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Peppered Moth evolution and natural selection

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Left Picture:

• Background: Green trees and blue sky in a natural environment.

• Moths: Moths that are a lighter color are harder for birds to see against light bark trees and are thus less likely to be eaten.

• Bird: The bird hunts for the darker moths which are much more visible against a light background.

Right Picture:

• Backdrop: An environment with soil and air pollution, dark bark of a tree, and an industrial background.

• Moths: As the bark darkens the darker-colored moths are now better camouflaged against the bark and come to predominate.

• Bird: The same bird continues hunting, but the light moths are much more visible on the dark bark making them more susceptible to predation.

Overall Significance:

This image illustrates well how environmental changes (such as pollution) can alter the balance of natural selection. The survival benefits conferred by various traits fluctuate with the environment, thus populations evolve through time. This is a great example, showcasing the process of evolution through natural selection, where the darker moths benefited from their color to survive in a polluted area.

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Assignment 2: Fungi (Penicillium Chrysogenum)

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Assignment 2: Fungi (Penicillium Chrysogenum)

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https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10191097/

Summary:

This review studied 277 compounds isolated from the endosymbiotic fungus Penicillium chrysogenum differentiated medicinal potentially available from 2013 to 2023. The compounds produced by this fungus consisting of terpenoids, alkaloids, polyketides, and steroids manifest diverse pharmacological activities, which include antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic.

Key points include:

Diverse Metabolites:

Bioactive compounds are given top priority in this review due to their particularly prominent biological activity profiles and thus their potential to be developed into significant pharmaceutical metabolites.

Pharmacological Properties:

Culture of P. chrysogenum has shown significant antifungal activity against important human pathogens Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Moreover, its metabolic products show high potential to be effective against cancer, as well as an antiviral agents.

Biotechnological Relevance:

The results imply that P. chrysogenum may play an important role in guiding drug development targeting both antimicrobial resistance and cancer treatment.

The review is an excellent entry point, with a lot of potential as a basis for future studies around P. chrysogenum and its drug discovery and therapeutic applications. Metabolic pathway knowledge could allow for the discovery of new bioactive compounds that may be suitable for the pharmaceutical industry.

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Communicated by Yusuf Akhter. ✉Corresponding author.

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A comprehensive review on the medicinally valuable endosymbiotic fungi Penicillium chrysogenum

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Recently, it has been shown that metabolites derived from endosymbiotic fungi attracted high attention, since plenty of them have promising pharmaceutical applications. The variation of metabolic pathways in fungi is considered an optimistic source…

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Angiosperms:

Angiosperms are divided into two major groups: monocots and dicots. These (flowering plants) are placed in this group based on defining features, such as seed structure, root architecture, venation pattern and flower symmetry. Since angiosperms are the most common type of plant, a lot of what we consider everyday plants are in one of these groups.

Monocots:

Monocots (monocotyledons) have an embryo with a single cotyledon (leaf), parallel venation of the leaves, adventitious roots, and scattered vascular bundles.

Banana: The banana plant provides a very popular fruit, especially known for its sweetness.

Onion: Commonly found in the kitchen cabinet, and also one of the most important ingredients for many cooking recipes.

Tulip: The most seen and popular flower in spring gardens.

Dicots:

Dicots (dicotyledons) have two cotyledons, netted venation, tap root system, and vascular bundles in a ring.

Apple: One of the most popular fruits, either eaten raw or in many different recipes, apples are produced through their native tree.

Maple Tree: Known for their beautiful fall color, and sap for maple syrup

Carrot: A staple and great source of nutrients, carrots are used in salads, soups, and as snacks.

Summary:

Some of the most common plant types we encounter in our day-to-day lives are monocots and dicots. The importance of these categories can be reflected in our understanding of how these plants supplement our diet and beautify our environment. These plants provide us many things, whether it is a slice of banana or fresh apply.

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This video taught me a lot about how interesting yet, at the same time, simplistic Cnidaria are. This phylum includes fascinating animals like the jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones.

Structures:

• Body Plan: For cnidarians bodies are symmetrical; consisting of either a polyp (e.g., sea anemones) or a medusa (e.g., jellyfish). Some species can even be both in their life cycles.

• Cnidocytes: The stinging cells that contain nematocysts, tiny organelles that aid in the capture of prey and defense against predators.

• Gastrovascular Cavity: A central cavity called a gastrovascular cavity which carries out both digestion and the distribution of substances throughout the body.

• Tentacles: Found around the mouth, these assist with capturing food and also provide a defense mechanism.

• Mesoglea: a somewhat jelly substance that gives shape and buoyancy.

• Nerve Net: is a simple form of a nervous system that enables basic responses to environmental stimuli.

Functions:

• Feeding: Cnidarians are carnivores that capture prey with their tentacles before digesting it.

• Defense: The stinging cells of they possess immobilize and kill prey, as well as deter predators.

• Reproduction: They reproduce in both sexual and asexual ways, meaning that they can change their life cycle based on their population.

• Movement: Medusas swim by contracting their bell-shaped bodies, while polyps stay on surfaces.

• Habitat Formation: Through the growth of different coral species, reefs are formed that serve as vital habitats for the various marine organisms.

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Phylum Cnidaria Part 1: Introduction and Broad Characteristics

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The importance of homeostasis in biology is that it regulates the internal environment of the body despite external changes. It involves highly complicated cross interactions between various systems controlling the temperature, pH, hydration and electrolyte balance. It is important for optimal functioning and survival at this equilibrium.

As I was searching for a good resource on homeostasis, I discovered an article from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) about how the body keeps this balance, in a nutshell. The article then says that homeostasis involves feedback mechanisms, or positive and negative feedback loops that return a system to some setpoint. For example, when body temperature goes up mechanisms like sweating and increased blood to the skin circulate to cool the body down. Second, shivering and decreased blood flow to the skin generate and conserve heat when body temperature is decreased.

In addition, the site reviews the role of the organs and systems, such as the endocrine system in hormone relations and the nervous system in control of environmental stimuli. These systems work in concert together to reach homeostasis, and so control the optimal range in which the body functions.

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I learned in this article that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive condition of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). The activation of special immune cells in the brain called microglia lead to inflammation and consequent problems.

It found that a key protein, CCL21, is the major factor to disrupt the balance of these microglial cells. Levels of CCL21 are higher among important brain cells that control movement, dopaminergic neurons, in people with Parkinson's. Areas of the brain that are particularly vulnerable in PD are associated with this increase in CCL21.

The study also found that CCL21 influences how microglial cells move and to become active, resulting in more inflammation and brain damage potential. However, researchers found that a drug called navarixin can prevent the harmful effects of CCL21 on these microglial cells. Navarixin also improved the behaviors in mice that mimic Parkinson's disease, and it helped protect the brain in experiments with mice.

In essence, this research shows exactly how crucial the central nervous system is to Parkinson's disease, and that navarixin may be a good way of treating the disease, by reducing inflammation and protecting brain cells from damage, by targeting the protein CCL21.

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Swamps are distinct and complex ecosystems that usually have soil permeated with water that is and often dark, cloudy, and rich with organic material. This means that swamps have a wealth of plants in their hotspots, including species of cypress trees, mangroves, and other aquatic plants that thrive in constantly wet soils. Swamp ecosystems have unique and diverse assemblages of biodiversity, which successions of bird species and numbers of species of frogs, and reptiles such as alligator. Often swamps have a significant diversity of insects, as decomposers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and apex predators.

Ultimately, swamps provide valuable ecosystem services when they are graced with rich organic material such as plant litter or decomposing animal remains to sequester carbon. The swamp is often present with a water-logged area where sedimentary organic material is getting deposited, and water decomposition is slow and anaerobic so carbon is accumulating in the soil. Swamps also act as natural sponges out of which can absorb a great deal of additional rainwater to provide for upstream areas lower freshwater for a longer period before it returns as water vapor. Swamps are important areas for cycling nutrients, as they can filter out pollutants while providing nutrients and minerals to nearby ecosystems and biota. Overall, the characteristics of swamps lead to unique and critical contributions to both ecological health, as well as stability of the other ecosystems and animals that surround them.

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The video discusses several factors contributing to biodiversity. There is the biodiversity of species (each unique living organism contributing to an ecosystem) genetic diversity (variation within species contributing to adaptability and resilience) ecosystem diversity (habitat and ecological processes existing on Earth as a result of evolution over time) and evolutionary history (which is impacted by the actions of previous ecological events, and essentially contributes to current biodiversity), along with ecosystem functions (interactions and processes that continue to perpetuate life and maintain proper balance in ecosystems).

The video points out that the concept of biodiversity gained a considerable amount of scientific recognition in the 1980s, as societies became more concerned about their impacts as humans on the environment, the biodiversity movement was meant to remind us, among other things, we are part of diverse biological communities worth preserving that are part of the overall health of the Planet.

The video has included five strategies to explain why biodiversity is significant. Economic value describes the resources and services provided by ecosystems; ecological life support describes the natural processes that sustain life; cultural value refers to the importance of biodiversity and cultural significance; recreational value describes the benefits of biodiversity in tourism, recreation and leisure; and scientific value describes the importance of biodiversity to our research understand, and experience ecological interactions. Each of these reasons reinforce the ways in which biodiversity plays an integral and essential role in impacting the health and appropriate balance of our planet and ecosystems.

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What is biodiversity and why is it important?