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Before begining this biology class, I thought is would be difficult. I took biology back in high school and I did very well in it but college biology is a whole different ball game. I have always done well in all the science classes I took previous to college and even during college, I guess science is more of my strong suit. I thought we would learn more about plants and plant cells but this class went beyond that and into more details about the ecosystem we live in which I found very engaging.

During my experience in this course I found the assignments very doable and understanding. The assignments were detailed and gave all the information needed to complete each assignment. I really enjoyed the videos presented to us, I found them very informational and intriguing making me want to learn more about the subject. I really enjoyed doing the padlet, I felt like it really organized the assignments we did during class. This course definitely went beyond my expectations. I also enjoyed learning about so many different species not only through my project, but through my classmates projects and presentations. I felt the class brought the students more together since we were responding to eachother a lot with discussion boards and listening to eachothers presentations where we were always engaged into our work.

In the end, this course makes me want to learn more about our ecosystem and everything that goes on around us with plants and animals that we may not normally notice. I learned so many different things not only about plants and animals but diseases and cells too. This course sort of had a little bit of all types of science within it which made it more informative. I think I did not so much change as a person from this course but I did realize the subject of biology is not all that hard. Biology is relatable to all beings and can impact everyone so I believe it is important to learn about.

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In the video on happiness, I learned how happiness is a state of pleasure and joy that we tend to stive for to improve our own well-being. I also found out that many modern age individuals struggle more with their happiness. Many studies differ how much percent of happiness comes from our genes. The video further explains that we should not base our thoughts on upcoming events, it is always best to remain empty minded and be more in the moment with what is happening around you to preserve our happiness. Contentment is learning to find peace and acceptance in the present moment, which can help us find our long term well-being. Practicing gratitude also has a lot of benefits towards your overall happiness and well-being. If we are constantly plannng ahead and worried about the future we tend to miss out on living in the moment which takes away from our happiness and well-being.

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Stop Trying to be Happy (do THIS instead)

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The Platypus is a type of egg-laying mammal called a monotreme. It is one of two species of monotreme that are native to Australia. Monotremes diverged from other mammals about 166 million yers ago and today the platypus is one of the most evolutionarily distint animals on Earth.The Aquatically adapted platypus-like monotremes probably evolved from a terrestrial monotreme. The first occurrence in the fossil record of a platypus-like monotreme is from about 110 million years ago, in the early Cretaceous Period, when Australia was still connected to South America by Antartica. The living platypus family (Ornithorhynchidae) includes the extinct genera Monotrematum and Obdurodon and the living Ornithorhychus. Species of Monotrematum and Oburodomn retained functional teeth and were more robust that the living platypus, Obdurodon measuring up to 24 inches long. It became clear that based on the descry of fossil deposits in Argentina, that platypuses formally existed on a continent that is now far beyond Australia.

https://www.britannica.com/animal/platypus/Life-cycle-and-reproduction

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Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change, are pushing Australia's platypus population towards extinction. There has already been a decrease as much as 40 percent of the platypus population due to these conditions. It is predicted that if current threats remain ongoing, platypus population will fall another 47-66 percent over the next 50 years. Little rainfall and high temperatures have worsened the river systems platypus make their home. Another environmental threat to platypus include run-off from pasture that leads to a decrease in platypi.

https://phys.org/news/2020-01-climate-australia-platypus-extinction.html#:~:text=They%20predicted%20that%20if%20the,percent%20by%202070%2C%20they%20wrote.

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Climate change pushing Australia's platypus towards extinction: researchers

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Prolonged drought and other effects of climate change are pushing Australia's unique platypus population towards extinction, scientists warned in a study published Monday. The river-dwelling animal has already disappeared from up to 40 percent of its historical range on Australia's east coast due to the drought, land clearing, pollution and building of dams, which fragment their habitat, the researchers said.

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Enzymes are characterized by two fundamental properties. First, they increase the rate of chemical reactions without themselves being consumes or permanently altered by the reaction. Second, they increase reaction rates without altering the chemical equilibrium between reactants and products.

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The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a large, dynamic structure that serves many roles within a cell including calcium storage, protein synthesis and lipid metabolism. These diverse functions of the ER are performed by several different domains consisting of tubules, sheets and the nuclear envelope.

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The nucleus is the membrane-enclosed organelle within a cell that containing genetic material (chromosomes). The nucleus controls and regulates the activities of the sell (growth and metabolism) and carries genes that contain hereditary information. In short, the nucleus houses an organism's genetic code.

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One thing that caught my attention from the Feedback Loops in Nature video is when one plant dies, more plants are able to grow where that plant died. This is an example of positive feedback. When a plant dies,  it enriches the soil with humus allowing other plants to grow and gain nutrients from the humus. This cycle of positive feedback continues and allows more plants to grow after one dies.

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What caught my attention in this mini-lecture on termites is their lifespan. The queen termite is said to be the longest-living insect on earth. The queen can also lay over 100 eggs a day where the workers take the eggs from the queen and then go neatly stack the eggs into piles.

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Coneheads, egg stacks and anteater attacks: The reign of a termite queen - Barbara L. Thorne

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Week 8: The Lifecycle of a Butterfly Discussion

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Week 8: The Lifecycle of a Butterfly Discussion

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What caught my attention was that a caterpillar dissolves and turns into a butterfly transitioning from larvae to adults through metamorphosis. They have imaginal disc cells that become butterfly parts, therefore, turning them into a butterfly. I think it is crazy how larvae can simply turn into a whole beautiful butterflies. I also think it is cool that a butterfly can still have the same memories as it did when it was a larvae after all its parts dissolving from larvae to butterfly.

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The life cycle of the butterfly - Franziska Bauer

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Feedback loops: How nature gets its rhythms - Anje-Margriet Neutel

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https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/platypus

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https://sites.google.com/site/duckbilledplatypusls2014/habitat

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Platypus make their homes in and near freshwater creeks, slow-moving rivers, and lakes joined by rivers. They build simple burrows just above water level and often among a tangle of tree roots. Their living ranges from the cold highlands of Tasmania and the Australian Alps to the tropical rainforests of coastal Queensland as far as north as the base of the Cape York Peninsula.

https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/animals/discovering-wildlife/platypus#:~:text=Platypus%20make%20their%20home%20in,a%20tangle%20of%20tree%20roots.

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I watched the first video and what caught my attention was that common colds are caused by a virus called the Rhinovirus where the strands reproduce and can transfer quickly with just one touch. When another person comes in contact with the person carrying this virus it then transfers to them and when they touch their eyes mouth or nose it further transfers and causes them to have symptoms of the cold. For a person with average health, it takes about 7-10 days to get rid of the common cold. To prevent a common cold it is important to wash your hands after touching things and to prevent spreading always cover your mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing.

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Digital Story: Common Cold Lesson Done by: Loteisha  Lattibeaudiere

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Week 5 Video: The Biggest Single-Celled Organism

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Week 5 Video: The Biggest Single-Celled Organism

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What is the biggest single-celled organism? - Murry Gans

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The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, egg-laying aquatic mammal native to Australia. Platypuses are among the few venomous mammals. Male platypi have a spur connected to a venom-secreting gland on each foot. More venom can be secreted during their mating season. All though the venom is not life-threatening to humans, it can still cause swelling and excruciating pain.

https://www.livescience.com/27572-platypus.html

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Week 3 Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Discussion

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Week 3 Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Discussion

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Claim, evidence, and reasoning can be used in biology. It is essential to be able to identify the claim being made, list the evidence used, and provide reasoning that proves the evidence is correct towards that claim. The claim answers the essential question you are trying to answer. You gain evidence from the data you collect during your experiment in order to find the reasoning behind the claim that in turn supports it. This is a basic scientific principle that is necessary when forming an experiment. Without these rules you would not have a organized experiment with a purpose or a definitive answer. It is also important because it helps us think through the scientific process. Any type of claim must have supporting evidence and you should be able to explain the reasoning behind your thoughts. The CER process can be used in more than just biology such as, developing analytical skills, argumentative writing skills, and constructing an explanation.

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Week 2 The Nature of Science Multiple Choice Question

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Week 2 The Nature of Science Multiple Choice Question

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The word "science" comes from a Latin word that means:

A) knowing

*B) knowledge

C) to know

D) knowing something

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My name is McKenna Thompson and I am from a small town in Florida called Plant City, my hometown is about four hours away from Miami. I honestly really love Miami, I think it is a lot better than my small hometown and I have experienced so much and made a lot of good friends. I am a student-athlete at Miami-Dade and am a part of the Miami-Dade softball team. I am a sophomore right now at Dade and I will be getting my AA at the end of this semester. I am studying nursing but after my four years of nursing, I plan on staying in school to continue my education and receive my master's degree. I plan on transferring to another college to continue my student-athlete career. Softball has always been my main hobby since I was seven years old and playing in college along with having my school paid for with a scholarship was always my goal growing up. I am a pitcher and a pretty good one if I do say so myself. Our softball season starts up at the end of January and will keep me very busy until the end of the semester. Being a student-athlete keeps me disciplined and structured which I am grateful for when balancing my student life with my athlete life. My main goal for this semester is to get all A's along with gaining another scholarship to play softball at another college and continue my education.