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Movie poster (Side note, I have never watched this movie so if you have, please excuse my inaccuracies)

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I recently watched the movie Prometheus (2012) and found it interesting how the movie questions the origins of life on Earth. It is theorized that life originated on Earth billions of years ago as nucleic acids became surrounded by fatty acids before evolving into prokaryotes.

Prometheus introduces a thought-provoking twist by depicting the Engineers intentionally seeding life on planets. This idea parallels the hypothesis that life's building blocks, such as amino acids and nucleic acids, might have arrived on Earth through space-traveling bodies like asteroids. While the movie's scenario of deliberate seeding might seem far-fetched, it resonates with the concept of panspermia, which suggests that life's ingredients could indeed travel through space and arrive on hospitable planets.

Based on what we learned in class there is evidence that life started on Earth near deep sea vents before spreading. However, there is a hypothesis that said biological molecules can survive in the vacuum of space and travel on asteroids. This begs the question: which theory is correct? I believe they can both be correct. What if an asteroid, carrying biological molecules, crashed into Earth's oceans where the molecules drifted towards deep sea vents.

There is no life on the asteroid, just molecules, but these molecules slowly evolved into living organisms.

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This week while walking to class I found an acorn with the top still on. I am from south Texas so I've never seen an acorn with the top still attached. The relation of this acorn to biology is that it is an angiosperm. This means that the seed is encased inside the hard shell of the acorn. The cap protects the seed for months until conditions are right for germination. Eventually the seed can turn into a mature oak tree.

Also, acorns serve as a primary food source for squirrels (which there are lots of around campus), and many other animals such as deer, and birds. The oak trees they fall off of are considered primary producers. Once the consumer that ate the acorns dies, it can then be decomposed by insects, fungi, etc. and from there the energy can be recycled through the food chain.

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In the movie "Tangled", the chameleon, Pascal, changes colors usually when something scary is about to happen, show his emotions and/or when he is  hiding. This shows characteristics of natural selection.

In the movie pascal is seen changing color when he's playing hide and seek or showing different emotions. He is also seen taking his tongue out a lot which is another characteristic of natural selection.

These characteristics of natural selection allows pascal to survive from predators. For example he changes colors when he is hiding from Rapunzel or Mother Gothel. This is an example of how chameleons hide from their predators and survive in the wild.
Another natural selection characteristic is his long tongue. His tongue allows him to eat and catch small animals from far away. This also enhances his chances of survival.

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"Zootopia" and its Connection to Biology

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"Zootopia" and its Connection to Biology

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An animated movie called "Zootopia" has what seems to be a humorous and enjoyable plot about anthropomorphic animals residing in a modern city. The film touches on a number of biological and ecological concerns even though it is essentially a work of fiction and fantasy.

A few aspects of biology that are highlighted would be biodiversity, predator and prey relationships, ecosystems and animal behavior/societal structure.

First of all, in the film, a variety of animals from different species remain in the metropolis. This diversity is a reflection of the complex interactions between many species and habitats that make up biodiversity in biology.

As it digs into the difficulties faced by a bunny police officer named Judy Hopps and her interactions with predators in the city, the movie examines the mechanics of predator-prey relationships. Real-world ecological interactions between species in ecosystems are reflected in this theme.

The frigid tundratown and the lush rainforest district are just two examples of the different neighborhoods in Zootopia that depict distinct habitats. Every ecosystem supports a distinct assortment of species, illuminating the biological idea of habitat diversity and adaptation.

The movie includes aspects of animal behavior, such as the idea that predator species have evolved to be stronger while prey species have evolved to be smaller and faster. It also looks at how society is organized and what functions are given to various species of animals.

Savanna Serna

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The first thing that came to mind when thinking of a film related to biology was "Jurassic Park". Although there are multiple ideas of biology throughout the film, I chose to talk about "survival of the fittest". Survival of the fittest means organisms  best adjusted to their environment are more successful in surviving and reproducing The film represents Charles Darwin's idea of survival of the fittest by showing the struggles that the cloned  dinosaurs have to face in order to survive, and how only the ones that adapt are able to survive. For example, some dinosaurs learned to adapt to their environment such as, the velociraptor, which are shown to be one of the most intelligent and fast and because of their adaptability they are most likely to survive in the wild. In this constant competition, only the stronger and better-adapted dinosaurs are more likely to survive which represents the idea of "survival of the fittest".

Leilani Leza

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When some friends and I went on a shopping trip we happened to stop by PetCo just to look at all the animals they had in the store. When looking around I saw a variety of animals and what they were fed in their living home. It just reminded me how many of the animals we see today have their own adaptations to their environment. What they have specialized for them is meant specifically for those animals.

When we had went over natural selection and adaptations in their specific ecosystems it brought back that time in class.

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This month is my parent's anniversary and when I came home, I saw that my dad gave my mom some gorgeous flowers, which have now bloomed beautifully. They are stunning perfect flowers and not just because they're pretty ;)

The first day I saw them bloom, it immediately made me think of the lab we had done previously when we were looking at the parts of a flower and looking at these ones specifically, you can clearly see the stamen, pistol, petals, etc.  It also reminded me of the plant life cycle since before they were open, they were enclosed by the petals surrounding them that was a result from fertilization.

I know in class we discussed all this, but I think because of how clear you can see each visible part of the flower is, it just screamed my biology class to me. I could kind've see the pollen on the anthers and I know that if I were to shake it onto some other flower, the pollen will then enter the pollen tube into the megaspore to create a new diploid zygote. It's amazing how different organisms reproduce and how it can create something so astonishing!

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Journal 1: Jurassic Park and its' Connection to Biology

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Journal 1: Jurassic Park and its' Connection to Biology

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Whilst trying to think of movies that have deep underlying connections to Biology, the "Jurassic Park" franchise, which includes both the novel by Michael Crichton and the subsequent film adaptation by Steven Spielberg, is what first came to mind. There are several aspects to the relationship between "Jurassic Park" and biology, which can be explored through a number of major themes and ideas:

The basic plot of "Jurassic Park" revolves around Dr. John Hammond, a wealthy entrepreneur, creating a dinosaur theme park called "Jurassic Park" on a remote island. The dinosaurs in the park are cloned from ancient DNA using advanced genetic engineering techniques. Before the park opens to the public, Hammond invites a group of experts to assess its safety and endorse its viability.

The biological themes that are present in "Jurassic Park" are cloning/genetic engineering, biodiversity/extinction and ecosystem dynamics.

Cloning and genetic engineering is the heart of this plotline. In the story, dinosaurs are genetically produced using DNA taken from ancient insects combined with DNA from contemporary amphibians. This idea has its roots in actual biotechnology and genetic engineering, which raises moral concerns regarding the possibility of reviving extinct species or altering those that already exist.

Next, ideals of biodiversity and extinction are present in this plotline because the extinct species that the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" portray lived millions of years ago. The narrative poses concerns about biodiversity and the effects of restoring species to ecosystems from which they have been missing for a considerable amount of time. Discussions in biology regarding biodiversity preservation and the dangers of de-extinction attempts are similar to this issue.

The last biological theme present in Jurassic Park would be the basic dynamics of an ecosystem. For instance, the movie investigates how the arrival of these cloned dinosaurs upsets the island's natural ecosystem. This reflects ideas from ecology and biology about the fragile balance of natural ecosystems, including relationships between predators and prey and competition for resources.

Savanna Serna

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frankenweenie the dead but not so dead dog through the work of electricity

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Every Halloween, I make it a tradition to watch Frankenweenie. I recall a scene where the new science teacher conducts an electrifying demonstration on dead frogs, illustrating the effects of electricity on them. This enlightens Victor's to dig his past dog Sparky and attempt to relive him by using electricity/lightning bolts. This storyline relates to the themes of life and death, genetic experimentation, and the ethical ramifications of manipulating life processes, mirroring real-world concerns in genetic engineering and cloning. It serves as a cautionary tale, warning us on the potential consequences of messing with biology and the trying to control life and death through biological means.

I would say we learned about genetic experimentation in some sorts due to us learning about natural selection they both are inhibited by the same organism. trying to pick up the best traits.

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Have you ever felt that you are not alone? A strange sensation that someone is watching you?

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What Causes the Feeling of Being Watched?

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What Causes the Feeling of Being Watched?

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So, fall is coming (or technically already is here) and I was listening to some Halloween theme playlists (as one does). Anyways, I came across the song by Rockwell called "Somebody's Watching Me" and it pretty much talks about how the singer feels like he is being stalked, even if it's completely irrational (the song hints he is going mad). It really made me think how we are capable of having the feeling of being watched, even when we see no one in our line of sight who is. And whenever you turn to the direction that you feel your watched, it ends up being right. Sometimes it can be a poster of a person looking at a viewer, or sometimes meeting eye-contact with a stranger, but to make matters short: You were right. How? You didn't even turn to said hypothetical area, so how did you know?

I did some research and apparently this is a result of an evolutionary skill that we humans have gained throughout time. At some point, this skill has kept our ancestors alive, since it help them know if danger was looking at them before they knew.

This website does an amazing job explaining how that works, but I will try to summarize as best as I can. When we look at something, said information travels to our eyes and go to the visual cortex. Because of this, we can consciously see the object and its characteristics like it's shape, size color etc. But it doesn't stop there. The visual information that we are intaking through our eyes are being processed on 10 other distinct areas in our brain, analyzing the information subconsciously.  It is because of these areas that we are able to perceive things beyond our center of attention and see our whole line of sight but only subconsciously. So even if you didn't see any danger, one out of all the other areas in our brain might of seen it.

Even if you manage to lose function in your visual cortex, these other parts mentioned earlier in your brain will be actively be working nevertheless. In other words, if someone is born blind or gets blind, it doesn't mean that they won't stop sensing the world around them. The website also talks about an experiment in which researchers scan the brain of people who lose function of their visual cortex and were still able to give an accurate guess of where lights, objects etc. were, even if they couldn't see it. Astonishingly, these blind people were able to guess pictures of people staring at the viewer and which pictures weren't right consistently

In conclusion, the ability of knowing when someone or something is looking at you (AKA a knockoff version of spidey sense) is the result of evolution. Feel free to check the website, it does a good job explaining this phenomenon and the experiments supporting that research!

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What causes that feeling of being watched

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You feel somebody is looking at you, but you don't know why. The explanation lies in some intriguing neuroscience and the study of a strange form of brain injury.

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Mossy leaf tailed gecko displaying variation and natural selection in order to survive in their habitat.

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Mossy leaf tailed gecko displaying variation and natural selection in order to survive in their habitat.

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My favorite animal species I have chosen to do was the mossy leaf-tailed gecko as they have evolved to have a moss and tree bark-colored skin to help camouflage in the forests of Madagascar.

This relates to natural selection because to survive the terrain of jungles Madagascar the mossy-leafed tail gecko needs to grow moss on its skin to camouflage and hide from its predators to reproduce its population passing down their DNA and traits to avoid extinction.

As the leaf tailed gecko characteristics of natural selection and variation, the Leaf tailed gecko. By the shaping of their bodies and coloration of their skin and eyelids growing moss on themselves to hide from their predators. These traits are what best suit the Gecko for its survival as these traits will be passed down to the next generation. Without them, they would be extinct in that environment. Without these traits of natural selection and variation, the Leaf tailed geckos would be extinct. For this reason, is why these traits are what best suit the Gecko for its survival as these traits will be passed down to the next generation.

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Gecko Perfectly Camouflages Against Tree

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(Ignore this video and imagine I copy-pasted a Tiktok link here instead)

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So, I watched this TikTok video that was all about the characteristics of life. It got me thinking, you know? The video said that all living things are made of cells, and I was like, yeah, that makes sense! Just like how a house is made of bricks. And then it said something about how living things balance their internal conditions, just like a thermostat keeps the room comfy. That sounded reasonable too.

But here's where it got interesting. The video suggested that even my phone could be alive because it responds when I touch the screen. It kinda sounded weird at first, but then I thought about it – like, we respond to our environment, right? So maybe my phone's got a bit of life in it too?

I know that we talked in class about how phones are not alive even though they respond to stimuli. This video was incorrect but provided the information as though it was right. I guess we have to be careful with what we see.

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This is a diagram of how photosynthesis works

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Photosynthesis is when plants turn sunlight into energy. Photosynthesis evolved a long time ago in bacteria and plants. When photosynthesis evolved it caused an extinction because of oxygen but made aerobic respiration evolve. Aerobic respiration creates more ATP than anaerobic respiration but requires oxygen.