tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23826315837812221472024-03-25T02:09:24.295-04:00Science HaggisA blog by two roommates about various aspects of science all rolled into one spot!Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-9036877709694197532010-03-31T11:13:00.000-04:002010-03-31T11:13:45.958-04:00Intelligent Design not a scientific issue, but a political one.An interesting lecture on how anatomy and physiology can debunk the theory of Intelligent Design.<br />
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As always -- leave any thoughts, comments, ideas, theories, criticisms and so on. <br />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Savannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09700640825228921890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-70993879730319023632010-03-16T08:56:00.004-04:002010-03-16T09:44:39.221-04:00FedEx Fossil found to be important link in transition from water to landIn the March 15 issue of <span style="font-style: italic;">Annals of Carnegie Museum</span>, researchers describe their findings regarding an ancient amphibian skull found at the Pittsburgh International Airport in 2004. This amphibian fossil, named <a href="http://www.livescience.com/php/multimedia/imagedisplay/img_display.php?s=animals&c=news&l=on&pic=skull-100315-02.jpg&cap=The+exquisitely+preserved+skull+of+Fedexia+striegeli%2C+an+early+terrestrial+amphibian.+Credit%3A+Mark+A.+Klingler%2FCarnegie+Museum+of+Natural+History&title="><span style="font-style: italic;">Fedexia striegeli</span></a>, is believed to be an important transitional fossil and one of the earliest examples of terrestrial life. The amphibian received its namesake from the ever so popular shipping company FedEx, as it was discovered on land the corporation owned. The species name <span style="font-style: italic;">striegeli</span> is derived from the undergraduate student Adam Striegel that is credited with its discovery. How unbelievably awesome would it be to uncover such an extremely important fossil as an undergraduate?<br /><br />It is believed that the amphibian lived in the <a href="http://www.bonnechere.ca/images/timescale.gif">Late Pennsylvanian Period</a>. From my understanding of this research, the importance lies in the fact that animals with such advanced capabilities to survive as terrestrials during this time period means that the shift from water to land had begun much earlier than previously thought.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/15/1268664955406/FedEx-fossil-amphibian-Fe-001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 151px;" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/3/15/1268664955406/FedEx-fossil-amphibian-Fe-001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Here's a rundown of the characteristics of <span style="font-style: italic;">Fedexia striegeli </span><span>that led researchers to believe it lived a primarily terrestrial life:<br /><br />1.) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nasal opening divided into two portions:</span> Scientists believe that the back portion held a gland that might have increased the sense of smell. This is an indication of terrestrial life because terrestrial animals rely on their sense of smell for several important life functions including locating prey, sensing predators, knowing their locations, and for sexual purposes.<br /><br />2.) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lacking lateral line: </span>This feature served as a method for aquatic animals to sense vibrations in the water - which proved helpful when attempting to locate food. However, the absence of a lateral line in </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Fedexia striegeli </span><span>indicated that it has evolved so much from its original aquatic ancestor, that the lateral line is no longer present. </span><br /><br />3.) <span style="font-weight: bold;">Highly ossified bones:</span> <a href="http://science.jrank.org/pages/4933/Ossification.html">Ossification</a> of bones indicates that they were thick and well developed, another sign that the animal was walking around supporting its body weight.<br /><br />Research and discoveries in this field are extremely important and vital in the sense that -- the more we know about the animals that lived and survived in these ancient periods, the more we will know and understand what life was like at that time as well as understanding the evolutionary track they were on.<br /><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></em><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"></em><img src="file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/SERBAN%7E1.CHR/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" />Savannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09700640825228921890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-75427585474536474292010-03-15T09:36:00.002-04:002010-03-15T09:44:19.551-04:00Some studying we can get behindJust watch the video. Awesome!<br /><br /><br /><object width="340" height="285"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VCpNk92uswY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VCpNk92uswY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="340" height="285"></embed></object>Savannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09700640825228921890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-60727722919013617072010-03-12T09:48:00.003-05:002010-03-12T10:27:11.675-05:00Reflections on Blogging<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blaugh.com/cartoons/070621_blogging_vows.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 273px; height: 152px;" src="http://blaugh.com/cartoons/070621_blogging_vows.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Apologies from Neeley and myself for not keeping up-to-date with our blogging. I've been crazy busy, and Neeley just started a new job in a toxicology lab @ a research company! Congrats Bug!<br /><br />So, as we all know, the increasing popularity of blogging in the last few years is astounding. <a href="http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/12/social-media-web-20-internet-numbers-stats/">The Future Buzz</a> is a great website from 2009 showing various stats concerning different forums on the internet including Google, Wikipedia, blogging, YouTube and so on. The site states that over 346,000,000 people read blogs annually...seriously?! That's too many people to try to comprehend. When Neeley and I began our venture into science blogging - we were a little skeptical. That's not to say that we still aren't, but I suppose you could say we're slowly finding our footing in it. Initially, we both felt like...who really wants to read the rants of two 24 year old science nerds? We both have undergraduate degrees in Biology, we are both very intelligent when it comes to science (or we like to think so!), and are both currently working in the science field (myself in biochem, Neeley in toxicology) -- but searching through some of the science blogs that are out there, I came to find that so many of them are tremendously technical, detailed, and advanced. It was all a bit overwhelming.<br /><br /><br /><br />We don't necessarily want to write about the most recent groundbreaking scientific research -- that's not saying it's not interesting to us nor to the rest of the general public -- but we'd rather write about topics we're interested in, already involved in, or just think are really really cool. Neeley wrote about the meat vs. vegetarian diet because that's something she's experimented with...and she loves food...amazing cook! And for me, I wrote about Darwin (because he's just spectacular) and about the ruminant research because I grew up on a farm and agriculture is something that I'm drawn towards.<br /><br />Essentially, I guess what I'm trying to say is that Neeley and I are science geeks, through and through. It's an unhealthy passion. We have no idea how many people read what we write, or how many find it interesting. We can only hope that as time passes we will attract more readers into our ridiculous lives of science. It's become a forum for us to proudly display our geekdom. So, now that we have our pre-blogging jitters pushed aside, let's hope this roller coaster ride that we like to call our lives is interesting enough to people to make this blog successful!<br /><br /><br />Comic - courtesy of www.blaugh.comSavannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09700640825228921890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-72548474790106390402010-02-27T19:21:00.004-05:002010-02-27T19:52:23.078-05:00To meat or not to meat... that is the question!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIw9UAWoN_Ds4kRlWrvHMzb6311WZjuer5VMBsD-zYV8joD9QA3CI77N0wOw_GPZ1jGv6QPJdz8AayYtvEanPovhQWaj87oYuX8TDWnVIBHEiZb4WgCIEcTNebqXAZn3BjRhV_G7a3ate/s1600-h/anti-meatjpg.jpeg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYIw9UAWoN_Ds4kRlWrvHMzb6311WZjuer5VMBsD-zYV8joD9QA3CI77N0wOw_GPZ1jGv6QPJdz8AayYtvEanPovhQWaj87oYuX8TDWnVIBHEiZb4WgCIEcTNebqXAZn3BjRhV_G7a3ate/s200/anti-meatjpg.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443090742476374242" /></a><br />I don’t know about everyone else, but I feel like the people around me are either hard core vegetarian, or hard core meat eaters. I for one have done them both. I tried for a solid 9 months to not eat meat. My Achilles heel you ask? SUBWAY! I just cant stay away from those foot long spicy italians!! (Don't take that dirty!) So I wanted to talk about the pros and cons of the meat diet and the vegetarian diets.<br /><br />You probably already know that a vegetarian diet consists plant based foods like vegies, fruits, legumes, seeds, blah blah blah. You get it! However, in my reading I found that there are all different kinds of vegetarian diets, and by talking to vegetarians I found there are all different kinds of reasons to pursue them. A vegetarian doesn't eat meat, game, poultry, fish, shell fish, or crustaceans. An ovo-vegetarian eats eggs but not dairy. A lacto-vegetarian eats dairy but no eggs. Of course there is also a lacto-ovo-vegetarian. Im sure you can guess what they eat. A vegan omits all animal based products, dairy, eggs, and honey. Yes, even honey from the bees! There are also a bunch of other specialized vegetarian diets like fruitarians. Google it, I'm not kidding. I even found that some alcohols are off limit because of their use of gelatin in the clarifying process. I know what you carnivores are thinking, "How can veggie eaters possibly get all of nutrients they need if they don't eat meat?" In fact vegetarians can get eat a complete balanced diet without animal products. They consume high amounts of fiber, folic acid, magnesium, and vitamins C and E. Some vegetarians can have low levels of calcium and vitamin B, but with a sufficient amount of collard greens, leafy greens, tempeh, and tofu, this should not ever be a problem. Yes friends, they even get a sufficient amount of protein. Although their levels are slightly lower than carnivores, it is more than enough to sustain an active human body. There are a variety of other benefits to the diet other than the physical aspect. <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0820/is_1999_April/ai_54232138/">Here</a> are 22 benefits to going vegie right now! It is animal friendly, and discourages the beef industry that produces copious amounts of methane gas. <br /><br />On the flip side of the “animal friendly” diet, there is another lifestyle out there called the <a href="http://paleolithicdiet.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/original-introduction/">Paleolithic Diet</a>, or The Caveman Diet. This diet seeks to be similar to our preagricultural counterparts. Our ancestors didn’t have the modern convinces of cultivated plants and domesticated animals, so they hunted and gathered. Foods that are copesetic with this diet include anything that can be hunted/fished and gathered. Eggs, insects, fruits, seeds, nuts, vegies, mushrooms, herbs and spices, sea food, fish, and wild game meats (and grass feed beef). People following this diet are encouraged to drink a lot of water, natural fruit juices, and teas. Fermented and alcoholic beverages are prohibited, as well as adding salts, sugars, dairy, beans, and grains. (Since I love a good cookie, salty foods, and wine I’m out!) In this diet you can cook your foods unlike raw food diets. The foods you eat on this diet are high in protein and low in carbohydrates. Since these foods are low in carbs, it may be an effective weight loss strategy for obese people, and help prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes. The Caveman Diet has low omega-3:omega-6 fatty acid ratio, and is absent of any artificial trans fats. So this may aid in the reduction of cardiovascular disease. On the flip side this diet is high in cholesterol because of all the meats. The vitamin and mineral content of the diet is also really high in contrast to the “Neolithic diet”, also known as the standard diet of today. <br /><br />Part of the argument is that Neolithic foods like grains, beans, and potatoes contain anti-nutrients. These anti-nutrients are enzyme blockers that bind up digestion, and mess with stomach enzymes and small intestine enzymes, which adds up to a lot more work on your organs. These anti-nutrients also contain<a href="http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Lectin"> lectin</a>. A natural protein that can trick the cell into doing things it normally couldn't do. Lectins can do all kinds of bad things like change the physiology of cell membranes. Which, if I learned anything in A&P, can start a whole world of troubles for the body. However, there is the argument that diets like this can shorten the life span. <br /><br />There are pros and cons to each diet. Not to mention I found a world of arguments out there for each one, and I encourage you all read more, and choose for yourself. For me.. I think I will stick to eating whatever I please. Life is to short to deprive my pallet of all the wonderful flavors out there because of a diet!<br /><br />Please leave your comments and let me know where you stand on the matter!<br /><br />Read about vegetarian diets from The <a href="http://www.vrg.org/">Vegetarian Resource Group</a><br /> OR<br />Read about <a href="http://paleodiet.com/">Paleolithic Diets</a>!Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-80558566989964765732010-02-24T08:48:00.002-05:002010-02-24T09:27:12.733-05:00Common forage plant found to control gastrointestinal parasites in ruminantsWhile rummaging through<a href="http://www.freshpatents.com/"> Fresh Patents</a> this weekend, I found patent request that caught my eye. A group of researchers are patenting a feeding mechanism they have discovered: the plant <a href="http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LECU"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lespedeza cuneata</span></a> (also referred to as sericea lespedeza, Chinese bush clover, silky bush clover, and Himalayan bush clover) can control the presence of harmful, sometimes deadly, gastrointestinal nematodes in ruminants when included in the diet of these ruminants. More specifically, the plant has a detrimental effect on the fecundity of these worms.<br /><br />In the southern USA, there is a high demand for goat meat and milk, however, the growth of the industry has been rather lagging and unable to keep up with the demand. This lagging is due to gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), more specifically, <a href="http://www.smallstock.info/tools/disease-nutrition/FAMACHA.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">Haemonchus contortus</span></a>. This nematode will feed on blood in the stomach, therefore giving off a a red coloration. The adult worms have a lancet in their mouths, in which they utilize to open blood vessels for feeding purposes.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://xyala.cap.ed.ac.uk/nematodeESTs/species/NBC.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 119px; height: 121px;" src="http://xyala.cap.ed.ac.uk/nematodeESTs/species/NBC.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">H. contortus</span> females are extremely fertile and can lay up to 5,000 eggs a day. The eggs will pass through the feces, larvae will molt on the grass, and the ruminants will digest these nematodes who will then start attacking their intestinal tracts. The effects include anemia, weakness, and in a great deal of cases: death.<br /><br />Chinese bush clover is known for its high concentration of tannins (protein). However, cattle and other ruminants are less likely to forage on this plant due to that fact. The high tannins produce a taste that the grazers do no particularly care for. Common dewormers and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthelmintic">anthelminics</a> are used in attempt to reduce the effects of the GINs, but the worms have readily developed resistance against the drugs.<br /><br />The Chinese bush clover can be introduced into the diet of the animals in several ways: hay, pellets, directly with feed, and as an additive among many others. Through extensive research and feeding trials (shown in the patent request) the researchers have discovered that the plants does not kill the worms, but instead greatly reduces their fecundity, which will in turn reduce the number of worms consumed via grazing.<br /><br />Take a look at the patent request on <a href="http://www.freshpatents.com/Method-and-composition-for-the-control-of-gastrointestinal-parasites-in-animals-dt20060713ptan20060153901.php">Fresh Patents</a> for a more detailed description of what these researchers are trying to do. In my opinion, this method of GIN control is extremely advantageous. The method is simple to do, cost-effective, and most importantly: all natural. Considering that these ruminants are to be used in the food industry, as consumers we want the least amount of synthetic drugs in them as possible. And these researchers have come up with a solution.Savannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09700640825228921890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-1481206342766034322010-02-16T13:42:00.005-05:002010-02-17T09:23:07.293-05:00Happy Belated Birthday Darwin!<blockquote></blockquote>I know I'm a few days late posting on Darwin Day, Happy belated birthday Chuck! I had a difficult time deciding what I wanted to post in honor of one of the most important figures in science -- in my book he IS the most important. As most of us science geeks know, Darwin Day is celebrated on Darwin's birthday, February 12th. Throughout my research and attempts to gain more knowledge about this amazing man, I came across some pretty interesting topics, and I found a few ways for us to appropriately honor his memory, intelligence, and contributions to our society.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.darwinday.org/">The International Darwin Day Foundation</a> is urging people in the scientific community to sign a petition they have generated in hopes of officially honoring Darwin:<br /><blockquote>"Our petition asks President Obama to issue a proclamation on Darwin Day that honors Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection and that calls on all Americans to preserve scientific discovery as a bedrock of our society. It also asks Americans to commemorate the day with appropriate events and activities."</blockquote>The website makes a very valid point -- if we don't get the message out about evolution and it's importance in our society, specifically schools, we will be at a great disadvantage. It's imperative for children to be presented with ALL ideas and theories in all subjects, not just science. They'll be grossly unprepared once they hit the real world, and not to mention - have completely one sided opinions.<br /><br />I personally believe that this petition is an extremely good idea, and that The International Darwin Day Foundation is on the right track in helping the science community get onto the map, and with more integrity and credibility. So, if you agree with me -- go ahead and <a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/318/t/10503/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2221">sign the petition</a> and spread the word! Let's honor Darwin and give him the credibility he deserves!<br /><br />As many of you may have heard, there is a movie chronicling Charles Darwin's life, <a href="http://creationthemovie.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Creation</span></a>. There has been a great deal of negative buzz about the movie here in the states. Unfortunately, the movie had a difficult time picking up an American distributor because people were concerned that it would be too controversial for conservative America -- but it's okay watch anti-American views, terrorism, rape, murder, and crime? But to my relief, the movie finally found a <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3icbd5f8a8048766fc75dfd9b5e88dfce1">U.S. distributor</a>! To my dismay though, it hasn't been released anywhere here in Ohio. But, when I get my hands on a copy of it, I say we have a large Darwin viewing party. Who's in?!<br /><br />Here's a sneak peak...<br /><br /><object width="480" height="295"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/BREvUKpZTeU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/BREvUKpZTeU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object><br /><br />Watch a funny clip of the Rachel Maddow show <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsMTB828XCA">HERE</a>.<br /><br />Check out the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/CREATION-The-Movie/39212784860">Facebook </a>page for the movie.<br /><br />Check out Charles Darwin's great great grandson's interview on <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122778363&ft=1&f=1045">NPR</a>.<br /><br />Get yourself some Darwin gear <a href="http://shop.cafepress.com/Darwin?cmp=knc--g--us--lib--apparel--search-e--Darwin_apparel&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=lib--apparel_generic&utm_content=search-e&utm_term=darwin_apparel&gclid=CPCrm5vL958CFQKbnAodB0veXA">HERE</a>.<br /><br />And in closing, I'll leave you with my favorite Darwin quote.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">" It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."</blockquote><blockquote></blockquote></div><h1 style="margin: 0pt; font-size: 12px;"></h1><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> <blockquote><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /></div><br /></blockquote></div>Savannahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09700640825228921890noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-20642787894837140402010-02-14T13:16:00.004-05:002010-02-14T15:42:29.074-05:00HAPPY V-DAY!!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-jWt5qxunbJYoLMxR35ewocu0InypYzH5nKiMCotTm0CA5eXdfnqxbmeyY7bHWOU3Y_L9hdH6GuZQQdewoo_VlQ-IuKxndNiEP4v7BZGgaRDy-DmHuGdEXmCOPtPjEjNpmKrzaN-s8ug/s1600-h/mban2584l.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-jWt5qxunbJYoLMxR35ewocu0InypYzH5nKiMCotTm0CA5eXdfnqxbmeyY7bHWOU3Y_L9hdH6GuZQQdewoo_VlQ-IuKxndNiEP4v7BZGgaRDy-DmHuGdEXmCOPtPjEjNpmKrzaN-s8ug/s320/mban2584l.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438202205443425506" /></a><br />In light of V-Day I think I will talk about VD (venereal disease) or Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDs). What with all the "love" going around, I want to make sure all our readers are ONLY sharing the love, and not the love bugs! <br /><br /> I'm sure everyone knows that Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are spread through sexual contact, either genital, oral-genital, or anal-genital. Most disease causing organisms cannot live very long outside a warm, moist environment. So naturally moving from host to host via reproductive organs during sexual contact seems like the perfect mode of transportation. Some travel through bodily fluids, and others, like pubic lice (crabs) take advantage of you "bumping uglies" to hop from one person to another. <br /><br /> I want to give you a little run down of some common STD's and their effects. Behind door number one is Gonorrhea! It is cause by the bacterium <span style="font-style:italic;">Neisseria gonorrhoeae</span>. Besides the obvious genital to genital transmission, it can be transmitted to the mouth and throat through oral sex, or mouth and eyes through hand contact. So don't think just because you're not doing the horizontal tango you are safe from STDs. Symptoms include for men pus from the penis, for women vaginal discharge, and for both painful urination. You may be asymptomatic, but you can still have complications, including sterility, SO GET CHECKED! It can be treated with antibiotics, and have no complications if caught early. However, in recent years antibiotic-resistant strains have emerged. <br /><br /> Behind door number two is Syphilis cause by the bacterium <span style="font-style:italic;">Treponema pallidum</span>. This one is a little more feisty than Gonorrhea. Symptoms start with a chancre at the infection site. Then is leads to a non itchy rash, hair loss, and gray areas of infection on mucous membranes. Finally it starts it's widespread damage to the cardiovascular and nervous system, blindness, and skin ulcers. (I bet thats attractive when you're trying to pick up a valentine date at the bar!) This one can also be treated with antibiotics.<br /><br /> Hiding behind door number three is Chlamydia! This little darling is cause by the bacterium <span style="font-style:italic;">Chlamydia trachomatis</span>. Although the rates of Gonorrhea and Syphilis have been going down in the U.S. Chlamydia is on the rise. It remains the most commonly reported infectious disease in the nation. Symptoms include Discharge from penis, or vagina, burning during urination, and vaginal itching. Complications include <a href="http://women.webmd.com/sexual-health-your-guide-to-pelvic-inflammatory-disease">pelvic inflammatory disease,</a> urethral infections, sterility, and complications of pregnancy. More then 1.2 million cases were report to the CDC in 2008! (<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats08/trends.htm">CDC.com</a>) <br /><br />There are plenty more like:<br /> - <a href="http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/guide/hiv-aids-overview-facts">AIDS </a> (I'm sure everyone is familiar with this one)<br /> - <a href="http://www.webmd.com/hepatitis/hepb-guide/hepatitis-b-topic-overview">Hepatitis B</a><br /> - <a href="http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/hpv-genital-warts/hpv-virus-information-about-human-papillomavirus">Genital warts (Cause by HPV) </a><br /> - <a href="http://www.webmd.com/genital-herpes/guide/genital-herpes-overview-facts">Genital herpes</a><br /> - <a href="http://www.webmd.com/sexual-conditions/guide/trichomoniasis">Trichomoniasis</a><br /> - <a href="http://children.webmd.com/tc/lice-symptoms">Pubic lice</a> <br /> <br /><br />Not only are they embarrassing in a social situation, but some of these little "love bugs" can cause serious organ damage. So please please please be smart and safe, GET TESTED! No shame in being smart about your sex life, if you have one. I mean what would you rather get for Valentines day, flowers and candy, or a VD for V-Day? (I personally like expensive metals and shiny clear chunks of carbon!) <br /><br />For information how to protect yourself <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/condomeffectiveness/latex.htm">check this out</a>!<br /><br />So to everyone out there, Happy Valentines Day, and remember... No glove.. No love!Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-75440057761891363462010-02-13T01:01:00.003-05:002010-02-13T01:17:25.716-05:00Back In Action!!!!Hello World! So my roommate Savannah and I have decided to resurrect Science Haggis as a side hobby. We will be blogging about whatever topics in science strike our fancy, or we encounter in our every day lives! We are two graduates of Ashland University, both with our degrees in Biology. We LOVE science, and we love to have fun! So hopefully we can make this a fun, interesting, and of course entertaining blog about science in our lives! I will be making our first real science post this weekend I promise! As for right now I just wanted to let everyone know that we are kicking off a new beginning, and encouraging people to keep (or start) following! <br /><br />Thanks to some great people who encouraged us to kick our blog off: Mason Posner- Our wonderful professor from Ashland (Visit his blog A Fish Eye View, and Bora Zivkovic for shedding light on our blogs! (Visit his blog- A Blog Around The Clock) And a special thanks for my roommate and co-author Savannah for being my partner in crime.. Whether it be on here, or out in the world! <br /><br />Stick around, its sure to be a wild ride!!!!<br /><br />Ps: I will learn all the cool tricks like adding links to my posts so please be patient!!!!!!!!Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-743886862460398892009-05-05T22:37:00.000-04:002009-05-06T10:18:48.315-04:00<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxrWwmJAbCLUFO5p_odBk4TmZoDSwFPP1kad4TUJ6Yo2lfNbXSrXUIDZeNrBrzwr0G7WN63Qr75umAUJeJzIg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-43230636288161603092009-05-05T21:57:00.000-04:002009-05-05T22:36:14.404-04:00Dance of the Bolas SpiderHere is our video on the feeding habits of the Bolas Spider. The bolas spider is a native of America, Africa, and Australia. It does not spin a web. Instead it creates a string with a sticky ball on the end of it called the bolas, to entice its prey. It swings this bolas around and captures the prey with it. They have oddly lumpy abdomens, (much like mine in the video), and are usually nocturnal hunters. However with filming restraints we had to make this a daytime shoot. Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><object id="BLOG_video-FAILED" class="BLOG_video_class" width="320" height="266" contentid="FAILED"></object>Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-79109444539680906872009-04-19T16:38:00.000-04:002009-04-19T16:45:01.270-04:00Our Cinematic DebutBecause we are so overwhelmed with Entomology, Val, Elise and I (Neeley) will be making a group video project on the Feeding and Breeding behavior of the Bolas Spider. It will be in the style of Indiana Jones. I will be playing the part of the Bolas spider, and editor, Val will be playing the part of my prey, Elise is our creative director/videographer/extra!... We are going to take you on a 3 minute ride into the world of the most creative hunter in the insect world. Hopefully this earns us an Academy Award. Look out Angelina Jolie there's a new leading lady in town!!! And she births adult males!!!! Muhahahhah!Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-2962084231140927692009-04-14T22:00:00.000-04:002009-04-14T22:02:21.729-04:00Found In the Most Unusual EnvironmentThe bacteria a normal person thinks of can’t survive “normal” temperatures right? Wrong, there is a group of organisms that thinks extreme environmental conditions are prefect. There are several environmental parameters that certain organisms call home. The environmental conditions suitable are temperature, pH, osmolarity, oxygen, and pressure. I decided to pick this group of bacteria because I thought that they were interesting. One particular type of bacterium that I found interesting goes by the name of Thermus aquaticus. I decided to compose a presentation for my senior seminar class about extremeophiles with emphasis on Thermus aquaticus.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-41340387477565990912009-03-25T11:44:00.001-04:002009-03-25T12:21:59.721-04:00Practice GREAfter taking the practice subject GRE test for biology, I realized that I knew next to nothing about plants seeing as I'm more of an animal person. I almost wish that I wasn't graduating in May so that I could take Dr. Brauner's General Botany class to learn more about them. But since there are already enough blogs written about plants, I thought I would address another set of subject questions that I did not do so well on this practice GRE; molecular/cell processes.<br /><br />It's not that I don't understand molecular/cell processes, it just that it doesn't interest me as much as my vertebrate and invertebrate classes do so I guess I didn't retain much of that knowledge after I learned it in Genetics (a class in which I did really well in). The sad part about this is that I'm currently relearning this stuff in my Microbiology class and I still got many of those questions wrong. I believe that this is an important aspect of biology that every Biology major should know upon graduation, so I guess I'm going to have to try harder to retain the information this time around.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-54221102480541050612009-03-24T19:33:00.000-04:002009-03-24T19:35:38.093-04:00Here, there, everywhereHas anyone seriously thought about how some of the food in our diet comes to our table to be eaten? If not, the arthropod phylum (especially the honey bee) assists with pollination to create many of the foods we eat. The arthropod phylum is very important in the delicate earth ecosystem. I feel that there are two sides to this particular phylum, the good side and the evil side. An example of a creature on the on the evil side, in my opinion are wasps because the sting and are very annoying. On the flip side, the honey bee as described earlier is a trigger for the development of many other things (ex: pollination of flowers for apples we eat). <br /> <br /> I thought some information about the phylum is appropriate because probably many people do not have much knowledge. Arthropods are invertebrates with segmented bodies and jointed limbs. The limbs form part of an exoskeleton which is mainly made of α-chitin, a derivative of glucose. Now the most important part is the diversity of this particular phylum, which is very astounding. The diversity in a small area of forest can reach hundreds of different kinds, or any type of living environment. In the end, I feel that this particular phylum is very important to the earth’s survival, but the threat of global warming can threaten earth’s survival life line.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-25695712711516689052009-03-15T19:54:00.000-04:002009-03-15T20:55:37.117-04:00Fish with a Transparent Head!?!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye1-350.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 248px;" src="http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye1-350.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span>The phrase "I can see right through you" is more than just a phrase to this bazaar creature. <span style="font-style: italic;">Macropinna microstoma</span> is the only species of fish in the genus <i>Macropinna</i>, belonging to Opisthoproctidae, the barreleye family. It is recognized for a highly unusual transparent, fluid-filled dome on its head, through which the lenses of its eyes can be seen. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has more <a href="http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html">information</a> on this deep sea dweller.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-66503655229059465582009-02-25T12:17:00.000-05:002009-02-25T13:00:03.954-05:00Are Germs really THAT Bad?<a href="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/daycare_germs_080829_mn.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/daycare_germs_080829_mn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>This post could also be called Babies Part <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Deux</span> because I am again thinking about my newborn niece and nephew. I have a feeling these two additions to my family will often be the topic of many of my thoughts.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>So my nephew was born a week ago, and I still haven't seen the little guy. I was planning on visiting Anna (my sister) and him this past weekend, but after talking to my hysterical sister on the phone, I opted out. Apparently the nurses at her hospital had her sign an agreement swearing that she wouldn't let her baby be exposed to any individual who has been sick or has even recently come in contact with someone sick. Doesn't that basically rule out everyone? Well apparently it ruled me out since people on my track team have been sick. On the phone, Anna (sobbing) told me "He is losing weight and not getting enough to eat as it is, and if he gets sick and starts throwing up then he will die!" Yikes, talk about a good way of keeping me away. I then called my other sister Lee who told me to come visit her and her two-week-old baby girl instead. Obviously she never signed any aforementioned paper.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I understand why Anna is so touchy about her son contracting an illness, it being her first time as a mother and having those papers to sign. Hopefully she will eventually grow out of this fear. It is a pet peeve of mine when parents make you wash your hands or apply Germ-X whenever you are interacting with their child. The children need to build up their immune systems! Plus, do these parents really think they can eliminate all germs their children are exposed to?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I found that a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/04/05/cohen.allergies/index.html">pediatric doctor </a>believes in a relatively anti-bacterial free environment for his toddler who needs to attain a strong immune system. I agree with this idea, but I wouldn't go as far as letting the child eat random food off the ground....yuck! This doctor believes in the "<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Hygiene</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Hypothesis</span>" that <a href="http://leadingcauseofdeath.blogspot.com/2009/02/hygeine-hypothesis.html">Andrew</a> referred to in his post for the blog site Leading Cause of Death. Being exposed to germs at an early age can help us fight allergies, asthma, and diseases later in life. Another <a href="http://http//www.gooddeals.com/news/16/The-Debate-over-Germs-at-the-Doctors-Office-and-Daycares.aspx">article</a> states that "studies have claimed that babies and children who grow up with multiple pets, siblings, or spend a lot of time in daycare are less likely to have wheezing, certain allergies and asthma". To me, it's a moderation thing. Allow children to be exposed to germs in moderation, and don't be an anti-bacterial freak. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Maybe I'll see my nephew some day........</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-51653644508780442232009-02-24T19:12:00.000-05:002009-02-24T19:15:02.676-05:00An annoying public health issueThis particular type of bacteria has wreaked havoc in the health care industry. The culprit in question is Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In society today, the warning signs at the local gym are in regard to this particular type of bacteria. Today, I am going to give some information on this culprit so that the chances of contraction at the gym or other public use area are slim. <br /> <br /> I decided to do some more research about this bacterium. MRSA causes infections in different parts of the body because it is all over a human body. Today, it is tough to treat certain staph strains because of resistance. Resistance emerges because of over use of medications to treat it. Once an infection occurs with this bacterium, there is usually a painful pimple or boil. On the other hand, in more serious cases, infections can enter surgical wounds, the bloodstream, the lungs, or the urinary tract. Now that I have talked about worst case scenario, the worry today is about the spread of tough strains of MRSA. Because it's hard to treat, MRSA is sometimes called a "super bug."<br /><br /> Now that I have talked about the symptoms of a staph infection, some information about the actual bacteria seems appropriate. Regular staph lives all over our bodies, with the majority taking refuge in our noses. A majority of people can go on with their day without having problems with this bacterium. <br /><br /> As I explain earlier, this bacterium has an evil side which shows up when it enters our body through a cut. Once there, it can cause an infection. Staph is one of the most common causes of skin infections in the U.S. Usually, these are minor and don't need special treatment. The game of trying to treat infections from this particular bacterium is a never ending battle. The reason why is because MRSA is constantly adapting. This is scary because researchers have to continue to develop new antibiotics. <br /><br /> In the end, since I talked about this bacterium, I thought I should bring in my personal story. About six months ago, I thought I had a normal pimple but boy was I wrong. The area started to become painful so I went to the doctor. The doctor cultured the area and the result was great. The result was a staph infection but of the non-MRSA type. I was so relieved.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-4951812244158184862009-02-18T17:53:00.000-05:002009-02-18T18:05:16.739-05:00Some PerspectiveIn my usual activities of being a geek, I found an interesting video about evolution. All those classes we have all took that talk about how long it took things to evolve, the evolution of recent life forms is but a mere smidge in that time scale. The video I found on the website for Seed Magazine put the evolution time scale into perspective. Please enjoy this video by Claire L. Evens. I think it puts the timing of evolution into perspective. Enjoy!
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<br /><a href="http://www.seedmagazine.com/news/2009/02/the_evolution_of_life_in_60_se.php"> Evolution of Life in 60 SecondsNeeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-26492504831776562572009-02-18T00:20:00.000-05:002009-02-18T00:53:16.762-05:00To Immunize or Not to Immunize?<a href="http://www-tc.pbs.org/newshour/extra/images/medium/jan-june08/syringe_lg.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 317px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="http://www-tc.pbs.org/newshour/extra/images/medium/jan-june08/syringe_lg.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>How often do two sisters become unknowingly pregnant at the same time? Well maybe more often than I think, but in my family it's a first. Over the summer I received the news that both my older sisters were expecting in February. So here we are awaiting the little rascals and basically freaking out. One big question on my sisters' minds is whether or not to immunize their babies with all of the vaccines available these days. Not only are the small pox and the measles vaccinations given, but now there is also a chicken pox vaccine. My mother has her own opinion. She has gotten wrapped up in the media accounts of vaccinations leading to autism in children. </div><br /><div>So is there any truth in this idea of vaccines leading to other problems such as autism or the increased chance of having allergies?I decided to look into this now hot topic in the news. The Pennsylvania Department of Health offers a <a href="http://www.dsf.health.state.pa.us/health/lib/health/immunizations/09_0-6yrs_schedule_pr.pdf">schedule of the recommended immunizations</a> for children 0-6 years old. There are eleven vaccinations recommended, and these are not even the total number available to children. Growing up, I never doubted why I received the vaccines I did; I followed the lead of my parents and unwillingly allowed the needle to puncture my skin. I always assumed that vaccinations were for the best, ensuring the good health of children in our country. So why is my mom so concerned about my soon-to-be niece and nephew receiving their vaccinations? </div><br /><div>Perhaps it has to do with articles such as “<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/09/AR2007060901344.html">Fight Over Vaccine-Autism Link Hits Court</a>”, or "<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/24/autism.vaccines/index.html">Vaccine-Autism Question Divides Parents, Scientists</a>" that has my mother so worried. She is becoming overly wrapped up in a frenzy the media has the power to create. What's interesting is that the majority of the articles or stories claim that there is actually no experimental proof that there is a link between vaccinations and autism. In his article in <em>The Washington Post</em>, "<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303396.html">Study Finds No Autism Link in Vaccine</a>" <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Shankar</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Vedantam</span> summarizes the research of Andrew Wakefield. This British researcher concluded that there is no link between <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">autism</span> and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Actually, there has been no scientific evidence introduced thus far pointing to any of the vaccines being responsible in causing autism. </div><div></div><br /><div>I attempted to explain all this to my mother the other night, but she still seems weary. I guess you'll have that when dealing with a first time grandmother. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-63066439950692918412009-02-17T16:52:00.001-05:002009-02-17T17:27:36.666-05:00Kiss of Death<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/text18/rhodnius.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 283px; height: 238px;" src="http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/text18/rhodnius.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">In light of the recent events, </span><st1:place style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" st="on"><st1:city st="on">Darwin</st1:city></st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">’s 200</span><sup style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">th</sup><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> birthday (Feb.12</span><sup style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">th</sup>) and Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d shed some light on a on a little critter called the Kissing Bug. </p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">The Kissing Bug (<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Panstrongylus geniculatus</span>) is a member of the Assassin Bug family Reduviidae. These insects get their name from the location of their bite, which are usually the lips. Kissing bugs feed mostly on the blood of vertebrates, but the ones that feed on human blood can carry serious disease. In South American countries, these little critters are the main vectors for a parasite called <span style="font-style: italic;">Trypanosoma cruzi</span> which causes Chagas Disease.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ciencianet.com.ar/files/images/chagas.post.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 161px;" src="http://ciencianet.com.ar/files/images/chagas.post.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <p class="MsoNormal">An interesting fact about <i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">T. cruzi</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> is that it is not passed from saliva to blood like many other disease spreading vectors (i.e. mosquitoes), but rather through the Kissing Bugs feces. These parasites crawl their way into the wound made from the bite. Soon after the parasite enters the wound, the site of infection becomes enlarged and swollen. Other symptoms include: fever, fatigue, body aches, headache, rash, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and vomiting. You may think that this is as bad as it gets, but unfortunately this disease can lay dormant inside you for years and is incurable. When this nasty disease finally does reemerge, the symptoms are much worse and usually cause severe heart damage and malformation of the intestines.</span></p> <p style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="MsoNormal">Though the Kissing Bug really doesn’t have any attachment to Valentine’s Day, I just thought its name was appropriate for the occasion. So now you may be wondering what the Kissing Bug and <i style="">T. cruzi </i>have to do with <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Darwin</st1:city></st1:place>? Well unfortunately for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Darwin</st1:place></st1:city>, while on his voyage on the H.M.S Beagle it was thought that he was bitten by a Kissing Bug, which may have been cause of his debilitating disease later in life. <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Darwin</st1:city></st1:place> wrote an account of this bite:</p> <span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" ><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"We crossed the Luxan, which is a river of considerable size, though its course towards the sea-coast is very imperfectly known: it is even doubtful whether, in passing over the plains, it is not evaporated and lost. We slept in the </span><st1:placetype style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" st="on">village</st1:placetype><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> of </span><st1:placename style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" st="on">Luxan</st1:placename><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, which is a small place surrounded by gardens, and forms the most southern cultivated district in the Province of Mendoza;</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> it is five leagues</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> south of the capital. At night I experienced an attack (for it deserves no less a name) of the </span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Benchuca</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, a species of Reduvius, the great black bug of the </span><st1:place style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" st="on">Pampas</st1:place><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">. It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one's body. Before sucking they are quite thin, but afterwards they become round and bloated with blood, and in this state are easily crushed. One which I caught at Iquique</span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iquique" title="Iquique"></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">, (for they are found in </span><st1:country-region style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" st="on">Chile</st1:country-region><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> and </span><st1:country-region style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" st="on"><st1:place st="on">Peru</st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">,) was very empty. When placed on a table, and though surrounded by people, if a finger was presented, the bold insect would immediately protrude its sucker, make a charge, and if allowed, draw blood. No pain was caused by the wound. It was curious to watch its body during the act of sucking, as in less than ten minutes it changed from being as flat as a wafer to a globular form. This one feast, for which the </span><i style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">benchuca</i><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> was indebted to one of the officers, kept it fat during four whole months; but, after the first fortnight, it was quite ready to have another suck."</span>- </span><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >Charles Darwin, March 25, 1835</span><br /></strong></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">As I said before, there is no cure for this disease so prevention is important. So if you even have the urge to do some traveling around South America, be sure to take a mosquito net when camping outdoors. Insecticides can only do so much to control their numbers and prevent the Kiss of Death.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-49456520361681113082009-02-16T18:50:00.000-05:002009-02-17T11:14:47.005-05:00Not the usual suspectWhen a person thinks about the topic of microbiology, the natural tendency is to think about the world of bacteria. I am going to try and break that barrier and talk about a type of fungus called Aspergillus flavus. I got the idea to talk about a fungus because Dr Posner, our senior seminar professor said to discuss some cool topic in microbiology rather than the other topic I had planned on doing. After I pondered the idea for a few minutes, I then had to some research on this type of fungus and found that our microbiology expert, Dr. Greene, does research projects with this fungus. I thought that this was very cool that somebody that I know works with this fungus.<br /> My research into the characteristics of this fungus came up with some interesting results. To start off, A. flavus belongs to the genus Aspergillus. According to a mold remediation company, the genus Aspergillus includes over 185 which I thought was interesting. Around twenty species have so far been reported as causative agents of opportunistic infections in man. Among these, Aspergillus fumigatus is the most commonly isolated species, followed by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger. There are other species like Aspergillus clavatus, Aspergillus glaucus group, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus ustus, and Aspergillus versicolor which are not found too much as opportunistic pathogens. Aspergillus is a group of molds which is found world-wide, especially in the autumn and winter in the Northern hemisphere. The fungus also causes allergic diseases in asthmatics and patients suffering from cystic fibrosis. I thought this was interesting that these kids suffer from this type of fungus. On the one hand as I stated that I thought that this was interesting, I feel their pain because they are already suffering a lot from just the cystic fibrosis by itself.<br /> Upon some additional research of this fungus, I found some other interesting facts. According to a site totally devoted to the fungus, this species has pathogenic properties. These pathogenic properties can cause problems to plants, animals, and humans. I thought an interesting fact about this fungus is that pathogenic (disease causing) properties can affect plants. I think that a fungus affecting plants is awesome because this will ensure dominance of A. flavus to a particular area. As long as the fungus dominates, the chances of other competing fungi taking over a particular area would be very slim.<br /> The fungus also had ome other properties that were interesting to read. According the fungus devotion site, this fungus is a good nutrient recycler. The reason behind the nutrient recycler property is that this fungus can grow well on many nutrient sources. I think that this capability of nutrient recycling is phenomenal, if you can infect your enemies and grow almost anywhere then you can be unstoppable to almost anything. In conclusion, this fungus has my vote for king of the fungi world because of its defenses and ability to live almost anywhere.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-57275553643905592452009-02-14T22:04:00.000-05:002009-02-15T00:30:18.788-05:00Anatomy of a Broken Heart<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjHyJjIAxRmlCc0mjmNYNogJFaQ3NDIBedBjX39ULIl-mMuriKOUdJuhIoArmNpYlTETzMOQtXGH5y3hdqBRbm8qdTSUxDsCVAxvoCspE6tyvuwj8Z26uhZeYIJ7WKRUAnbO4eGMA2V3k/s1600-h/broken_heart_by_fabu.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjHyJjIAxRmlCc0mjmNYNogJFaQ3NDIBedBjX39ULIl-mMuriKOUdJuhIoArmNpYlTETzMOQtXGH5y3hdqBRbm8qdTSUxDsCVAxvoCspE6tyvuwj8Z26uhZeYIJ7WKRUAnbO4eGMA2V3k/s200/broken_heart_by_fabu.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302892168774552370" /></a><br />Happy Valentines Day to all you bloggers out there! In my pathetic Valentines night full of ice cream, sappy movies, and shoe shopping, I stumbled across and interesting article about how the body responds to emotional distress, like a broken heart. The body responds to emotional distress the same way is responds to physical distress.Naomi Eisenberger and Dr Matthew Lieberman of the University of California Los Angeles and Professor Kipling Williams of Macquarie University used MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to study the blood flow in the brain when a person experiences a "social snub". Subject were observed by MRI while they were put through a video simulated ball throwing game. The game had the subjects first observe the game, become involve in the game by having them throw and catch the ball, then they were put through the phase where they were purposely shunned from the game. <br /><br />They found that at the point where they were left out of the game there were changes in the blood flow to the brain. The anterior cingulate cortex became more active at this point, where part of the prefrontal cortex became less active. The anterior cingulate cortex is known to be linked to physical distress. The prefrontal cortex is known to regulate distress. The body seems to respond similarly to physical pain as it does to emotional pain. To quote the article I read “This suggests the anterior cingulate is more important for elaborating feelings of emotional distress, whereas the prefrontal cortex, already implicated in emotional regulation…counteracts the painful feeling of being shunned,” comments Dr Jaak Panksepp of Bowling Green State University in Ohio in an accompanying article.<br /><br />It is thought that continuing this research may even one day explain the physical pain associated with a broken heart. Too bad there isn't something you can take to cure a broken heart like you can physical pain with Tylenol. Oh wait.. I think it is called an anti-depressant. (Hehe. Joke)<br />Hope this was a fun little snip of information for all of you broken hearts out there!Neeleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04672885121346739120noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-42604916000781632272009-02-11T10:40:00.000-05:002009-02-11T10:45:17.615-05:00Fear of Getting Hands Dirty in the Science Classroom<a href="http://www.thecuriousmindstore.com/Science%20Class.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 600px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.thecuriousmindstore.com/Science%20Class.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>It is a common question in science classrooms in the United States: how should more hands-in activities be incorporated in the classroom? Many teachers believe that hands-on activities are a vital portion of the science curriculum. Such instruction allows students to view the information they see in textbooks come alive so that they may investigate with their senses. The problem is that many teachers say that experiments and projects are important, yet the way they teach does not correspond. In my junior field experience, I lately encountered my cooperating teacher claiming that if she did more than one hands-on activity with her students throughout the week, she would never get anything accomplished. I have also heard that there are so many content standards, that lecturing is the only way to cover all the material they need to. What I have realized as I prepare to graduate, is that students grasp concepts better when they are able to investigate it on their own through kinesthetics and peer support. </div><div></div><div></div><div><br />Another issue teachers have is letting go of a little control to allow the students freedom for exploration and inquiry in the science classroom. They are nervous the students may become unruly, or that the classroom will be trashed after the activity. What actually happens is that students become more involved in the class when they are able to be more hands-on. They are relieved to have a break in the monotony of lectures and will more likely cause less trouble than when they are bored in a silent class. The students are typically more than willing to clean up as long as they are given sufficient time. </div><div><br />If more teachers could explore the option of more hands-on learning in the classroom, then the students might begin remembering a time when science was fun for them. Back when we were all little biologists playing in the stream or the woods near our homes. Then the stigma students have towards science may be lessened, and the science content learned in the classroom might be better understood to later be applied to their lives. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2382631583781222147.post-72467031736650679622009-02-11T00:30:00.000-05:002009-02-11T01:09:14.419-05:00Blog Critique<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Schinderhannes.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 405px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Schinderhannes.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I liked the post "<a href="http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/schinderhannes_bartelsi_origin_claws_390millionyearold_fossil" class="active">Schinderhannes Bartelsi - Th</a><a href="http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/schinderhannes_bartelsi_origin_claws_390millionyearold_fossil" class="active">e Origin Of Claws In A 390-Million-Year-Old Fossil</a>"<br /><br />This post first caught my attention due to the fact that last semester in Vertebrate Biology a great amount of time was focused on the origins of many different morphological characteristics; and secondly because of the first paragraph:<br /><br />"A missing link in the evolution of the front claw of living scorpions and horseshoe crabs was identified with the discovery of a 390 million-year-old fossil by researchers at Yale and the University of Bonn, Germany."<br /><br />This first paragraph reminded me about <span style="font-style: italic;">our </span>discussion of <span style="font-style: italic;">Tiktaalik,</span> the missing link between lobe-finned fishes and tetrapods. <span style="font-style: italic;">Tiktaalik</span> was discovered by a man named Neil Shubin, who I was fortunate enough to meet after his speech at the Natural History Museum with my Vertebrate Biology class last semester.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX200Jpqa4rCcNMRPQuG_I5wnFms3Y9lWz99UubDd_yCQVMzBMPr65nvXJLFsNzS7sHLz5o-HfNamBlDuAMc7E_jtSsgOC6rX-cpRT1SWAAZ5xkqYndX2y6FbYwwWKDYw-qTXEF_EM85Xk/s1600-h/NeilShubin1.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX200Jpqa4rCcNMRPQuG_I5wnFms3Y9lWz99UubDd_yCQVMzBMPr65nvXJLFsNzS7sHLz5o-HfNamBlDuAMc7E_jtSsgOC6rX-cpRT1SWAAZ5xkqYndX2y6FbYwwWKDYw-qTXEF_EM85Xk/s320/NeilShubin1.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5301417587564290850" border="0" /></a><br />I thought that this post was well written, interesting, and informative. I enjoy doing puzzles, and there's nothing like finding the missing pieces that you need to complete the picture.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2