Rules:
- Search for and then submit in the comment box below an article which relates to this lab's topic that has both an interesting and exciting story.
- Include with your submission: your name, your section, the title of the article and the URL link to it's source. Additionally, upon submitting the above, I ask that you also include a very brief description. Hint: make your article stand out, in other words, make me want to read what you've found.
- Should you be selected as one of the lucky three, you will be required to write a 200 to 500 word blog post that describes the article you found. The post you write up will be featured on this blog. Your post must include citations and references giving credit to the original source. As an example, see the first post on this blog: HERE, note that the description is 291 words in length.
- Should two students find and post the same article/story, regardless of source, the first student who posted the article/story in the comments will be considered.
- Lastly, this extra credit can only be received once by an individual student.
7 comments:
Jonathan Zirna
Bio Lab 124-26
Discovery Of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective On Animal Evolution
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081120130531.ht
Animal-like traces are being found in the ocean tracks of protists that show bi-lateral patterns. The possible linking of protists to animal features is causing scientists to question the fossil record.
Tyler Davis
Bio Lab 124-26
Puddles of Goo? Brainless Slime Molds Have Memories
http://www.livescience.com/23797-brainless-slime-mold-memories.html
Scientists have found that just because an organism does not have a brain, does not mean that it can not remember things. Slime molds, which were once considered fungus and later put into the protists classification, have been investigated in order to see if they truly do have memories. Although it may not be the same definition of intelligence we think of inside of the human brain, this slime mold uses a different technique in order to remember where it has been.
Migrating Ocean Microbe May Help Protect Coastlines
Nicole Boisvert
Section 124-26
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=migrating-ocean-microbe-may-help-protect-coastlines
In a recent study, a one-celled protist known as Amphisteginid foraminifera has been offering hope to scientists. This discus-shaped creature, with a calcium carbonate based shell, creates “spider-web” formations in the ocean. These protozoa protect coastal regions from degradation not only by producing sediment for the ocean floors and reefs, but also by forming sandbars. Researchers predict the increase in climate over the next hundred years will drastically increase migration and growth around the shorelines in need. Read more to discover the benefits of this helpful microbe!
Wild Things: The Most Extreme Creatures
Christina Vilkhovoy
Section 124-22
http://www.livescience.com/133-wild-extreme-creatures.html
These extremophilic microbes can be found in hostile environments and do things that no human would ever imagine. They can be found eating rocks or lounging around where radiation levels compete with nuclear reactors They are a multimillion business due to eating oil and cleaning up various spills, where others take part in medical research. However, the most interesting thing is that they serve as the potential of life on other planets!
Songbirds’ Brains Coordinate Singing With Intricate Timing
Tiereny Morrison-Rohlfs
Section 124-22
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130227134336.htm
Researchers had found a correlation between birds songs and speech in humans- especially issues that come along with speech after a human undergoes a stroke. A birds song is way more intricate and calculated than it may seem. A song that may seem simple actually is a very intricate piece that is created due to their most simple or complex movements. By understanding a birds song researchers may be able to better help stroke patients!
Vicky Cooley
Bioscience 124-26
Strep throat and OCD are linked, Israeli researchers find
http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/strep-throat-and-ocd-are-linked-israeli-researchers-find.premium-1.492692
A group of researchers at Tel Aviv University recently discovered that the exposure to the bacteria streptococcus A as a child can eventually lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Although streptococcus A is commonly known as the bacteria that causes strep throat and minor pain, many people are not aware of the fact that it can ultimately develop into something more serious such as OCD. In this latest study, conducted by Prof. Daphna Joel, rats displayed several characteristics and behaviors associated with OCD after being exposed to streptococcus A. In addition to the more complex changes in the brains of the rats, the infected rats also displayed altered “balance and coordination” and engaged in obsessive grooming. Scientists have been studying this “link” for over 20 years and this new evidence found in the rats is certainly a step in the right direction.
Paige Brandsdorfer
Bioscience Lab 124-26
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130228155440.htm
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Uncovering How Deadly Bacteria Trick the Immune System
This past winter there was a outbreak of tuberculous in downtown Los Angeles. Researches at UCLA are saying that almost 45 hundred people have been exposed to this deadly disease. They stated how a bacteria like this pretends to be virus and hijacks the body's immune system. Our body's protection against bacteria and virus are different. It depends on the results of our bodys T-Cells, which are white blood cells that play an important part of fighting infections. When bacteria pretends to be a virus the body make a protein in this case called interferon beta. Which is designed to fight virus not bacteria. Not only is the bacteria tricking the body to make the wrong protein but it is inhibiting the immune system from later producing the correct protein interferon gamma. They compare this to the analogy "like a wolf in a sheep's coat"
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