Botana Curus

   Botana Curus is valuable plant because it produces Curol. Curol can be used to treat certain types of cancer. However, botana curus grows very slowly and is on the list of endangered species. So we need to find a new plant that is related to BC. We cant only rely on BC since it grows very slowly and we need curol to treat cancer. So we tested three other species (X,Y, and Z) to see which one is closely related to BC so we can get curol.
   The species that is closely related to BC is species Z. One way to prove this is through test #6. In this test we used a gel electrophoresis model to test the DNA bands in all three species and botana curus. Test #6 showed us that species Z and BC have the same DNA banding pattern. This means that BC and species Z are related and may have a common ancestor. 
  Species Z and BC have the same amino acids. In test #( ) we translated the mRNA bases to find the amino acids in the protein. We found that both BC and species Z have the same amino acids. This means they both plant species produce the same protein.
   Another test we did to see if species Z is closely related to BC, was paper chromatography. We had put a sample of each species and botana curus on the paper and put the bottom of it in a cup with a very small amount of water. We left it there so it can separate the pigments of each sample. Species Z and BC had the same pigment and pigment separations. 
   All three tests proved that Botana Curus and species Z are related. Now we can use species Z and botana curus to get curol.
   

TWIS post #4

In class we talked about antibiotic resistent bacteria. When a bacteria is not affected by an antibiotic that means that it is resistant. When bacteria becomes resistant it has a mutation that causes it to survive the antibiotics and multiply.

In the picture you can see the the antibiotic isn't affecting the bacteria and it is reproducing.

We also talked about vaccines. A vaccine we all know about is the flu shot. A vaccine is a dead or weaker version of the pathogen. The reason we have to get vaccines is because we have to get our immune system used to the vaccine. When an invader enters out body out white blood cells create antibodies to tag the pathogen for destruction. After this our body creates memory cells so that way then next time our body encouters this pathogen it will fight it off faster to prevent us from getting sick.

In the lab we had a bowl of warm water and cold water and one person out of the group would put their hand in the water. We would then record the temperature of our had (that would be the external temperature) and then we would take our internal temperature and record the data. We were basically testing the effect the external temperature had on our internal temperature. When we put our hand in the cold water out the temperature change was by 10 degrees because the initial temperature was 30 degrees Celsius and after it was exposed to the icy cold water the temperature was 20 degrees Celsius. Our initial internal was 97.1 degrees Fahrenheit and after it was 94.6 degrees Fahrenheit. When we put our hand in the warm water the initial external temperature was 20 degrees Celsius and after it was 30 degrees Celsius. The initial internal temperature was 94.9 degree then after it was 97.8 degrees. If you noticed, the internal temperature didn't change as much as the external temperature. Why? Because our internal temperature needs to be within a range to be considered "normal body temperature". If our body temperature is lower our higher than that range then that isn't good for our body and our organs cannot function properly.
   In this lab we took a red onion cell sample and...

TWIS Post #2: Diffusion

   Last weeks lab was about a 8. I've done this before so I already knew what was going to happen, there was no surprise but it was still cool lab. It wasn't challenging for me. I passed the test that we took but I didn't finish the written part of the lab because I missed a day.

   We created a "cell" using dialysis tubing, string, starch indicator, starch, glucose, and water. To make the cell we had to soak the dialysis tubing in water to open in then tie one end with the string so there is no leakage. Then we filled the dialysis tubing with starch and glucose then tied the other end of the cell. Then put it in a cup filled with water and added starch indicator to the water outside of the cell. The cell I made changed color very quickly but you can see the starch inside of the cell turn into a dark purple almost black. This shows that the iodine from the starch indicator entered the cell.

   While the iodine was entering the cell glucose was leaving the cell to create equilibrium. We took a pipet full of the solution around the "cell" and glucose indicator and put it in a test tube. Then we put the test tube in a hot water bath. The liquid inside of the test tube turned orange which shows that the glucose from inside of the cell diffused out of the cell and into the liquid around it. Since the "cell membrane" of the cell we created is selectively permeable only small molecules can enter and exit the cell that is why only iodine and glucose diffused. The starch cannot move in or out the cell because the molecules are too big to diffuse out of the cell.

   Active transport is the movement of molecules from low concentration to high concentration. This requires ATP (energy). Imagine you are late for work or school and you have to take the bus and the bus is PACKED. You trying to squeeze into the bus requires energy. That is active transport. 

Molecule B is entering the cell through diffusion. There are four of molecule B outside of the cell and one inside. The molecules are moving from low concentration to high concentration therefore it is diffusion. Molecule A has four on the inside and one on the outside. Since it is moving from low concentration to high concentration therefore it is active transport.

TWIS Post #1: Enzyme

   This past week was fun. I'd rate last weeks lab a 10. I did pretty well on the quizzes and the do now's. The vocab was easy to remember. We learned about enzymes and what the purpose of an enzyme is. Enzymes break down substrates, speed up reactions, and put together products. We learned that enzymes cannot function properly in extreme temperatures (Very hot or cold temperatures). When the pH is to acidic the enzymes cannot break down the substrate either. Based on the lab the enzymes broke down the liver faster in basic pH levels. It also worked best when the liver was raw. We did an experiment using our hands, tape, and pennies. We had to flip all the pennies heads up before anything, then when the timer started we had to use one hand to flip the penny over tails up within 15 seconds. That was the enzymes breaking down the substrate in 30°C. Then we had to do the same thing with both hands (32°C), then with our pointer finger and middle finger taped together (37°C), then with our thumb, pointer, and middle finger taped together and out ring finger and pinky taped together (42°C), and then with our fists (47°C). We were testing the optimal temperature the enzyme works in. I don't this this lab was challenging at all however, it was very fun to do.
   
   In this part of the lab we used cooked and raw liver and peroxide to test which temperature the enzymes can break down the substrates quicker. The raw liver started bubbling up immediately the rate if reaction was a 5 out of a scale from 1-5. However the cooked liver didn't bubble up at all the rate of reaction was a 1.