My Biology notebook by Isabela Ballesteros

Padlet Assignment 1: Evolution

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-01-22 00:27:45 UTC

In the photo above, there are five different species of frogs, and each one lives in a different enviornment, but they had at one point orginated from the same ancestor. We can infer that over time, the evironmental pressures for each frog would have affected their genetic makeup, leading to different mutations that gives them their own unique traits. These evolution of traits is also the reason why they would have survived in their own environments. The most advantageous phenotype would have been passed down or weeded through the process of natural selection. For example, if the blue poison dart frog hadn’t been passed down the dominant alleles for poison they would have died much quicker than one who did recieve those trait. In short the process of evolution can be fast to occur if there is a big enough impact.

Padlet Assignment 2: Amanita phalloides

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-01-22 00:30:55 UTC

Death cap, also known as amanita phalloides, is a poisonous mushroom responsible for majority of mushroom poisonings. They often get mistaken for nonpoisonous mushrooms that spread into new areas (orginated from the UK) leaving many people unaware of its toxins and cosume it. The fungi contains many toxins, but the amatoxin is the most dangerous as it can stop dna production leading to organ faliure. Symptoms begin appearing six to twenty-four hours after ingesting it, and treatments include staying hydrated, milk thistle and a possible liver transplant. The death cap is a mycorrhizal fungi and helps the tree’s take up nutrients from the soil in exchange for taking sugars from the roots of the trees. The appearance of the amanita phalloide is a greenish yellow, white and can reach four to sixteen cm in diameter and about eighteen inches long. When it’s dried, it can have a metallic sheen to it; the kingdom of the death cap is classified as fungi, is under the divison of basidiomycota, order of agaricales, family of amaniteceae and genus to amanita. Interestingly enough, this fungi is also belived to have killed two different holy roman emeperors, which i found pretty fascinating.

Padlet Assignment 3: Monocots and Dicots

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-01-30 02:46:06 UTC

Monocots and dicots are the two main groups that divide angiosperms. These types of plants are pretty common to find, as we often see them daily without even realizing it. Many of these common plants are the flowers we admire while strolling in park or even the food that we eat with our families. Fruits, vegetables, and even grains can be categorized in either a monocot or dicot; you just to find the right characteristics that fall into each group. There are a couple of ways to differentiate monocots from dicots: counting the number of cotyledons and floral parts, and observing the structures of their veins, roots, and pollen grains. If you ever plucked a dandelion as a kid, you may have noticed that the stems of the plant don't branch out like fibrous roots. Instead, they follow a straight path down with small roots sticking out and have multiple floral parts, as well as net-like veins in their leaves. This indicates dandelions belong to the dicot group, which includes beans and carrots; while plants like rice, bananas, and orchids are monocots.

Padlet Assignment 4: Phylum Mollusca

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-01-31 21:42:47 UTC

The phylum Mollusca is a large and diverse group of species that share unique characteristics. All of them are invertebrates, meaning that none of them have backbones to support their bodies and they have to rely on other structures. The name "Mollusca" derives from the word soft, reflecting their body structures, as most of them have soft and flexible bodies. Some of the key characteristics that help define their body structures are the mantle (a hard outer shell), an organ called the foot (which helps with movement), a radula (sandpaper tongue to rasp food), and gills (ability to live underwater). Mollusk's evolved from flatworms and divided into eight different classes: Caudofoveata, Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Monoplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, and Cephalopoda. Most of the species in molluscs are herbivorous that consume algae, plants, and fungi, while others like the squid are predatory. Molluscs can be found in oceans, freshwater areas, or even in humid environments. Human civilizations have also depended on molluscs as a food source, but also as currency and a sign of wealth (pearls and purple dye were highly sought after).

Padlet Assignment 5: Homeostasis in the human body

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-02-13 06:25:06 UTC

Homeostasis is a human body's mechanism that allows it to maintain a stable internal environment. This is very important because it detects and responds to changes of environments that are internally or externally, which helps increases our level of survival and optimal function. Sensory receptors will report their information to the central nervous system to initiate an appropriate response to correct an irregularity. An example of this process would be a body temperature increasing and sweat glands are released to help cool down the body, and the blood vessels dilate to increase the heat loss. The central nervous system is divided into two parts: sympathetic branch (prepares the body for action) and parasympathetic (promotes the body's recovery), together they maintain the body's stability. Feedback loops is the body is another way to maintain homeostasis by having two different loops that can either reverse a change (negative feedback) or amplify changes (positive). Hormones can also play a role in the body's internal harmony by acting as a chemical messenger that influences physiological functions. If disruptions occur to their hormone balance it can cause health issues like PCOS and diabetes.

Padlet Assignment 6: Galileo article of PCOS (endocrine system)

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-02-13 06:25:33 UTC

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a prevalent endocrine and metabolic disorder in women, often leading to anovulatory infertility. It was said that PCOS is a complex systemic disease that creates higher chances of pregnancy related cases, metabolic disorders and dysfunction. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is also linked to psychological issues such as anxiety and depression. The doctors involved in this article studied the relationship between PCOS, body mass index and periodontitis in women. By the end of their research, they found out women with PCOS had worse conditions of gingival bleeding, than those with periodontitis. Hormonal changes in PCOS, like an increase of androgen levels, could create an increase of gum inflammation. People who were overweight with PCOS were at an even greater risk of worsening conditions of gum disease because of the chemicals released by fat cells. However, there were some limitations within the study and would need a larger group of patients to determine their findings.

Padlet 7: Estuaries Biomes

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-02-24 14:29:34 UTC

Estuaries are biomes where fresh water (like rivers) meets the ocean and creates a mixture of brackish water. The area is regarded as a critical breeding ground for marine animals, such as mollusks, fish, and crustaceans. Another important factor in these biomes is the salinity that influences the organisms and their adaptations. The salinity of these biomes constantly fluctuates due to seasonal rainfall and tide changes. High tides bring the saltwater to the estuaries and low tides reverses the current saltwater. The rapid salinity shift poses as a challenge for many animals and plants, but halophytic plants have adapted filters in their roots to remove the salt intake. Mollusks have also undergone some behavioral changes to function within the environment by switching to aerobic or anaerobic respiration. When the salinity and oxygen levels are high, mollusks are able to resume their feeding, open their shells, and return to aerobic respiration.

Padlet 8: Concept of Biodiversity

isabelaballesterosgamez — 2025-02-24 14:29:44 UTC

Ecosystems may appear fixed, but they are prone to collapse due to changes in environment. For example, jungles could potentially turn into a desert biome if the climate changes significantly. Biodiversity is what allows ecosystems to be strong or weak in the face of challenges because of its three features that help them be resilient. The diversities of ecosystems, species, and genetics are the features that interconnect and benefit from each other. The amazon rainforest serves as an example of how the relationships between species come together to create stability in their environment. The genetic diversity of species allows them to cope to the changes of environment like climate change, diseases, or habitat fragmentation. The complexities of ecosystems form a variety of different species, so the disappearance of one species wouldn't cause the system to collapse. Ecosystems would be able to recover from the changes, but in some environments, taking away a keystone organism could potentially destroy a biome.