week twelve: living diversity

* Examine your immediate environment for diversity of species & post your findings.

we live in san francisco. in the nearly 7 square miles of our city, there is a zoo, a field of buffalo, numerous parks and enough annual festivals for every possible type of person known to man. in terms of cities, i think ours is pretty darn-tooting diverse. one of the things that i love most about sf is the fact that i can find true quiet and solitude in a number of our parks.

however, the diversity i speak of is mostly man made. nature doesn't create zoos or fences for buffalo. what i have experienced naturally in my neck of the concrete is a combination of rats, spiders, humans, cats, dogs, raccoons, skunks, trees of many types, varied plants and humans.


* Check out the various links on cells below, and post your impressions.

after reviewing two of the links, i came away with some interesting tidbits. here are my thoughts concerning a few of them.

the average human body consists of 75 trillion cells. oftentimes, a number is presented in science and i'm left amazed by the unfathomable amount. this is one of those times.

bacteria has existed for at least 3.5 billion years. and we thought we were the king of the castle. mankind is a toddler compared to bacteria.

viruses are not actually living but are parasites of the living. while i already knew that viruses were not technically living, i wasn't aware that they could be classified as a parasite. the definition of a parasite (from www.dictionary.com) includes the word organism. an organism is something that lives. my guess is that we don't quite have the words to describe a virus properly.


* Take a look at Spike’s Gallery below

i put one of spike's photos in this blog. it could fetch a good price as modern art.

week eleven: the chemistry of life

*Post your thoughts on the issues raised in "growing brain cells in the laboratory".

a few students mentioned the complexity of this issue. i agree with that assessment. it would be nearly impossible to summarize all the pros and cons in one paragraph.


*Check out and review one of the Definitions of the “Chemistry of Life”.

i reviewed the first definition, "Biochemistry is the chemistry of life." from the attached link, i found a section on the history of biochemistry. the science is only about 400 years old. it's interesting to note that before biochemistry, science did not pertain to life the same way it did to non-life. scientists once believed that living beings were the only substances capable of producing the molecules of life.


*Check out and review one of the Animations.

i watched the boiling water animation. although i hoped to learn more about the molecular dance that occurs in boiling water, the animation offered no explanation in conjunction with the video. unfortunately, i didn't learn much from the slow motion cartoon.

week ten: a question of balance

** Discover your “Semiconductor of the Week” and post a brief description

aluminium (atomic symbol, Al) has been chosen as my semiconductor of the week b/c i don't know much about this common metal. called one of the "poor metals", it is highly resistant to corrosion. that's why it has been used in canning and inexpensive pots. high levels of aluminum in the body has been linked to alzheimer's disease. because of this information, i have refrained from canned drinks and canned food whenever possible. an article i read while researching for this blog stated that the polymer coating on the inside of these cans prevents most aluminum leaking.

http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/alzheimers.htm

hmm, thanks for the info. i think i'll stick with glass jars all the same.


** Check out the link to "Welcome to Chembalancer".

ohhh, games. i love 'em! i tried "classic chembalancer" and did quite well. there were two things that i found helpful - 1. the elemental diagrams at the bottom of the game helped me keep track of my equation and visualize what i was creating. 2. the fun facts when i got the correct answer. great way to sneak a little extra learning in there.


** Check out the link below to General Chemistry :: Balancing Equations.

more games. yay! i would say that this game is my top pic b/c it helps to count out the elements and compare side by side. plus, the little jumpy guy was a nice touch.