Cell Project

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
7 December 2014

Final Project: Create a Cell

The cell I chose to make a 3D model of was: the bacteria E. Coli

Although everyone has E.coli bacteria naturally in their intestines, people and animals infected with the strand of E. coli 0157:H7, which can sometimes be found in under cooked foods, contaminated water and feces. Symptoms of E. Coli include diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and low fever.

E. coli, short for the medical term Escherichia coli,  is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables . E coli  is not always harmful to our body and normally lives inside out intestines, where it helps the human body break down and digest the food we eat.  However, not all E. coli is good and certain types (called strains) of E. coli can get from the intestines into the blood. Although this is a rare illness it can cause a very serious infection. A person who has an E. coli infection may have symptoms such as bad stomach cramps and belly pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, sometimes with blood in it. One very bad strain of E. coli was found in fresh spinach in 2006 and some fast-food hamburgers in 1993. Beef can contain E. coli because the bacteria often infect cattle, and Cattle's   manure is used for fertilizer  (a common practice to help crops grow). Water as well  contaminated with E. coli may be used to irrigate the crops.

E. coli can be passed from person to person, but serious E. coliinfection is more often linked to food containing the bacteria, which occurs when the person eats the contaminated food and gets sick. E. coli poisoning can occur when you eat under cooked ground beef (used for hamburgers), vegetables grown in cow manure or washed in contaminated water, or fruit juice that isn't pasteurized (pasteurization is a process that uses heat to kill germs).

Heat can kill E. coli and washing and scrubbing vegetables can help get rid of E.coli before eating them. In some cases, E. coli poisoning can cause life-threatening kidney problems. Overall, the main method of preventing e.coli is to always wash and keep your hands clean! 

In addition, since E. coli is a type of bacteria, this means that it is a prokaryotic cell and lack a nucleus. Unlike animal and plant cells, E. coli have a capsule which protects the bacterial cell and serves as a barrier against phagocytosis by white blood cells, a flagellum  which serve as  long appendages" which rotate by means of a "motor" located just under the cytoplasmic membrane" moving the cell to where it desires to go, and a pili which are hollow, hair-like structures which allow bacteria to attach to other cells. In some cases E.coli is considered a pathogen, as it is known to cause diseases. Even though E.coli is known to have an extremely simple cell structure with only one chromosomal DNA and a plasmid, E.coli can perform complicated metabolism that helps it to maintain its cell growth and cell division. Plus, E.coli has been widely used to synthesize DNA and proteins. 

Furthermore, E. coli is a Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria containing some strains which are "piliated"and able of accepting and transferring plasmid to and from other bacteria, enables E. coli under with bad stress conditions to survive. Interestingly as well, E.coli has a network of fibers that allow them to bind to their host cells. Although E.coli are unique,they are similar to most bacteria in many ways, such as the fact that "E. coli can transfer its DNA materials through bacterial conjugation with other related bacteria to produce more mutation and add more strains into the existing population." 

Unlike both animal and plant cells, E.coli has three "walls" or protection, the outer layer called the capsule, the layer inside that the cell wall, and within that the plasma membrane. Likewise, E.coli contains a ribosomes like animal cells, however, contains a flagellum that enables it move. The pili in E.coli which plant and animal cells do not have are protein filaments that facilitate cell adhesion and conjugation. The DNA of E.coli , also unlike plant and animal cells, is more unorganized and just a clump compared to the nucleus of both which contain a multitude of parts. 

Theodor Escherich, a scientist first discovered E. Coli in 1885. Overtime, E. coli was found to be a gram-negative, facultative anaerobic and non-sporulating.

Reference: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/e-coli-infection-topic-overview

Hot Zone Blog: How do you think Monet got sick? What is his worst symptom?

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
6 December 2014

Task: Hot Zone Blog: How do you think Monet got sick? What is his worst symptom?

There are many possibilities and way that Monet may have gotten sick, however, I believe that the most believable way he got sick was by touching the black guano from the velvety mass of bats, which hung at the back of Kitum Cave on broken pillar. The bats were insect eaters, and the guano was an ooze of digested insects, which may have carried the disease.  Although the author is not certain of it, Monet may have put his hand in the guano out of curiosity. Monet worst symptom is continuous bleeding flowing out of his body. When the virus crashes and Monet dies, Dr. Musoke inspects him and notices his body still continuing to bleed. 

Website: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001339.htm

Ebola Chapter 1

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
1 December 2014


Symptoms

• Massive headache
• Throbbing pain behind pain behind eyeballs
• His eyeballs ached
• His temples began to ache, the pain seeming to circle around inside his head. (It would not to go away with aspirin)
• Severe backache
• Became nauseated, spiked ever and began to vomit
• His vomiting grew intense and turned into dry heaves
• His face lost all appearance of life and set itself into an expressionless mask with the eyeballs fixed , paralytic, and staring
• The eyelids were slightly droopy, which gave him a peculiar appearance, as if his eyes were popping our of his head and half-closed at the same time
• The eyeballs themselves seemed almost dozen in their sockets, and they turned bright red
• The skin of his face turned yellowish, with brilliant star like red speckles.
• His personality changed. He became sullen, resentful, angry, and his memory seemed to be blown away. 
• expressionless mass of bruises 
• his whole head is turning black-and-blue
• the connective tissue in his face is dissolving, and his face appears to hang from the underlying bone, as id the face is detached itself from the skull 

Possible Ways Monet was Exposed

• The doctors at the hospital examined Monet, and could not come u with any explanation for what he might some kind of bacterial infection, they gave him injections of antibiotics, but the antibiotics had no effect on his illness. 
• his job, which was to take care of the sugar factory's water-pumping machinery, which drew water from the Nzoia River and delivered it to many miles of sugar-cane fields
• HIV or AIDS
• the weaver bird or beavers or crow
• food
• his trip to Mount Elgon with this woman from the nearby town of Eldoret 
• volcanic dust from Mount Elgon
• the monkey or baboon
• the steam that gurgled out of the rain forest 
• African olive trees as they walk to their campsite
• podocarpus trees 
• Kitum Cave- they found shelves inside the cave coated with green slime and Monet may have put his hand in the ooze
• Monet ran his ran over the minerals in the petrified rain forest in Kitum Cave
• over it hung a velvety mass of bats, which had fouled the pillar with black guano-a different type of guano from the green slime near the mouth of the cave, which Monet may have put his hand in 

Once Monet was effected with Ebola, many strange and absurd symptoms occurred. His intestinal muscles started to die and the intestines began to start going slack. Monet also began with a massive headache and throbbing pain behind pain behind eyeballs, which ached. His temples began to also ache as well, the pain seeming to circle around inside his head and would not to go away with aspirin. In addition, he also had severe backache and became nauseated, spiked ever and began to vomit. Not only did his vomiting grow intense and turned into dry heaves, his face also lost all appearance of life and set itself into an expressionless mask with the eyeballs fixed , paralytic, and staring. His eyelids were slightly droopy, which gave him a peculiar appearance, as if his eyes were popping our of his head and half-closed at the same time. Plus, the eyeballs themselves seemed almost dozen in their sockets, and they turned bright red. The skin of his face turned yellowish, with brilliant star like red speckles and his personality changed. He became sullen, resentful, angry, and his memory seemed to be blown away, instead of the nice, friendly man he was known to be.  Monet also had expressionless mass of bruises and his whole head began turning black-and-blue. Once the virus began, the connective tissue in his face is dissolving, and his face appeared to be hanging from the underlying bone, as if the face was detached from the skull. Tiny spots in his brain are liquefying and the higher function of consciousness are winking out first, leaving the deeper parts of the brain stem still alive and functioning. Most importantly, Monet got constant nose bleeds from both nostrils, a shining cloteless, arterial liquid that drips over his teeth and chin.

Source:

http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/symptoms/

Fermentation

Leslie Gutierrez, Kelly Diep, Shirley
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
25 November 2014

Fermentation Project: Yogurt

Task: 

• a recipe in metric
• pictures of you making the product and tasting the product
• a paragraph describing in detail what type of fermentation is going on

Recipe

1. Place 0.946353 Liters of 2 percent milk in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until it reaches 180 degrees, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool to 115 degrees.
2. Whisk together 0.236588 Liters of the heated milk and 0.0443603 Liters of plain low-fat yogurt. Stir into remaining milk.
3. Transfer to a 0.946353 Liters mason jar. Wrap jar (without lid) in 2 clean kitchen towels, completely covering sides and top. Let stand undisturbed in a warm place until yogurt has the consistency of custard, 4 to 5 hours.
4. Refrigerate uncovered jar; when it's cool to the touch, about 30 minutes, screw on a tight-fitting lid.

• What type of fermentation is going on?
• The type of fermentation that demonstrated by creating yogurt is lactic acid fermentation. One produces yogurt through the lactic acid fermentation of milk with harmless bacteria. By decreasing raw milks pH it causes the milk to congeal, or increase in temperature, causing it rot and become yogurt. The bacteria in lactic acid fermentation, lactic acid bacteria, are a diverse group of bacteria that are able to ferment various sugars which then produces lactic acid plus other waste products. In general, lactic acid fermentation is the "anaerobic microbial breakdown of sugar, yielding energy in the form of ATP and releasing waste products, specifically lactic acid." In other words, yogurt is simply milk fermented by lactic acid bacteria. The two species of bacteria that are most commonly used to make yogurt are Lactobacillus bulgaris and Streptococcus thermophilus. These types of bacteria then ferment the sugar found in milk, or lactose, into lactic acid and other compounds with unique flavors. In addition, the lactic acid causes the milk proteins to clump together, giving the yogurt its characteristic thick texture and  its delicious taste. According to education-portal.com, if you pulled out 1 gram of finished yogurt, you could find up to 100 million lactic acid bacteria,  which illustrates overall just how well lactic acid bacteria "are able to thrive by fermenting just lactose." 
• 
  

Source: http://www.marthastewart.com/948811/homemade-yogurt

Leslie cooking the yogurt!

Leslie tasting the yogurt! YUM! 

Extra Credit Water Conservation

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
19 November 2014

Water Conservation

As the drought continues on, California water supply continues to decrease. One can save up to 25 gallons per day by installing flow restriction and fix leaks in indoor plumbing and outdoor sprinkle systems. In addition, you can turn off the water when washing dishes, brushing teeth, and for guys, when shaving. Taking a shorter shower and using a broom instead of a hose to clean patios, driveways and sidewalks are other ways you can help conserve water as well. One can save up to 25-50 gallons of water by using a shut-off nozzle and water bucket to was your car and by watering your lawn and gardens in cooler morning or evening house.  Installing high efficiently toilets and water-saving toilets and water-saving clothes and dish washers. plus covering pools and spas to reduce the amount of evaporation also helps conserve water. To save 50+ gallons of water per day you can reset or turn off automatic sprinkles in the late Fall or Winter and run only full loads in dish and clothes washers. These are many methods that people can help save water during this drastic drought!

Source: http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/water/

MY SELFIE (:

Single Celled Organims

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
12 November 2014

Task:  Pick a single cell organism from http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/dlc-me/zoo/i... (The Microbe Zoo) Do a blog about that organism. Where does it live, what does it do , include a picture.

The organism algae lives in the water. Algae are photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. They are multiple different colors of algae which include golden, yellow, brown, red, green  and yellow-green. 

Diatom, which is a type of algae, are protists that grown a silica shell around themselves. When diatoms divide, each offspring of the diatom takes half of the original shell with it, and grows another matching half. Diatoms are frequently found in wet environments, such as ponds and can also grow on the surface layer of soil, where they can use sunlight sunlight to produce food with photosynthesis. There are two basic types of diatoms: elongate ones and round ones, like the one demonstrated in the picture. While Elongated diatoms can move themselves, round diatoms cannot. In addition, there may be as many as 10,000 species of diatoms.

Source: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/dlc-me/zoo/index.html

Source: http://commtechlab.msu.edu/Sites/dlc-me/zoo/zwp0530.html

Basic Understanding of Chemistry

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
11 November 2014

Why is a basic understanding of chemistry necessary to understand photosynthesis and cellular respiration? (Explain three chemistry concepts required)

A basic understanding of chemistry is necessary to understand photosynthesis and cellular respiration. For example one must understand the definition of ions, which is an atom or molecule with a net electric charge due to the loss or gain of one or more electrons, to understand how it plays a role in photosynthesis. In addition, one must the definition of isomers, which is each of two or more compounds with the same formula but a different arrangement of atoms in the molecule and different properties, to understand how many the  steps of photosynthesis.  In addition, one understand what a chemical reaction is, which is a process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form or a nuclear reaction, to understand why photosynthesis and cellular respiration occur in the first place. For photosynthesis to even occur in the first place, one must understand the concept of activation energy,which is the energy from the sun needed to start the process of photosynthesis. Overall, a  basic understanding of chemistry is necessary to understand photosynthesis and cellular respiration to understand how it works.


Reference: http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/photosyn.htm

Planaria Quick Write

Leslie Gutierrez
31 October 2014


1.  What type of symmetry does the dugesia have?
radial bilateral asymmetry

2. What term is used to describe how a planarian can regrow its body parts?
regeneration fission cephalization

3. Which of the following is associated with the planarian's nervous system?
flame cells diffusion ganglia

4. Asexual reproduction can occur through a process called:
transverse fission binary fission cocoooning

5. A hermaphrodite is an animal that:
can asexually reproduce can regenerate has both male and female parts

6. The dugesia belongs to the phylum:
platyhelminthes planaria turbellaria

7. How could a a person catch a dugesia?
using a net to siphon them from the surface of the water
using a hook and raw liver to attract them

8. An animal that has no internal body cavity to hold organs is called a(n):
turbellarian hermaphrodite acoelomate

9. How does the dugesia obtain oxygen?
diffusion through gills with its flame cells

10. The dugesia will tend to stay in what areas?
dark light warm


 
Reference : http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/classroom-activities-planaria-regeneration-activity

Glycolysis

Leslie Gutierrez
Mrs. Malonek
Biology 1/2
26 October 2014

Glycolysis

Glycolysis is the most fundamental stage of cellular respiration because it is the first step in cellular respiration, regardless of the type it is all cells are able to do cellular respiration and carry out Glycolysis. Note that Glycolysis itself is anaerobic, in that oxygen is not required, because it is billions of years old and evolved in ancient days. This was before O2 accumulated in the seas. The overall main  point of cellular respiration is to harvest electrons from organic compounds such as glucose and use that energy to make a molecule called ATP. Glycolysis is the only step in cellular respiration that requires ATP to make ATP. This process happens in the cytoplasm because it doesn't need organelles. In Glycolysis of two ATPS to the glucose that we started with the product is cleaved into two G3Ps. From this the cells than harvests NADH and ATPs. The anaerobic pathway is respiration’s first phase according to Glycolysis video music rap by science music videos.

Reference: 

http://staff.jccc.net/pdecell/cellresp/respintro.html

Should GMO's be allowed?

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology
8 September 2014

Should GMO's be allowed?

GMO's should not be allowed. According  to the Documentary 2013 Genetically Modified Foods by Anna Kopecky, 88% of the corn in the United States is genetically modified. According to Jeffery in the video, this has causes massive damage and unpredicted side effects. In addition, since GMO does not exist anywhere in nature, instead of helping us, it is destroying us and causing more problems. GMO also causes a numerous amount of digestive orders such as problems with the heart, kidney, and produces many diseases. In addition to this, it causes many problems in the liver and spine according to Nick Basso, one of the professors in the video. Plus, the BT used to GMO causes many problems, although the FDA has claimed it to be "harmless." Although it kills insects, it causes corn to have a toxic problem. BT kills human kidney cells and stay in our intestine. For example, Canada has a similar case, where mother were giving birth to babies with disorders due to drinking milk with BT. In addition, it also creates allergies in ones body. In the video, there was this one case where this mother was feeding her child raw corn with had BT and causes her son to become allergic to corn.  She change her son diet to vegetables that were not GMO, and he showed process of improvement. Although Roundup makes it easier for farmers to kill insects, it is does not cause an benefit what so ever. If animals eat GMO, it kills their nucleus and causes them to become weak and sick, since Roundup causes nutrients in a living organism body to hug together and not function properly. 

GMO also created the birth of a mystery organism that scientists have not still not identified . GMO has also created problems in cats and dogs. "The longer we feed them, the more will die."

GMOs are especially dangerous to children, since they cannot process it. This was found in a Documentary 2013 Genetically Modified Foods. 

Source: http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/

 

How has DNA fingerprinting Changed Forensics?

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
Biology 1/2
2 October 2014

How has DNA fingerprinting Changed Forensics?

To begin with, DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid,  a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms and many viruses.  It is the carrier of genetic information and present in nearly all living organisms as the main 
constituent of chromosomes. Before DNA fingerprint was discovered, the crime department all around the world had little forensics, or scientific methods that really helped investigators solve crime scenes. Before, the person who was guilty of a crime left no evidence, making it hard for police to find that person and put him in jail. However when DNA fingering was discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick in in the 1950s, the criminology industry and forensics was changed forever. By extracting  a DNA fingerprint found in a crime scene, investigator were able to find the person who committed a crime. In addition to this, if investigators found one or more suspects in a crime, they were able to find the person who was guilty of the crime by using DNA fingerprinting. With DNA fingerprinting, crime investigators could find valuable information easier and  that was more resourceful. No one could prove a DNA fingerprinting not there. 

Reference: 

http://blog.wellcome.ac.uk/2011/09/06/before-dna-20th-century-forensics/

What are the three advantages of PCR?

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms.Malonek
Biology 1/2
2 October 2014

What are the three advantages of PCR?

PCR is a method of cloning alleles, making millions of replicas from trace quantizes or fragment DNA.

1. PCR can amplify STR in any amount needed to successful profiled, so very small samples or degraded samples are less of a problem.

2. STR profiling can be completed in a fraction of the time required for the VNTR.

3. It is not necessary to work with any radioactive labeled probes or X-ray film.

Reference: 

Crime Scene by  Larry Ragle 

Molecules

Leslie Gutierrez

Mrs. Malonek

Biology 1/2

17 September 2014

Molecules

Describe the shapes of molecules and how that is the foundation of biology.

Molecules are made up of one or two of the same or different atoms. Molecules can have different shapes from a straight to a curve shape, but it all depends on the atoms it contains. The shape of the molecule depends on repulsion between electron pairs. Molecules combine to form compounds, where they lose all their individual properties and are given new ones. The different type of molecules in a compound are demonstrated in the formulas. Molecules are the foundation of biology because they are are fundamental structure of cells which is needed in living things. Cells that help our living body to function and give us the ability to do the things we  are able to do today. Biology is study of living things in the world


Reference: 

• http://www.chem.ufl.edu/~myers/chm2045/shapes.htm

Molecule

Frozen Water Molecule

Enzymes

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek
3 September 2014
Biology

Enzymes in Our Bodies

Enzymes are protein molecules which are catalysts, substances that speed up the process of a chemical reaction. Enzymes can be found in our bodies ad help us live, function, and work. Three are three types of enzymes that help living things maintain themselves : Metabolic Enzymes, Digestive Enzymes, and Food Enzymes. Digestive enzymes in our living bodies help break down food and turn it into proteins. Digestive Enzymes, in addition to this, help break down fats, carbohydrates and proteins in our body efficiently.  

There are 4 types of digestive enzymes in the human body: 

-Amylase
This enzyme is essential with helping us with the with the digestion of our carbohydrates. In addition to this it is an aid in diagnosing various pancreas or other digestive tract diseases.

-Lactose
This enzymes helps our body break down sugars , lactose, and anything with dairy products. This is enzyme helps  and is especially important to people who are lactose and tolerant.

-Lipase
This enzymes helps our body break down the fats that we consume each and everyday. It is produce in small amounts in our mouths and stomachs, and in larger amounts our pancreas

-Proteases
Proteases mare enzymes that help break down proteins in the human body.
They can be found:

• Chymotrypsin
• Pepsin
• Trypsin

 

 

 

Websites:
1. http://ibs.about.com/od/ibsglossaryae/g/Digestive-Enzymes.htm
2.  http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/cell2.htm

All _About_Me

Leslie Gutierrez
Ms. Malonek 

Biology

27 August 2014

All About Leslie Gutierrez

• "When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life you have one hundred reasons to smile." That the life motto I go by.
•  On March 26, 2000, I was born in the Los Angeles County hospital. I was a ten pound baby with chubby legs and chubby checks.
•  I have three rabbits, one turtle, three doves, and three dogs.
•  In addition to this, I have a big family with about about 40 cousins and 20 aunts and uncles. This has many benefits on days like my birthday or when we have a big grand family feast.
•  I also love to get involved in school activities, and help improve the school. 
• I sometimes wish I was a bear so I could sleep all winter and just have to wake up in the spring.
• I love to be active and exercise.
• I hate it when people crack their muscles because it grosses me out.
• I hope that I learn and understand biology more in a fun, interesting way in your class.   
• I love to talk and be friendly with random strangers. 
• During the summer, I went to Oregon and Washington State for vacation. It is a vacation that I recommend everyone has because the sites are unbelievable and incredible. 
• I love everything that has to do with water. Water sports, water parks, everything!
• I love to learn new things!
• I love to eat everything from Chinese food to Mexican food. Food is yummy ! 
• I wish I did not doubt myself and had all the confidence in the world.
• If I could meet one person, it would be Martin Luther King Jr because I would have loved to heat his amazing speech called, "I have a Dream."
• I hope to one day make a difference in the world somehow.
• I hope to someday achieve my mother's "American Dream" and become someone who is incredibly proud of.
• I love to ask questions! Call me crazy, but it helps me clarify information that I do not understand.  
• I love to smile. Its just my thing!
• All in all, I hope this help you to get to know me better. I also hope to learn some interesting things about you too!