Ted Talk Project

attribution: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/edith_widder_glowing_life_in_an_underwater_world.html

Biography:
Edith Widder is the CEO,President and Senior Scientist of The Ocean Research & Conservation Association. This organization was founded in 2005. She sparked an interest in the marine world at the age of 11, when she went to Fiji with her parents. Her greatest interest in the marine world is bioluminescence. To help her, she has developed special instruments that can measure and record light. She has a PH.D. in neurobiology,an M.N. in Biochemistry and a B.S. in biology. Besides studying marine biology, she enjoys roller bladding and biking. She also loves to cook and kayak.She has many accomplishments. She is the co-holder of the patent on the instrument that the U.S. Navy considers the standard for measuring bioluminescence in the world's oceans. She has published over 75 peer reviewed scientific papers and participated in over 65 research expeditions. In 2005, she was also inducted into Women Diver's Hall of Fame and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2006.She has led a very successful life.

attributions: http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/oceanage/04widder/welcome.html

Vocabulary

Bioluminescence- the production of light by living organisms
Luciferase-an enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of luciferin
Luciferin-a pigment occurring in luminescent organisms, as fireflies, that emits light when undergoing oxidation.
Plankton-the aggregate of passively floating, drifting, or somewhat motile organisms occurring in a body of water, primarily comprising microscopic algae and protozoa.
Siphonophores-any pelagic hydrozoan of the order Siphonophora, being a floating or swimming colony composed of polyps.
Atolla Wyvillei-Deep Sea Jellyfish

Abstract

Edith Widder is a marine biologist who is best known for her work with bioluminescence. Widder is especially known for making special equipment in order to better understand and study bioluminescence. In her video, she explains the wonders of bioluminescence in the marine world. She explains how bioluminescence works in the marine world and gives a little incite on the biochemistry of it. Edith Widder explains how bioluminescence helps marine animals survive and thrive in their environment. She also talks about the different kinds of organisms that use bioluminescence. The video also shows magnificent video coverage of bioluminescence in the ocean.

Themes of Biology

Theme 8-
In society, it isn’t uncommon for the new technology to clash with the moral laws of society. However, in Edith Widder’s case, her technological advancements helped society rather then harmed it. Widder invented an unobtrusive camera that sits on the sea bottom and records the behavior of marine animals. She appropriately called it the Eye-in-the-sea. The Eye-in-the-sea recorded never before seen animal behavior, bioluminescence and brand new animal species. Widder’s invention not only helped her fellow scientist, but it also helped educate the public about animal species that our world didn’t know much about. She was also able to further look into the phenomenon called bioluminescence. The technology she has developed has helped the scientific community and today’s society.

Theme 3-
Bioluminescence is the ability for organisms to emit light. It comes from an enzyme-catalyzed chemical reaction. Few animals use bioluminescence, but for the animals that do, bioluminescence is used to perform everyday tasks. The animals use bioluminescence to survive. For example, the Angler Fish (commonly seen in the Pixar Movie, Finding Nemo) uses bioluminescence to attract it prey. Black Dragon Fish use bioluminescence to communicate with other fish. Bioluminescence is also used to help animals attract mates, navigate through the dark waters of the sea and to hide from predators. The chemical reaction or Bioluminescence helps animals perform tasks that are critical to their survival.

attributions:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-beauty-of-ugly/interview-dr-edith-widder/426/
http://www.fishchannel.com/saltwater-aquariums/species-info/fireworks-in-the-night.aspx
http://www.chemistryexplained.com/Ar-Bo/Bioluminescence.html

Reflections 2

sorry I forgot to add something!

How do bio systems regulate:
The bio systems regulate themselves.This is because each organelle has a certain job and they fulfill that job. By doing these jobs, they organelle works correctly.

Reflections 2

I learned about the reproduction of cells and the diffrence between sexual and asexual reproduction. An easy trick that i learned was asexual is just one partner. i remebered this because when you use a in front of a word its signifies a plural word. I remebered sexual production has two partners because I remember about the birds and the bees. I also learned that we are diploids ,but we have haploids in us. Haploids have 23 chromosomes because I think of them as half a diploid because a diploid has 46 chromosomes. Two haploid make a diploid which makes another organism.

I found a hard time understanding the diffrence between the telophase and cytokinesis. Are they two seperate parts of one stage or what or are they the same thing but there are just two diffrent words?

Reflections

What I learned:
I learned about membranes and there many functions. I had no idea about how many functions membrane proteins had. I also never realized how complex each of the functions were. I learned in depth about transport in the membrane.I learned how many little things go on so that transferring substances in the membrane is possible.I also learned how membranes control how everything moves in the molecule. I learned about diffusion,passive transport , osmosis and active transport.

What I had a difficult time with:
I had a little bit of difficulty when looking a phospholipids because there was a phospholipid bilayer. I was confused on what the phospholipid bilayer was because it seemed to have some many elements in it.

How is a structure related to a function:
The structure helps make the functions possible. For example, the the structure of phospholipids enable the formation of membranes. The proteins in the membrane have specific functions. Each element is connected top each other making the functions possible.

JELL-O FACTS!!!

Some jello facts!

jello is made of:
-water
-gelatin
-sugar
-food coloring

Gelatin is a processed version of a structured protein called collagen.

To make gelatin, manufacturers grind up animal bones and pre-treat them with either a strong acid or a strong base to break down cellular structures and release proteins like collagen. After pre-treatment, they boil the mixture.The large collagen protein end up being partially broken down, and the resulting product is called gelatin.

There is also a non animal part jello especially made for non animal eaters!!!
special thanks to:
http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question557.htm

Intro rough draft

Germination is the process in which an embryo or seed begins to sprout or grow and form the first stages of a plant. Roots coming out of the seed is usually the first sign of germination. Various conditions such as the amount of water, sunlight and soil the plant receives effect the germination process.
Barley is a plant that grows best in full sunlight. The temperature of the ground also effects the growth of the plant. Barley is also said to not require a lot of water because an excess amount of water causes the plant to decompose.
It is important to find out how much water is need for barley, so it can best germinate. We are conducting this study in order to find out how much water barley needs to properly germinate. We will study the effects of water on the barley by putting different amounts of water in each cup that contains barley seeds and soil. If the barley seeds are tested in different amounts of water then the barley provided with the least amount of water will germinate faster.

special thanks to:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/germination

http://www.heirloom-organics.com/guide/va/guidetogrowingbarley.html

Fun Barley Facts!!!

Here are some facts about Barley!!
- When Barley has reached full maturity it is golden in color and wrinkled.
-Barley grows best in full sunlight.
-Barley also grows best when the ground is cool (around 34-36 F)
-Barley doesn't require alot of water because too much water will cause the plant to decompose.
-Barley belongs to the grass family.