Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill

1. CLICK HERE to access a website with news and pictures on the oil spill of the Gulf of Mexico.

2. HERE are more pictures and information on the oil spill.

3. The Oil Spill's Effects on Life Underwater

QUESTIONS:
1. WHY is the spill dangerous for the ecologically fragile Louisiana coastline?
2. How many gallons a day are being released into the Gulf of Mexico from this accident? How much is the cleanup costing per day?
3. What are crews doing to contain this oil?

ACID RAIN

1. How do power stations contribute to the formation of acid rain? CLICK HERE to find out. Make sure to click on the five stages (bottom left).

2. CLICK HERE to view an animation about acid rain by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

BIOMAGNIFICATION

2. CLICK HERE to watch a short video clip that explains how DDT accumulates in the food chain of an aquatic ecosystem.
2.1 What other top predators can you think of that will have a high concentration of toxic chemicals in their body tissues?

2. CLICK HERE to view a short animation that illustrates how toxic chemiclas build up in an ecosystem.

3.TOXIC CHEMICALS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY: THE PLASTIC PANIC.
3.1 What happens to children that are exposed to pesticides when in the womb?
Special thanks to Delfin for sharing this article

AWARD WINNING ANIMATION ON GLOBAL WARMING

GLOBAL WARMING

CLICK HERE to access an interactive site that explains the global warming, carbon cycle and the water cycle.

DEFORESTATION

1. What are the negative effects of DEFORESTATION? CLICK HERE to read more. Be sure to click on the photo gallery at the bottom of the page. And you can take an Energy IQ test. Check on the right side of the website.
1.1 What is the leading cause of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon?
1.2 What is illegal logging and how does it contribute to deforestation?

POPULATION GROWTH: CARRYING CAPACITY

1. CLICK HERE to view an animation on how populations grow.
1. 1 Why do most populations show a clump distribution?
1.2 Has human population reached its carrying capacity?

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

1. CLICK HERE to access a narrated animation on ecological successions. You can take a 2 question quiz at the end of the animation. How did you do?

2. CLICK HERE to access a website with information on ecological succession. On this website you will see the animations from class.

3. CLICK HERE for a short animation on ecological succession.

4. Watch this short, 3 part animation about succession in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS

CLICK HERE to access a website with very good information on symbiotic relationships.
You can navigate the page and for information on other topics.
1. Can you see the barnacles on the humpback whale?
2. What type of symbiotic relationship is represented by the whale and the barnacles, why?

EUTROPHICATION

1. CLICK HERE to view an animation that shows eutrophication of a river.
2. CLICK HERE to watch a video clip that explains the process of eutrophication of a lake.
2.1 How does the excess algae growth affect the quality of the water?
3. CLICK HERE to watch a video clip on how humans can affect the ecosystems.
3.1 Why do top predators accumulate more toxic substances in their body tissues?

A Marine Chemist Studies How Life Began (article)

CLICK HERE to read an interview on how life began.
1. Amino acids have been found inside some of the meteorites that have come to earth, What does this indicate?

ECOLOGY: FEEDING RELATIONSHIPS

1. All living things play roles in a food chain. This short cartoon explains just how a food chain works. You'll see why every creature's part is important. Take the quiz when you finish watching the cartoon. How did you do? Also, don't miss the Sea Monsters article available at the website!!!!

2. CLICK HERE to watch an animation about decomposers. Take a quiz at the end of the animation. How did you do?
3.1 What important role do decomposers play in all ecosystems?

4. CLICK HERE to watch an animation about an energy pyramid.
4.1 In a healthy ecosystem there are lots of producers, some herbivores, and not many carnivores. Why is this important?
4.2 Why can't food pyramids hold an unlimited number of trophic levels?

DICHOTOMOUS KEY

If you need extra practice, try to identify the microscopic organisms found in the Chesapeake Bay. Click on "What are these things?" You can also click on "How to construct a key" and construct your own.

GENETIC VARIATION and EVOLUTION

CLICK HERE to read about how the lack of genetic variation in Irish potatoes contributed to the severity of the Irish potato famine.
1. Why are populations with low genetic variation more vulnerable to changing environmental conditions than diverse populations?
2. What are the sources of genetic variation?
3. Why is there little or no genetic variation in the the “lumper” potato variety?
4. Why does planting genetically uniform crops increase the risk of “losing it all” when environmental variables change?

INTERACTIVE TREE OF LIFE

Explore the connections in the natural world, and learn about evolution with this Interactive Tree of Life.
1. Can you describe primitive life?
2. What organisms did you read about?
3. Is a Koala related to a Iguana?

CLICK HERE to watch the Tree of Life video we watched in class.

TREE OF LIFE

CLICK HERE to test your skills at judging who is who on the tree of life. The animation will show you different organisms and you will be able to construct different trees of life according to evolutionary relationships between the different organisms.
1. What type of evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated species? Can you think of some examples?

EVOLUTION: 2 articles

1. BACTERIA RUN WILD, DEFYING ANTIBIOTICS Source NY Times
A new chapter in the continuing story of antibiotic resistance is being written in doctors' offices across the country

2. HUMAN CULTURE, AN EVOLUTIONARY FORCE. Source NY Times
Genes enabling lactose tolerance, which probably resulted in more surviving offspring, were detected in cultures like the Kenyan shepherd's

QUESTIONS:
1. How do these articles relate to the Living Environment curriculum?
2. (article 1) Why can the new resistant staph be treated with several common antibiotics different from the ones doctors are accustomed to using?

NATURAL SELECTION

CLICK HERE to view an animation that shows how natural selection forces evolution of the finches population on a small island in the Galapagos. You will be asked to interact with the animation at the end. And you can take a 2 question quiz after watching the animation.
How did you do?
How does speciation occur?

CLICK HERE to view an animation that witness how the pollenpeeper (fictional organisms) evolve due to natural selection and adaptive radiation.

EVOLUTION VIDEOS

CLICK HERE to access the website with the evolution videos we saw in class.
1. Which video clip do you find the most interesting? why?
2. How does the picture relate to Natural Selection?
3. Why do characteristics that help an animal to live longer will become more common in the population?

COMPARATIVE EMBRYOLOGY: video clip from class

CLICK HERE to watch the video clip that shows the embryological development of four different species.
1. How can the study of the embryos help show the relationships among animals with backbones?
2. What do shared embryological developments indicate?
3. What part of the video clip did you find the most interesting? why?

HETEROTROPH HYPOTHESIS Video clip from class

CLICK HERE to watch the video that explains how the first organic compounds originated on the Early Earth.

ENDOSYMBIOTIC THEORY

Click here to access a website with very good and helpful information on the Endosymbiotic theory.
What do you think?

ENDOSYMBIOTIC THEORY

CLICK HERE to watch a narrated animation on the endosymbiotic theory. You can take a two question quiz after watching the animation. How did you do?
Look at the piucture on this post: What type of primitive eukaryote did the ancestral prokaryote in the diagram evolve into?

EXTRA CREDIT: GENETIC ENGINEERING

You can earn up to 5 points extra credit!!! How? Choose an article, interview, or podcast from the list below and write an essay/summary explaining how the article is related to the Living Environment curriculum. You should add your thoughts on how beneficial genetic engineering is to society. DUE Thursday 4/22/10.

1. A Baby, Plaese. Blond, Freckles--Hold the Colic. Source: The Wall Street Journal

2. With Genetic Gift, 2 Monkeys Are Viewing a More Colorful World. Source: NY Times.

3. Examining Gene Therapy As Treatment For Blindness, Source: INTERVIEW from Science Friday from NPR News.

4. Gene Therapy Helps Blind Children See. Source: Science Now. (Thanks Nina!)

5. Human Cloning May Be Just Around the Corner. Source: NPR News

6. Are Genetically Modified Foods Safe to Eat. Source: NPR News. This is an interview (podcast)

7. E. U Clears Biotech Potato for Cultivation. Source: NY Times.

8. Monsanto's GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals. Source: Huffington's Post.

9. New Rule Allows Use of Partial DNA Matches. Source: NY TImes

GENETIC ENGINEERING VIDEO from class

CLICK HERE to access the video on genetic engineering we watched in class.

GEL ELECTROPHORESIS

1. CLICK HERE to view an animation on gel electrophoresis.

2. CLICK HERE to conduct a gel electrophoresis virtual lab.

3. CLICK HERE to conduct a step by step gel electrophoresis virtual lab.
3.1 How did you do?

CLONING

1. CLICK HERE to CLONE A MOUSE.
1.1 Do you support cloning animals? Is it ethical? Why or why not?

2. CLICK HERE to learn more about cloning.

Click here to practice your selective breeding skills.
1. How can you create the largest crop?
2. Can you think of problems and risks associated to inbreeding?

NOTE: Nearly all domestic animals, including horses, cats, and farm animals (and most crop plants) have been produced by selective breeding. Selective breeding allows only those animals with the desired traits to produce the next generation.

RECOMBINANT DNA

1. CLICK HERE for an animation that shows how recombinant DNA (rDNA) is formed.
1.1 Why do we need a plasmid?
1.2 Can you think of ways recombinant DNA is used by geneticists?

2. CLICK HERE for a tutorial on Recombinant DNA.

3. This tutorial from the University of Delaware is a great step by step guide into how to create Recombinant DNA.
3.1 How is Recombiant DNA Technology important in medicine and agriculture?

MUTATIONS

1. Click here to view an animation that explains how mutations occur in your DNA.

2. Click here to view an animation about sickle cell anemia.
2.1 What is sickle cell anemia?
2.2 How many abnormal genes must a person inherit to suffer from sickle cell anemia?

3. Click here to view an animation that explains how a drug, Gleevec, can stop the harmful effects of a specific type of Leukemia.

PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

1. Click here for a step by step animation that explains all of the steps of protein synthesis in detail.

2. RACE THE CELL: Can you build a protein faster than the cell? CLICK HERE to test your speed and see how the cells make proteins in your body.

VIDEOS FROM CLASS: PROTEIN SYNTHESIS

1. CLICK HERE to watch the video on Transcription.

2. CLICK HERE to watch the video on Translation (= protein synthesis)

3. CLICK HERE to watch the video clip that explains DNA duplication

TRANSCRIBE AND TRANSLATE A GENE

CLICK HERE to access an interactive website that will allow you to transcribe and translate a gene.

What is the polypeptide sequence the given gene codes for?

1. TRANSCRIPTION: MAKING mRNA

Click here to watch an animation on how transcription occurs?

1. Where does transcription occur?

2. Where is mRNA travelling to with the message from DNA? Why?

2. DNA DUPLICATION

Click here to watch an animation on DNA replication. This animations showsb the multiple enzymes involved in DNA replication.
1. Why do we say that DNA replication is semi-conservative?

HOW DOES 6 FEET OF DNA FIT IN THE CELL'S NUCLEUS

Click here to find out!!!

1. DNA REPLICATION

Click here to view an animation on DNA replication.

1. Why does DNA need to duplicate?
2. When does DNA duplicate?
3. What is DNA made of?
4. What are the four nitrogen bases present in DNA?

HUMAN PEDIGREES

Click here for a web tutorial on analysis on human pedigrees. On the tutorial site, the link to web tutorial 3.4 leads to two animations and to two exercises. After watching the animations and completing the exercises you can take the post quiz (10 questions) . How did you do?

KARYOTYPING ACTIVITY

Click here to diagnose any missing or extra chromosome on each of the three patients.
Question:
1. What news will you provide the patients with?
1. Why/How can an organism carry one extra or one missing chromosome?

SCIENCE SUMMER CAMP 2010

Would like to attend Science Summer Camp 2010? This looks like a great opportunity to participate in interesting Science programs.
Click here for more details about the programs offered.
Online application

HOW DO CELLS PRODUCE GENETICALLY DIVERSE GAMETES?

How do cells produce genetically diverse gametes? Click here to find out! And don't forget to take the 2 question quiz!

INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT OF CHROMOSOMES

Click here for an animation that explains the concept of INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT OF CHROMOSOMES.
Can you identify the mistake on the narration? Let me know!

NOTE: Click on the picture to view this post's image larger

INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT OF CHROMOSOMES

THIS NARRATED ANIMATION will help you review the concept of INDEPENDENT ASSORTMENT OF CHROMOSOMES. You can take a 3 question quiz after watching the animation. Let me know how you do!!!

NOTE: You can click on the pictures on the blog to view them larger!

GENETIC CROSSES

This animation is a great overview of monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. The animation requires your participation!!!

INCOMPLETE DOMINANCE and CODOMINANCE

Click here to access an interactive website to review the concepts of incomplete dominance and codominance. On the website click on enter web lab and follow the instructions. The last slides are practice problems. How did you do?

1. What is incomplete dominance?
2. What is codominance?
3. Why can the genotypes of traits inherited in a codominant or icomplete dominant manner be written as R1R1, R1R2, R2R2?

GENETICS: MONOHYBRID CROSSES

CLICK HERE to access a website with Mendelian Genetics exercises. Try them and check check your answers. How did you do?

GENETICS: TOUR OF THE BASICS

CLICK HERE to find out about DNA, genes, chromosomes, proteins, heredity, and traits.
1. Why do most offsrping tend to be a blend of the characteristics of both parents?
2. why do we say that genes come in pairs?
3. How do we get traits from our parents?

WHAT ARE GENES?

WHERE DO YOUR GENES COME FROM?

1. How do we call cells with the two sets of chromosomes?
2. How do we call cells with only one set of chromosomes?
3. Each trait is coded by one gene. How is each version of a gene called?
4. Why is crossing over important? when does crossing over occur?
5. How does the sygote develop into a multicellular organism?
6. what process enables us to receive one version of a gene from each parent?

TRANSPLANTS THAT DO THEIR JOB, THEN FADE AWAY

Click here to read an article from the New York Times about a promising surgery technique on liver transplant.

1. Why do transplant patients need to take immunosuppression drugs?
2. How do these drugs affect the patient?
3. Why/How are rejections caused?

THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE

Click here to access an animation on the menstrual cycle. On the website you should click on the slider bar, then hold down and drag your mouse back and forth to see fluctuations during the menstrual cycle.
1. What hormone does the ovary secrete that stimulates the production of the egg?

2. Why is the menstrual cycle said to be controlled by feedback mechanisms?

FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Click here to access a website about the female reproductive system. On the website, click on the diagram of the female reproductive system, and then if you click on each of the organs a bubble will appear with information about the organ.
1. What are the main female hormones?
2. What hormones stimulate the gonads to produce their hormones?

MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM

Click here to access a website with information on the male reproductive system.
On the website you will find links to articles with useful information on human general health. Which articles and pieces of information did you find more interesting?
1. Where does meiosis occur in males?
2. What is the product of meiosis in males?
3. What is the main hormone produced by the testicles?
4. What is the function of this male hormone?

5. Can you identify and describe the function of three organs of the male reproductive system?

3. MEIOSIS: NON DISJUNCTION

Click here to view an animation on meiosis and the consequences of non disjunction.
Questions:
1. In this animation, when does non-disjunction occur?
2. What fails to separate in this animation?
3. If the the gamete producing cells has 4 chromosomes, how many chromosomes should each gamete contain?

2. MEIOSIS: NON DISJUNCTION

This website shows three animations: 1) crossing over, 2) normal meiotic division in females and fertilization, and 3) non disjunction in Down Syndrome. Also, click on the last box to view an animated power point on meiosis and fertilization.

Questions:
1. What is the difference between spermatogenesis and oogenesis?
2. In humans, how many chromosomes are present in the gametes?
3. In humans, how many chromosomes are present in somatic cells?
4. How do somatic cells divide?

1. MEIOSIS: NONDISJUCTION

Click here to watch an animation non disjunction during meiosis.

Questions:
1. In this animation, at what stage of meiosis does non disjunction occur?
2. What is the result of non disjunction?

MITOSIS vs. MEIOSIS

MITOSIS: is the reproduction of body cells (somatic cells), diploid, two daughter cells produced, chromosomes line up singly in metaphase, one nuclear division, produces cells for growth and repair, daughter cells have two sets of chromosomes (pairs), daughter cells are genetically identical to the parent cell

MEIOSIS: produces sex cells (gametes), haploid, four produced, two nuclear divisions, produces cells for sexual reproduction, daughter cells have only one member of each pair of chromosomes, daughter cells have one half of the genes from the parent cell, generates genetic diversity through crossing over and random seperation of homologous pairs of chromosomes.

2. MEIOSIS

Click here for a meiosis tutorial. Once you read about meiosis, you can scroll down and watch the animation on meiosis I and II.

How is meiosis different to mitosis?
What is the importance of crossing over?

1. MEIOSIS

Click here to watch a video clip on meiosis.
Questions:
1. How are the daughter cells compared to the parent cell after meiosis?
2. How many daughter cells are produced in meiosis?
3. What happens during prophase 1 between homologous chromosomes?
4. What are homologous chromosomes?

CANCER: Uncontrolled cell division

Click here to access various video clips about cancer from the National Institute of Health.

MITOSIS: CELLS ALIVE

Click here for a great animation on mitosis. Scroll down to read about what happens during each stage in mitosis. Recall: iPMATc.

MITOSIS

Click here for a narrated animation on mitosis.
You can take a quiz (3 questions) after watching the animation. How did you do?

MIDTERM REVIEW 4: GLUCOSE SONG

Sing along, :-)

MIDTERM REVIEW 3: ENDOCRINE SYSTEM, INSULIN

Click here to see an animation on how insulin works.

How does insulin maintain constant levels of glucose in blood?

MIDTERM REVIEW 2: ENDOCRINE SYSTEM.

How does insulin maintain constant blood glucose levels?
What is the difference between type 1 and type 2 diabetes?
In the cells, what organelle will use glucose as fuel to produce energy?

MIDTERM REVIEW 1: HOW DO CELLS OBTAIN ENERGY?

This video clip illustrates the mechanisms of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. It introduces ATP, the universal energy carrier molecules that supply energy-hungry reactions. It also shows the structure and function of Chloroplasts and Mitochondria, energy transforming organelles.

After watching the video clip, you can answer the following questions for a great review on cellular respiration and photosynthesis:
1. List at least four life activities that require energy.
2. What type of energy do cells use?
3. How does ATP provide the energy needed for chemical reactions?
4. Where is the energy stored in the ATP molecule?
5. Where is ATP produced?
6. What molecules diffuse into the mitochondria?
7. Write down the chemical equation for cellular respiration.
8. How many ATP molecules can a cell produce under anaerobic conditions? And, under aerobic conditions?
9. What type of organic molecule is ATP synthase?
10. What molecules diffuse out of the mitochondria?
11. Write down the chemical equation for photosynthesis.
12. Why are plants autotrophs?
13. What colors of light does chlorophyll absorb?
14. What colors of light does chlorophyll reflect?
15. Where do the light reactions for photosynthesis occur?
16. Why are photosynthesis and cellular respiration considered to be coupled reactions?

FROG DISSECTION

Click here to watch a video clip on the frog dissection lab you will conduct tomorrow.

ANTIBODIES, Immune system

CELL MEDIATED IMMUNE RESPONSE

ALLERGIES

Click here for a video clip on allergies.

1. How are histamines produced?
2. What do histamines provoke in the human body?