Negative Feedback Loops

Negative feedback loop is almost another name for the way in which are bodies maintain homeostasis. Examples of this are like our body temperature, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. The blog about the blood sugar is an example of how negative feedback loops work. When something occurs in the body, like an intake of sugar, it rises, then the body works to bring the levels back down to normal. 

This picture is an example of a negative feedback loop.

Mitochondrial Eve

In class we have been discussing Mitochondrial Eve. Mitochondria is the DNA that everyone has that looks exactly like theirs mothers. The only time our Mito. DNA doesn't match our moms is if there has been some sort of genetic mutation. The idea of Mitochondrial Eve, is that if we trace back our Mit. DNA we will all be linked back to one specific woman. This shows that as humans we are all somehow linked to one another. Also, many believe that the reason we are all spread out and look different is because at one point in time groups of people left and moved in different directions across the globe. Once this occurred, people began to develop traits that help them live in their environment better. Some people developed darker skin because they needed it to protect them from the suns intense rays. Others loss this skin function because they no longer needed it where they live. 

This is a map of where different people have have left.

This picture is supposed to represent Mitochondrial Eve.

Russian Woman

Irish Woman

Chinese Woman

Burgess Shale

In class we watched a video about the Burgess Shale. This is the name of the fossil field in Canada that was discovered in the early 1900's. When first discovered the fossils were mistaken for animals that exist in our world today. However, after more research they found that these fossils were not anything like the species found today. Also, the animals were non-vertebrates. This is find is rare because it's usually the bone imprints that scientists use to determine the animals. Also, the animals image is pressed into the earth, so somehow the animals were slowly preserved into the land, leaving there spineless image. Finding this field allows scientists to look back at the ways species have evolved over time. 

Video of the animals found at the Shale.

Bioethanol Fuel

 In class we discussed the issue of fuel sources. The problem is that the US and the world are dependent upon products the we cannot renew, such as petroleum. While many ideas concerning a new source, bioethanol, is made up of food such as corn. We talked about the ramifications that can occur if we switch to this method. Using corn as an example as an alternative fuel source, we discussed how prices of corn would soar because it becomes extremely valuable. Anything made of corn would increase in price, which is almost all of our products. Also, farmers who grow other foods could possibly switch to making corn because of its high profit. The amount of people already starving from lack of access to food would increase greatly.

Although we talked about these different possibilities, none of which sound like they have a good end, I think it's important that people start to focus on how we can start to reduce our dependance on fuels in general. I feel that many people forget that we can carpool, or start to implement more realistic forms of public transportation. All across Europe they have mass train, and sub systems that help transport people all over the continent. If we began to use these methods in the US we could use less fuel, which can help the environment and our wallets. 

http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/02-03/biofuels/what_bioethanol.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum

Amphioxus

This organism is supposed to be the staring point for all vertebrates. It's believed that you can trace the evolutions of vertebrates from over 250 million years ago. These creatures are only about 5 centimeters long, and lack any sort of limbs. One body part they have in common with modern day vertebrates is a nerve cord similar to a spine, that runs through their bodies. They can also be found in different places around the world. 

Information link!!!

Dog Park

I think that the importance of having dog parks in communities is similar to having green space. It provides a place for people to go and get away from the city. The dog parks give dogs a place to run around and interact with other dogs. The owners also benefit because they get to the know fellow dog owners within the community. When I'm home from school over the breaks, I take my dog Charlie to a dog park near our home. When we go he gets to run around with other dogs, and I am able to meet new families, and become familiar with others who frequent the park. The park we go to have fenced in sections, for small dogs and big dogs. Each section has a little course that the dogs can play on. It also has a section for all dogs that you can throw frisbees and such in. 

This picture is of my dog, Charlie, hanging out by the obstacle course thing. 

And this is a picture of Charlie and me at the park!

Plant Update

At the beginning of the semester everyone got plant seeds to take care of and grow throughout the year. You could get sunflower seeds or tomato seeds. I chose to get tomato seeds. My plant was put in a small dixie cup to grow in. I kept it on the end table in my apartment near the windows in the living room. I gave it water every night and morning, and when it got super tall I attempted to prop it up. However, I failed at my attempts of keeping the plant from breaking in half, and it died. I did not take any pictures during my plants sort life, but I did find pictures that mirrored what it looked like.

The picture above is what my plant looked like within the first 2-3 days of having it. 

The chart above mimics what my plant slowly turned into within a two - three week time frame. However, my plant in the last stage displayed here, was much taller. Too tall to hold it self up, which is why it died.

This picture above it what I would like to believe my plant would have turned into. However, I more than likely would have had to move the plant into a much bigger pot for it to grow this big. I also would have had to figure out a way to keep it growing upwards. 

Bakersfield Park

Bakersfield Park, or Jackson Springs park, is the park we visited to take rock samples from the river and other areas of the park. The min part of the park is very pretty, with a stone bridge, a bunch of green space, and giant trees. Dr. Rood explained many years before the park was used as a zoo. Now it is used as mainly green space for the city of Macon. The trails that led away for the main section towards the Ocmulgee River River walk, are paved to allow better access for people in wheelchairs or strollers (Information Link). 

While at the park Dr. Rood discussed the importance of green space within a city. Other than the environmental aspects, such as providing a place for animals and plants to live, it also benefits humans.It gives people a place to use for recreation, and relaxation. By having a safe place everyone can go, it allows for better community living spaces. Many major cities across the nation have parks in them. Atlanta has Piedmont park.

Green Space Importance

Hitchiti Trail

During the lab this Wednesday we walked the trail at the Hitchiti Experimental Forest. I looked up the trail online and found a map of the trial that random people posted their own photos on. The trail is about 3.7 miles long.

Website!!

I enjoyed the lab because it reminded me a lot of the trails behind my house growing up. A good bit of the trail went along side the Falling Creek, which leads into the Ocmulgee River. Along the route we stopped and looked at the different types of jutting rocks. We also observed plants and animals, like the snake, that grow along the path. One plant we all observed was the wild ginger plant. This type of plant grows in dense forests through out North America. It has heart shaped leaves and grows about 10 inches tall, and blooms in the spring. This plant is a type of herb and can be used for many different medical remedies, such as coughs, colds, cuts, head aches and sore throat. 

Above is a picture of a wild ginger plant. 


Ginger Webpage

 

The picture below and above are from the website. As you can tell, the water level is a lot higher in these pictures.

Mid-way through the hike, we all stopped and hugged a tree.

Lake Hartwell

I choose to blog about Lake Hartwell, because it's the lake I always went to growing up. My Mawmaw owns land with two lake lots that my family uses. Lake Hartwell is located on the Georgia, South Carolina border. It was created in the 1950's as a flood prevention for the Savanna River. The Lake is made up of 56, 000 acres, with 962 miles of shoreline. The three rivers that provide in flow are Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca Rivers. 

This is a picture of Lake Hartwell.

Information Link

The Fall Line

The fall line is the area where the Piedmont land meets the Atlantic Coastal Plains. Thousands of years ago, this area was where the ocean meet the shore. Rivers that cross at the Fall Line have rapids and waterfalls at this land mark. The land was important for people to settle here for many reasons. For one, it was the farthest inland you can go via water travel, making it a prime location for trading. Also, the water falls and rapids allow us to create an ample amount of water power. The rivers and large volume of trading allowed large amounts of settlements to occur in places such as Macon, Columbus, and Augusta. When standing on the Great temple mound in the Ocmulgee National Park, you can see the difference of land because of the Fall Line. The land north of Macon has rolling hills; while the land south of Macon is very flat. 

 This is a picture of the Ocmulgee River Walk. This is the main river that passes through Macon, and over the Fall Line. 

Fall Line Information Site 

Information about Macon

 

Blood Sugar

What’s the response to your body when you eat sugar?

When a person eats food, the body breaks the food down into glucose (sugar). This is important because the cells use the sugar as energy to fuel your body throughout the day. Once the sugar is broken down Insulin, which the pancreas secretes, transports the sugar from the blood stream into cells throughout your body. Reaching this point of homeostasis is important, because without the balance your body can be contaminated with too much, or not enough sugar, causing multiple problems to occur. This process on restoring your body back to a normal blood sugar level can be seen in the graph below.

This information is from the day in class that Dr. Rood recorded his blood sugar during the class period. He took his blood sugar at the beginning of class, then ate a candy bar and drank a sprite. Every 5 min he recorded his blood sugar. You can see how his blood sugar increases to a certain point, then his body brings it back down to it's regular state. 

More Info!!

Lab #4

Today we went to one of the Macon Roots community gardens to look at different types of soil and plants. The Macon Roots program was established to help promote a sense of community, local farmers markets, and healthy food choices. The Roots program is also focused on creating a sustainable food system for Middle Ga. After more research through their webpage, I found that they hold events downtown that provide fresh food from local markets. They are also responsible for helping the farmers market to get debut card machines at their events, to allow better connivence for the people who go to the markets. Macon Roots also held a lecture concerning obesity and malnutrition that occurs in Macon, allowing people to gain education about the foods they eat and how it affects their body. The Roots webpage also has a separate tab for information about food markets.

Although what the Macon Roots is working towards is good, there are many concerns about the soil. The problem is that since Macon is a major city, they can have what's called urban soil. Urban soil is a potential problem because pollution form the city can be in the soil, which in turn can be in the food that is grown from the soil. The reason this could be a potential problem, is because the people who work in the gardens, may not know to look for this, or that the problem exists. To prevent this, community gardeners need to be educated about the health of the soil they are planting in.

Below is a picture of the gardens from their webpage.

Macon Roots

Type of Soil

The type of soil I chose to look at is Andisol. This type of soil is formed from volcanic ash. because its formed with ash and other volcanic components, it is found to have andic properties (high in water-holding capacity). This type of soil is almost rare, it is only found in ~1%of the ice free land area. Below is map of where this type of soil can be found.

I think this type of soil is very interesting, because the fact that it comes from volcanic ash. I find it pretty amazing that something so destructive can benefit the land.

The picture above is a picture of Andisol on North Island, New Zealand.

Soil Source/ Picture Source
12 Types of Soil

Lab #3

In this lab we walked around campus and identified many different types of trees, shrubs, and plants. Here are a few of each we found.

Trees:

 This is a Sugar Maple tree (Acer, saccharum).

 This is a Pecan tree (Carya illinoinensis).

 This is a Sycamore tree (Acer, pseudoplatanus).

 This is a Magnolia tree (Magnolia grandiflora). 

 This is a Laurel Oak ( Quercus virginiana). 

Shrubs:

 This is a Holley (Ilex opaca).

 This is a Rhododendron ( Rhododendron maximum).

 This is a Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla). 

  This is a Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum).

  This is a Lingustrum ( Ligustrum lucidum).

Plants:

Ophiopogon japonicus

 This is an aloe plant (Aloe vera).

 This is Monkey grass (Ophiopogon japonicus).

 This is poison ivy ( Toxicodendron radicans).

 This is a mexican petunia (Ruellia tweediana).

 This is a crysanthamum ( Chrysanthemum morifolium).

Lab #2

In lab #2 we went to the Ocmulgee River in Macon.  The map above is a picture from Google Earth. The white box marks the outline of shallow water/ sand.  Based on the time of year this level changes, however this is what the land looked like during our lab. During our Lab we looked at the number of clams in different areas of the river as well as the difference in elevation across the river.

The blue balloons are used to represent the places that clams were dug up. We used a shovel to dig under the surface, and then placed to dug up dirt in a pan, allowing us to find the clams. The blue number next to the icon is the number of live clams that were found. By mapping out the number of clams we are able to infer that clams prefer to live in areas that are neither shallow nor deep, and in medium water flow areas. They do not want to live too far under the water, but not on top in the sand. The slower currents, close to the shallow water level, provided a better living environment for them, which is why more were found in the slow current area.

The red line across the river represents the place that elevation measurements were taken. Each red thumb tact is placed 100 feet apart from each other. The red number next to the tact is the depth of the land from the staring point, the river walk. The First red point is closest to the starting point, representing 100 feet out, then second point being 200 feet out, and so on. 

Lab #1

Three Maps

Isarithmic Map:

Isarithmic maps are maps that allow you see contours of an area and distinguish different zones. The map above is a map of the different temperatures across the United States. It allows you to distinguish between the variations in temperature. Isarithmic maps can also show rainfall patterns, weather patterns, and air pressure. 

Chloropleth Map:

Chloropleth maps are used to display different percents of individuals in different areas, based on a color scheme for different groups of percents of people. The red and blue maps used during the US Presidential election are considered chloropleth maps. 

Dot Density Map:

A dot density map uses dots to distinguish areas of concentration. Factors that can be mapped out through dot density can be concentrations of age, cancer rates, or population. 

Google Earth Photos

This first picture is a view of my home in Dacula, GA. I have lived my entire life  in this one house. What I love about my house is that we have over an acre and a half of land, along with a pool in the back yard. 

This second picture is of my first happy place. The happy place is a trail in the woods behind my neighborhood. On the trail there is an old graveyard, most of the headstones dating back to the Civil War. My favorite spot on the trail is the waterfall. It's only about 20 feet high, but there are tons of pool areas you can hang out in, and you can always sun tan. We usually took four wheelers back there and would ride around in a giant field, or cut out onto the main roads to go hang out with other people. 

This third picture is of my second happy place. The first happy place got blocked off during my second year of high school. The county wanted to turn it into some kind of park so they put huge trees down on the trail path and fenced off the road access areas. So I got a new happy place, which is located on top of my high school's gym. I loved to go up there because you could just lay down and look at the stars. The stars were actually pretty bright considering the school is in the middle of the city. This happy place was much more popular than my first place, and I would sometimes run into other people while up there.

Ga Isarithmic Map:

Favorite Animal

*My favorite animal is a penguin. I actually have no specific reason for why they are my favorite, other than I find them super cute and adorable. The pictures I posted are pictures from one of my visits to the Georgia Aquarium. There are many different species of penguins that live in places such as Southern Africa, New Zealand, and Antarctica. Penguins usually feed on krill, fish, and shrimp. Although penguins have wings, they are not able to fly; they instead use their wings to swim. Penguins have such thick layers of blubber that as soon as they stop using their wings while swimming, they shoot straight up to the surface. The tuxedo pattern is used as a defense mechanism. If animals are above penguins in the water, the top of their feathers blend in with the dark bottom of the ocean; if animals are below the penguins, the white of their bellies blend in with the light from the surface. Also, shiny objects distract penguins very easily. At the Aquarium if you want a penguin to swim towards the glass all you have to do is place your keys against the glass and they’ll swim towards you.

Penguin Fact Site

Penguin Laughing

Penguins VS. Iceberg 

Leap of Faith Penguin