My Performance
1. For this unit the assignments were not quite as challenging as the previous three units but I still liked doing the lab and I thought the process of doing the lab did give me some insight into the interactions I have with species during a normal day.
2. As usual when time gets short some assignments are going to pay the price and unit four is no exception to my rule of procrastination. My compendium review did suffer a little but still better then the compendium review I did in unit 3.
3. I am going to go with a low A as my grade of choice, since this is our last unit in human biology.
4. Just like all the previous units I could definitely use better time management and less procrastination. I do end up getting most of the assignments done on time, but I think I will be much better in the class room environment where there is more time management structure. My personal downfall……….
The unit
1. I think when I was working on the final lab for the course, this assignment really helped bring all the aspects of the unit together.
2. The very begging of the unit I was not very focused and it took me a week or so to really get rolling on the assignments and labs.
3. After doing three other units previously this particular unit went fairly smooth and I did not really have any difficult questions which need answering.
4. I think my response to question number 3 would work just as well for this question also.
5. In this unit I did not really have a good in-depth understanding of how bad our current population growth was, and how much it impacted the environment and global resources. So it was a little alarming to read and learn about all the negatives associated with this units major topics.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Compendium Review Ch.16,17,22,23,24
Compendium Review Unit V
Table of contents:
Male and Female Reproductive systems
Birth Control
STDs
Fertilization
Pregnancy and birth
Origin of Life
Charles Darwin
Human and Primates
Human Evolution
Ecosystems
Water Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle
Human Population Growth
MDCs and LDCs
Resources and Pollution
Biodiversity
Mitosis: is the process of cell division, where cells divide and have the exact same number of chromosomes as the original cell. These cells are used for growth, replacement or repair of other cells.
Meiosis: Is the process of the sex cells dividing from a man and women each with half the total number of chromosomes (46, 2n, diploid) in each cell (23, n. haploid). When the cells from a man (sperm) and a women (egg) combine the new cell is the zygote and it will have the new combination of 46 chromosomes.
Male reproductive organs : Testes, epididymides, vasa deferentia, seminal vesicles, prostate gland, urethra, bulbourethral glands, and penis.
Testes: are used to produce sperm and the sex hormones for males. The male sex hormones are produced in the testies as well.
Epididymides: This is where most sperm are stored and mature, after they leave they enter the vasa deferentia.
Vasa deferentia: Also a storage place for sperm, from here sperm enter an ejaculatory duct to the urethra.
Seminal vesicles: adds nutrients to the semen in the form of fluid
Prostate gland: contributes to the fluid the sperm will be traveling in
Urethra: is the outlet and path the sperm uses from storage to the woman’s vagina
Bulbourethral glands: adds its on mucus type fluid to the collection to help with sperm, this is a gland/organ about pea-sized.
Penis: the male organ used for intercourse, when the sperm leave the penis in semen fluid.
Spermatogenesis: is the process sperm go threw from a sex cell to a developed sperm, this occurs in three stages, mitosis, meiosis I and meiosis II.
Sperm: Mature sperm have three distinct parts a tail made of flagellum, middle piece which contains mitochondria to get energy from the semen and a head containing the nucleus.
Hypothalamus: controls the testes and production of sperm by releasing hormones called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and follicle-stimulation hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones work in a system of negative feedback, as one is being produced in large amounts the other one decreases to a point where the hypothalamus stops production on that hormone and again increase production on the other types of hormones this keeps a constant supply of sperm with out to much at any one time.
Testosterone: is the main male sex hormone and is responsible for the growth and development of sex organs, also causes puberty and the bodies changes which occur.
Female reproductive system: Ovaries, Oviducts, Uterus (womb), cervix, vagina
Ovaries: produce eggs and sex hormones for women
Oviducts: holds the egg and is the place sperm travel to when attempting to fertilize and egg.
Uterus: has a sticky surface where the fertilized egg can nest as it starts to develop, the uterus is designed to expand as the zygote develops and grows larger.
Cervix: is the are that connects the uterus to the vagina and is located at nearly a right angle to the vagina
Vagina: female sex organ, can also extend and become larger for both the penis and during the process of giving birth, when the egg and associated fluid is not fertilized within a short period during a woman’s period the vagina is the exit point.
The external genitals of a women are collectively called the vulva and consist of the mons pubis, glans clitoris, urethra, vagina, labia minora, labia majora, and the anus.
Follicles: are contained within the ovaries and each one holds an immature egg.
Ovulation: is the process where the egg bursts from the vesicular follicle and travels to the oviduct ready to be fertilized.
Oogenesis: is the process of an immature egg undergoing meiosis after it is fertilized by a sperm to become a developing zygote.
The Female sex hormones
Estrogen/progesterone: is the hormone mainly responsible for a females development during puberty, and both estrogen and progesterone are used for developing breasts.
Menopause: is the process where woman around the age of 45-55 stop having ovarian cycles, there is still a lickely hood of pregnancy so women are not fully through this cycle until a year after there last menstruation.
Birth Control: The most common birth control methods
Abstinence (boring), intrauterine device, hormone skin patch, depo-provera, diaphragm and spermicidal jelly, female condom, male condom, implant, oral contraception.
Operations/physician needed: intrauterine device (IUD), Vasectomy (for men) and tubal ligation (for woman).
Assisted Reproductive technologies:
Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID), In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT), Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs):
HIV/AIDs: known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, there is no cure but drug treatment can help keep the disease under control. This virus effects the helper T cells lymphocyte and macrophages taking over the cell and producing more virus cells. Eventually the immune system will be so weak an opertunistic disease will kill you normally pneumonia.
Genital Warts: the human papillomaviruses (HPVs) common signs are warts which can be surgically removed
Genital Herpes: Herpes type 2 causes cold sores and blisters, when ruptured can be painful and lead to the risk of other STDs.
Hepatitis: can cause death by infecting the liver with liver cancer, can be spread threw sexual contact by blood borne transmition. There is a vaccine which most people get at a young age for hepatitis A, and B.
Chlamydia: is a bacterium with generally mild affects but can cause burning sensations in the penis during discharge, easily treated.
Gonorrhea: caused by bacteria will normally cause pain during urination but can also lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Can also spread to internal parts of the body causing many other complications.
Syphilis: Normally has 3 stages with the last stage being death. Caused by bacteria which can be treated with penicillin, if not treated a person will get a nasty chancre (open wound) where the bacteria entered, then spots all over the body, and finally nasty gummas (large open wounds, with bleeding) on the body and internal organs.
Chapter 17
Fertilization: is the term used when a sperm enters and fuses with an egg creating the first cell of a new baby the zygote. In normal fertilization only one sperm will enter the egg, as soon as one sperm enters enzymes are produced which make the outer layer of the egg inpenitrable.
The Process of Development:
Cleavage (cell division), Growth (daughter cells increase in size), Morphogenesis (shaping of embryo), Differentiation (first system is visible, nervous system)
Extraembryonic Membranes:
These membranes perform functions outside of the fetus but which contribute to the fetus developing, such as carrying nutrients and oxygen rich blood to the fetus and taking away waste and blood from the fetus. Chorion, Allantois, Yolk sac, Amnion.
3 stages of development of fetus: pre-embryonic development, embryonic, and fetal development.
Pre-embryonic: starts immediately following fertilization, in this phase the zygote starts to divide many different times, and the extraembryonic membranes (chorion) start do develop and contribute to the fetus.
Embryonic development: this stage occurs at the end of the first week into the second month, basically hormones are produced which will keep the pregnancy continuing through the term. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is secreted and acts like the luteinizing hormone (LH) after this hormone dissinigrates, this stage all has the remainder of the extraembryonic membranes to develop. During this stage the there are three primary germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm) all organs of a baby can be traced to one of these layers.
Fetal Development: By this stage all organs and human systems are developing and starting to function, blood is being pumped to the fetus, but the mothers blood and babies blood never mix. Each system in a developing embryo is vulnerable to substance abuse at different times during a pregnancy. By the third and fourth months the baby looks like a human baby and is increasing in size and weight more rapidly.
Male and Female Genitals:
For the first 6 weeks of development the fetus has the same developing organs and the sex is not distinguishable. Both have gonads, mullerian duct, wolffian duct, probladder, kidney, ureter, and cloaca. If the gene SRY is present the wolffian duct develops into testes and testosterone is produced, if the gene is not present then the wolffian duct develops into ovaries. In males one other hormone called drotestosterone (DHT) is responsible for external genitals of males to develop.
3 Stages of birth
Stage 1: the first stage of labor is marked by contractions of the uterus, as the uterus is pulled upward toward the baby’s head.
Stage 2: in stage two the contractions speed up and occur every 1-2 minutes. These contractions are felt with more urgency and the woman will desire to start pushing. The second stage includes the entire birth of the baby and until the baby is breathing normally on its own.
Stage 3: is the afterbirth where the placenta and all associated membranes used in the birthing process are expelled out threw the vagina.
Chapter 22
Earth: It is estimated that earth as we know it today started forming about 10 million years ago. As the earth started to form its mass was large enough to build an atmosphere which at this time was inhospitable to any life ( gases from volcanoes, water vapor, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and almost no oxygen). As the earth started to cool the clouds in the atmosphere started producing rain and the oceans were formed leading the way to life.
Small Organic Molecules: Primitive gases eventually started reacting with each other fueled by energy from volcanoes gases reacting with each other produced small organic compounds.
Macromolecules: two popular hypothesis explain how small organic molecules turned into macromolecules, the first is RNA-first hypothesis. This hypothesis states that at first only RNA and not DNA was needed for reproduction, this is because the RNA has different enzymes which could have been used as substitutes for the lack of DNA allowing reproduction and then eventually DNA to form. The second line of thought is protein-first hypothesis, this one states amino acids collected in small pools of water from waves and reacted with the suns energy to form small polypeptides. When these small proteinoids returned to the water they resembled a cell.
Protocell: A protocell would have been the most likely next stage, having a metabolism eating abundant small food from the ocean. This cell would have been a fermenter (makes its own oxygen) and a heterotroph (eats preformed food).
True Cell: Both hypothesis stated up above have explanations for how the first true cell got both DNA for cell division and proteins for the replication process, in any case modern cells can use DNA to make exact replicas of itself and thus sustain all living organisms.
Common Decent: is the theory that all living things came from simple beginnings and we all came from the same simple organism millions of years ago. This hypothesis is confirmed by the vast amount of fossil history we have uncovered showing all living species came from the water and from the same species started to develop into different species threw evolution and millions of years.
Archaeopteryx: Are fossil evidence of our common ancestory and shows a evolutionary connection between reptile and land animals (this species links these two groups of animals)
Ambulocetus: Are fossils of another animal which represents an evolutionary link between terrestrial land animals and whales.
Charles Darwin: theory explains how species of animals or plants or any living thing on earth has evolved to best fit there environment and survive in difficult regions. He basically states that threw hundreds or thousands of offspring from any given organism there will be a few who have slightly changed genetic genes which gives them an advantage over the rest of there relatives in a specific environment. These slightly improved organisms mate or reproduce and threw natural selection and limited amounts of food and resources over many generations all the future offspring now have those characteristics. So in a nut shell only the strong with the best genes survive to reproduce others.
Classifications of Humans: humans are Homo sapiens which are modern humans with developed speech, culture and highly developed brains.
Relationship between Humans and Primates: its important to note we are not decendents of modern chimpanzees or apes because we are all living during the same time period, they are distant cousins of ours and we all developed from the same tree climbing ancestor some 70 million years ago.
Lucy: the fossil findings of Lucy are very important because it shows the link from ancient Australopithecines and how we evolved from them to modern humans. Lucy was an Australopithecines. Afarensis found in Eastern Africa and helps support the theory that all of human evolution most likely started in Africa and through competition a curious nature and migration expanded from Africa to all other continents today.
Human Evolution: As millions of years passed humans become more developed and sophisticated during different periods of time. Our bodies have also changed from our ancestors who were built bigger for hunting to us which in comparison are smaller in stature. Neandertals had massive muscles made stone tools, were excellent hunters, had a form of speech to coordinate there hunting for bigger game, and used fire. Cro-Magnon made more sophisticated tools, had a developed culture and artistic talents. This group made pictures inside of caves showing the ability to think and draw but also most likely and advanced from of communication and language. Modern humans have different posture and physical build then our ancestors as well as large brains for more complex thought process.
Chapter 23
Table of contents:
Male and Female Reproductive systems
Birth Control
STDs
Fertilization
Pregnancy and birth
Origin of Life
Charles Darwin
Human and Primates
Human Evolution
Ecosystems
Water Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Phosphorus Cycle
Human Population Growth
MDCs and LDCs
Resources and Pollution
Biodiversity
Mitosis: is the process of cell division, where cells divide and have the exact same number of chromosomes as the original cell. These cells are used for growth, replacement or repair of other cells.
Meiosis: Is the process of the sex cells dividing from a man and women each with half the total number of chromosomes (46, 2n, diploid) in each cell (23, n. haploid). When the cells from a man (sperm) and a women (egg) combine the new cell is the zygote and it will have the new combination of 46 chromosomes.
Male reproductive organs : Testes, epididymides, vasa deferentia, seminal vesicles, prostate gland, urethra, bulbourethral glands, and penis.
Testes: are used to produce sperm and the sex hormones for males. The male sex hormones are produced in the testies as well.
Epididymides: This is where most sperm are stored and mature, after they leave they enter the vasa deferentia.
Vasa deferentia: Also a storage place for sperm, from here sperm enter an ejaculatory duct to the urethra.
Seminal vesicles: adds nutrients to the semen in the form of fluid
Prostate gland: contributes to the fluid the sperm will be traveling in
Urethra: is the outlet and path the sperm uses from storage to the woman’s vagina
Bulbourethral glands: adds its on mucus type fluid to the collection to help with sperm, this is a gland/organ about pea-sized.
Penis: the male organ used for intercourse, when the sperm leave the penis in semen fluid.
Spermatogenesis: is the process sperm go threw from a sex cell to a developed sperm, this occurs in three stages, mitosis, meiosis I and meiosis II.
Sperm: Mature sperm have three distinct parts a tail made of flagellum, middle piece which contains mitochondria to get energy from the semen and a head containing the nucleus.
Hypothalamus: controls the testes and production of sperm by releasing hormones called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and follicle-stimulation hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones work in a system of negative feedback, as one is being produced in large amounts the other one decreases to a point where the hypothalamus stops production on that hormone and again increase production on the other types of hormones this keeps a constant supply of sperm with out to much at any one time.
Testosterone: is the main male sex hormone and is responsible for the growth and development of sex organs, also causes puberty and the bodies changes which occur.
Female reproductive system: Ovaries, Oviducts, Uterus (womb), cervix, vagina
Ovaries: produce eggs and sex hormones for women
Oviducts: holds the egg and is the place sperm travel to when attempting to fertilize and egg.
Uterus: has a sticky surface where the fertilized egg can nest as it starts to develop, the uterus is designed to expand as the zygote develops and grows larger.
Cervix: is the are that connects the uterus to the vagina and is located at nearly a right angle to the vagina
Vagina: female sex organ, can also extend and become larger for both the penis and during the process of giving birth, when the egg and associated fluid is not fertilized within a short period during a woman’s period the vagina is the exit point.
The external genitals of a women are collectively called the vulva and consist of the mons pubis, glans clitoris, urethra, vagina, labia minora, labia majora, and the anus.
Follicles: are contained within the ovaries and each one holds an immature egg.
Ovulation: is the process where the egg bursts from the vesicular follicle and travels to the oviduct ready to be fertilized.
Oogenesis: is the process of an immature egg undergoing meiosis after it is fertilized by a sperm to become a developing zygote.
The Female sex hormones
Estrogen/progesterone: is the hormone mainly responsible for a females development during puberty, and both estrogen and progesterone are used for developing breasts.
Menopause: is the process where woman around the age of 45-55 stop having ovarian cycles, there is still a lickely hood of pregnancy so women are not fully through this cycle until a year after there last menstruation.
Birth Control: The most common birth control methods
Abstinence (boring), intrauterine device, hormone skin patch, depo-provera, diaphragm and spermicidal jelly, female condom, male condom, implant, oral contraception.
Operations/physician needed: intrauterine device (IUD), Vasectomy (for men) and tubal ligation (for woman).
Assisted Reproductive technologies:
Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID), In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT), Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI).
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs):
HIV/AIDs: known as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, there is no cure but drug treatment can help keep the disease under control. This virus effects the helper T cells lymphocyte and macrophages taking over the cell and producing more virus cells. Eventually the immune system will be so weak an opertunistic disease will kill you normally pneumonia.
Genital Warts: the human papillomaviruses (HPVs) common signs are warts which can be surgically removed
Genital Herpes: Herpes type 2 causes cold sores and blisters, when ruptured can be painful and lead to the risk of other STDs.
Hepatitis: can cause death by infecting the liver with liver cancer, can be spread threw sexual contact by blood borne transmition. There is a vaccine which most people get at a young age for hepatitis A, and B.
Chlamydia: is a bacterium with generally mild affects but can cause burning sensations in the penis during discharge, easily treated.
Gonorrhea: caused by bacteria will normally cause pain during urination but can also lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). Can also spread to internal parts of the body causing many other complications.
Syphilis: Normally has 3 stages with the last stage being death. Caused by bacteria which can be treated with penicillin, if not treated a person will get a nasty chancre (open wound) where the bacteria entered, then spots all over the body, and finally nasty gummas (large open wounds, with bleeding) on the body and internal organs.
Chapter 17
Fertilization: is the term used when a sperm enters and fuses with an egg creating the first cell of a new baby the zygote. In normal fertilization only one sperm will enter the egg, as soon as one sperm enters enzymes are produced which make the outer layer of the egg inpenitrable.
The Process of Development:
Cleavage (cell division), Growth (daughter cells increase in size), Morphogenesis (shaping of embryo), Differentiation (first system is visible, nervous system)
Extraembryonic Membranes:
These membranes perform functions outside of the fetus but which contribute to the fetus developing, such as carrying nutrients and oxygen rich blood to the fetus and taking away waste and blood from the fetus. Chorion, Allantois, Yolk sac, Amnion.
3 stages of development of fetus: pre-embryonic development, embryonic, and fetal development.
Pre-embryonic: starts immediately following fertilization, in this phase the zygote starts to divide many different times, and the extraembryonic membranes (chorion) start do develop and contribute to the fetus.
Embryonic development: this stage occurs at the end of the first week into the second month, basically hormones are produced which will keep the pregnancy continuing through the term. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) is secreted and acts like the luteinizing hormone (LH) after this hormone dissinigrates, this stage all has the remainder of the extraembryonic membranes to develop. During this stage the there are three primary germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm) all organs of a baby can be traced to one of these layers.
Fetal Development: By this stage all organs and human systems are developing and starting to function, blood is being pumped to the fetus, but the mothers blood and babies blood never mix. Each system in a developing embryo is vulnerable to substance abuse at different times during a pregnancy. By the third and fourth months the baby looks like a human baby and is increasing in size and weight more rapidly.
Male and Female Genitals:
For the first 6 weeks of development the fetus has the same developing organs and the sex is not distinguishable. Both have gonads, mullerian duct, wolffian duct, probladder, kidney, ureter, and cloaca. If the gene SRY is present the wolffian duct develops into testes and testosterone is produced, if the gene is not present then the wolffian duct develops into ovaries. In males one other hormone called drotestosterone (DHT) is responsible for external genitals of males to develop.
3 Stages of birth
Stage 1: the first stage of labor is marked by contractions of the uterus, as the uterus is pulled upward toward the baby’s head.
Stage 2: in stage two the contractions speed up and occur every 1-2 minutes. These contractions are felt with more urgency and the woman will desire to start pushing. The second stage includes the entire birth of the baby and until the baby is breathing normally on its own.
Stage 3: is the afterbirth where the placenta and all associated membranes used in the birthing process are expelled out threw the vagina.
Chapter 22
Earth: It is estimated that earth as we know it today started forming about 10 million years ago. As the earth started to form its mass was large enough to build an atmosphere which at this time was inhospitable to any life ( gases from volcanoes, water vapor, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and small amounts of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and almost no oxygen). As the earth started to cool the clouds in the atmosphere started producing rain and the oceans were formed leading the way to life.
Small Organic Molecules: Primitive gases eventually started reacting with each other fueled by energy from volcanoes gases reacting with each other produced small organic compounds.
Macromolecules: two popular hypothesis explain how small organic molecules turned into macromolecules, the first is RNA-first hypothesis. This hypothesis states that at first only RNA and not DNA was needed for reproduction, this is because the RNA has different enzymes which could have been used as substitutes for the lack of DNA allowing reproduction and then eventually DNA to form. The second line of thought is protein-first hypothesis, this one states amino acids collected in small pools of water from waves and reacted with the suns energy to form small polypeptides. When these small proteinoids returned to the water they resembled a cell.
Protocell: A protocell would have been the most likely next stage, having a metabolism eating abundant small food from the ocean. This cell would have been a fermenter (makes its own oxygen) and a heterotroph (eats preformed food).
True Cell: Both hypothesis stated up above have explanations for how the first true cell got both DNA for cell division and proteins for the replication process, in any case modern cells can use DNA to make exact replicas of itself and thus sustain all living organisms.
Common Decent: is the theory that all living things came from simple beginnings and we all came from the same simple organism millions of years ago. This hypothesis is confirmed by the vast amount of fossil history we have uncovered showing all living species came from the water and from the same species started to develop into different species threw evolution and millions of years.
Archaeopteryx: Are fossil evidence of our common ancestory and shows a evolutionary connection between reptile and land animals (this species links these two groups of animals)
Ambulocetus: Are fossils of another animal which represents an evolutionary link between terrestrial land animals and whales.
Charles Darwin: theory explains how species of animals or plants or any living thing on earth has evolved to best fit there environment and survive in difficult regions. He basically states that threw hundreds or thousands of offspring from any given organism there will be a few who have slightly changed genetic genes which gives them an advantage over the rest of there relatives in a specific environment. These slightly improved organisms mate or reproduce and threw natural selection and limited amounts of food and resources over many generations all the future offspring now have those characteristics. So in a nut shell only the strong with the best genes survive to reproduce others.
Classifications of Humans: humans are Homo sapiens which are modern humans with developed speech, culture and highly developed brains.
Relationship between Humans and Primates: its important to note we are not decendents of modern chimpanzees or apes because we are all living during the same time period, they are distant cousins of ours and we all developed from the same tree climbing ancestor some 70 million years ago.
Lucy: the fossil findings of Lucy are very important because it shows the link from ancient Australopithecines and how we evolved from them to modern humans. Lucy was an Australopithecines. Afarensis found in Eastern Africa and helps support the theory that all of human evolution most likely started in Africa and through competition a curious nature and migration expanded from Africa to all other continents today.
Human Evolution: As millions of years passed humans become more developed and sophisticated during different periods of time. Our bodies have also changed from our ancestors who were built bigger for hunting to us which in comparison are smaller in stature. Neandertals had massive muscles made stone tools, were excellent hunters, had a form of speech to coordinate there hunting for bigger game, and used fire. Cro-Magnon made more sophisticated tools, had a developed culture and artistic talents. This group made pictures inside of caves showing the ability to think and draw but also most likely and advanced from of communication and language. Modern humans have different posture and physical build then our ancestors as well as large brains for more complex thought process.
Chapter 23
Ecology/Species Lab
As humans we are constantly trying to improve our surroundings with golf courses, trails, and parks. While it is hard to find a reason not to have a park where everyone can go and enjoy some outdoor recreational activities, when humans add parks to the neighborhood they are changing the ecology of that environment. In many cases this will have unforeseen consequences to the near by humans.
Here is a photo of greenlake park, while this recreational area may look very inviting with a nice balance of nature and human interaction, be cautious all is not well.
In this photo you can see the adverse effects which the city planners did not take into account when building green lake park. The park is a safe heaven for a variety of conspicuous trouble makers. One of these trouble makers is responsible for this treachery and many other forms of misdeeds. BIRD SHIT!!
Suspect number one, the canada goose/ducks
Here is a photo of greenlake park, while this recreational area may look very inviting with a nice balance of nature and human interaction, be cautious all is not well.
In this photo you can see the adverse effects which the city planners did not take into account when building green lake park. The park is a safe heaven for a variety of conspicuous trouble makers. One of these trouble makers is responsible for this treachery and many other forms of misdeeds. BIRD SHIT!!
Suspect number one, the canada goose/ducksCanada goose: Here in Seattle at the park I live very close to there are quite often large numbers of geese in the area. And they may be responsible for defecating on my
motorcycle.
Kingdom: Animalia
Species name: Branta canadensis
Common Name: Canada goose
Relationship: Well the geese pretty much just fly around and crap all over every thing eat all the grass on yards and then leave when they want. For me personally they do not hold any positive impacts except fun to look at and feed, and I have to wash my bike many more times then I would like. As a species interacting with humans they are mostly an annoyance especially at golf courses, crops, and people yards, so for most of us the relationship is commensal, the geese benefit from our parks and recreation because they have places to get food and bath in water without being hunted, but they do not really harm us in the long term. For some however who still like to hunt geese there is a predation influence that does have positive benefits for humans, if you like the taste of geese.
I don’t see much future changes in the relationship we have with geese whether it be predation or commensal.
Crow: The crow is my second culprit in the mystery of which bird is crapping on my sport bike, and the crow is a very likely suspect.
Kingdom: Animalia
Common name: American crow
Scientific name: Corvus brachyrhynchos
Relationship: From what I have found on the class websites the crow really does not do much for the human population. The crow is know to eat almost anything it finds including crops, road kill, other small birds, nuts, garbage, really anything. In farming communities crows were thought to be very damaging to crops, but recently it is suggested that the impact is countered by the fact they eat a lot of insects which could be more harmful then the birds themselves. For me they are loud noisy and when a few of them are sitting on power lines making noise as you walk by it’s a little freaky, and of course they may be the bird which owes me at least 2 dollars a month in car washing fees. I would list the crow as a commensal, with the crow being the benificiery of human habitat and humans not really getting anything from the birds.
Since the crow is a scavenger and eats anything I don’t seem them being effected by any type of environmental change, they seem to be very well adapted to any situation for survival and probably will never go away.
Pigeon: The last bird which I suspect of taking a dump on my bike is the pigeon. I have had to clean pigeon guano of my vehicles on many occasion, however where I live I think they may not be the responsible party only because the crows with there large territorial nature seem to keep them away except at the park
Kingdom: Animalia
Family: Columbidae
Common name: Common pigeon
Scientific name: Columba livia
Relationship: The pigeon for the most part is a scavenger as well eating just about any crap it finds. The pigeon feces can cause human illness and they pretty much crap on anything indiscrimenatly. I have read that there are individuals who do eat pigeons and there eggs. In previous wars pigeons were used to send messages as well as a food source, but for my interaction with them they don’t do much. So I will say our relationship is commensal with the pigeon getting the best of the deal and except for illness they can cause which I don’t think I have ever gotten they are not very harmful, unless you have crops and such.
Like crows, pigeons are very adaptive to different environments, cities, parks, rural areas, and they adapt well and breed easily, I don’t see humans relationship with them changing anytime soon.
Beer: My relationship with beer is a very rewarding one, especially if I drink just in moderation. Since I enjoy a good beer with dinner on many occasion this makes me greatly appreciate the main ingredients in beer, hops, wheat, and barley. So the next few species of plants I am going to cover are related to beer and I have a commensal relationship with all three. I also expect this relationship to continue long into the future, though the present growing food shortage and raising gas prices are making it more expensive to perchuse.
Wheat: In wheat beer wheat is used as the majority ingredient and provides a very smooth distinct flavor and aroma. Many wheat beers are top fermented and have some other flavorful ingredients added like banana and cloves.
Kingdom: Plantae
Scientific name: Triticum spp
Barley: The basic cereal grain which is a primary ingredient in making beer. There are three different types of barley used. The seeds grow in two, four, or six rows along the central stem.
Familly: Poaceae
Scientific name: Hordeum vulgare
Hops: Are a flower from a vine which has preservatives that add the essential oils for flavoring. There are bittering hops and there are aroma hops to balance the taste of beer depending on the type of beer you are making.
Scientific name: humulus lupullus
Yeast: Yeast is a unicellular fungi which is essential to brewing beer. Yeast is used to convert the sugars in the wort into alcohol.
Genus: Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Rooster: This is a picture of two of the roosters next to the house I am renting, I see them almost everyday as I walk by
Kingdom: Animalia
Common Name: red junglefowl
Scientific Name: Gallus gallus
Relationship: The rooster along with there breeding into domesticated chickens supply humans with food either from the eggs they lay or from eating the chicken itself.
At first I would say the relationship the rooster/chicken has with humans is symbiotic, we use them in a variety of ways as domesticated animals and there feathers are also used multitudes. In return we provide them with protection from predators and keep them healthy and well fed. The more I thought about the relationship it is also Predation since we as humans eat chickens or there eggs every day.
I think there will always be a strong relationship between humans and chickens as domesticated and wild animals. However this relationship can cause us harm when the chickens we eat catch deadly viruses it is easy for the viruses to spread and then affect the human population.
Wild Cat: Here is a picture of a cat in the neighborhood which the next door neighbors feed but they say the cat will not let them get close, so it is not a pet cat though the term wild cat seems to be senonomas with domesticated cats as well.
Kingdom: Animalia
Common Name: Wild Cat
Scientific Name: Felis silvestris
Relationship: As the powerpoint and text have pointed out the relationship humans have with cats may depend on what part of the world you live in. Here in the states I almost have to go with commensal. My reason is the cat as a domesticated animal gets a lot of benefit and with the one single exception of being cute and furry does not really provide any sustainable benefit for humans (you just play with them). We as humans feed them, give them medical help, and keep them safe for really very little return, of course cat lovers will argue this point. In other parts of the country however they are eaten so then the relationship is more predation, we as humans get more benefit because as we take care of them we also eat them, I personally will never want to eat a cat……
I expect this relationship of cats really getting the best of the evolutionary deal to continue for the distant future.
Grass: I used the word grass to describe the grass I find at the park, but the term is generic and does include many varieties of grass including bamboo. As you can see in the picture my grass is from the park and is recreational in purpose.
Familly: Gramineae (Poaceae
Scientific name: disambiguation
Relationship: We as humans have a very good relationship with grass as the generic term. Grass provides us many uses such as food for cattle, grains, and lawns for recreational use. We as humans in return take care of laws by fertilizing, cutting, and planting new laws, so it’s a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.
Camellia tree: Is an evergreen tree and stays green all year long, though it only blooms twice a year.
Kingdom: Plantae
Scientific name: Camellia sasanqua
Relationship: humans use the oils from the camellia tree for a variety of different applications, one of which helps to keep other insects out of the house and as an ingredient in insecticide. The tree needs lots of water but far to much for a person to actively water the tree, so humans use the oils from the trees and really on prune the tree and protect it, I would say the relationship would be commensal with us as humans getting the bigger benefit but not harming the trees themselves.
Dandelion: Are weeds which are generally considered a nuisance by most people. Weeds can be harmful to other native plants in your garden and can spread very quickly to become dominant. I would have to do more research to see if there are any benefits dandelions have for humans, but as of now I have to go and weed the lawn which is a pain so I am going to label them as parasitic in nature.
Kingdom: Plantae
Scientific name: Disambiguation
Genus: TaraxacumI do not see any change in the relationship humans have with dandelions, we try to kill them by weeding or chemically and they just keep growing back at will.
Salmon: One of my favorite foods for dinner. Fish in general are very healthy for you and in my opinion taste better then most prepared meats. While hamburgers have a lot of fats and cholesterol, fish has far less making it much healthier.
Family: Salmonidae
Common name: Atlantic salmon
Scientific name: Salmo salar
Relationship: In general I would have to say the relationship is parasitic, we humans eat salmon and fish them and in return we really don’t do much for them. If there were no humans left to eat fish and they only had natural predators they would thrive. Humans are also very damaging to the salmons natural habitat which is hurting the salmon population as well.
Quick Refrence of terms:
Symbiotic = Mutually beneficial, both species benefit.
Parasitic = One species benefits (parasite) and the other is harmed (host)
Commensal = One species benefits, the other is unharmed
Mutualism = Both species benefit, like symbiosis, but it may one species may seem to have a bigger advantage however in the long run they will both benefit.
Predation = A version of parasitic, one species is the predator, however the other species can still be viewed as having a benefit like in mutualistic.
motorcycle.
Kingdom: Animalia
Species name: Branta canadensis
Common Name: Canada goose
Relationship: Well the geese pretty much just fly around and crap all over every thing eat all the grass on yards and then leave when they want. For me personally they do not hold any positive impacts except fun to look at and feed, and I have to wash my bike many more times then I would like. As a species interacting with humans they are mostly an annoyance especially at golf courses, crops, and people yards, so for most of us the relationship is commensal, the geese benefit from our parks and recreation because they have places to get food and bath in water without being hunted, but they do not really harm us in the long term. For some however who still like to hunt geese there is a predation influence that does have positive benefits for humans, if you like the taste of geese.
I don’t see much future changes in the relationship we have with geese whether it be predation or commensal.
Crow: The crow is my second culprit in the mystery of which bird is crapping on my sport bike, and the crow is a very likely suspect.Kingdom: Animalia
Common name: American crow
Scientific name: Corvus brachyrhynchos
Relationship: From what I have found on the class websites the crow really does not do much for the human population. The crow is know to eat almost anything it finds including crops, road kill, other small birds, nuts, garbage, really anything. In farming communities crows were thought to be very damaging to crops, but recently it is suggested that the impact is countered by the fact they eat a lot of insects which could be more harmful then the birds themselves. For me they are loud noisy and when a few of them are sitting on power lines making noise as you walk by it’s a little freaky, and of course they may be the bird which owes me at least 2 dollars a month in car washing fees. I would list the crow as a commensal, with the crow being the benificiery of human habitat and humans not really getting anything from the birds.
Since the crow is a scavenger and eats anything I don’t seem them being effected by any type of environmental change, they seem to be very well adapted to any situation for survival and probably will never go away.
Pigeon: The last bird which I suspect of taking a dump on my bike is the pigeon. I have had to clean pigeon guano of my vehicles on many occasion, however where I live I think they may not be the responsible party only because the crows with there large territorial nature seem to keep them away except at the parkKingdom: Animalia
Family: Columbidae
Common name: Common pigeon
Scientific name: Columba livia
Relationship: The pigeon for the most part is a scavenger as well eating just about any crap it finds. The pigeon feces can cause human illness and they pretty much crap on anything indiscrimenatly. I have read that there are individuals who do eat pigeons and there eggs. In previous wars pigeons were used to send messages as well as a food source, but for my interaction with them they don’t do much. So I will say our relationship is commensal with the pigeon getting the best of the deal and except for illness they can cause which I don’t think I have ever gotten they are not very harmful, unless you have crops and such.
Like crows, pigeons are very adaptive to different environments, cities, parks, rural areas, and they adapt well and breed easily, I don’t see humans relationship with them changing anytime soon.
Beer: My relationship with beer is a very rewarding one, especially if I drink just in moderation. Since I enjoy a good beer with dinner on many occasion this makes me greatly appreciate the main ingredients in beer, hops, wheat, and barley. So the next few species of plants I am going to cover are related to beer and I have a commensal relationship with all three. I also expect this relationship to continue long into the future, though the present growing food shortage and raising gas prices are making it more expensive to perchuse.Wheat: In wheat beer wheat is used as the majority ingredient and provides a very smooth distinct flavor and aroma. Many wheat beers are top fermented and have some other flavorful ingredients added like banana and cloves.
Kingdom: Plantae
Scientific name: Triticum spp
Barley: The basic cereal grain which is a primary ingredient in making beer. There are three different types of barley used. The seeds grow in two, four, or six rows along the central stem.
Familly: Poaceae
Scientific name: Hordeum vulgare
Hops: Are a flower from a vine which has preservatives that add the essential oils for flavoring. There are bittering hops and there are aroma hops to balance the taste of beer depending on the type of beer you are making.
Scientific name: humulus lupullus
Yeast: Yeast is a unicellular fungi which is essential to brewing beer. Yeast is used to convert the sugars in the wort into alcohol.
Genus: Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Rooster: This is a picture of two of the roosters next to the house I am renting, I see them almost everyday as I walk byKingdom: Animalia
Common Name: red junglefowl
Scientific Name: Gallus gallus
Relationship: The rooster along with there breeding into domesticated chickens supply humans with food either from the eggs they lay or from eating the chicken itself.
At first I would say the relationship the rooster/chicken has with humans is symbiotic, we use them in a variety of ways as domesticated animals and there feathers are also used multitudes. In return we provide them with protection from predators and keep them healthy and well fed. The more I thought about the relationship it is also Predation since we as humans eat chickens or there eggs every day.
I think there will always be a strong relationship between humans and chickens as domesticated and wild animals. However this relationship can cause us harm when the chickens we eat catch deadly viruses it is easy for the viruses to spread and then affect the human population.
Wild Cat: Here is a picture of a cat in the neighborhood which the next door neighbors feed but they say the cat will not let them get close, so it is not a pet cat though the term wild cat seems to be senonomas with domesticated cats as well.Kingdom: Animalia
Common Name: Wild Cat
Scientific Name: Felis silvestris
Relationship: As the powerpoint and text have pointed out the relationship humans have with cats may depend on what part of the world you live in. Here in the states I almost have to go with commensal. My reason is the cat as a domesticated animal gets a lot of benefit and with the one single exception of being cute and furry does not really provide any sustainable benefit for humans (you just play with them). We as humans feed them, give them medical help, and keep them safe for really very little return, of course cat lovers will argue this point. In other parts of the country however they are eaten so then the relationship is more predation, we as humans get more benefit because as we take care of them we also eat them, I personally will never want to eat a cat……
I expect this relationship of cats really getting the best of the evolutionary deal to continue for the distant future.
Grass: I used the word grass to describe the grass I find at the park, but the term is generic and does include many varieties of grass including bamboo. As you can see in the picture my grass is from the park and is recreational in purpose.Familly: Gramineae (Poaceae
Scientific name: disambiguation
Relationship: We as humans have a very good relationship with grass as the generic term. Grass provides us many uses such as food for cattle, grains, and lawns for recreational use. We as humans in return take care of laws by fertilizing, cutting, and planting new laws, so it’s a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.
Camellia tree: Is an evergreen tree and stays green all year long, though it only blooms twice a year.Kingdom: Plantae
Scientific name: Camellia sasanqua
Relationship: humans use the oils from the camellia tree for a variety of different applications, one of which helps to keep other insects out of the house and as an ingredient in insecticide. The tree needs lots of water but far to much for a person to actively water the tree, so humans use the oils from the trees and really on prune the tree and protect it, I would say the relationship would be commensal with us as humans getting the bigger benefit but not harming the trees themselves.
Dandelion: Are weeds which are generally considered a nuisance by most people. Weeds can be harmful to other native plants in your garden and can spread very quickly to become dominant. I would have to do more research to see if there are any benefits dandelions have for humans, but as of now I have to go and weed the lawn which is a pain so I am going to label them as parasitic in nature.Kingdom: Plantae
Scientific name: Disambiguation
Genus: TaraxacumI do not see any change in the relationship humans have with dandelions, we try to kill them by weeding or chemically and they just keep growing back at will.
Salmon: One of my favorite foods for dinner. Fish in general are very healthy for you and in my opinion taste better then most prepared meats. While hamburgers have a lot of fats and cholesterol, fish has far less making it much healthier.
Family: Salmonidae
Common name: Atlantic salmon
Scientific name: Salmo salar
Relationship: In general I would have to say the relationship is parasitic, we humans eat salmon and fish them and in return we really don’t do much for them. If there were no humans left to eat fish and they only had natural predators they would thrive. Humans are also very damaging to the salmons natural habitat which is hurting the salmon population as well.
Aurochs: This is the more scientific name for the general name of cow which we use for milk and food as cattle. I do like a good hamburger on occasion but since taking this class I have tried to cut back on my meat intake. My personal experience I either drink or eat a product derived from the aurochs at least 3-4 times a week.
Common name: Cow, Milk Cow, Cattle
Scientific name: Bos Taurus
Relationship: I would have to say maybe the cow falls into the mutualism category, because while we eat them and drink their milk we as humans do also provide them protection from predators, food, and medical care. The ones we use for milk live long lives, though animal rights persons will probably have a comment or two on that subject as well. So while it might seem like we humans take a big advantage from the cows we have in the long run the cow is able to prosper and be safe, until we want a hamburger.
I do not imagine the relationship we have with cows currently is going to change dramatically during my lifetime, it seems like a good working relationship now and why change a good thing.
Tomato: I eat tomatoes in sandwiches, burritos, on salads and in other ways a few times a week. The tomato is easily my favorite vegetable to eat, and I am even considering growing a few tomato plants in the future.
Scientific name: Solanum lycopersicum
Kingdom: Plantae
Relationship: I see the tomato plant and humans working well together as a symbiotic relationship where we help the plant by cultivating, and feed them, and in return we as humans eat the fruit of there labor. Since tomatoes are very easy to grow and can prosper in a variety of environmental conditions the tomato is a good crop and we will continue to use it.
Avocado: Also one of my favorite fruits to eat, I use avocado’s for salads, sandwiches and at work just eating one with a little salt as a snack.
Familly: Lauraceae
Scientific name: Persea americana
Relationship: Very similar to the tomato plant, we as humans use the avocado tree to get its fruit and in return the tree is allowed to thrive and grow. So like the tomato plant either symbiotic or commensal, since we eat the fruit but do not really harm the tree itself.
Scientific name: Bos Taurus
Relationship: I would have to say maybe the cow falls into the mutualism category, because while we eat them and drink their milk we as humans do also provide them protection from predators, food, and medical care. The ones we use for milk live long lives, though animal rights persons will probably have a comment or two on that subject as well. So while it might seem like we humans take a big advantage from the cows we have in the long run the cow is able to prosper and be safe, until we want a hamburger.
I do not imagine the relationship we have with cows currently is going to change dramatically during my lifetime, it seems like a good working relationship now and why change a good thing.
Tomato: I eat tomatoes in sandwiches, burritos, on salads and in other ways a few times a week. The tomato is easily my favorite vegetable to eat, and I am even considering growing a few tomato plants in the future.
Scientific name: Solanum lycopersicum
Kingdom: Plantae
Relationship: I see the tomato plant and humans working well together as a symbiotic relationship where we help the plant by cultivating, and feed them, and in return we as humans eat the fruit of there labor. Since tomatoes are very easy to grow and can prosper in a variety of environmental conditions the tomato is a good crop and we will continue to use it.
Avocado: Also one of my favorite fruits to eat, I use avocado’s for salads, sandwiches and at work just eating one with a little salt as a snack.
Familly: Lauraceae
Scientific name: Persea americana
Relationship: Very similar to the tomato plant, we as humans use the avocado tree to get its fruit and in return the tree is allowed to thrive and grow. So like the tomato plant either symbiotic or commensal, since we eat the fruit but do not really harm the tree itself.
E. Coli
Scientific name: Escherichia coli
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
E.coli are bacteria which are constantly inhabiting the body, mostly in the lower intestines. As with the majority of bacteria in our body E. Coli is generally harmless unless you get certain strains which can cause the body harm. Serotype is a E. coli bacteria which can cause food poising. The strains of E. coli which are of benefit produce vitamin k2 which is beneficial to the body.
Relationship: The normal good strains of E. coli would have a commensal, since humans provide a place for bacteria to live but they do not do us any real harm. The bad bacteria of course have a different relationship with us, more like parasitic in nature. As a human we will always have bacteria in us no matter what we do they are a part of our body.
Common name: Plaque (can be plaque as one example)
Scientific name: Actinomyces
Phylum: Actinobacteria
Actinomyces is an opportunistic bacteria which can cause illness in humans and other animals. Generally actinomyces is found in the mouth but can also be found in the colon. Actinomyces also helps with the decomposition of topsoil and organic plant life. The disease actinomyces can cause are normally in the oral cavity but some species can affect the lungs or gastrointestinal tract. These bacteria are definetaly in the parasitic department and many of us have probably felt there effects and not even known it. Since these bacteria are microscopic I don’t think there relationship with humans is going to change ever.
Body odor: We as humans have all experienced body odor and after taking this course I now know what actually causes body odor. Some bacteria are not bad for the body as I have disgused but when you sweat or get warm these microscopic bacteria multiply quite rapidly and thus start to produce the smell. Natural body odor has a very faint smell and is almost considered odorless, its when you have an increase in bacteria that the smell can be overpowering.
Scientific name: bromhidrosis, bromidrosis, osmidrosis, and ozochrotia
Domain: Bacteria (pathogenic bacteris)
Relationship: Again as with most of the bacteria I have listed the one responsible for body odor is parasitic and since as humans we are always going to sweat, and depending on how hard the body is working, sweat a lot, these bacteria will always be there ready to multiply.
Scientific name: Lactobacillus
Kingdom: Bacteria
One type of species: Lactobacillus acetotolerans
These bacteria are very helpful to the body and basically they help to convert milk in the digestive system which is lactose into sugars and lactic acid. In humans these helpful bacteria are symbiotic and contribute to the gut flora (term for helpful bacteria). Are relationship with these bacteria is very good and it is in humans best interest to keep the on our good side, or in our good side I should say.
Scientific name: Escherichia coli
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
E.coli are bacteria which are constantly inhabiting the body, mostly in the lower intestines. As with the majority of bacteria in our body E. Coli is generally harmless unless you get certain strains which can cause the body harm. Serotype is a E. coli bacteria which can cause food poising. The strains of E. coli which are of benefit produce vitamin k2 which is beneficial to the body.
Relationship: The normal good strains of E. coli would have a commensal, since humans provide a place for bacteria to live but they do not do us any real harm. The bad bacteria of course have a different relationship with us, more like parasitic in nature. As a human we will always have bacteria in us no matter what we do they are a part of our body.
Common name: Plaque (can be plaque as one example)
Scientific name: Actinomyces
Phylum: Actinobacteria
Actinomyces is an opportunistic bacteria which can cause illness in humans and other animals. Generally actinomyces is found in the mouth but can also be found in the colon. Actinomyces also helps with the decomposition of topsoil and organic plant life. The disease actinomyces can cause are normally in the oral cavity but some species can affect the lungs or gastrointestinal tract. These bacteria are definetaly in the parasitic department and many of us have probably felt there effects and not even known it. Since these bacteria are microscopic I don’t think there relationship with humans is going to change ever.
Body odor: We as humans have all experienced body odor and after taking this course I now know what actually causes body odor. Some bacteria are not bad for the body as I have disgused but when you sweat or get warm these microscopic bacteria multiply quite rapidly and thus start to produce the smell. Natural body odor has a very faint smell and is almost considered odorless, its when you have an increase in bacteria that the smell can be overpowering.
Scientific name: bromhidrosis, bromidrosis, osmidrosis, and ozochrotia
Domain: Bacteria (pathogenic bacteris)
Relationship: Again as with most of the bacteria I have listed the one responsible for body odor is parasitic and since as humans we are always going to sweat, and depending on how hard the body is working, sweat a lot, these bacteria will always be there ready to multiply.
Scientific name: Lactobacillus
Kingdom: Bacteria
One type of species: Lactobacillus acetotolerans
These bacteria are very helpful to the body and basically they help to convert milk in the digestive system which is lactose into sugars and lactic acid. In humans these helpful bacteria are symbiotic and contribute to the gut flora (term for helpful bacteria). Are relationship with these bacteria is very good and it is in humans best interest to keep the on our good side, or in our good side I should say.
Quick Refrence of terms:
Symbiotic = Mutually beneficial, both species benefit.
Parasitic = One species benefits (parasite) and the other is harmed (host)
Commensal = One species benefits, the other is unharmed
Mutualism = Both species benefit, like symbiosis, but it may one species may seem to have a bigger advantage however in the long run they will both benefit.
Predation = A version of parasitic, one species is the predator, however the other species can still be viewed as having a benefit like in mutualistic.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Ethical Essay: Population Growth
Currently the world population is increasing at an alarming rate with no forecasted reduction in population size for the future. With just over 7 billion people populating the earth and the figure expected to double by the year 2050 at our current growth rate, the world will again be gripped in crisis. The concerns with population growth have far reaching effects for everyone. As the world’s population increases the demand on resources must also increase in comparison. As the demands for water, food, housing, medical care increase the effects will be felt in the environment, agriculture, global warming, super deadly viruses. The developed countries will feel the impact of this crisis as much as the underdeveloped countries and who is to blame for the future population boom and global strain.
There are multiple explanations as to the cause of such massive increases in population size and what should be done to prevent global strain. I am going to focus on the causes I agree with most which includes data from online web sites and the essay be Moses and Brown. It would seem in the past, industrialized nations which have a far lower birth rate compared to less developed countries, have placed the blame on the latter for causing excessive strains on the global resources with very high populations. For persons not intimately familiar with the true causes this may seem like a good escape goat to focus the blame on. In reality we as an economic super power are to blame just as much as any poorer less developed country with very high birth rates.
The main argument is when a nation of poorer families have 3 to 4 or even more children they are putting an economical strain on there country to raise these kids. If the majority of the population is of child bearing age and everyone is having multiple children you have a population boom and this in turn puts strain on the country. Whether the country is rich in resources or not the rest of the world will feel the effects in one way or in most cases multiple ways. This is caused by global sharing of fuel, oil, agriculture products, and food supply threw large global networks. As populations anywhere increase there demand on products and resources increases and thus lowers the availability of those resources to others putting a strain on the global environment. This argument is one sided and suggest the primary cause of over population and therefore stressed resources is too many people in poor countries.
Moses and Brown wrote a very compelling factual report titled “Allometry of human fertility and energy use”. In this article they break down the amount of energy and resources it requires to raise the average offspring in normal environmental conditions. What they found was in poorer less developed countries the amount of resources the parents use to raise a family is quite minimal and not much more then another mammal like gorillas would use to raise there children. So poorer countries may need more offspring which don’t need many global resources to raise but who work on farms, raise cattle, or some other product which could be exported to increase family income. In contrast the amount of resources used for raising a child in well developed rich in resource counties like the United States is huge in comparison. With out getting very technical the average child in the USA uses 30 -60 times the resources used to raise a one child in a poor country. This is of course not the child fault but is the expected resource use for countries with an abundance of wealth and resources. So if one child here in the USA uses at the low end 30 times more global resources then one child in Africa uses, is it really a population boom threatening global stability or is it the overuse and inefficient way rich countries squander the resources they have which is actually causing the economic and global crisis.
I personally think the issue is too complex and on such a large scale to be so easily simplified in such a way. There are many complex issues in the world, and all of them are having adverse effects on global resources. Wealthy countries abuse of quickly depleting resources as well as huge gains in global populations are both major contributors, but still may only make up a fraction of the underlying problems. It is however clear to me that action needs to be taken and all countries rich or poor need to participate. Better distribution of needed resources as well as more efficient use, combined with dramatic drops in poorer countries birth rates (decreasing birth rates to 2 per family or less would be ideal) could help alter the course we are currently steam rolling too, global destruction.
There are multiple explanations as to the cause of such massive increases in population size and what should be done to prevent global strain. I am going to focus on the causes I agree with most which includes data from online web sites and the essay be Moses and Brown. It would seem in the past, industrialized nations which have a far lower birth rate compared to less developed countries, have placed the blame on the latter for causing excessive strains on the global resources with very high populations. For persons not intimately familiar with the true causes this may seem like a good escape goat to focus the blame on. In reality we as an economic super power are to blame just as much as any poorer less developed country with very high birth rates.
The main argument is when a nation of poorer families have 3 to 4 or even more children they are putting an economical strain on there country to raise these kids. If the majority of the population is of child bearing age and everyone is having multiple children you have a population boom and this in turn puts strain on the country. Whether the country is rich in resources or not the rest of the world will feel the effects in one way or in most cases multiple ways. This is caused by global sharing of fuel, oil, agriculture products, and food supply threw large global networks. As populations anywhere increase there demand on products and resources increases and thus lowers the availability of those resources to others putting a strain on the global environment. This argument is one sided and suggest the primary cause of over population and therefore stressed resources is too many people in poor countries.
Moses and Brown wrote a very compelling factual report titled “Allometry of human fertility and energy use”. In this article they break down the amount of energy and resources it requires to raise the average offspring in normal environmental conditions. What they found was in poorer less developed countries the amount of resources the parents use to raise a family is quite minimal and not much more then another mammal like gorillas would use to raise there children. So poorer countries may need more offspring which don’t need many global resources to raise but who work on farms, raise cattle, or some other product which could be exported to increase family income. In contrast the amount of resources used for raising a child in well developed rich in resource counties like the United States is huge in comparison. With out getting very technical the average child in the USA uses 30 -60 times the resources used to raise a one child in a poor country. This is of course not the child fault but is the expected resource use for countries with an abundance of wealth and resources. So if one child here in the USA uses at the low end 30 times more global resources then one child in Africa uses, is it really a population boom threatening global stability or is it the overuse and inefficient way rich countries squander the resources they have which is actually causing the economic and global crisis.
I personally think the issue is too complex and on such a large scale to be so easily simplified in such a way. There are many complex issues in the world, and all of them are having adverse effects on global resources. Wealthy countries abuse of quickly depleting resources as well as huge gains in global populations are both major contributors, but still may only make up a fraction of the underlying problems. It is however clear to me that action needs to be taken and all countries rich or poor need to participate. Better distribution of needed resources as well as more efficient use, combined with dramatic drops in poorer countries birth rates (decreasing birth rates to 2 per family or less would be ideal) could help alter the course we are currently steam rolling too, global destruction.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Population Lab
1. I choose Congo with a birth rate of 6.25 children per family and the Congo is considered an underdeveloped country in Africa.
2. I choose the country of Russia for low fertility rate with 2.29 children pre family on average.
3. In countries with high fertility rates the majority of there population is going to made of younger adults including women who are able to bear children as compared to the number of women who are leaving the child bearing age. If the majority of your population is of child bearing age then you have a large population base of individuals which will have kids and do then your population is going to continue to increase significantly. If the number of kids families are having is not reduced, or the number of women in the child bearing years is not reduced future populations will just continue to increase, especially since there is a good 20 years where women are capable of bearing children.
4. When a country becomes more developed and the fertility rate decreases the population starts to even out over the wide range of ages. Instead of the majority of people being young there is a more even distribution with people being young and middle age. Since the birth rate is lower around 2 children per couple there is a smaller base of young people who have kids which also evens out more with individuals who are passing on due to old age and natural death. New individuals being born is closer to older people passing on and better distribution of young and middle age group’s helps to even out the population and keep it at a steady rate.
5.
Middle Age:
Clean streets, well kept houses, nice cars, less violence, less drinking and driving, less sports, calm atmosphere, slower pace of community, nicer neighbors, friendlier faces.
Many children:
Chaotic at public events, dirty streets, loud and noise, fast erratic driving, more intense environment, stressful climate, more crime, general ruddiness, more active sports environment, more excitement.
Solution:
In my last graph I have come up with a solution to even out the world population. If families were allowed one child between the couple with every lucky fourth family getting two kids and at age 75 there was a mandatory passing away of the older individual the population would start to even out and at 2050 would even start to decrease in overall size. In this future scenario the population would be more evenly distributed among younger and middle age people, with the new born individuals making up a smaller number compared to the elderly.
2. I choose the country of Russia for low fertility rate with 2.29 children pre family on average.
3. In countries with high fertility rates the majority of there population is going to made of younger adults including women who are able to bear children as compared to the number of women who are leaving the child bearing age. If the majority of your population is of child bearing age then you have a large population base of individuals which will have kids and do then your population is going to continue to increase significantly. If the number of kids families are having is not reduced, or the number of women in the child bearing years is not reduced future populations will just continue to increase, especially since there is a good 20 years where women are capable of bearing children.4. When a country becomes more developed and the fertility rate decreases the population starts to even out over the wide range of ages. Instead of the majority of people being young there is a more even distribution with people being young and middle age. Since the birth rate is lower around 2 children per couple there is a smaller base of young people who have kids which also evens out more with individuals who are passing on due to old age and natural death. New individuals being born is closer to older people passing on and better distribution of young and middle age group’s helps to even out the population and keep it at a steady rate.
5.
Middle Age:
Clean streets, well kept houses, nice cars, less violence, less drinking and driving, less sports, calm atmosphere, slower pace of community, nicer neighbors, friendlier faces.
Many children:
Chaotic at public events, dirty streets, loud and noise, fast erratic driving, more intense environment, stressful climate, more crime, general ruddiness, more active sports environment, more excitement.
Solution:
In my last graph I have come up with a solution to even out the world population. If families were allowed one child between the couple with every lucky fourth family getting two kids and at age 75 there was a mandatory passing away of the older individual the population would start to even out and at 2050 would even start to decrease in overall size. In this future scenario the population would be more evenly distributed among younger and middle age people, with the new born individuals making up a smaller number compared to the elderly.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Fetal Development Lab
1. Oocyte is Fertilized: When the egg is fertilized by the males sperm is considered the first day of post-ovulation or the Carnegie stage I in the first trimester.This is the first major event for in a babies development. Before this there is just an egg and some sperm and after fertilization there is the makings of a new person. Figure 1.1
2. The Fetus attaches to the uterus: this is Carnegie Stage 4 in the first trimester about 5-6 days after fertilization.In this stage the egg attaches itself to the uterus and creates the connection with the mothers uterus. From this connection new blood capillaries will develop and circulation of critical nutrients, oxygen, and hormones (progesterone) will be exchanged allowing the pregnancy to continue. Figure 1.2
3. The Three cell layers develop: This is Carnegie Stage 6 in the 1st trimester and happens about 13 days into development.
This stage is very important the three major cell layers start to develop. These are the ectoderm, medoderm, and endoderm. From these three layers all organs, bones, tissues, and body systems will develop.
4. The creature takes shape: This stage is still in the first trimester and is 23-25 days into development.
At this point the fetus starts to take on a shape as internal organs start to form. The heart is beating but circulation is not yet complete, however the central nervous systems is the most developed system. Figure 1.3
5. Spontaneous movement begins: this stage is between 51-52 days into development and is Carnegie Stage 20.
This stage is where the mother can actually start feeling the baby move with spontaneous kicks. This would be important because for the baby to be moving it means it is developing well with all major organs and systems well into development, and the brain is sending nerve signals to the body. Figure 1.4
This stage is very important the three major cell layers start to develop. These are the ectoderm, medoderm, and endoderm. From these three layers all organs, bones, tissues, and body systems will develop.
4. The creature takes shape: This stage is still in the first trimester and is 23-25 days into development.At this point the fetus starts to take on a shape as internal organs start to form. The heart is beating but circulation is not yet complete, however the central nervous systems is the most developed system. Figure 1.3
5. Spontaneous movement begins: this stage is between 51-52 days into development and is Carnegie Stage 20.This stage is where the mother can actually start feeling the baby move with spontaneous kicks. This would be important because for the baby to be moving it means it is developing well with all major organs and systems well into development, and the brain is sending nerve signals to the body. Figure 1.4
6. Brain Structure complete: In this stage the baby is well into development, 10 weeks or so and is now in the 2nd trimester.
In this stage the Brain structure is complete and will start to increase in size very rapidly. Intestines and digestive tract are contracting and producing enzymes. The baby starts to develop reflexes and becomes very sensitive to movement.
7. The babes Sex: During the 2nd trimester about 14 weeks into development the babies sex organs are developing and visible.
At this stage it is easy to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl as the sex organs are clearly visible in ultrasound scans. All other organs and systems are getting larger and the baby is increasing in size rapidly. Figure 1.5
8. Bone marrow: This stage occurs about 20 weeks into development and is still in the 2nd trimester.
This is the stage were the fetus bones start to develop its own blood cells, this will become very important because blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen. The brain is also experiencing rapid growth and development and the babies limbs are developing and growing larger.
In this stage the Brain structure is complete and will start to increase in size very rapidly. Intestines and digestive tract are contracting and producing enzymes. The baby starts to develop reflexes and becomes very sensitive to movement.
7. The babes Sex: During the 2nd trimester about 14 weeks into development the babies sex organs are developing and visible.At this stage it is easy to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl as the sex organs are clearly visible in ultrasound scans. All other organs and systems are getting larger and the baby is increasing in size rapidly. Figure 1.5
8. Bone marrow: This stage occurs about 20 weeks into development and is still in the 2nd trimester.This is the stage were the fetus bones start to develop its own blood cells, this will become very important because blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen. The brain is also experiencing rapid growth and development and the babies limbs are developing and growing larger.
Figure 1.6
9. Immune System: At this point the fetus is at 32 weeks of development and in the 3rd trimester.
During this stage of development the immune system starts to develop. This is extremely important for the baby, with out a well developed immune system the baby will have a hard time fighting of infections and disease. At this point the babies eyes are open when it is awake and close when it sleeps.
10. Fully developed Fetus: It has been between 38 and 40 weeks since the egg was fertilized and the final stages of the third trimester.
Now the baby is quit large with hair and fully developed organs. Most organs are developed and working and red blood cells are being produced by the liver. The baby is basically ready to be born and begin breathing and developing out side of the mothers uterus. Figure 1.7
9. Immune System: At this point the fetus is at 32 weeks of development and in the 3rd trimester.
During this stage of development the immune system starts to develop. This is extremely important for the baby, with out a well developed immune system the baby will have a hard time fighting of infections and disease. At this point the babies eyes are open when it is awake and close when it sleeps.
10. Fully developed Fetus: It has been between 38 and 40 weeks since the egg was fertilized and the final stages of the third trimester.Now the baby is quit large with hair and fully developed organs. Most organs are developed and working and red blood cells are being produced by the liver. The baby is basically ready to be born and begin breathing and developing out side of the mothers uterus. Figure 1.7
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Exercise essay
Exercise, its for everyone
There is very little controversy when it comes to exercise and whether doing more physical activity is better for you then doing less or even none. There is not one expert of group of experts who can argue that doing more physical activity to stay healthy is bad for you. So if everyone agrees on the simple fact that we as a obese nation need to engage ourselves in more physical activity to stay healthy, is there still an epidemic. In this essay I will attempt to identify some of the primary reasons and viewpoints for why this is and how some groups/countries are taking measures to make improvements.
After reading the informative article by three prominent doctors called “Modify the Environment to Reverse Obesity” the answer seems clear, we are a lazy nation. The problem is many of us are glad we are a lazy nation. As a culture we have worked long and hard over the years to get and maintain the lifestyles and amenities we have today which we enjoy. As Americans we wanted cheap quick food we could eat on the run when time was short. So we got fast food joints and made them our primary source of food because time is always short. We need to rent a movie tonight, instead of walking to the movie store we take our automobiles after all we work long hard hours to buy the cars we love. At the end of the day why go out and play basketball or go for a walk, the sports game is on and we just bought that big screen TV. Americans have worked hard at becoming the laziest nation in the world and many of us including myself to some degree are perfectly happy with our situation not realizing the long term implications this lifestyle will have.
The second major contributor to our obese nation besides are personal desire to sit around at work and home is the media. For this essay we will use the term media to include food marketing and advertisements as well. Every time you turn on the tv there are commercials for eating new fast food (which they claim is good for you) or the newest video game or move to watch. Even buying tickets for major sporting events which must of us like to watch in person decreases our health. I don’t know about you but when I go to a basketball game it is pizza a few beers and sitting for three hours, not very healthy but very entertaining. Not only does the media advertise the new great tasting hamburger or beer to adults but they also viciously peruse marketing ads at kids and young adults. How about the tobacco company which in the past has had advertisements in many magazines which kids like to read showing individuals which kids may idolize smoking cigarettes. Where are the advertisements for getting outside and doing something active with the community, not on television.
The third example I want to point out is like father like son (or mother/daughter), as adults and role models for our kids if we do not encourage and even participate in physical activates with our kids then what is there motivation get outside and exercise. If you were overweight and your kid or significant other asked you to go to the park with them and throw the ball, or go for a hike, when you say next time in favor of watching the game you are contributing to your own laziness and also showing bad habits to your kids. Maybe our youth should be the best motivation we have for staying healthy.
The Changes:
Many of the online articles and publications suggest one of the main organizations which could help to jump start our society back to a healthy one is the government. Since they have there hand in everything else maybe they should start making policies and legislation which promotes more active lifestyles. Such as when designing or zoning new areas for buildings, make a requirement for parks, bike lanes, etc. There were some good suggestions by James O. Hill and his colleagues which suggested mandatory time when during the working day for employees to walk or do something physical for 15-20 minutes a day on the company dime.
There are currently many communities and organizations around the world who are trying to promote more active and healthier lifestyles by setting up community programs and city policies which reflect the desire for change. Some city councils in Scotland are developing guidelines and programs to keep there youth and elderly being active as part of there daily routine with easy leisurely activities. On Camino Island in the greater Seattle WA area there is community program to help the elderly stay active. They have set up a safe walking program with 30 designated neighborhoods where the elderly can walk and be active in a safe comfortable environment.
Many of us individuals enjoying the good life may not even think we do enough to keep us healthy, but this may not be entirely true. There are numerous websites and information about activity pyramids. These pyramids provide guidelines on how much an individual should be exercising and how often. Some of these pyramids use different criteria as the baseline (age, weight) for recommending daily activates or physical exercising regimes to stay active. These physical activity pyramids can be a great tool for people looking to get started on the road to better health.
In conclusion there were many good points I learned doing research for this essay explaining why we have formed a lazy society, and many ways we can change our ways. One of the best statements from James O. Hill and his team of authors I think states it best, there is no one reason for our nation of laziness and there is no one solution to fix our problem. What we have has taken years to develop and probably twice as long to undo, but one thing is for certain, if you want to improve your health the easiest thing to do is go outside and take a walk.
There is very little controversy when it comes to exercise and whether doing more physical activity is better for you then doing less or even none. There is not one expert of group of experts who can argue that doing more physical activity to stay healthy is bad for you. So if everyone agrees on the simple fact that we as a obese nation need to engage ourselves in more physical activity to stay healthy, is there still an epidemic. In this essay I will attempt to identify some of the primary reasons and viewpoints for why this is and how some groups/countries are taking measures to make improvements.
After reading the informative article by three prominent doctors called “Modify the Environment to Reverse Obesity” the answer seems clear, we are a lazy nation. The problem is many of us are glad we are a lazy nation. As a culture we have worked long and hard over the years to get and maintain the lifestyles and amenities we have today which we enjoy. As Americans we wanted cheap quick food we could eat on the run when time was short. So we got fast food joints and made them our primary source of food because time is always short. We need to rent a movie tonight, instead of walking to the movie store we take our automobiles after all we work long hard hours to buy the cars we love. At the end of the day why go out and play basketball or go for a walk, the sports game is on and we just bought that big screen TV. Americans have worked hard at becoming the laziest nation in the world and many of us including myself to some degree are perfectly happy with our situation not realizing the long term implications this lifestyle will have.
The second major contributor to our obese nation besides are personal desire to sit around at work and home is the media. For this essay we will use the term media to include food marketing and advertisements as well. Every time you turn on the tv there are commercials for eating new fast food (which they claim is good for you) or the newest video game or move to watch. Even buying tickets for major sporting events which must of us like to watch in person decreases our health. I don’t know about you but when I go to a basketball game it is pizza a few beers and sitting for three hours, not very healthy but very entertaining. Not only does the media advertise the new great tasting hamburger or beer to adults but they also viciously peruse marketing ads at kids and young adults. How about the tobacco company which in the past has had advertisements in many magazines which kids like to read showing individuals which kids may idolize smoking cigarettes. Where are the advertisements for getting outside and doing something active with the community, not on television.
The third example I want to point out is like father like son (or mother/daughter), as adults and role models for our kids if we do not encourage and even participate in physical activates with our kids then what is there motivation get outside and exercise. If you were overweight and your kid or significant other asked you to go to the park with them and throw the ball, or go for a hike, when you say next time in favor of watching the game you are contributing to your own laziness and also showing bad habits to your kids. Maybe our youth should be the best motivation we have for staying healthy.
The Changes:
Many of the online articles and publications suggest one of the main organizations which could help to jump start our society back to a healthy one is the government. Since they have there hand in everything else maybe they should start making policies and legislation which promotes more active lifestyles. Such as when designing or zoning new areas for buildings, make a requirement for parks, bike lanes, etc. There were some good suggestions by James O. Hill and his colleagues which suggested mandatory time when during the working day for employees to walk or do something physical for 15-20 minutes a day on the company dime.
There are currently many communities and organizations around the world who are trying to promote more active and healthier lifestyles by setting up community programs and city policies which reflect the desire for change. Some city councils in Scotland are developing guidelines and programs to keep there youth and elderly being active as part of there daily routine with easy leisurely activities. On Camino Island in the greater Seattle WA area there is community program to help the elderly stay active. They have set up a safe walking program with 30 designated neighborhoods where the elderly can walk and be active in a safe comfortable environment.
Many of us individuals enjoying the good life may not even think we do enough to keep us healthy, but this may not be entirely true. There are numerous websites and information about activity pyramids. These pyramids provide guidelines on how much an individual should be exercising and how often. Some of these pyramids use different criteria as the baseline (age, weight) for recommending daily activates or physical exercising regimes to stay active. These physical activity pyramids can be a great tool for people looking to get started on the road to better health.
In conclusion there were many good points I learned doing research for this essay explaining why we have formed a lazy society, and many ways we can change our ways. One of the best statements from James O. Hill and his team of authors I think states it best, there is no one reason for our nation of laziness and there is no one solution to fix our problem. What we have has taken years to develop and probably twice as long to undo, but one thing is for certain, if you want to improve your health the easiest thing to do is go outside and take a walk.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Compendium Review Ch.13
Table of contents:
Central Nervous System (CNS)
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Neuron
Axon
Myelin Sheath
Sensory neuron
Motor neuron
Resting potential
Action potential
Synapse
The central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system are a combination of two systems which together receive information from the body, take the data and integrate into the spin or brain for analyzing the data, and then provide output in the form of either organ reaction or muscle contraction.
Central Nervous System (CNS):
Spinal Cord: The spinal cord provides a connection between the brain and the peripheral nerves.
Brain: The brain is divided into two hemispheres with some connected tissues in between them. The brain is responsible for reasoning, memory, language, and speech, as well as all upper level cognitive processing. Each hemisphere has four lobes for brain functions, frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.
The Diencephalon: The important task of keeping the body regulated and maintaining homeostasis is controlled by the hypothalamus.
The Cerebellum: The cerebellum takes in information from the senses and cerebral cortex to determine the position of the bodies limbs. After processing the information the cerebellum sends signals to the skeletal system for movement.
The Brain Stem: The brain stems primary function is to use the medulla oblongata and regulate breathing and the heartbeat.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): The peripheral nervous system is responsible for taking impulses from nerves and transmitting them to the brain and spinal cord. The PNS is composed entirely of nerves and ganglia. The PNS is made of two other systems the somatic system and the autonomic system.
Somatic System: Consists of functions that we control consciously or can occur by natural reflex which we still have some cognitive control over. The somatic system consists of the skin, skeletal muscles and tendons which can be controlled by reflex (automatic) or voluntary where the brain process information in the cerebral cortex.
Autonomic System: This system consists of the functions which are involuntary and are done automatically by processing in the brain. These functions include the organs and there processes and are based on cellular processing and impulses. Breathing and the heart pumping blood are good examples of autonomic functions. Within this system there are two other division the sympathetic division which has body responses in times of stress and the parasympathetic division which has reactions in times of relaxation.
Neuron: Neurons provide the path for nerve impulses to travel threw the body to the spinal cord or brain. Neurons uses axon as the pathway for transmitting the nerve signal, and dendrites which receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors.
Axon: The axon is the part of a neuron which the nerve impulse travels along. The axon can extend from the nerve or neuron the entire length of the body and connect to the spinal cord.
Myelin Sheath: Protects the axon by insulating portions of the axon. The Myelin also allows the nerve signal to travel along the axon quicker by jumping over portions of where the myelin sheath is covered.
Sensory neuron: Are neurons that develop as you are very young and will stay with you for your entire life. The sensory neuron is dedicated to receiving nerve signals and transmitting them to the spinal cord.
Motor neuron: Are dedicated to taking instructions from the brain and spinal cord to a muscle or limb allowing the muscle to contract and perform human functions.
Resting Potential : When the axon does not have a nerve signal traveling threw it there is a negative charge of -65 mV inside the axon. Inside the axon there is a greater concentration of potassium ions (k+) then outside. Outside the axon there is a greater concentration of sodium ions (Na-) then on the inside this creates a negative charge when no signal is traveling threw. The amount of sodium and potassium ions inside and outside of the axon is controlled by gates which allows one or the other of the two ions to move in an out (sodium-potassium pump). The membrane of the axon is also permeable to potassium ions allowing them to move easily back into the axon.
Action Potential: When a nerve signal is traveling threw an axon as it approaches then next portion of the axon the sodium-potassium pump activates and pushes out sodium ions and takes in potassium ions to have a net positive charge of +40 mV inside the axon membrane. This process allows the signal to travel along the axon at 1/1000 of a second. After the signal has passed through that portion of the axon it depolarizes and goes back to the resting potential. When we talk about the negative and positive charges of the axon there is no middle voltage potential either the axon is a resting or action potential. Depending on how strong the nerve impulse is will tell how many impulses travel in rapid succession (frequency).
Synapse: The synapse is the function which allows the signal from the sending neuron to transmit its data to the receiving neuron threw the synaptic cleft. This process uses synaptic vesicles to enclose the neurotransmitter cross the synaptic cleft and pass threw the receiving neurons neurotransmitter receptor.
Central Nervous System (CNS)
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS)
Neuron
Axon
Myelin Sheath
Sensory neuron
Motor neuron
Resting potential
Action potential
Synapse
The central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system are a combination of two systems which together receive information from the body, take the data and integrate into the spin or brain for analyzing the data, and then provide output in the form of either organ reaction or muscle contraction.
Central Nervous System (CNS):
Spinal Cord: The spinal cord provides a connection between the brain and the peripheral nerves.
Brain: The brain is divided into two hemispheres with some connected tissues in between them. The brain is responsible for reasoning, memory, language, and speech, as well as all upper level cognitive processing. Each hemisphere has four lobes for brain functions, frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal.
The Diencephalon: The important task of keeping the body regulated and maintaining homeostasis is controlled by the hypothalamus.
The Cerebellum: The cerebellum takes in information from the senses and cerebral cortex to determine the position of the bodies limbs. After processing the information the cerebellum sends signals to the skeletal system for movement.
The Brain Stem: The brain stems primary function is to use the medulla oblongata and regulate breathing and the heartbeat.
Peripheral Nervous System (PNS): The peripheral nervous system is responsible for taking impulses from nerves and transmitting them to the brain and spinal cord. The PNS is composed entirely of nerves and ganglia. The PNS is made of two other systems the somatic system and the autonomic system.
Somatic System: Consists of functions that we control consciously or can occur by natural reflex which we still have some cognitive control over. The somatic system consists of the skin, skeletal muscles and tendons which can be controlled by reflex (automatic) or voluntary where the brain process information in the cerebral cortex.
Autonomic System: This system consists of the functions which are involuntary and are done automatically by processing in the brain. These functions include the organs and there processes and are based on cellular processing and impulses. Breathing and the heart pumping blood are good examples of autonomic functions. Within this system there are two other division the sympathetic division which has body responses in times of stress and the parasympathetic division which has reactions in times of relaxation.
Neuron: Neurons provide the path for nerve impulses to travel threw the body to the spinal cord or brain. Neurons uses axon as the pathway for transmitting the nerve signal, and dendrites which receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors.
Axon: The axon is the part of a neuron which the nerve impulse travels along. The axon can extend from the nerve or neuron the entire length of the body and connect to the spinal cord.
Myelin Sheath: Protects the axon by insulating portions of the axon. The Myelin also allows the nerve signal to travel along the axon quicker by jumping over portions of where the myelin sheath is covered.
Sensory neuron: Are neurons that develop as you are very young and will stay with you for your entire life. The sensory neuron is dedicated to receiving nerve signals and transmitting them to the spinal cord.
Motor neuron: Are dedicated to taking instructions from the brain and spinal cord to a muscle or limb allowing the muscle to contract and perform human functions.
Resting Potential : When the axon does not have a nerve signal traveling threw it there is a negative charge of -65 mV inside the axon. Inside the axon there is a greater concentration of potassium ions (k+) then outside. Outside the axon there is a greater concentration of sodium ions (Na-) then on the inside this creates a negative charge when no signal is traveling threw. The amount of sodium and potassium ions inside and outside of the axon is controlled by gates which allows one or the other of the two ions to move in an out (sodium-potassium pump). The membrane of the axon is also permeable to potassium ions allowing them to move easily back into the axon.
Action Potential: When a nerve signal is traveling threw an axon as it approaches then next portion of the axon the sodium-potassium pump activates and pushes out sodium ions and takes in potassium ions to have a net positive charge of +40 mV inside the axon membrane. This process allows the signal to travel along the axon at 1/1000 of a second. After the signal has passed through that portion of the axon it depolarizes and goes back to the resting potential. When we talk about the negative and positive charges of the axon there is no middle voltage potential either the axon is a resting or action potential. Depending on how strong the nerve impulse is will tell how many impulses travel in rapid succession (frequency).
Synapse: The synapse is the function which allows the signal from the sending neuron to transmit its data to the receiving neuron threw the synaptic cleft. This process uses synaptic vesicles to enclose the neurotransmitter cross the synaptic cleft and pass threw the receiving neurons neurotransmitter receptor.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Muscle experiments lab
1. Placing my finger along my jaw line and then clenching my teeth. The jaw muscle seems to expand. Instead of the lower jaw muscle being smooth, there is a bulge in the skin under the ear where the jaw muscle expands out to the side of the jaw.
2. When the arm is extended fully the width of my thumb and finger fully stretched out goes from the elbow joint the full length of the upper bicep muscle. When I bend my arm so my hand comes back to my shoulder my finger and thumb get much closer to each other. The upper arm muscle is contracting and becoming smaller when my are is bent and then extending when my hand stretches back out to full length.
3. Using two strips of paper connected together I measured my bicep circumference. After clenching my fist the circumference of my arm muscles increase to ¾ inch longer then my arm muscles without a clenched fist.
Clenching the fist expands the upper arm muscles increasing there overall circumference.
Temp.
Normal 32 clenched fists in 20sec.
Cold water 41 clenched fists in 20sec.
Effect of Fatigue on Muscle action
Trial # of squeezes in 20 sec
1. 51
2. 45
3. 45
4. 37
5. 42
6. 38
7. 39
8. 37
9. 37
10. 37
1. What are the three changes you observed in a muscle while it is working (contracted)?
The three changes I observed is when I was flexing my upper arm bicep muscle was first the bicep brachii muscle contracted and became shorter as my forearm moved upward so my fist was close to my deltoid muscle. The bicep muscle gets shorter because the actin is moving across the myosin until the sarcomeres are fully contracted making the bicep muscle the shortest it can become.
The second thing I observed was the total circumference of my bicep brachii increased as I flexed the arm muscle. From my understanding of the contraction process as the thousands of sarcomeres start the process of contracting the actin begins to slide over the myosin. As this process happens it would make sense that the muscle would go from longer and thinner to shorter and bulkier. I think the increase in circumference is the result of thousands of sarcomeres fully compacted and slightly bulging then they were when the muscle was relaxed.
The third thing I observed is when I flex the bicep muscle as I bring the forearm up to meet my shoulder muscle the bicep muscle is not the only muscle at work. For every muscle I move or contract another one or more muscle are also moving with that muscle. When the bicep muscle is contracting and becoming shorter the triceps brachii is relaxed as possible to allow the opposite muscle to be as tight as possible. Its like that saying for every action there is an opposite reaction, it seems with muscles for everyone that does one thing there are multiple other muscles either doing the opposite or helping with the primary function (primary vs. synergist vs. antagonists).
2. What effect did the cold temperature have on the action of your hand muscles? Explain.
This little experiment was fun to try, at first I assumed I had done the experiment wrong because the results I got were different from what I expected. So I had my roommate try it and he got the same results. So I reviewed the chapter 12 material again and I think I now understand the results. From the data I collected you can see I was able to do more clenched fists after my hand was freezing cold from the water. I think there are a few primary reasons why this happened. One is homeostasis, when my hand was in the ice cold water the core temperature of my hand decreased the longer my hand was in the water. Since my body automatically wants to get that temperature back to where it should be my hand wants to do work. As the muscles in my hand use ATP to contract they are doing work, as the muscles do work they are producing heat as a by product of work. So as soon as I withdrew my hand from the water and started making fists I could go faster because my hand muscles were eager to start heating up and therefore getting that temperature back to normal. When people are in a very cold environment they start to shiver and naturally clench there fists and tighten up there muscles almost automatically. I think this helps explain the situation as we shiver are muscles are again contracting and trying to produce enough heat to raise the body temperature back up. I would guess if you were really cold you could do a few more pushups then if you were in a hot environment where the muscles said we are as hot as we want to be so they don’t want to do as much activity, they you have to start sweating the keep the temperature down.
3. Why at the cellular level would cold and fatigue affect muscular action?
Being in cold weather or under strenuous physical activity will cause a strong response from the nervous system and how your muscle will react. In cold conditions the body temperature will decrease as the environmental conditions your are in decreases. The body does not like this and will automatically want to raise the core body temperature back up to normal levels to maintain homeostasis. To accomplish this on the cellular level the cells will want to start using energy and doing work to produce body heat. An example of this could be shivering or tightening of muscles. The results from the cold water and fist experiment shows the body wanting to perform functions quickly which will help to raise the temperature. The more the cells in your body produce ATP for use by the muscle cells in contracting and relaxing the muscles of the body the more heat the body can produce. With physical activity the body is also going to experience some effects to the nervous and muscular system. When we start doing physical activity the body and respiratory system start working harder to get red blood cells and oxygen to the different muscles which need them most. If we are doing hard physical activity the body and cells may not be able to produce enough ATP for the muscle cells and oxygen for the regular cells to make the ATP, thus fatigue starts to set in. We have three main sources for the body to get energy and depending on what type of activity your body is used will determine which of the three sources you will use of first. If you are doing short bursts of activity the creatine phosphate pathway may be the first source of energy but once it is depleted fatigue will set in quickly. If you are a runner then your body will mostly run on cellular respiration especially if you have trained the body to build up excess stores of ATP and a larger production of cellular respiration. This source is a good steady supply and will take a long time to deplete. Fermentation is another source of energy for the muscles to use during activity. When I did the cloths pin experiment I was able to maintain and level number of reps even though my fingers were feeling the strain, this is because even though my finger muscles and forearm muscle were feeling fatigue at the cellular level only a certain percentage of muscle cells were fatigued. When we use are cellular muscles they do not all contract at once with every myofibril being used at the same time. Some are used for a certain period and then they rest and others take up the role, in this way your muscles will start to become fatigued but it’s the bodies way of saving some energy to keep up that movement as long as possible. This is a great evolutionary trait to have selective cellular muscles being worked and not all at once, allowing us to perform functions for extended periods before experiencing extreme muscle fatigue.
2. When the arm is extended fully the width of my thumb and finger fully stretched out goes from the elbow joint the full length of the upper bicep muscle. When I bend my arm so my hand comes back to my shoulder my finger and thumb get much closer to each other. The upper arm muscle is contracting and becoming smaller when my are is bent and then extending when my hand stretches back out to full length.
3. Using two strips of paper connected together I measured my bicep circumference. After clenching my fist the circumference of my arm muscles increase to ¾ inch longer then my arm muscles without a clenched fist.
Clenching the fist expands the upper arm muscles increasing there overall circumference.
Temp.
Normal 32 clenched fists in 20sec.
Cold water 41 clenched fists in 20sec.
Effect of Fatigue on Muscle action
Trial # of squeezes in 20 sec
1. 51
2. 45
3. 45
4. 37
5. 42
6. 38
7. 39
8. 37
9. 37
10. 37
1. What are the three changes you observed in a muscle while it is working (contracted)?
The three changes I observed is when I was flexing my upper arm bicep muscle was first the bicep brachii muscle contracted and became shorter as my forearm moved upward so my fist was close to my deltoid muscle. The bicep muscle gets shorter because the actin is moving across the myosin until the sarcomeres are fully contracted making the bicep muscle the shortest it can become.
The second thing I observed was the total circumference of my bicep brachii increased as I flexed the arm muscle. From my understanding of the contraction process as the thousands of sarcomeres start the process of contracting the actin begins to slide over the myosin. As this process happens it would make sense that the muscle would go from longer and thinner to shorter and bulkier. I think the increase in circumference is the result of thousands of sarcomeres fully compacted and slightly bulging then they were when the muscle was relaxed.
The third thing I observed is when I flex the bicep muscle as I bring the forearm up to meet my shoulder muscle the bicep muscle is not the only muscle at work. For every muscle I move or contract another one or more muscle are also moving with that muscle. When the bicep muscle is contracting and becoming shorter the triceps brachii is relaxed as possible to allow the opposite muscle to be as tight as possible. Its like that saying for every action there is an opposite reaction, it seems with muscles for everyone that does one thing there are multiple other muscles either doing the opposite or helping with the primary function (primary vs. synergist vs. antagonists).
2. What effect did the cold temperature have on the action of your hand muscles? Explain.
This little experiment was fun to try, at first I assumed I had done the experiment wrong because the results I got were different from what I expected. So I had my roommate try it and he got the same results. So I reviewed the chapter 12 material again and I think I now understand the results. From the data I collected you can see I was able to do more clenched fists after my hand was freezing cold from the water. I think there are a few primary reasons why this happened. One is homeostasis, when my hand was in the ice cold water the core temperature of my hand decreased the longer my hand was in the water. Since my body automatically wants to get that temperature back to where it should be my hand wants to do work. As the muscles in my hand use ATP to contract they are doing work, as the muscles do work they are producing heat as a by product of work. So as soon as I withdrew my hand from the water and started making fists I could go faster because my hand muscles were eager to start heating up and therefore getting that temperature back to normal. When people are in a very cold environment they start to shiver and naturally clench there fists and tighten up there muscles almost automatically. I think this helps explain the situation as we shiver are muscles are again contracting and trying to produce enough heat to raise the body temperature back up. I would guess if you were really cold you could do a few more pushups then if you were in a hot environment where the muscles said we are as hot as we want to be so they don’t want to do as much activity, they you have to start sweating the keep the temperature down.
3. Why at the cellular level would cold and fatigue affect muscular action?
Being in cold weather or under strenuous physical activity will cause a strong response from the nervous system and how your muscle will react. In cold conditions the body temperature will decrease as the environmental conditions your are in decreases. The body does not like this and will automatically want to raise the core body temperature back up to normal levels to maintain homeostasis. To accomplish this on the cellular level the cells will want to start using energy and doing work to produce body heat. An example of this could be shivering or tightening of muscles. The results from the cold water and fist experiment shows the body wanting to perform functions quickly which will help to raise the temperature. The more the cells in your body produce ATP for use by the muscle cells in contracting and relaxing the muscles of the body the more heat the body can produce. With physical activity the body is also going to experience some effects to the nervous and muscular system. When we start doing physical activity the body and respiratory system start working harder to get red blood cells and oxygen to the different muscles which need them most. If we are doing hard physical activity the body and cells may not be able to produce enough ATP for the muscle cells and oxygen for the regular cells to make the ATP, thus fatigue starts to set in. We have three main sources for the body to get energy and depending on what type of activity your body is used will determine which of the three sources you will use of first. If you are doing short bursts of activity the creatine phosphate pathway may be the first source of energy but once it is depleted fatigue will set in quickly. If you are a runner then your body will mostly run on cellular respiration especially if you have trained the body to build up excess stores of ATP and a larger production of cellular respiration. This source is a good steady supply and will take a long time to deplete. Fermentation is another source of energy for the muscles to use during activity. When I did the cloths pin experiment I was able to maintain and level number of reps even though my fingers were feeling the strain, this is because even though my finger muscles and forearm muscle were feeling fatigue at the cellular level only a certain percentage of muscle cells were fatigued. When we use are cellular muscles they do not all contract at once with every myofibril being used at the same time. Some are used for a certain period and then they rest and others take up the role, in this way your muscles will start to become fatigued but it’s the bodies way of saving some energy to keep up that movement as long as possible. This is a great evolutionary trait to have selective cellular muscles being worked and not all at once, allowing us to perform functions for extended periods before experiencing extreme muscle fatigue.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Movable Limb Lab
Introduction:
For this lab I wanted to make a three dimensional structure to represent the complexity of a moving limb. It was not an easy task to build a model with all the major characteristics of an actual moving limb. So for my model I chose to take the concepts and simplify them as much as possible so they can be represented visually. My goal was to have a moving limb model that actually looked similar to a human limb, this makes it easier for the imagination to see the more complex parts of the limb.
Limb parts:
Humerus bone = plastic piping
Radius and Ulna bone = plastic piping
Bicep brachii and tricep brachii = paint roller cover (red)
Bundle of muscle fibers with thousands of myofibril = weather proofing insulation (white)
Elbow joint = small metal hinge
Neuron with dendrites = kids squishy toy (purple and teal)
Sensory Neuron (purple)
Motor Neuron (teal)
Axon = copper wiring
Myelin sheath = yellow wire clamps
Large muscle cell (sarcolemma) = blue pencil tip eraser
T-tubules = circular pencil grips (green)
Calcium = small round wooden balls
Sarcomere with single actin-myosin unit = adjustable metal device
Myosin with double-stranded DNA = Dark teal and purple pencil grips
Here are the basic components I used to construct my movable limb. In this photo I have already cut the paint roller cover and started building the bicep and bundle of muscle fibers.
I used a dremel to seperate the paint roller cover, I did not relize the inside was a strong plastic which turned out to be much stronger then I originally thought.
This is a good photo of my basic arm and joint structure with the basic components labeled. This photo also shows the metal device which would later become the actin-myosin unit.
This photo shows the completed movable limb and all the major components. This is a good photo for me to explain how I decided to design my limb the way I did. You can see the adjustable metal connector right above the elbow joint which represents the a single sarcomere. When a human bicep muscle contracts its normally due to the forearm moving upwards, as in someone flexing there bicep with forearm at a 90 degree angle to the upper arm. This movement of the forearm upwards causes the sarcomeres in the bicep to contract. This is the type of movement I wanted to portray on my limb, in a human limb the contraction of all the myofibril would be in the bicep muscle and this is where a little imagination comes into play. I decided that setting up my limb the way I did would best show the mechanics of something which happens on the microscopic level. This photo also shows how the axon with the myelin sheath goes from one group of neurons (sensory in my model) in the forearm the entrie length of the arm and gives nerve signals to the other group of neurons (both motor and sensory in my model) at the upper arm.
In this photo I have a close up shot of the sensory and motor neurons and there associated axon. For simplification I have one axon with the myelin sheath representing the hundreds which would go from both the sensory and motor neurons. Here you can visualize the nerve signal traveling along the axon at almost a hundred miles per hour through the arm. The signal can travel extremely quickly becuase it jumps over the myelin sheath, this means only small portions of the axon need to be positevly charged by the use of the sodium-potassium pump at any one time. The part of the axon where the singal is passing threw will go from a resting potential with a negative charge (-65mV) to the action potential with a positive charge (+ 40mV) and then depolarization back to resting potential, this process occurs with the use of the sodium-potassium pump. This requires much less processing of energy then if the entire axon had to be charged at once. This signal will go all the way to the spinal cord and depending on the type of nerve signal up to the brain. In my model the nerve signal has gone to the spinal cord and a separate signal with direction on what the reaction should be has traveled back through the upper arm to the motor neuron (blue).
This photo shows the process which occurs after the motor neuron has received the signal with directions from the spinal cord. The signal goes to the bundle of muscle fibers also called sarcolemma (the white mass around the bone). There are thousands of these large muscle cells in the bicep and each one has sarcoplasmic reticulum, myofibril’s and T tubules. I have shown one muscle cell with the T tubules coming from the sarcoplasmic reticulum in the cell to the myofibril. When the muscle cell gets the signal from the motor neuron another signal is sent threw the T tubules to the sarcoplasmic reticulum where calcium deposits are released (wooden balls). When the calcium is released in to the myofibril the sarcomeres start the process of contracting the actin-myosin unit.
This is one of my favorite photos of the actin-myosin unit, as I said before a little imagination is used for this representation. First you can see the axon with the myelin sheath carrying signals right along the muscles. The main focus here is on the sarcomere. In my model the sarcomere is fully contracted. In the human muscle the myosin is the unit which does all the work or physical movements to contract the muscle. With the release of ATP from one of three different energy process (fermentation, cellular respiration or creatine phosphate) the myosin unit uses its hooks to move upwards and connect with the binding sites of the actin, this pulls the actin unit over myosin unit. When another ATP molecule attaches to the myosin the hook retracts and resets for the next pull. This function is very similar to the adjustable metal connector seen in the photo. The metal connector has circular grooves which when turned bring the inside portion closer together there by causing contraction. So the inside portion of the device is the myosin with the binding heads, and the outside is the actin where the calcium attaches and turns the double-stranded DNA pairs so the binding sites are ready for the ATP molecule. The actin is a double-stranded base pair which you can see represented.
This photo shows the details of the elbow joint and how it allows for movement up and down but very little flexibility from side to side (that is by a rotating joint in the upper arm) This joint also shows there is a limit to the flexibility in the downward vertical plain, most peoples arm will not extend much further past straight and level.
In this photo you can see where my model first gets the sensory signal, this could be from touch of the finger sending a nerve impulse to the sensory neuron or something brushing up against the skin where a nerve signal is sent to the dendrites and then transmitted through the axon.
Here is the final picture of my movable limb. In this one the limb is rotated on its side to get a detailed shot as if you were looking at a top view from above the arm. The axon extends the full length of the arm and is the connecting point which allows the transmission of all signals to and from every part of the body to the spinal cord first.
Conclusion:
I thought this lab was challenging and very helpful in developing a better understanding of the nervous system. To take the concepts in the book and try to combine them in a visual model is very tricky, but does help to bring a deeper understanding of complexity in your arm. I know there are parts of my model which do not show some of the process which occur in a human arm, but my goal was to capture the major functions and I think I did that. One of the most important functions I wanted to capture was the actin-myosin unit and I think I designed an arm which shows how this process works. Overall someone who did not have an strong background in human biology could view my model and the lab write up and begin to grasp the basic mechanics of what makes an arm move on the microscopic level.
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