Cellular Respiration

     

       Cellular Respiration is not the act of breathing, it actually has nothing to do with our lunges. In fact our metabolism is the entire process of breaking down food molecules through out the body. But the intermediary metabolism is the process of chemical reactions that occur in the cell, and the entire process of cellular respiration mostly occurs in the mitochondria. When we digest food, the food molecules provide the chemicals necessary for energy exertion. And the energy that is exerted from the cell is essential for the processes of life. 

Glycolysis Process

       There are two phases of the metabolism: a catabolic and anabolic phase. The catabolism phase is the process of breaking down larger molecules into smaller molecules, resulting in an endergonic reaction (releases heat/energy). The anabolism phase is when smaller molecules become larger and they release only a little bit of heat/energy, resulting in an exergonic reaction. When energy is released by the catabolic reactions it drives the anabolic reactions, which results in the storing of ATP. 

Krebs Cycle

         There are three metabolic processes to which cellular respiration can be broken down. The first process is Glycolysis, where a 6-carbone molecule is broken down into two 3-carbon molecules called pyruvate. This process also results in 2 ATP molecules and 2 NADH Molecules. The second process is the Krebs Cycle. The Krebs Cycle generates chemical energy through the oxidation of pyruvate. Pyruvate loses carbon dioxide to form the a 3-carbon molecule called acetyl-CoA which then, through the citric acid cycle of citrate, isocitate, ketoglutarate, succinyl, succinate, fumate, malate, and oxaloacetate, is oxidized into carbon dioxide releasing chemical energy and capturing it in the form of NADH, FADH2, and ATP. It then undergoes Electronic transportation oxidization, which consists mainly of proteins that results in the creation of H2O, through O2 being one of the final electron acceptors.  Oxidization is when a compound loses electrons. But a compound can also be reduced by gaining electrons because electrons have a negative charge reducing the compounds original charge. 

The Cellular Respiration Formula 

       The formula for cellular respiration is the opposite for that of the reaction of photosynthesis. For where one of our products is CO2, the plants absorb it creating one of their products of in fact O2, which results in a perfect cycle. Providing each of us the necessary chemicals for us to survive. 

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/biology/celres.html

http://www.phschool.com/science/biology_place/biocoach/cellresp/oxidative.html

A Talking Whale

     

     A new study suggests that a beluga whale was capable of learning to imitate the human voice. The whale lived at the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego, California, for 30 years until his death in 1999. Researchers had first noticed the peculiarity in 1984, when they heard people talking but there was no one else around or when one of the divers thought he heard someone say "get out" one day while he was cleaning the tank. But it really was NOC the beluga whale, who was only mimicking something that just sounded like the word "out." When researchers annaylized the recordings of NOC's  speech like utterances they found that the frequency and rhythm  approximated that of a human. The actual frequencies were a few octaves lower than the whales normal sounds, making it seem that the whale adopted the intonation patterns  of people talking. Though after four years the mimicking stopped due to the belief that NOC had reached sexual maturity, researchers do believe that the reason that NOC and other sea creatures in captivity are found to mimic humans is because instinctually they do it in the wild. Dolphins will mimic other dolphins whistles and humpback whales will learn songs from each other. Whatever the reason may be I find that this peculiarity proves that there is much that we still do not know about life under the sea and that animals intellects may be greater than we have perceived.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/10/121022-whales-voices-science-animals-humans-marine-mammals/

https://soundcloud.com/cdellamore/hear-a-beluga-whale-talk

A Rain Forest Inside Your Belly Button

         
        People pay no attention to their belly buttons, or the the thriving ecosystem that lives on our skin. So when a team from North Carolina State University adopted the focus of revealing the ecosystem that lives within our belly buttons, people became interested. The naval is the least scrubbed area of skin, offering researchers a chance to study as close to a pristine microbial landscape as possible. What they found, after swabbing 60 volunteers, was a total of 2, 368 bacterial species, and 1,458 of them may be new to science. The biodiversity within our belly buttons matches that of a rainforest because about 8 species were found on at least 70 percent of the subjects, appearing in huge numbers, much like a rainforest for in a rainforest the flora varies but there are always certain dominant tree types that almost always appear. In my opinion, these findings, though a little creepy, are very interesting and do provide researchers with an even bigger question now of "why do these particular bacteria even show up?"

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/121114-belly-button-bacteria-science-health-dunn/

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/scientists-say-your-belly-button-is-like-a-beautiful-rainforest-with-up-to-107-different-species/story-fneuz9ev-1226525606985

Coloration Defects

       There are many genetic coloration defects that have surprised scientist and geneticists of late. For off the coast of the North Pacific's Commander Islands scientists were studying acoustic and social interactions between whales and dolphins, when they spotted a six foot tall white dorsal fin. This white whale is in fact a killer whale and he was given the name Iceberg due to his white coloration. The scientists believe that this is not Icebergs first siting. For they believe that he is the same killer whale that was spotted off the coast of Alaska's Aleutian Islands in 2000 and 2008. Though his coloration is less dark and molted than the previous whale, both whales seem to be very similar, and the pod that Iceberg was traveling with has the same markings as those that were spotted with the other whales, concluding that they are the same family members. Also his coloration could possibly change because of algae growing on the skin with certain seasons, which would make a white animal more darker.

              Another coloration defect that has astonished the world, is that of a cat named Venus. Three year old Venus has become the most popular cat on the planet, with three million hits on youtube and her recent appearance on the Today Show she has baffled the world, with her half black and half orange tabby striped face and her one blue and one green eye, peering at you. This defect though rare can be explained by geneticists. Venus is believed to be a "chimera." A feline chimera is a cat whose cells contain two types of DNA, caused when two embryos fuse together. A chimera actually is not all that rare though in cats and, in male tortoiseshell cats, the distinctive orange and black coat is a sign of the extra X chromosome. But females already have an extra X chromosome so they already can sport the coat without an extra one. So the only way to test the theory is through DNA fingerprinting and if Venus is a chimera one side of the bodies DNA should be different than the other. The one characteristic that can not be explained about Venus is her single blue eye. Most cats eyes are green or yellow, only cats that are Siamese or white every really have blue eyes and Venus only has a white patch on her chest, which is not enough to explain her blue eye. These defects are astonishing and prove that there is so many more surprises on our planet that we have yet to discover and have yet to understand.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/120425-white-killer-whale-russia-animals-science-albino/

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/08/120831-venus-two-faced-cat-genetics-animals-science/

A Devil Beneath Your Feet

         The deepest living animal was found in the depths of a gold mine in South Africa, at the depth of 2.2 miles beneath the surface of the earth. Nematodes such as these were believed to not be capable of living beyond dozens of feet. Only microbes were believed to be capable of living at such depths and in such harsh conditions. This nematode is called Halicephalobus mephisto partly due to Mephistopheles, the demon of Faustian legend, and is only 0.5 mm long, though small it is much larger than the microbes that it feeds on.
        This discovery has made scientists aware of the possibilities of an entire other biosphere that exists beneath our feet. And to discover this nematode scientist had to borrow deep into the mines to find veins of water, retrieving a total of 8,343 gallons of water, before they discovered the first nematode in deep rock water samples. Scientists hope that this discovery of the nematode will inspire more research into, not only, what lies beneath the surface of this earth but also the possibilities of such organisms and life existing on other planets. In my opinion, the discovery of such an organism that has been capable of adapting to such an environment will open new doors to so much more research on deeper dwelling organisms and may allow scientists to discover more about the mysteries that lie beneath our surface.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v474/n7349/full/nature09974.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/110601-deepest-worm-earth-devil-science-animals-life/

     

Creep Crawlers From The Past

        A species once believed to be extinct was found in the Silicon Valley of California. It is in fact the leggiest creature known on the planet. Sporting 750 legs this 3 centimeter long millipede is smaller than our pinky finger and its name Illacme plenipes means "the acme of many legs." The species was first seen by governmental scientists in 1928 but because it kept such a low profile for the rest of the 20th century it was believed to be extinct. This species of millipede does in fact only have one thing in common with all the other species of millipedes and that is that none of them actually have 1000 legs. Other than that one factor this creature is set apart from all other millipedes.

        Illacme plenipes' anatomy is so bizarre. This millipede has the ability to weave its own clothing by spinning silk from the long hair on their backs and because  they are burrowing arthropods and they live so deep under group their have adapted claws onto the end of each leg.  Each of these adaptions though are believed by scientist to help the millipede cling to subterranean rocks and adhere to the underside of boulders. Other anatomical structures that are surprising are their massive antennae, a jagged and translucent exoskeleton, and their mouth is specifically structured for piercing and sucking plant tissues. In my opinion, this creature has lived undetected for so long, and now with its discovery and its odd anatomical structures it will provide a whole lot more interesting research, that is if it doesn't slip away again with all the development that is destroying its habitat. 

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/121114-leggiest-animal-millipede-illacme-plenipes-silicon-valley-science/

http://www.livescience.com/24765-750-leg-millipede-leggiest-animal.html

Space Plants

        The effects of gravity on plants roots are vey important, because it allows the roots to orient themselves to grow away from the seed and seek out nutrients and water. So when scientist sent germinated seeds of a small, white flower called Arabidopsis thaliana to the International Space Station, to find how a weightless environment effects root growth, they found that the pattern of root growth is exactly the same as those observed with gravity. What scientist believe is that the plants have the ability to orient themselves because they still retain an earthly instinct even when they do not have gravity as a guide.
        The International Space Station was orbiting 220 miles above earth, and where scientist believed that roots behaved in a way of "skewing," where the roots slant progressively as they branch out due to the effects of gravity, they also found that the plants still obtained this trait even with out the cues of gravity. So what scientist believe to be the cause of the phenomenon is that it is a result of other cues, such as moisture, nutrients and light avoidance, that takes over the ability of the plant to direct its roots away from the seed and light-seeking shoot. These findings may enable us to cultivate plant growth in space and eventually on other planets. In my opinion, the results of this research will allow us to continue to make strides in our understanding of space and of spaces biological effects on, not only, of what is of our world but of other worlds as well, and how our biology can help us understand the biological processes that are found on other worlds.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/121207-plants-grow-space-station-science/

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2229/12/232/abstract

Archeology Dog

             Through out the centuries humans have relied on dogs to become what we lack. We have relied on them to become the eyes for the blind and the noses that find drugs and bombs for  the police force. These few examples do not even scratch the surface to what dogs can truly accomplish when  trained correctly. Their noses are genetically equipped with some 200 million more olfactory receptors than human's, and researchers now, not only, have begun to use dogs to assist them in tracking and monitoring populations of wild species but also guide archaeologists to old bones and grave sites.

            Gary Jackson, an australian dog trainer, has trained a black lab mix named Migaloo to sniff out old human bones by enticing her with a ball. He found that the best way to condition Migaloo and reward her for her find was by using a ball that she so desperately wants. There have been dogs that have been used to sniff out old human remains, but the factors of other decomposed odors in an area often confuse the dogs because the smells are very similar. But by training a dog to know just the smell of human bones, removes those factors, making the finds more accurate. Migaloo has been able to find bones from 300 meters away even if it is as small as a fingernail, sometimes they would even just take the scent from a bone with a cotton ball and touch it to a rock ad she would be able to find it. The biggest test they ever did with Migaloo was have her search for an old aboriginal grave that was 600 years old and she was spot on. 

           This research will allow old cold cases to be reopen, families will be able to find and bury their loved ones that they lost, and archeologists will be able to make new discoveries all because of a dogs nose. Gary Jackson is even looking to train Migaloo to find pottery, old fossils and maybe even dinosaur bones, and he is planning on taking Migaloo to France and Belgium to try to discover old remains from battlefields in World War II. In my opinion, the use of dogs in areas that are beyond our human abilities is astounding and to be able to train a dog to accomplish such a task opens doors into research and findings that would be impossible with out "mans best friend."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/12/121210-archaeology-dogs-australia-conservation-canines/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx1VPHnRwAo

Membranes

The definition of a membrane is a thin, film-like structure that acts as a selective barrier or a separating structure that allows only certain particles or chemicals to pass through. A cell has an outer plasma membrane and an internal plasma membrane. The outer plasma membrane forms a barrier between the cell and its surroundings, controlling the traffic of molecules in and out of the cell, exhibiting the characteristics of a selective permeable membrane. The internal plasma membrane provides a structural order for the metabolism. A membrane’s structure is like a complex fluid mosaic. It is made up of proteins and molecules that are embedded in a phospholipid bilayer. The phospholipids are the main structural component of the membrane, the organization of the phospholipid bilayer allows the hydrophobic tails to be protected by the hydrophilic heads, due to the polarization of the heads and the non-polarity of the tails.

The proteins that are embedded in the membrane are either integral proteins or peripheral proteins. Integral proteins span the entire membrane but peripheral proteins are either on one side of the membrane or the other.

Though the structure of the membrane is made of phospholipids, most of the membranes functions are accomplished by the embedded proteins. There are many kinds of proteins and each have a specific function. There are cell-cell recognition  proteins that identify the type of cell and indicate what is the cell’s and what is “foreign.” Most of the cell-cell recognition proteins are  glycoproteins, which are short chain carbohydrates that attach onto the extracellular side of the membrane, all carbohydrate chains are very specific and vary between species, individuals and cell types, which is why they are used by the cell to make sure that nothing foreign enters that specific cell. Another type of protein that is embedded in the membrane are integrins. Integrins are the main integral protein that strengthens and provides structure to the membrane. There are also intercellular junction proteins, that help corresponding cells stick together to form tissues; enzymes, which activate the biochemical reactions that occur in the cells; and receptor proteins, which bind hormones and other substances to the outside of the cell allowing a change inside the cell to be triggered. The other protein that should be mentioned are the transport proteins, which have two different forms. There are passive transport proteins which do not require energy and allow soluble substances to pass through the membrane and there are active transport proteins that allows the cell to expend energy in order to transport water soluble substances against their concentration gradient.