be half its expected age, is most closely linked to this form of cloning. Though her death was by lethal injection rather than by natural causes, she still "[suffered] from lung cancer and crippling arthritis." Despite everything, Dolly managed to give birth to 6 lambs and is famous for being the only success out of 276 attempts. Her existance began with a process called somatic cell nuclear transfusion. This is where an animal is created with the same DNA of another animal may it be living or dead. Another way to understand this would be to think of Dolly as the twin of her "parent" (the sheep from which her DNA was extracted).
Dolly served the scientific community in another way. Her existance proved that a specialized cell, in this case, an udder cell, can be used to create an entire living thing rather than just duplicating the same cell. Every miracle seems to have its price, however, as most reproductive clones have a series of problems including high death rates, deformity, disability, poor immune systems, more infections, tumor growth, and growing to be much larger than they should be. As with those advertisements for those popular pills (birth control, steroids, weight loss, hair loss, etc.), there are always risks. Pushing that to the side, it is hoped that with further research, meaning further cloning, one day the ability to reproduce animals with characteristics they never had before, may exist. Perhaps, the endangered species list could be dramatically shortened with the advancement of this cloning technology. Sardinia has even managed to clone an endangered mouflon, which lives on. On the otherhand, some argue that by performing this embryotic procedure, with each failure could have been the loss of a possibility for life, the natural way, if things weren't tampered with.
Many animals have been cloned. A tadpole in 1952 was the first success (with the embryotic procedure). Later, through the process of nuclear transfusion, came the sheep, goats, cows, mice, pigs, cats, rabbits, gaur, and mouflon. Unfortunately, monkeys, dogs, chickens, and horses remain to be unsuccessful in the cloning process but it doesn't stop there; human cloning is still on the top of the list. Even though more information on the brain and it's functioning have been discovered in the past 10 years than ever before, our brains still remains a mystery. Key points still needing to be deciphered are our intelligence capacity and our moods which are highly important to function in our daily lives. At the moment, with the help of the media, reproductive cloning of humans remains a scare. This has led to a controversial ban in the U.S. on whether human cloning should be legal.
Finally for what may be the most hopeful of all three types: therapeutic cloning, otherwise known as embryo cloning, is correlated with stem cell research. This kind of research deals with obtaining the stem cells from an egg after a short 5 days of division. Like abortion, the problem with this procedure is that the embryo no longer can continue on to create a baby. This is seen as an almost absolute loss of a possible life and creates huge concerns. Scientists debate that their research is for the greater good, that with it they hope to find cures to the many cancers that threaten so many lives. So far, pigs are our best hope for an organ transplant. The act of putting an organ made from an animal into a human is referred to as xenotransplantation. Perhaps healthy organs may be developed from single cells to replace defective ones.
Though cloning may seem to be a generic term, there remains different forms of cloning: recombinant DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Of those three, we have discussed the most controversial, the easiest and most used, and the most hoped for types of cloning. The concept still may be relatively young, but its technological advances are coming quickly and its wise that we know what we are dealing with.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Project Lab
For my model of a cell, I used a lot of different things. I used cornstarch a foundation of cinnamon toast cereal and pancake batter to create a relatively stiff and flat surface. I used a tupperware container along with chocolate, green beans, ramen noodles, cherries, rice, pieces of pancake, and frito chips.
The cell wall/plasma membrane is represented by the edge of the tupperware container, encasing the cell and protecting it from invaders. The cytoplasm, or in this case, the cornstarch (fluffy white powder everywhere) is a jelly-like material that holds all the organelles that we will be discussing. The egg represents the nucleus. Rather, the yolk does. The egg whites represent the nuclear membrane which protects the nucleus. The nucleus itself is the control center of the cell and it's also where the DNA is stored. In it are all the codes and directions for a cell to run efficiently as well as properly. At this stage, I also managed to add on the golgi apparatus and the rough endoplasmic reticulum with the ribosomes. The golgi apparatus, which processes and secretes cell products, is shown here by the cherries stems in the upper right hand corner. The rough endoplasmic reticulum is found just below it, as thick rectangular green beans with the ribosomes (whose function is to make proteins) being the chocolate dots placed on top of them.
At the very top center are ramen noodles standing in for the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which synthesizes lipids, and has zero ribosomes. To its left is the mitochondrion, or frito lay chip. Its job is to carry out cellular respiration. Below it is are the lysosomes, seen here as cherry seeds. Lysosomes digest cell parts and are the waste management part of a cell. Finally, beneath the lysosomes are the halved cherries, representing vesicles, or sacs specialized for storage.
Now, this is a picture when I added the cilia made of microtubules. I used a piece of a pancake to make it, then added pieces of rice around it. These are known as protein holders, or protein cylinders.
Finally, my cell is complete!
--------------------------------
But that's not all!
Here is an example of mitosis:
Early prophase consists of the nucleus disappearing and the chromatin changing into chromosomes. Here I used the noodles to represent the chromatin and the two yellow magnets as the.......
In prophase, the nucleus is not seen and the chromosomes are developed and the spindle fibers begin to form.
In metaphase, the chromosomes make a line at the equator of the cell while the spindle fibers connect from the chromatids at opposing ends.
The chromatids seperate and head to opposite sides of the cell. They split equally and each end of the cell maintains the same number of chromatids.
The nucleus and nuclear envelope are able to be seen once again.
Mitosis has been successful and has created two identical cells.
-----------
And yet there's more!
DNA!!!! DNA!!!! DNA!!!!
...and RNA!!!!
Seen in this photograph is DNA, shown by the bases of adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine as yellow, blue, red, and green magnets, forming the rungs of the ladder of DNA. The ladder wouldn't be complete without their sugar-phosphate partners which is represented here by the knives. Granted, the DNA here is not in helix form, but I believe it's easily identifiable and easily explained this way. (Picture it's in a coil shape! :) )
Here you see the rungs break apart. The DNA is being separated and is ready for duplication. You can see an RNA at the top which is trying to duplicate itself and receive orders from the big DNA.
For the RNA, uracil replaces thymine. So the magnet that once represented thymine is now uracil, when looking at RNA.
This splitting and duplicating occurs over and over again. A typical cell goes through this 60-70 times before it dies. DNA's ability to duplicate itself is a miraculous thing and is still being researcher heavily in hopes of cures and lengthening the life cycle. Mostly, it's for further understanding and in hopes to grasp whatever knowledge it bestows upon us.
A cell's complexity is far higher than most of us probably thought and these simple diagrams have so much information missing, yet it's plenty already!
The cell wall/plasma membrane is represented by the edge of the tupperware container, encasing the cell and protecting it from invaders. The cytoplasm, or in this case, the cornstarch (fluffy white powder everywhere) is a jelly-like material that holds all the organelles that we will be discussing. The egg represents the nucleus. Rather, the yolk does. The egg whites represent the nuclear membrane which protects the nucleus. The nucleus itself is the control center of the cell and it's also where the DNA is stored. In it are all the codes and directions for a cell to run efficiently as well as properly. At this stage, I also managed to add on the golgi apparatus and the rough endoplasmic reticulum with the ribosomes. The golgi apparatus, which processes and secretes cell products, is shown here by the cherries stems in the upper right hand corner. The rough endoplasmic reticulum is found just below it, as thick rectangular green beans with the ribosomes (whose function is to make proteins) being the chocolate dots placed on top of them.
At the very top center are ramen noodles standing in for the smooth endoplasmic reticulum, which synthesizes lipids, and has zero ribosomes. To its left is the mitochondrion, or frito lay chip. Its job is to carry out cellular respiration. Below it is are the lysosomes, seen here as cherry seeds. Lysosomes digest cell parts and are the waste management part of a cell. Finally, beneath the lysosomes are the halved cherries, representing vesicles, or sacs specialized for storage.
Now, this is a picture when I added the cilia made of microtubules. I used a piece of a pancake to make it, then added pieces of rice around it. These are known as protein holders, or protein cylinders.
Finally, my cell is complete!
--------------------------------
But that's not all!
Here is an example of mitosis:
Early prophase consists of the nucleus disappearing and the chromatin changing into chromosomes. Here I used the noodles to represent the chromatin and the two yellow magnets as the.......
In prophase, the nucleus is not seen and the chromosomes are developed and the spindle fibers begin to form.
In metaphase, the chromosomes make a line at the equator of the cell while the spindle fibers connect from the chromatids at opposing ends.
The chromatids seperate and head to opposite sides of the cell. They split equally and each end of the cell maintains the same number of chromatids.
The nucleus and nuclear envelope are able to be seen once again.
Mitosis has been successful and has created two identical cells.
-----------
And yet there's more!
DNA!!!! DNA!!!! DNA!!!!
...and RNA!!!!
Seen in this photograph is DNA, shown by the bases of adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine as yellow, blue, red, and green magnets, forming the rungs of the ladder of DNA. The ladder wouldn't be complete without their sugar-phosphate partners which is represented here by the knives. Granted, the DNA here is not in helix form, but I believe it's easily identifiable and easily explained this way. (Picture it's in a coil shape! :) )
Here you see the rungs break apart. The DNA is being separated and is ready for duplication. You can see an RNA at the top which is trying to duplicate itself and receive orders from the big DNA.
For the RNA, uracil replaces thymine. So the magnet that once represented thymine is now uracil, when looking at RNA.
This splitting and duplicating occurs over and over again. A typical cell goes through this 60-70 times before it dies. DNA's ability to duplicate itself is a miraculous thing and is still being researcher heavily in hopes of cures and lengthening the life cycle. Mostly, it's for further understanding and in hopes to grasp whatever knowledge it bestows upon us.
A cell's complexity is far higher than most of us probably thought and these simple diagrams have so much information missing, yet it's plenty already!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
