It's the Start of the End...

Hello. If you have reached this page then I really don't know why but congrats to you. 

So. You want to be an AP Biology student? Or you are currently an AP Biology student? 

That's good. Have some cookies.

Four for you, Glen CoCo.

Alright, let's get down to business.

Some words of advice from me to you. Yay.

1. Have fun- this class really teaches you a lot. Just be ready to absorb the information.
2. Be ready for discussions- if Landry tells you to watch videos before class then holy flipping A, you best watch those videos.
3. Don't take advice from me- I am super sarcastic and probably got on Landry's nerves more than he let me know.
4. Stay in the class (duh) and work super duper hard- this is pretty self explanatory.
5. EXTRA CREDIT IS A BEAST. FACE THE BEAST AND CONQUER THE BEAST.
6. Don't be intimidated- if there is one thing that I learned from this year is to be confident in your abilities and to face each challenge as they come. Right now, don't be concerned with the AP test at this exact moment in time. Be concerned with finishing that awesome summer assignment that I'm sure a lot of you forgot about (cuz lets be real, I totally did).

Landry is fabulous. Just remember that and have tons of fun. I'm sure many of you are bored by this point and are reading these because it is a grade for you. I'll let you guys go now. Once again, and for the last time, I will quote Mr. Burrows and leave you with these wise words for you to rememeber this year...

'Live. Do not merely exsist." 

-Mr. Burrows.

Stay classy San Diego...and AP Biology,

Mary 

Learning AP Biology with Friends!

This year in AP Biology...well it was an interesting year. In a good way. I think.

Starting off with Ecology and going all the way up to Metabolism and Energetics, there was a lot of information thrown at us. 

I want to think that I learned many things this year. I think I did learn many things this year such as...

1. Extra Credit is a beast that needs to be dealt with. 
2. There are a lot of plants out there and they conduct photostynthesis.
3. There are a lot of animals out there and they conduct cellular respiration.
4. Plants do also conduct cellular respiration. 
5. I am really bad a rememebering what I learned this year.

Most of all, I learned that AP classes really aren't that scary. I learned to have confidence in myself that I can succeed in these types of classes. Confidence was a major thing this year for me as Junior year is the most stressful and important year. Landry really taught me that with a good attitude and a solid head between your shoulders, a lot of good things can happen. 

This class was really benefical to me in numerous ways. It really solidified the fact that I want to do something biology and math related for a career. It also opened up the door to many different career options that weren't a thought in my head 9 months ago. I learned how to use my time wisely - which was a good thing because homework was a force to be dealt with. 

I loved this class and Landry spaced everything out very well. Although we didn't get to all of the information, the majority of the info covered was the majority of questions that were asked on the AP test. 

Yay! 

Oh Lysosome, Oh Lysosome, How Lovely Are Your Digestive Materials

Is this guy not the coolest thing you've ever seen? Taking on the role of the lysosome would be taking on a huge responsibility within the cell, which is why, if I had to choose an organelle to be, I would be the lysosome.

The lysosome is a small little guy, only measuring out to be from 0.1-1.2 micrometers in size (which is really small!)  But don't think for one second that just because this organelle is small that it cannot do a huge job. As seen from the picture, inside this little lysosome contains an acidic enzyme mixture of a pH of 4.8 compared to the cytosol at around a pH of 7.2. The acidic contents are contained within the lysosome's own lipid bilayer. Lysosomes inside the cell act as the digestive player, taking in materials that need to be broken down. It also can act as a "suicide" organelle if given the instructions to break apart, which in turn lead to the spilling out of the acidic contents, and the cell "eats" itself (called apoptosis). This usually happens if the cell realizes that the cell as a whole is not functioning properly and can possibly turn catastrophic (in such cases as cancer).

Unfortunately, sometimes the lysosome malfunctions and the cell doesn't realize that it is potentially deadly, resulting in a lysosomal disease. Under the lysosomal storage diseases is the accumulation of about 50 specific diseases. One of these diseases is the Tay Sachs disease. This disease is extremely rare and most common in Europe and those with Jewish backgrounds. Tay Sachs causes a mutation in the HEXA gene, which provides instruction for creating an enzyme called beta-hexosaminidase A. This enzyme is found inside the lysosome and plays a critical role in the brain and spinal cord and helps to break down the fatty substance called GM2 ganglioside. Because of a mutation within the HEXA gene, the GM2 ganglioside cannot break down and accumulates to toxic levels, leading to neuron damage.

Shows the large lipid rings inside the neuron cytoplasm as a result of the stored lipids inside the lysosomes

Fun Facts:
The lysosome contains a numerous amount of enzymes that act as catalysts such as...

• Glycosidase- breaks down glycosidic linkages in sugar molecules
• Protease- breaks down peptide bonds
• Acid Phosphatase- breaks down phosphate linkages
• Nuclease- breaks down phospodiester bonds in nucleotide subunits in nucleic acids

And many more! These enzymes are all synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum and modified in the Golgi apparatus. 

Why I would want to be a lysosome is because I could control destruction. I know that sounds morbid but just think about how much cancer could be prevented if the lysosome was triggered properly to destruct a cell. If I studied as a biologist and focused on the cell, I would definitely focus mainly on the lysosome. I would want to figure out a way to trigger the lysosome to self-destruct if it detects extreme levels of either materials inside the lysosome itself or if it could detect rapid division of the cell.

Biological Magnification

What is the big long confusing looking (and sounding) word?
Biological Magnification can simply be described as increasing a substance's concentration as the substance moves up a food chain, pyramid, or web. This is often detrimental because the substance is usually toxic.

How does it occur?
Well, it starts at the very bottom with the producers who, by mistake, bring the substance into their bodies. Later, a primary consumer, squirrel or rabbit, will eat the plant and ingest the substance. Because of the flow of energy (remember that only about 10% of energy is actually available for the next trophic level), the consumer will need to eat more plants and, in turn, ingest more of the substance. The substance is now somewhat concentrated within the primary consumer. The next levels, the secondary and tertiary consumers, eat the primary consumers and will eventually have a build up of the substance. Certain conditions need to be met in order for a pollutant to bio magnify:
1) Pollutant must be long- lived.
2) Pollutant must be concentrated by the producers - the plants.
2) Pollutant must fat-soluble.
Fat soluble, you ask? Once the producer is eaten, the substances move into the consumers fat storage. Once that consumer is eaten, the next consumer will have the substance in their fat tissues. Hence, this causes a build up in the fat tissues. Since fat is not water soluble, it does not leave the bodies of the consumers or the cells of the producers naturally to the environment and build up can occur.

How can us, the humans, solve this growing problem?
We can help prevent and possibly stop biological magnification by stopping the production of man-made synthetics like pesticides. It may seem like a ridiculously easy thing to do but imagine how many pesticides are used daily on our crops and local farms. The first step is to reduce the amount used and then move onto a more natural solution that is easily broken down by the environment and water soluble.

DDT
DDT was a long lived insecticide that improved the health of humans and was not easily broken down by the environment. It improved human health by killing off bugs that contained diseases of all sorts. A significant negative effect of DDT was the interference it caused with calcium in bird eggs. The eggs would be laid soft and often break early in development, causing their numbers to decline. Rachel Carson published her book called Silent Spring in the early 1960's explaining the detrimental effects of DDT and was key in the banning of the substance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UiCSvQvVys

References:

• http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/ecosystem.html
• http://marinediscovery.arizona.edu/lessonsF99/chautran/index.html

Dresses and Dates and Homecoming! Oh, my!

Breathe in. Smell that? It's the gorgeous scent of the new school year, the oncoming autumn, and ,yes, homecoming. Homecoming is the one thing that the returning students to Sparta High look forward to all the while breaking in new courses, new friends, and ,inevitably, the new school schedule- which I still have mixed feelings about. If you're not from the general Sparta area, homecoming to you is probably another day in the life of awkward high-schoolers trying to ask a pretty girl to a dance while trying to keep his dignity and cool. At Sparta, though, homecoming starts basically from the first day of summer up until the day after the dance, because we're all trying to come down from "homecoming high". From the seniors trying to out prove the juniors to the famed Red Apple that glistens in the light, homecoming is all that jazz and more. Every grade puts together a float, which of course means that a select group of creative people come up with the ideas while the less creative try to nail a piece of plywood to another piece of plywood. Then comes the mock rock, fancy wording for a dance created exclusively by the grade at hand- freshmen create the freshmen mock rock, juniors create junior mock rock and so on and so forth. In the midst of the "dancing" is the hope that maybe a class will beat the senior class and prove their dominance on the food chain of high school. Usually it's no good but we continue to hope and wish. Then, the day of the homecoming football game, all we do is play games that show our less athletic and more fun side of life to win points for each grade. Then homecoming dance is the next night and is filled with memories and pictures that will last a lifetime in the hearts of many.
My homecoming experiences have been very interesting. I was the new child at Sparta last year and with only a month to make friends, I went with a group that I was not particularly close to. None the less, it was enjoyable and I will always remember it as my first dance as a highschooler. Scary. This year, with me actually having friends, I am going with my tight-knit group of kin. I hope to have an enormous amount of fun and hopefully will create new memories.
To conclude this ridiculously long post, I leave you with the words of Mr. Burrows
"Live. Do not merely exist."

First AP Bio Blog

Hi everyone out there on this fine day! My name is Mary Galbraith. I love writing, reading, and music. I am hoping to become an Orthopedic Surgeon in the Air Force. Due to my lacking of 20/20 eyesight, I would not be able to operate any of the jets in the Air Force but would love to be in the planes flying from one area to another while performing operations on soldiers or citizens in need. On an off day, you'll most likely find me sitting on my bed or out by my pool, if weather permits that is, reading a good book while blasting music. My favorite activities include swimming, I swam competitively from the age of 3 to the age of 15, pitching, speed ranges from 40 to mid-50 miles per hour, and hanging out with friends. Something a lot of you might not know about me is that I transferred to Sparta the beginning of my sophomore year, so if you don't recognize me, that's probably why. I am taking this course to further my knowledge of the human body and create a better idea of the world around me. I am hoping to better my study skills and prepare me for any college courses I have to take regarding Biology.