BIOL 1012 by

Evolution - Assignment 1

afonsec1_1 — 2025-03-13 03:04:27 UTC

Evolution is described as the heritable changes over generations due to natural selection, and other influential mechanisms. Many organisms adapted their physical appearances to their ever changing environment. This image shows how man evolved from ape, this is human evolution. This image shows us our ancestors of apes beginning using quadrupedalism (walking on all fours) for locomotion. Over time, we developed into bipedalism (walking on two feet) causing an upright position. We gained dexterity and complex language gradually allowing us to adapt to our surroundings, and these traits were passed to future generations through interbreeding. Our facial features adapted to what we needed to survive and bodies become less hairy. The production of offspring with these new traits were able to better survive leading to more offspring with similar traits.

Prokaryotes - Assignment 2

afonsec1_1 — 2025-03-19 01:59:41 UTC

For my post today, I decided to talk more about a Bacteria, which is a type of prokaryote called Yersinia Pestis. This bacteria was the cause for the Bubonic Plague, also called The Black Death in Europe and Asia in the fourteenth century. The main signs and symptoms of this deadly bacteria is fever, headache, chills, swollen lymph nodes, and weakness. This bacteria is classified as a gram-negative coccobacillus. It is spherical to cylindrical in shape, and has a thin peptidoglycan cell wall. It is a facultative anaeroba meaning it is able to grow with or without free oxygen. Yersinia Pestis was discovered in 1894. It is transmitted from rodents to humans by the bite of infected fleas that these rodents posses.

https://www.britannica.com/science/Yersinia-pestis

Monocot vs Dicot Plants - Assignment 3

afonsec1_1 — 2025-03-27 01:32:49 UTC

We use hundreds of plants daily, whether we know it or not. A lot of materials, food, and medicines are some examples that use plants on a daily basis. For example, a nightly cup of chamomile tea obviously has chamomile plant in it. Chamomile is a dicot flowering plant because it has two cotyledons in its embryo. Another example, is grass, we see grass everywhere. All types of grass are monocots, meaning they only have one cotyledon in its seed, fibrous roots, and parallel veins. Lastly, cotton we see cotton in a lot of our clothing, linen, undergarments, and other materials. This plant is also dicot. When observing plants, we can differentiate by looking at their roots, leaf patterns, pollen grains, seeds, and many other characteristics listed in this diagram.

Arthropods - Assignment 4

afonsec1_1 — 2025-03-27 02:09:12 UTC

The main characteristic of arthropods are their segmented bodies, usually composed of three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. 80% of known animal species are arthropods. This segmentation is said to be a key feature for why this phylum is the most abundant, and most successful. All arthropods have an exoskeleton: a hard outer shell, which they shed in order to allow for growth. They all have paired and jointed appendages. This is where their name Arthropod comes from, meaning “jointed feet.” Arthropods can be subdivided into 4 other subphyla. There are more species of insects than there are of all other animals combined.

*discussion of arthropods begins at minute 4:55 *

Homeostasis - Assignment 5

afonsec1_1 — 2025-04-10 00:14:28 UTC

Homeostasis is the bodies ability to maintain a stable internal environment. This concept was first introduced by French physiologist, Claude Bernard as “milieu interieur” in 1865. The term “homeostasis” was coined by American physiologist, Walter Cannon in 1926. The body has a set point to which it must maintain its internal processes in order to prevent cellular death, tissues and organs. Different examples of homeostasis are the bodies ability to maintain a normal temperature, PH level, glucose level, oxygen level, etc. These processes would not be possible without having set points, or ranges, feedback loops, and regulation. All organs works together to maintain a stable internal environment. The human body is made up of many thousands of controls systems to detect change caused by disruptors and employ effectors to mediate the change. Diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis, and all other diseases can by traced back to failure at some point of the homeostatic control system.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559138/

Disorder of Endocrine system - Assignment 6

afonsec1_1 — 2025-04-10 00:42:24 UTC

For my post today, I decided to focus on disorders of the endocrine system, most specifically, Hypothyroidism. It peaked my interest due to me having this disorder for the last 8 years. Hypothyroidism is one of the most prevalent diseases of the endocrine system. Iodine is the most important factor, aside from age, sex, and ethnicity for this disease. Depression and anxiety is linked to hypothyroidism as well. Many times the symptoms of anxiety and depression are one of the first symptoms to appear with hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism is the result of the thyroid gland not producing enough thyroid hormone therefore leading to elevated TSH levels. This article focused on the prevalence of anxiety and depression in populations in Kerman, Iran with hypothyroidism. This study was based on individuals who were not taking any medications to help supplement their thyroid levels, or patients that were taking any antidepressants or anti anxiety medications. They used the Beck Depression inventory questionnaire to screen for depression. They also used the Hamilton Anxiety questionnaire to screen for anxiety.

Tundra Biome - Assignment 7

afonsec1_1 — 2025-04-22 19:55:34 UTC

Tundra is a biome characterized by a low-growing ecosystem. It has short and cool growing seasons. Latitudinal tundras occur in the Arctic. Altitudinal tundras can be found at the top of mountains at high altitudes. Aside from cold temperatures, moisture is also a characteristic of this biome. There is vast environmental differences between the two types of Tundras. Alpine tundras are subject to larger variations of daily temperatures during the growing season, as well as more solar radiation during the day. In contrast arctic tundras experience continuous exposure to the sun. Tundras are treeless with cold climates. Most Tundras receive very small amounts of water as precipitation. The soil is still very moist or wet due to little evaporation, despite the lack of water input. Acetic tundras can support small densities of mammalian herbivores such as caribou, and musk ox.

https://science.jrank.org/pages/897/Biome.html

Concepts of Biodiversity - Assignment 8

afonsec1_1 — 2025-04-22 20:59:58 UTC

Biodiversity is the variety of all living things and their interactions. In 1985, Walter G. Rosen first coined the word biodiversity. Biodiversity hold both ecological and economic significance. It provides us with nourishment, housing, fuel, clothes to wear, medicines, and monetary benefits through tourism. There are different types of biodiversity including genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecological diversity. Maintenance of biodiversity is important for sustaining life on Earth. Crops, fishery, and forests are rich sources of food. Plants are used for medicinal purposes.