1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?
I em most proud of compendium review 2 about digestion. I think I really covered the digestive system well and I learned alot about where nutrients are absorbed and which organs play a role in prviding enzymes to digest food. I like how my review about immunity and microbes turned out. Lastly I would have to pick my blood pressure online lab. I really liked who it turned out as well.
2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?
I think my essay could have used a liitle improvements I really liked the subject at hand and I have a very stong view on diet but I felt a bit confused on where to start and if I should take a more general view. The end result was something kinda in the middle. I also would improve my lab project in the sense that after doing my project I decided that the results would have been better if I would have rested in between each rep as well as between activity. I think that it would have better shown the effects of physical attivities on metabolic rates.
3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?
Over all I think I did fairly well and would like to get an A but I do know that there are a couple of places like mentione abouve that could have been thought about a little more.
4. How could I perform better in the next unit?
This next comin unit Im going to try and do the Lab project first so that if I think of a better way to do it I will still have the matterials needed and time to do it.
At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?
I felt most ingaged with unit when learing about the digesting tract and nutrition. Since I feel strongly about taking care of your body and that you are what you eat so it was interesting to see exactly what your body does with what you put in it.
At what moment unit did you feel most distanced from the course?
I felt most distanced when reading about the lymphatic system and blood clots.
What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit that find most affirming and helpful?
Im not sure what helped the most for this unit. Having a general outline in the course assignments has been really helpful to not forget to talk about something but other than that this unit went fairly smooth.
What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing? Well some of the other student blogs really lost me in their presentation of the material and I also never had a chance to respond to an essay since they were not turned in or I just couldn't find it on their blogs.
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.)
What suprised my the most I guess would have to be how fast some students turn in their assignments.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Unit 2 Lab project exercise physiology
Unit 2 Lab Project Metabolic Parameters
This lab project demonstrates how metabolic rates are influenced when performing various tasks. In this experiment I will be recording basic vital signs to determine if metabolic parameters changed from resting to active state. This is because as more energy is used the more oxygen that is needed for cellular respiration. As more oxygen is needed respiration rates will increase. Pulse will increase due to the heart pumping more blood to absorb the incoming oxygen and circulate the oxygen rich blood to the cells so they can produce more ATP molecules (energy). Blood pressure will increase since the heart is working faster and harder to circulate the blood to the cells.
Hypothesis
I believe that after performing each exercise my metabolic parameters will all increase. I think that jumping jacks will influence metabolic parameters more than sit ups or stair climbing but overall they will increase from resting state. This increase blood pressure as well.
Hypothesis
I believe that after performing each exercise my metabolic parameters will all increase. I think that jumping jacks will influence metabolic parameters more than sit ups or stair climbing but overall they will increase from resting state. This increase blood pressure as well.
Materials and Methods
The materials I will be using are a blood pressure cuff, sit up machine and stairs. With assistance of my sister I will be taking my heart and respiration rate as well as my blood pressure after each exercise. I will start off by resting for five minutes to get an accurate resting heart rate respiration rate and blood pressure. Then I will perform each activity three times recording my metabolic rates. Between each activity I will rest allowing my metabolic rates to return to resting state.
The materials I will be using are a blood pressure cuff, sit up machine and stairs. With assistance of my sister I will be taking my heart and respiration rate as well as my blood pressure after each exercise. I will start off by resting for five minutes to get an accurate resting heart rate respiration rate and blood pressure. Then I will perform each activity three times recording my metabolic rates. Between each activity I will rest allowing my metabolic rates to return to resting state.
Above is initial resting rate. The Blood pressure cuff records my systolic and diastolic pressure along with heart rate per minute. I measured my respirations using a wrist watch.
Above is demonstrating my first activity. I ran up and down the stairs for one minute and then I recorded my metabolic rates (pulse, blood pressure, and respirations). This was repeated a total of three times recording metabolic rates after each rep. I then rested until my heart rate came down and I felt relaxed. My metabolic rates where recorded again.
Above is activity 2 Sit ups which I also performed three reps for a minute each and recorded the metabolic rates after each time. Then waited until my heart rate came down and I felt rested and recorded my metabolic rates again.
This is my third and final activity jumping jacks. This too was performed three times for a minute each recording metabolic rates after each one.
Data
METABOLIC RATE DATA TABLE
Graph of Means for each activity
Graph of Means for each activity
The above graph shows how the rates changed when performing physical activites. The first two show the resting rates and the average rates taken after running the stairs. My pulse went up from 89 beats per minute to 145, blood pressure increase 97/63 to 122/64, and respirations increased 20-39 per minute. While the middle two are the resting rates and average rates taken after doing sit ups. Here too the metabolic rates increased, pulse 107 resting to 119 per minute, blood pressure 96/66 resting to 103/60 and respirtations 24 to 33 per minute. Finally the last set is the resting and average rates for jumping jacks. With pulse at 98 resting to 144 per minute, blood pressure 96/68 to 108/54 and respirations 24 to 39 per minute. Climbing the stairs restulted in a higher increase in all metabolic rates from the resting rates. Which is not what I had predicted since I thought jumping jacks were going to be the most strenuous, so my hypothesis was incorrect. I also predicted that all three activities would increase my metabolic rates and they did so my hypothesis was correct.
Data or technique problems
If I were to do this experiment again I would have changed it by letting my metabolic rates return to resting state after each rep as well as between each activity. This I think would provide more accurate results on how metabolic rates where influenced by each activity. I also would record the recovery time how long it took after each individual rep and activity it took my body to return to the same resting state.
Conclusion
Even though half of my hypothsis was correct and the other half incorrect overall this experiment showed how metabolic rates are influenced by physical activities. With each activity my heart rate and respirations continued to increase with each rep demonstrating my bodies need for more oxygen rich blood. This is because the more ATP molecules (energy) I burned off the more the cells need oxygen to produce more. Blood pressure was effected and increased because as the bodies demand for more blood increase the faster and harder the heart pumped. The systolic pressure is the how much force is being pushed out of the heart and against the wall of a blood vessel. Meaning that the faster and harder the heart works the high the blood pressure. The diastolic pressure measures the pressure of blood flow when the heart ventricles are relaxed.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Unit 2 essay Nutrition
What are your eating habits?
There is an epidemic going on in America right now and very little people even notice it or try and make a difference. If you go to the mall or any public place over half of the population is overweight and or obese. The diseases that are arising from obesity and poor diets like heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, depression, anxiety, kidney/liver disease, cholesterol is outrageous. Americans are consuming fast fried processed foods that are unnatural and provide little to no nutrition just are “good tasting”. Many of the common solutions today are diet pills that are harmful to the body and surgeries like gastric bypass surgery that alters your body. The human body is perfect and altering it to stop bad habits or ignorance is not a good enough reason for me.
Instead we stand together and help each other, starting with our children. Today in schools gym class has been limited to one day a week and the cafeteria food isn‘t all the great. Young children are being diagnosed with atherosclerosis (clogged arteries), are obese and unhappy with themselves. In my town the vending machines are now water and juice instead of soda which is a good start but more needs to be done to teach our children about health. Gym class should be mandatory everyday and consist of health education. If we can teach our children about what our bodies need and what is harmful then we can change their future.
The next step is too eliminate eating at those fast food joints and instead make time to cook a balanced meal from natural foods. One of the major problems is that Americans think it is too time consuming to make a healthy meal so they just throw the frozen pizza in the oven and call it good. When this is your life you are talking about. I believe that if everyone starts to take concern about themselves and their loved ones this obesity epidemic will go away. Teach your children and yourself how to make a home cooked meal with vegetables and essential grains not how to order a double whopper with a high cholesterol and clogged arteries on the side.
We are what we eat and we are eating ourselves to death. I believe as humans we should help our selves by gaining knowledge about what we are eating and how much we are eating in contrast to what a healthy intake is. Over the past few years I have become really aware of how poorly people eat and that most of them eat for pleasure not health, and don’t realize or care about the consequences. The more people become aware of the risks involved and the more our children are taught, the obesity epidemic will go away or at least be minimized. Personally I come from a family of vegetarians and I have been to expo after expo about eating healthy and taking care of yourself. Last summer I went to an expo that really enlightened me and showed me how a change of diet can save your life. Since this last expo my parents and I really decided to make the diet change and start taking my grandmothers advice (vegetarian for 30 years) and my dad no longer has asthma, my mom has lost weight and lowered her cholesterol and I no longer suffer from chronic depression. We all look and feel great and the food taste great too. To be healthy you don’t have to eat carrots for dinner there are tons of great quick meals you can make that are healthy. Society needs to look at themselves for help not to pills and surgery.
There is an epidemic going on in America right now and very little people even notice it or try and make a difference. If you go to the mall or any public place over half of the population is overweight and or obese. The diseases that are arising from obesity and poor diets like heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, depression, anxiety, kidney/liver disease, cholesterol is outrageous. Americans are consuming fast fried processed foods that are unnatural and provide little to no nutrition just are “good tasting”. Many of the common solutions today are diet pills that are harmful to the body and surgeries like gastric bypass surgery that alters your body. The human body is perfect and altering it to stop bad habits or ignorance is not a good enough reason for me.
Instead we stand together and help each other, starting with our children. Today in schools gym class has been limited to one day a week and the cafeteria food isn‘t all the great. Young children are being diagnosed with atherosclerosis (clogged arteries), are obese and unhappy with themselves. In my town the vending machines are now water and juice instead of soda which is a good start but more needs to be done to teach our children about health. Gym class should be mandatory everyday and consist of health education. If we can teach our children about what our bodies need and what is harmful then we can change their future.
The next step is too eliminate eating at those fast food joints and instead make time to cook a balanced meal from natural foods. One of the major problems is that Americans think it is too time consuming to make a healthy meal so they just throw the frozen pizza in the oven and call it good. When this is your life you are talking about. I believe that if everyone starts to take concern about themselves and their loved ones this obesity epidemic will go away. Teach your children and yourself how to make a home cooked meal with vegetables and essential grains not how to order a double whopper with a high cholesterol and clogged arteries on the side.
We are what we eat and we are eating ourselves to death. I believe as humans we should help our selves by gaining knowledge about what we are eating and how much we are eating in contrast to what a healthy intake is. Over the past few years I have become really aware of how poorly people eat and that most of them eat for pleasure not health, and don’t realize or care about the consequences. The more people become aware of the risks involved and the more our children are taught, the obesity epidemic will go away or at least be minimized. Personally I come from a family of vegetarians and I have been to expo after expo about eating healthy and taking care of yourself. Last summer I went to an expo that really enlightened me and showed me how a change of diet can save your life. Since this last expo my parents and I really decided to make the diet change and start taking my grandmothers advice (vegetarian for 30 years) and my dad no longer has asthma, my mom has lost weight and lowered her cholesterol and I no longer suffer from chronic depression. We all look and feel great and the food taste great too. To be healthy you don’t have to eat carrots for dinner there are tons of great quick meals you can make that are healthy. Society needs to look at themselves for help not to pills and surgery.
Unit 2 Review #2
Unit 2 Compendium Review #2
Unit 2 Topic
Unit 2 Topic
-Digestion
-Glucose
-Nutrition
Digestion
Digestion is the process of breaking down the food we eat into their unit molecules such as, sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals so they can cross the plasma membrane and be used by our bodies. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing the food and the saliva which contains enzymes for carbohydrates. From there the food passes through the pharynx down the esophagus into the stomach where more mechanical digestion takes place. In the stomach gastric juices such as pepsin digest proteins, Hydrochloric acid kills bacteria and breaks down meat and activates pepsin. The stomach does not absorb any nutrients its sole purpose is to store food, digest proteins, and control the flow chyme into the small intestines. Alcohol is absorbed through the stomach though because it is fat soluble and passes through the membrane. Chyme refers to partially digested food that is a thick semi fluid substance that enters the small intestines. In the intestines is where digestion is completed. More enzymes that digests all types of food primary carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are contained in the small intestines secreted by the pancreas. Bile from the liver and gallbladder combines fat into droplets that are hydrolyzed into glycerol and fatty acids by lipase. As the food is broken down the wall of the small intestines absorb sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerol. From there the sugars and amino acids from carbohydrates and proteins are absorbed into the vessels of a villus which enter blood capillaries and are transported all over the body. Fatty acids are absorbed into the epithelial cells of villi which are then too dispersed all over the body to cells. After passing through the small intestines and nutrients being absorbed its passed through the large intestines. Here is where water and vitamins produced by bacteria are absorbed. What is left is referred to as feces, the large intestines carry feces to the rectum where it collects until passed through exiting the body.
Digestion is the process of breaking down the food we eat into their unit molecules such as, sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals so they can cross the plasma membrane and be used by our bodies. Digestion begins in the mouth with chewing the food and the saliva which contains enzymes for carbohydrates. From there the food passes through the pharynx down the esophagus into the stomach where more mechanical digestion takes place. In the stomach gastric juices such as pepsin digest proteins, Hydrochloric acid kills bacteria and breaks down meat and activates pepsin. The stomach does not absorb any nutrients its sole purpose is to store food, digest proteins, and control the flow chyme into the small intestines. Alcohol is absorbed through the stomach though because it is fat soluble and passes through the membrane. Chyme refers to partially digested food that is a thick semi fluid substance that enters the small intestines. In the intestines is where digestion is completed. More enzymes that digests all types of food primary carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are contained in the small intestines secreted by the pancreas. Bile from the liver and gallbladder combines fat into droplets that are hydrolyzed into glycerol and fatty acids by lipase. As the food is broken down the wall of the small intestines absorb sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, and glycerol. From there the sugars and amino acids from carbohydrates and proteins are absorbed into the vessels of a villus which enter blood capillaries and are transported all over the body. Fatty acids are absorbed into the epithelial cells of villi which are then too dispersed all over the body to cells. After passing through the small intestines and nutrients being absorbed its passed through the large intestines. Here is where water and vitamins produced by bacteria are absorbed. What is left is referred to as feces, the large intestines carry feces to the rectum where it collects until passed through exiting the body.
Glucose
As mentioned the pancreas aids in the digestion process by producing digestive enzymes for all types of food. Is also secretes a hormone called insulin into the blood. Insulin helps the level of glucose stay at a constant level. Glucose is sugar that our bodies use for energy during cellular respiration. When we eat food glucose is absorbed from what we ate into the body stream. When insulin is present in the blood stream the liver stores glucose as glycogen so it can be used later to keep a constant level of glucose in the body. If the liver or pancreas stop performing their duties serious problems can arise like diabetes. Diabetes type2 is when the pancreas stops producing insulin, resulting in too high blood sugar (glucose) level. This is referred to as hyperglycemia and the patient must get regular shots of insulin to keep the glucose levels down. (picture of insulin for diabetes type2)
Hypoglycemia is when the glucose level in blood is too low and they must eat something with sugar in it. Diabetes type 2 can occur because over the years cells become insulin resistant but the leading cause is from obesity. All diabetics should eat a healthy diet and exercise because they have a high risk for blindness, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease. (picture of man eating sugar)
Nutrition
Which brings me to the importance of a healthy life style and eating foods high in nutrition. Many of the popular diets out there like the Atkin’s Diet stress organs out and further prove that a well balanced diet accompanied with exercise is necessary to keep homeostasis. Over a third of Americans are obese (having excess body fat) which is a leading cause to premature death, diabetes type2, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke, certain kinds of cancers and many other diseases. The average American diet consists of fried, salty, sugary foods in large portions.
A healthy diet should consist of a variety of proteins, fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, lipids and carbohydrates. There are good carbohydrates and bad. Beans, peas, nuts, fruits and whole grain products are good complex carbohydrates while cake, cookies, and white refined bread are bad and should be avoided. Beans, peas, nuts, fruits and whole grain products are also a great source of fiber, vitamins and minerals. As with Lipids (fats, oil, and cholesterol) some things should be avoided like red meats, bacon and butter which are foods high in saturated fats since they cause cardiovascular disease. Cooking food with canola oil or safflower oil should be used because they do not contain saturated fats instead they are polyunsaturated oils and are essential because they contain two fatty acids the body cannot make on its own. Sodium is essential to the body for regulating the body’s water balance. The average American is consuming between 4,000-4,700 mg a day when the body needs only 500mg a day. High sodium intake diets cause high blood pressure, edema and other problems. Protein is also essential to a healthy diet and many foods supply the needed amino acids. Even though amino acids (proteins) are needed daily it does not take very much to met the bodies needs. Most Americans are consuming twice to three times the amount needed. Its said that you need two servings a day. The catch is a serving is about the size of a deck of cards not the plate full most people are consuming. While not enough protein is harmful so is too much. A healthy balanced diet is easy to achieve, just start by watching your serving sizes, cutting out processed and fried foods, and eating more fruits and vegetables.
Work CitedMadder, Sylvia S. “Human Biology” 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007
(digestive system)
(Hypoglycemia)
(Hyperglycemia insuline shots)
(healthy now poster)
Unit 2 Review #1
Unit 2 Compendium Review # 1
Review Topics
-Cardiovascular system and Blood
-Cellular Respiration and oxygen
-Immunity and Microbes
-AIDS
-Cardiovascular system and Blood
-Cellular Respiration and oxygen
-Immunity and Microbes
-AIDS
Cardiovascular system and blood
The cardiovascular system consists of two major parts the heart and blood vessels. The heart its self has a major portion the myocardium that consists of cardiac muscle tissue and the pericardium a membranous sac that surrounds and protects the heart. Internally the heart consists of two sides the left and right, which the septum is what separates the heart into theses two sides. The heart is also broken down further into four chambers with two on the left side and two on the right. The upper two are called the right atrium and the left atrium, these are thin-walled atria. The lower two are thick-walled ventricles, called the left ventricle and the right ventricle. (picture of exterior heart anatomy)
The heart is a muscular organ that’s main purpose is to service the cells by pumping blood throughout the body. The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs to be replenished with oxygen and then oxygen rich blood flows throw the heart to the left side to be pumped throughout the body. This pumping of the blood is called the heartbeat due to the contraction and relaxation of the heart. The internal heartbeat is regulated by the SA (senatorial) node which is located in the upper right atrium and is responsible for sending out an excitation impulse every .85 seconds that causes the atria to contract. When the atria is finished contracting and the excitation impulse reaches the AV(atrioventricular) node located in the lower right atrium near the septum the ventricles begin their contraction. This process is repeated every .85 seconds pumping blood through the body and making a heartbeat. The heart beat is also effected by external forces. First being a portion of the brain called the medulla oblongata is the cardiac control center that controls internal organs. The medulla oblongata changes the heartbeat by parasympathetic and sympathetic parts of the nervous system. Parasympathetic division decrease SA and VA nodal activity and sympathetic increases SA and VA nodal activity. SA and VA nodal activity are reduced when in a resting state and are increased when in an active state like exercising. Second the heartbeat is stimulated by the adrenal medulla by the releasing of hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine. So during exercise the heart beats stronger and faster due to sympathetic simulation and the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine, which pumps more blood to the body and cells.
The second major part of the cardiovascular system is the blood vessels. There are three types of blood vessels the arteries, capillaries and the veins. When the heart contracts and relaxes it is pumping blood through the lungs to be oxygenated and then through the body. The blood is carried through the body by these three blood vessels. The first being the arteries which are composed of three layers. The thin inner layer endothelium, the middle layer which is a fairly thick layer of smooth muscle and elastic tissue and finally the outer layer that is connective tissue. (Picture of 3 tissue types)
As blood enters the arteries the elastic tissue allows the artery to expand. Arterioles are small arteries that are covered in fibers that when they contract the vessel get smaller and when the fibers relax the vessel get larger dilates. Arterioles regulate blood pressure and branch into capillaries. Capillaries are very small with only a single layer of epithelial cells (endothelium). Capillaries are present throughout the entire body so no cell is far from them. Capillaries are not open at all times. When a capillary bed is closed the blood moves from arterioles to venule by an arteriovenous shunt. Venules are small veins that carry blood from the capillaries to the veins. Vein and venules have the same three layers as arteries except that the middle and outer layer have are thinner than arteries. Since vein have less smooth muscle and connective tissue they can expand more than arteries allowing them to act as a storage for blood. “At any one time, about 70% of the blood is in the veins.”(Madder 87) Veins also have valves to keep the blood flowing towards the heart and also in the lower regions of the body when blood is flowing against gravity. (Picture of Capillary Beds)
(Picture showing blood flow from artery-capillaries-veins)
The main purpose of the circulation of blood is to service the cells. As the blood flows through the body it exchanges substances with tissue fluid which is the fluid that bathes cells. Blood removes waste from tissue fluid and replenishes the fluid with the oxygen and nutrients that cells need. After the blood performs this exchange it must get ride of the waste so that it can continue to perform this function for the cells. The blood is refreshed in the lungs, intestines, kidneys, and liver. The lungs remove carbon dioxide and replenishes the blood with oxygen. The kidneys clean the blood of waste collected from the cells. Nutrients enter the blood by the intestines while the liver removes amino acids and provides proteins. If any poisons entered at the intestines the liver removes them from the blood. Blood can perform these functions because it too is a tissue more precise a liquid tissue. Blood contains cells and cell fragments (formed elements) contained in a liquid called plasma. The formed elements in blood are red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
(Picture of red and white blood cells and platelets)
Red blood cells transport oxygen and carbon dioxide to and from cells and the lungs. Red blood cells lack a nucleus and most organelles like mitochondria but instead contain many copies of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is broken up into two parts the heme which contains an iron group that combines with O2 in the lungs and releases O2 in the tissues and the globin which is a protein containing four highly folded polypeptide chains. White blood cell are larger the red and there are less of them. They have a nucleus and lack hemoglobin. White blood cells fight infection and have various ways in which doing this. One being phagocytes, the cell surrounds the pathogen engulfing it and then enzymes from lysosome’s digest the pathogen. Another way is the production of antibodies that combine with foreign proteins and are marked for destruction. Platelets are pieces of large cells called megakaryocytic located in the red bone marrow. When blood vessels in the body are damage platelets clump together to act as a plug at the site of injury. If a large break occurs then blood clotting may be necessary to stop the bleeding. Red blood cells also get trapped in these clots making them appear red. Platelets and the damage tissue release prothrombin activator resulting in a fibrin threads that wind around the platelets holding the clot in place. As soon as the vessel in healed an enzyme destroys the fibrin network and the natural flow of plasma is restored.
(Picture of blood clot)
Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration occurs in the cells Mitochondrion an organelle in the cytoplasm. Mitochondrion coverts energy of glucose into chemical energy of ATP molecules. During this process mitochondria uses up oxygen and gives off carbon dioxide. This process of cellular respiration of mitochondrion is very important to cellular metabolism. The blood is very important in this process because it’s the red blood cells that provide the oxygen and remove the carbon dioxide in the cells. As mentioned above after all the carbon dioxide has been switched out for oxygen the O2 deficient blood returns to the lungs to release the carbon dioxide in exchange for more O2 ,keeping the process repeating. (Picture of cellular respiration)
Immunity and Microbes
Microbes are microscopic organisms that can be found anywhere. They cover the surface of plants and animals they are even found on and within our own bodies. Many microbes are useful and apart of our daily lives. One type is bacteria that is a contributing factor in beer, cheese, bread, and drugs from biotechnology. Microbes that are decomposers are also very important to the cycle of life. Like anything else there are harmful bacteria and viruses called pathogens that cause diseases. (Picture of Microbes....#1Giardiasis, #2 Influenza, #3 Food poisoning, #4 Malaria, #5 Strep throat, #6 HIV/AIDS, #7 Tuberculosis, #8 Lyme disease, #9 Hepatitis B)
The body has nonspecific and specific defenses to protect the body. Nonspecific defensives are the skin, mucous membranes, chemical barriers, and resident bacteria. These are nonspecific because they do not discriminate since they block out all pathogens. The skin is a physical barrier that protects against invasion. Some barriers are the oil glands on skin, perspiration, saliva, and tears. These all contain antibacterial enzymes that prevent infections and/or wash away microbes. The last nonspecific defense resident bacteria is created by normal flora located in the mouth, intestines, and other areas of the body. Normal flora is very important and usefully and abusing antibiotics kills of normal flora make a person susceptible to pathogenic infections. The body is also protected by specific defenses. When pathogens get past nonspecific defenses and enter the body the immune system takes over. Antigens are the molecules that are foreign to the body such as bacteria and viruses. The immune system recognizes these antigens and fights them off. Memory B-cells produce antibodies that combine with like bacteria and kills it. Cytotoxic T-cells attack diseased cells by punching holes into the plasma membrane and injecting granzymes that cause the cell to die. And lastly helper T-cells controls and regulates immunity by secreting chemicals that gives orders to all types of immune cells. B-cells require the help of T cells to be activated. A person get vaccinations of common diseases because the body builds up an immunity to the disease by produce memory B-cells that kill that type of bacteria. Then if the bacteria gets into the body again the B-cells can destroy it. The vaccines are traditionally the disease itself or products that have been treated so that they no longer are able to cause the disease. This allows the body to make memory B-cells that are ready to fight off that disease if the body comes in contact with it in the future.
AIDS
AIDS is an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome that is caused by the HIV virus. When the body comes in contact with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) helper T-cells are destroyed inactivating the immune respone. As the number of helper T-cells are decline the more susceptible the body is to opportunistic infections. “An opportunistic infection Is one that has the opportunity to occur only because the immune system is severely weakened.”(mader pg 344) The most common way of acquiring HIV/AIDS is through sexual contact whether it be oral, vaginal, or anal intercourse. Other ways of receiving HIV/AIDS is breast milk, needle-sharing, or coming in contact with blood whether it’s a blood transfusion or a cut. There is no cure for AIDS instead there are treatments available to help slow down the spread of HIV in the cells. HAART highly active antiretroviral therapy is a combination of drugs designed to stop HIV from binding to receptors in the plasma membrane of uninfected cells. “Reverse transcriptase inhibitors, such as zidovudine (AZT), interfere with the operation of the reverse transcriptase enzyme. Integrase inhibitors prevent HIV from inserting its own genetic material into that of the host cells.”(madder pg350) This slows down the HIV virus and is commonly used during pregnancy to keep the baby from being infected with HIV. Once infected with HIV and the immune system is susceptible to infections it could take many years before they are AIDS positive or die. Many people die of AIDS related illnesses like Lymphoma, Kaposi Sarcomas, Tuberculosis and Pneumonia. A healthy immune system would be able to fight off most of these infections but since the HIV virus weakens the immune system you become susceptible. The young and the elderly are more susceptible than adults. Below are the latest statistics.
The latest statistics on the world epidemic of AIDS & HIV were published by UNAIDS/WHO in November 2006, and refer to the end of 2006.
The number of people living with HIV has risen from around 8 million in 1990 to nearly 40 million today, and is still growing. Around 63% of people living with HIV are in sub-Saharan Africa.
Regional statistics for HIV & AIDS, end of 2006
* Proportion of adults aged 15-49 who were living with HIV/AIDS
Work Cited:
Madder, Sylvia S. “Human Biology” 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007
(anatomy of a capillary bed)
(AIDS/HIV)
(Heart anatomy)
(blood vessels)
(Blood vessel flow)
(Blood Cells)
(cellular respiration)
(Microbes)
(Blood Clot)
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Unit 2 Lab#2 Nutrition
Online Lab #2
Daily Nutrition
Above is what I ate in one day and the total nutritional facts. For breakfast I had an english muffin with peanut buter and jelly with grapes. For lunch I ate tator tots, rice, and a odwalla juice which was cran-lime-raspberry. I ate some crackers for a snack and for dinner I had a cucumber sandwich. I only marked down two slices of bread because I could not find just cucumber in any of the categories. The water I drank throughout the day.
It was hard to find what I actually ate since Im a vegetarian and the list didn't provide many choices for that type of diet, so I had to select each thing individually. I would have to say it wasn't the best diet for the day. I would have like to have ate a salad or some kind of vegetable dish. This type of tracking I did find useful. It was nice to know how much fiber, protein, and iron I'm consuming. I would use this cite again in the future to get an idea of the nutritional facts about what I em eating.
Work Cited:
http://www.balancemindbodysoul.com/nutritioncalc.html
Unit 2 Lab #1 Blood Pressure
Hypertension
1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.
The problem today is that the older we get the less active we become resulting in obesity. When we are younger we do more physical activities like sports, gym class, and physical jobs, which keeps us in shape. Not only are you less active with age people tend to drink or smoke more which all contribute to high blood pressure and obesity. Over time plaque builds up in our arteries from consuming fatty, oily foods. With these factors in play the result is obesity that leads to hypertension. Men tend to have a higher chance of hypertension (high blood pressure) with age than women because they tend to consume more food which is usually more unhealthy foods, like the fats and lipids and also alcohol.
2.Use your knowledge about the heart and the circulatory system to make a hypothesis about how the average blood pressure for a group of people would be affected by manipulating the age and gender of the group members.
I believe that as the age of a group of the same sex gets older the number of patients with obesity caused by high salt diets and or alcohol will rise as well as the number of patients who have high blood pressure. If two groups of the same are but opposite sex are compared to each other I believe that the group of men will have a higher number of people with high blood pressure.
3.How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow? What data will you record?
I will start by taking the blood pressure of both men and women at each age group and recording the average systolic and diastolic pressures for both groups men and women. After recording all the averages I will look at the patients in each age group that have high blood pressure and check their chart to determine if they are over weight, have high sodium diets, drink alcohol, exercise, or have a family history of hypertension. I will also check some of the patients that don’t have high blood pressure to get an idea of their life styles as well. I will record how many have high blood pressure and of those how may live life styles with the above criteria. To determine if the number of patients with high blood pressure goes up with age and gender.
4.Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.
The major pattern that I saw was that with age the number of patients with high blood pressure increased in men and women. I also noticed that the number of men with high blood pressure than women at each age group was higher. Another pattern was that people who consumed alcohol or high sodium diets with little or no exercise had high blood pressure and most were also over weight. The patients with average blood pressure where not living high sodium, alcohol intake life styles. Even though having a family history of hypertension was a factor to high blood pressure it was not the most common.
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 data and results did support my original hypothesis and from this I come to the conclusion that sodium, alcohol, lack of exercise and obesity leads to high blood pressure whether you have a family history or not. Also that with age the risk of having high blood pressure increases dramatically if living this type of lifestyle.
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?
When analyzing the age groups and genders I noticed that between 11-34 there was only two cases of high blood pressure one being a women and the other a male. In both instances they had a family history and high sodium diets. The male was also over weight and lacked in doing exercise. It wasn't until the age group of 35-44 I noticed a huge increase in the number of high blood pressure patients. In the group of women there was just one, but in the male group there was five. Out of the five men two had a family history one of which was over weight, lacking exercise, and consumed alcohol, two had high sodium diets, and the last one was over weight. lacking exercise and consumed alcohol. The next age group 45-54 there were two women and five men. Both women were over weight. Two of the five men were over weight and had a family history of hypertension. One had a high intake sodium and alcohol diet, lacked exercise and was over weight while the last two one over weight and the other lacked exercise in his life. The rest of the patients in every age group that did not have high blood pressure had a low sodium intake, exercised, didn't consume alcohol and were not over weight. A couple patients did have a family history of hypertension but had an average blood pressure. Overall it seemed that those with high blood pressure had one or more of the following; high sodium intake, alcohol consumption, over weight or little exercise life styles while those with average blood pressure were not following that type of life style.
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 are high sodium diets, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, obesity, family history, and finally age and gender. 22% of the males in my experiment had high blood pressure while only .8% of the women had high blood pressure. This showed that males have high blood pressure than women and a higher chance for hypertension. With age the statistics only got worse with 50
% of the males over 35 having high blood pressure and 15% of women over 35 having high blood pressure. Age and gender was found to be the closet factor to high blood pressure. With out taking obesity into consideration the second major factor was a tie between lack of exercise and family history.
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 is a large factor and can alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure because when a person is over weight they have more fat on their bodies and in there arteries. Causing their heart to work harder which can result in high blood pressure or even a heart attack. I have mentioned obesity throughout my experiment showing how patients with high blood pressure were usually over weight. In fact 60% of the people with high blood pressure were over weight. While some patients were over weight and had other factors that contribute to high blood pressure a couple were just over weight showing that obesity along is a factor.
In conclusion obesity, sodium, alcohol, and lack of exercise could be a deadly combination. To avoid high blood pressure, heart attacks and other health issues your life style should be watched carefully. Foods high in sodium, fats, and lipids should be minimized and daily exercise is highly recommended to keep the heart working at its best. The less crap and damage we do to our bodies the longer and healthier the will work.
Work Cited:
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_08/BL_08.html
1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.
The problem today is that the older we get the less active we become resulting in obesity. When we are younger we do more physical activities like sports, gym class, and physical jobs, which keeps us in shape. Not only are you less active with age people tend to drink or smoke more which all contribute to high blood pressure and obesity. Over time plaque builds up in our arteries from consuming fatty, oily foods. With these factors in play the result is obesity that leads to hypertension. Men tend to have a higher chance of hypertension (high blood pressure) with age than women because they tend to consume more food which is usually more unhealthy foods, like the fats and lipids and also alcohol.
2.Use your knowledge about the heart and the circulatory system to make a hypothesis about how the average blood pressure for a group of people would be affected by manipulating the age and gender of the group members.
I believe that as the age of a group of the same sex gets older the number of patients with obesity caused by high salt diets and or alcohol will rise as well as the number of patients who have high blood pressure. If two groups of the same are but opposite sex are compared to each other I believe that the group of men will have a higher number of people with high blood pressure.
3.How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow? What data will you record?
I will start by taking the blood pressure of both men and women at each age group and recording the average systolic and diastolic pressures for both groups men and women. After recording all the averages I will look at the patients in each age group that have high blood pressure and check their chart to determine if they are over weight, have high sodium diets, drink alcohol, exercise, or have a family history of hypertension. I will also check some of the patients that don’t have high blood pressure to get an idea of their life styles as well. I will record how many have high blood pressure and of those how may live life styles with the above criteria. To determine if the number of patients with high blood pressure goes up with age and gender.
4.Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.
The major pattern that I saw was that with age the number of patients with high blood pressure increased in men and women. I also noticed that the number of men with high blood pressure than women at each age group was higher. Another pattern was that people who consumed alcohol or high sodium diets with little or no exercise had high blood pressure and most were also over weight. The patients with average blood pressure where not living high sodium, alcohol intake life styles. Even though having a family history of hypertension was a factor to high blood pressure it was not the most common.
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 data and results did support my original hypothesis and from this I come to the conclusion that sodium, alcohol, lack of exercise and obesity leads to high blood pressure whether you have a family history or not. Also that with age the risk of having high blood pressure increases dramatically if living this type of lifestyle.
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?
When analyzing the age groups and genders I noticed that between 11-34 there was only two cases of high blood pressure one being a women and the other a male. In both instances they had a family history and high sodium diets. The male was also over weight and lacked in doing exercise. It wasn't until the age group of 35-44 I noticed a huge increase in the number of high blood pressure patients. In the group of women there was just one, but in the male group there was five. Out of the five men two had a family history one of which was over weight, lacking exercise, and consumed alcohol, two had high sodium diets, and the last one was over weight. lacking exercise and consumed alcohol. The next age group 45-54 there were two women and five men. Both women were over weight. Two of the five men were over weight and had a family history of hypertension. One had a high intake sodium and alcohol diet, lacked exercise and was over weight while the last two one over weight and the other lacked exercise in his life. The rest of the patients in every age group that did not have high blood pressure had a low sodium intake, exercised, didn't consume alcohol and were not over weight. A couple patients did have a family history of hypertension but had an average blood pressure. Overall it seemed that those with high blood pressure had one or more of the following; high sodium intake, alcohol consumption, over weight or little exercise life styles while those with average blood pressure were not following that type of life style.
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 are high sodium diets, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, obesity, family history, and finally age and gender. 22% of the males in my experiment had high blood pressure while only .8% of the women had high blood pressure. This showed that males have high blood pressure than women and a higher chance for hypertension. With age the statistics only got worse with 50
% of the males over 35 having high blood pressure and 15% of women over 35 having high blood pressure. Age and gender was found to be the closet factor to high blood pressure. With out taking obesity into consideration the second major factor was a tie between lack of exercise and family history.
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 is a large factor and can alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure because when a person is over weight they have more fat on their bodies and in there arteries. Causing their heart to work harder which can result in high blood pressure or even a heart attack. I have mentioned obesity throughout my experiment showing how patients with high blood pressure were usually over weight. In fact 60% of the people with high blood pressure were over weight. While some patients were over weight and had other factors that contribute to high blood pressure a couple were just over weight showing that obesity along is a factor.
In conclusion obesity, sodium, alcohol, and lack of exercise could be a deadly combination. To avoid high blood pressure, heart attacks and other health issues your life style should be watched carefully. Foods high in sodium, fats, and lipids should be minimized and daily exercise is highly recommended to keep the heart working at its best. The less crap and damage we do to our bodies the longer and healthier the will work.
Work Cited:
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_08/BL_08.html
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
ethical essay unit 1
Could genetic engineering lead to no diseases, or seeing yourself walking down the street?
Genetic engineering is becoming a very useful technology. Today plants, animals and bacteria are all being genetically engineered to produce biotechnology products. Plants are being engineered or changed to resist harmful insects or herbicides. A certain bacteria that consumes oil are being engineered to perform this task faster so that they can clean up oil spills. A type of genetic engineering called reproductive cloning is being used to generate animals that have the same nuclear DNA as another preexisting animal. The process in which this takes place is called “somatic cell nuclear transfer.” Genetic material from a donor organisms nucleus is transferred to an egg whose nucleus and genetic material as been removed. The egg is stimulated to cell divide and once division has started it is transferred to the uterus of a female host where is develops. Dolly the famous sheep was successfully cloned by using reproductive cloning. Therapeutic Cloning “embryo cloning” is another type of genetic engineering. This is the production on human embryos for the use of research. Stem cells are harvested from the embryo to use to study and generate virtually any type of cell in the human body. Genetic engineering is being used to alter DNA in plants and bacteria and could be used to alter human DNA or clone humans.
Which brings me to my first viewpoint, are these embryos alive and a person?
When these stem cells are harvested from the embryo is destroys or kills the embryo. A main concern is that this killing of the embryo is killing a person. Since the embryo is fertilized it has the potential of developing into a person and this destruction of the embryo can be thought of as killing a human. Some people believe that once conception or the egg is fertilized it is a person and that it killing that embryo in any way is wrong. Even though these stem cells have the potential of being used to treat heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other diseases which would lower the need for organ donors it still raises the issue of killing a potential human.
A more positive side to genetic engineering is could it prevent child defects and diseases?
With the understanding of DNA we can use genetic engineering to screen parents and embryos for diseases like Alzheimer’s, certain cancer’s, down syndrome and prevent theses from being inherited by the next generation. If parents know that certain defects run in the family they could be prevented. This could provide children with a simpler life free of diseases. This also can raise an issue that we are playing god. Every person has a purpose and who are we to change who someone becomes. There are many children that are born with a defect and become very successful. There are children born with Autism that cannot perform normal daily functions but they are musically intelligent. When screening for diseases and if one is found but can not be prevented a potential down far is that an insurance company may reject covering you because you have a gene that could potential cause cancer or some other defect. This knowledge could be used against a person when its not there fault and it may never even develop.
With the understanding of DNA we can use genetic engineering to screen parents and embryos for diseases like Alzheimer’s, certain cancer’s, down syndrome and prevent theses from being inherited by the next generation. If parents know that certain defects run in the family they could be prevented. This could provide children with a simpler life free of diseases. This also can raise an issue that we are playing god. Every person has a purpose and who are we to change who someone becomes. There are many children that are born with a defect and become very successful. There are children born with Autism that cannot perform normal daily functions but they are musically intelligent. When screening for diseases and if one is found but can not be prevented a potential down far is that an insurance company may reject covering you because you have a gene that could potential cause cancer or some other defect. This knowledge could be used against a person when its not there fault and it may never even develop.
The last concern of being able screen embryo’s and change DNA is that is could be taken a step further. Where parents are choosing the sex, hair color, eye color specific features that are supposed to be left up to nature or natural selection. Nature knows best is has gotten us this far and so it should know which genes should be matched up together. If people are given the opportunity to choose their child’s traits and/or sex it could eliminate individuality and the natural design of an equal amount of both genders.
Overall genetic engineering has both positive and negative sides. The ability to save lives by being able to reproduce organs with your same DNA so that it is not rejected would be wonderful, but destroying embryo’s in the process raises concerns. To use genetic engineering to prevent disastrous birth defects and give a child a healthy life that the wouldn’t have had otherwise could be a wonderful feeling to parents that lived with the disorder and know there kids wont have to deal with it. As technology advances more concerns both good and bad are going to be brought to attention and need to be taken seriously. I think that in the near future many decision are going to have to be made on whether we should or shouldn’t be using genetic engineering for cloning human parts or to alter defects in DNA. I think some kind of compromise is going to be made. Like if there is a way to not kill embryo’s when extracting stem cells and if strict rules are placed on what is screened in DNA and what is altered then maybe it will be more excepted by society.
Work Cited:
Self Evaluation
Overall I enjoyed the challenge of this Unit and class. After I made my way through the first compendium review I felt like I was finally on a role and into the subject matter. After finishing both reviews and one of the labs I started getting burnt out and felt very distant and brain dead. What did I feel to be most helpful. I think was to be able to see that other students were pushing forward and keep turning things in. It kept me motivated to try and stay caught up with them. When it came time to do the cell lab I was very confused because everyone was turing in different types of projects. It wasn't until I read the directions that I decided to turn in everything I could think of that would cover the material. I think one of the most suprising thing was that I did not think I was going to finish as much as I did since I started late in the class. I'm most proud of is my Cell I think it turned out really well and I was really proud of it and also really liked my mitosis stages. One other thing I liked was the microscope I found it to be very fun. I really wish I would have made more time to turn in the essay and I also think I could have put more time in the second online lab. This coming unit my goal is to turn everything in before its all due. I think overall I did a fairly good job besides the essay so I think I should get most of the points.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Cell lab Unit 1
Model of Cell
I made a model of a living animal cell. To show what the different parts look like and do. The materials that I used are as follows; play dough, skittles, a plum, a grape, nuddles, walnuts, rope candy.
The Nucleus is composed of three parts the nuclear envelope, chromatin, and nucleolus. The Nuclear envelope is the outer shell of the nucleus. The chromatin consists of DNA, RNA and proteins that form chromosomes during cell division. The nucleolus is in ribosomal RNA sythesis and the formation of ribosomes.
These two diagrams above are showing new complementary DNA nucleotides fit into place by complementary base pairing. For example G's always with C's and T's always with A's. So basically the old strangs in blue combining with the new strands in purple.
I made a model of a living animal cell. To show what the different parts look like and do. The materials that I used are as follows; play dough, skittles, a plum, a grape, nuddles, walnuts, rope candy.
The Nucleus is composed of three parts the nuclear envelope, chromatin, and nucleolus. The Nuclear envelope is the outer shell of the nucleus. The chromatin consists of DNA, RNA and proteins that form chromosomes during cell division. The nucleolus is in ribosomal RNA sythesis and the formation of ribosomes.
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) is composed of rough ER and smooth ER. Rough ERis studded with ribosomes and in involved in the transportation of materials. While smooth ER does not have ribosomes and synthesizes lipid molecules.
Ribosomes are where protein synthesis takes place.
Mitochondrion are organelles that carry out cellular respiration which produces ATP molecules. Mitochondrion is responsible for producing energy.
Polyribosome are a cluster of ribosomes that simultaneously synthesize protein. Polyribosmoes are connected by a strand of messenger RNA.
Golgi apparatus processes, packages and secretes secretory and synthetic products from the endoplasmic reticulum. The finished product is released into the cell cytoplasm or to the outside of the cell.
Vesicle is a small sac that stores and transports substances.
A lysosome is a vesicle that contains enzymes that digest macromolecules and even cell parts.
Actin filaments are protein fibers that help the movement of the cell and organelles.
Centrioles are cylindrical structures that have microtubules. These form asters during mitosis.
Centrosome is the same region in the cell cytoplasm that contains two centrioles.
Intermediate filaments are also protein fibers but they provide support and strength to the cell.
Cytoplasm a semifluid clearish substance that contains the cytosol, organelles, cytoskeleton, and other particles.
Plasma membrane is the out shell of the cell that allows the entrance and exit of molecules. It is composed of protein and phosholipid.
Microtubules are a tube-shaped protein structure. They help to maintain the shape of a cell and also assist in forming the cell spindle fibers during cell division. They are present in the cytoplasm, centrioles, cillia, and flagella.
Cell Division
The following show the stages of Mitosis, cell division, and what takes place during each stage. For simplicity reasons only four chromosomes are shown in diagrams.
During early prophase the nuclear envelope starts to fall apart and the centrosomes have duplicated and the chromatin in the nucleus starts to change into chromosomes.
By now the nucleolus has completely disappeared and the chromosomes are now visible. The centrosomes start moving away from each other and spindle fibers start forming.
The chromatids are attached to spindle fibers that stretch out from each spindle ploe and overlap.
Sister chromatids represented by the red and blue x's are duplicated chromosomes each one is attached to a spindle fiber by the centromeres and are aligned at the center of the cell. The spindle poles are now at opposite sides of the cell.
Thes sister chromatids part from each other and move in opposite direction towards the spindle poles. This insures that each side receives the same number and kind of daughter chromosomes.
Daughter cells that are exact copies of the parent cell start forming and the nuclear envelopes and nucleoli start to reappear. The chromosomes will become chromatin.
Each chromosome is made up of a double stranded DNA refered to as a double helix. DNA is a nucleic acid and is the genetic material of all organism. Below showns how when the DNA double helix is unwound it resembles a latter. The verticle supports are made up of sugar (S) and phospate (P) molecules and the horizontal steps are complementary bases.
The following is a demonstration of DNA replication which takes place during cell division.
These two diagrams above are showing new complementary DNA nucleotides fit into place by complementary base pairing. For example G's always with C's and T's always with A's. So basically the old strangs in blue combining with the new strands in purple.
To complete the process an enzyme seals any breaks in the sugar-phosphate leaving two identical DNA molecules. Each one has an old strand from the parent and a new strand from the daughter. The replication is complete.
I hope with these diagrams you better understand the parts of a cell, the stages of cell division and how DNA replicates.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Online Lab 2 Unit 1
Genetic Inheritance
Every generation receives a set of genes from each parent. These genes have been passed down from each generation and slowly evolve and change each time two different organisms get together to produce offspring. This is referred to as genetic inheritance and is very important because it what makes you who you are and is why you are so much like you parents. Every human has evolved to have; two hands, two feet, eyes, toes, and fingers the basic characteristics, but depending on what was genetically inherited is what determines if you have long or short fingers and toes, blue or brown eye, or straight versus curly hair. These are a few of the many characteristics that are passed on to each offspring. Some traits that are passed on are not always good like tay-sachs disease, downs syndrome, baldness, and color blindness. While some traits are better than others they all make up who you are and become.
Every generation receives a set of genes from each parent. These genes have been passed down from each generation and slowly evolve and change each time two different organisms get together to produce offspring. This is referred to as genetic inheritance and is very important because it what makes you who you are and is why you are so much like you parents. Every human has evolved to have; two hands, two feet, eyes, toes, and fingers the basic characteristics, but depending on what was genetically inherited is what determines if you have long or short fingers and toes, blue or brown eye, or straight versus curly hair. These are a few of the many characteristics that are passed on to each offspring. Some traits that are passed on are not always good like tay-sachs disease, downs syndrome, baldness, and color blindness. While some traits are better than others they all make up who you are and become.
The following general terms help to understand genetic inheritance. A genotype is the actual genetic makeup of a person that is coded into the DNA of an organism, it’s a specific trait or an entire set of traits. A phenotype though is the appearance of an organism caused by the genotype and the environment. Alternative forms of a gene having the same position on a pair of chromosomes that control the same trait are called alleles. Alleles always come in pairs, dominant alleles are demonstrated by upper case letters and recessive alleles are represented by lower case letters. When two organisms breed to produce offspring a cross is the result. Dominant and recessive alleles that are inherited determine the phenotype. It takes two recessive traits to take presidency over a dominant trait. Whether is a dominant trait or recessive trait is passed depends if the parents are homozygous dominant, homozygous recessive or heterozygous. A homozygous parent will have two of the same type of alleles. Homozygous dominant means both alleles are the dominant trait represented by capital letters like EE. Homozygous recessive is when both alleles are a recessive trait represented by lower case letters like ee. While a heterozygous parent will have both a dominant and a recessive trait represented by an upper and lower case letter, Ee.
This picture is of two dragons that have different alleles inheritad by their parents. My dragon is the red dragon who inherited the recessive allele for horns (hh) so he did not inherit horns. The red dragon inherited the alleles LL so he developed legs unlike the blue dragon. By changing the alleles that were passed on when the parents genotypes crossed the dragons will look the same, having the same phenotype which is shown below.
The dominant and recessive alleles were changed to make those of the first dragon. By doing this they both have the same genotype and phenotype and look the same.
This punnett square demonstrates how homozygous parents alleles cross. The object was to make a cross between a homozygous dominant long-winged fly and a homozygous recessive vestigial-winged fly to determine what offspring they will produce. The homozygous dominant fly has alleles LL and is placed along the top of the punnett square. The homozygous recessive fly has alleles ll and are along the side of the punnett square. To determine the offspring the alleles are crossed which is shown inside the punnett square. The offspring produced are 4 heterozygous long-winged flyies.
In conclusion I hope these three diagrams showed how genotypes, can be manipulated to make organisms look the same and how alleles come in pairs and determine what an organisms develops and how they look based on what is genetically inherited by their parents. Both parents have homozygous dominant or recessive or heterozygous genotypes that are pass down there off spring. Like demonstrated in the punnett square all four offspring were long-winged flies. This does not mean that all offspring will look alike. That punnett square was only demonstrating what type of wings were going to be inherited. This process of crossing alleles takes place for every genotype. Which is what makes every individual unique.
Work Cited
http://biologica.concord.org/webtest1/web_labs_genophenotype.htm (dragon lab)
http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_05/BL_05.html (punnette square)
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