Matthew+MacLean

Biology 111

Post #1 My very first Wiki Post for Bio 111, is an article about a man who goes by Anton van Leeuwenhoek. First of all, I would like to mention how Leeuwenhoek exemplified perseverance. I truly believe that it’s impressive that without hardly any education, hardly any wealth and not much background in any languages other than Dutch and he still succeeded. It amazes me what his curious mind can achieve when all the odds are against him. I would not agree that Leeuwenhoek is the inventor of the first microscope. Technically it was a man named Robert Hooke. Many years before Leeuwenhoek’s birth, Hooke had already viewed cells through a microscope that he invented himself. Although I would agree that Leeuwenhoek revolutionized the microscope. Hooke’s original microscope could only magnify specimens a mere 20x-30x, but Leeuwenhoek improved it to 200x. That was major impact on the magnification. Leeuwenhoek contributed a lot to the field of science. He discovered bacteria, free-living and parasitic microscopic protists, sperm cells, blood cells, microscopic nematodes, rotifers and much more. In his time he invented over 500 microscopes, but only fewer than 10 are used in the present day. *Also famous for discovering animal cules.

__ Reference: __ Ford, B. J. 1991 The Leeuwenhoek Legacy. Biopress, Bristol, and Farrand Press, London.

=Post #2 = == Apoptosis A.K.A programmed cell death, is a very natural part of the development and __[|health]__ of multi cellular organisms. Cells kill themselves in a controlled manner by their response to stimuli. During apoptosis there are many ways that a cell can commit suicide, such as shrink, develop bubble-like blebs on their surface, have the [|chromatin] (DNA and protein) in their nucleus degraded, etc. It is very important for proper cell development and is What makes the cell kill it self is and Receipt of ==

signals.
== == __** References: **__

** Dash, P.D. (n.d.). //Apoptosis//. Retrieved from [] **
===

=== = ﻿Post #3 = Day after day, I have this major problem but never have I come up with a good solution for it. No matter how hard I try it comes with me wherever I go. This problem pretty much relates to everyone. The thing I’m talking about is sweating.



Usually your body sweats to regulate our body temperature. When we get hot we sweat so that our body can cool down. It does this by the moisture evaporating. Emotions play a role with our sweat glands as well. When we’re nervous we tend to sweat. There are two main types of sweat glands, Eccrine glands which are responsible for producing a fluid that is 99 per cent water and it causes wetness of the underarm. The second type of sweat gland, is known as the apocrine gland. It produces a secretion that is broken down on the surface of the skin by bacteria and this causes the smells that we associate with body sweat.

When we go through puberty, our 3 million sweat glands become much more active. The parts of the body where they are the most active are in the armpits, groin, on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

References:

Unknown, Initials. (n.d.). //Deoderants & antiperspirants//. Retrieved from []

= Post #4 = __ The Mimic Octopus __

In 1998, scientists discovered a new type of octopus off the coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia on the bottom of a muddy river mouth. For the next couple of years, many scientists studied a diversity of this octopus.



They noticed that not only was it intelligent and change the color and texture of their skin for camouflage to avoid predators they were also able to impersonate sea snakes, lionfish, and flatfish— this was a strategy used to avoid predators seen for the first time by an octopus. The mimic octopus reaches about 60 cm long, and is typically brown and white striped.

__** References: **__

Unknown, Initials. (n.d.). //Marine bio//. Retrieved from http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=260

Wiki Post #5

**__ Box Jelly Fish __**

Box Jellyfish are an interesting species. Located in Australia, they are the most venomous animal on the planet earth, people usually tend to classify them as Scyphozoa, and they are in fact Cubazoa. It has a bell or cube shaped body that can measure up to 30 m in diameter with a weight of up to 2 kg and their tentacles can grow up to 3 meters in length.



There are usually around 15 tentacles that all contain many nematocysts, they’re stinging cells are activated by contact with certain chemicals on the surface of fish, shellfish or humans. Their tentacles are transparent and very hard to see, so their pray or predators can’t even expect its dangerous tentacles.

Although it can send a human into cardiac arrest within minutes, it’s main pray are only small organisms such as small fish and crustaceans.

**__ References: __**

Grasse, B.G. (2011). //The australian box jellyfish//. Retrieved from http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/box-jellyfish.html

Post #6 **__ Quicksand __** Television depicts quicksand as something very dangerous and almost impossible to get out of. In fact, it is not even that dangerous at all.



Quicksand is hardly ever deeper than a few feet. If the right conditions are present than it can occur just about anywhere. It is basically just normal sand that has been saturated with water and the friction between sand particles is decreased. This results into a mushy combination of sand and water which isn’t stable enough to hold any weight. The quicksand itself will not suck you down but your own movements of trying to escape will make you sink into it.

Bonsor, K. B. (n.d.). //How quicksand works//. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geology/quicksand.htm

Post #7 **__ Birthmarks __** A birthmark received its name because it is a noticeable mark on your body at or after birth. It occurs when many new blood vessels grow in a specific area on the skin. Nobody exactly knows why blood vessels group together but they do. Also Birthmarks do not harm you in anyway. These birthmarks are referred to as hemangioma.

There are many different types of hemangiomas. The most common type is a **strawberry hemangioma**. It literally looks like a strawberry, it is bright red and sticks out of the skin. By the time a kid is 9 years old, all strawberry hemangiomas have disappeared. Another common type is cavernous. This is located deep beneath the outer layer of skin; it is a more bluish red.

Another type of birthmarks is Port-Wine Stains. It's level with the outer layer of skin and is more of a maroon red.



Unknown,. (n.d.). //What's a birthmark?//. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/birthmark.html#

**Post #8**

**__ Blindness __** Blindness simply means having the state of impaired vision, which gives you a lot of trouble to be able to perceive anything around you. There many different variations of being blind. Anything from being totally blind to having 20/200 vision which is known as legal blindness (when people are only able to see objects from 20 feet away instead of 200). Legal blindness can be caused by normal changes in visual acuity and can often be corrected by glasses, contact lenses or laser eye surgery. Cataracts are a major cause of blindness. They are cloudy areas in the lens of the eye which can cause blurred vision, loss of color in vision, glare in the eyes, poor night vision and frequent changes of glasses prescriptions. After receiving cataracts it is hard to get rid of them. Surgery only works a certain amount of times. Wearing sunglasses and a hat can reduce your chances. There are many other causes of blindness such as Macular degeneration or Glaucoma.

Hamel, G.H. (n.d.). //How do people become blind?//. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5407395_do-people-become-blind_.html



**__ Comas __** The word coma is derived from the Greek word Koma, “which means state of sleep.” Although having a coma is not the same as being asleep at all. Being in a coma is when you’re so unconscious that you cannot respond to any stimuli nor do any normal actions. The [|brain] is still functioning, but at its most basic level.
 * Post #9 **

The brain contains three main parts:


 * Cerebrum**: Largest part of brain, takes up most of its space. Its job is to control cognitive and sensory functions such as intelligence, memory, reasoning and emotions. It has large mass of neurons beneath it called the **thalamus.**
 * Cerebellum:** It is the posterior part of the brain and it controls balance and movements.
 * Brain Stem:** This connects the two hemispheres of the cerebrum to the spinal cord. It’s function is to control breathing, blood pressure, sleep cycles, consciousness and other body functions

The belief is that consciousness depends on the constant transmission of chemical signals from the brainstem and thalamus to the cerebrum. All of these areas are connected by neural pathways called the **Reticular Activating System (RAS).** If any of these messages are interrupted, than that can put someone into an altered state of consciousness.

There are two states of a coma


 * Vegetative** **State****:** It has the appearance of someone being awake, but still is in a unresponsive state of consciousness. There is still evidence of extensive brain damage.
 * Persistent** **Vegetative State****:** When a vegetative state lasts for months.

A **vegetative state** is a type of coma that represents an awake but unresponsive state of consciousness. Many of these patients were comatose previously and after a few days or weeks emerge to an unconscious state in which their eyelids are open, giving the impression that they are awake. Patients in this state of consciousness may exhibit behaviors that lead family members to incorrectly believe they are becoming awake and communicative. These behaviors can include grunting, yawning and moving the head and limbs. However, these patients do not actually respond to any internal or external stimuli and evidence of extensive brain damage still persists. The outcome of patients in whom a vegetative state lasts for a month or more is generally poor and doctors use the term **persistent vegetative state**.

There are several ways of receiving a coma


 * Brain Illnesses & injuries, Head trauma:** The movement of the brain inside the skull can tear blood vessels and nerve fibers, which causes swelling in the brain. This swelling presses down on blood vessels, blocking the flow of blood (and with it, oxygen) to the brain. The oxygen- and blood-starved parts of the brain begin to die.

-Infections of the brain or spinal cord -** Ischemic stroke ** -Skull Fracture -Drug & Alcohol Overdoses
 * -**Diabetes



Watson, S.W. (2011). //How comas work//. Retrieved from http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/neurological-conditions/coma2.htm

Post 10

**__ Dwarfism __** A dwarf is someone with a very small stature. All of their limbs are much smaller than there trunk. Someone is usually classified as a dwarf if they are shorter than 4 foot 10. More than 200 different conditions can cause dwarfism but the main cause is known as achondroplasia. Achondroplasiais a disorder of bone growth. You can notice if the child possesses this disorder at the early ages of 2 or 3. If they are only growing of a maximal of 2 inches per year than there is a good chance they have it.

Achondroplasia can be inherited if only one parent possesses the gene. If that’s the case there is a 50% chance of the child getting it and if both possess it than there is 75% chance.

-Puberty may come late or not at all -Shorter than most other children -Face looks much younger than other children -Chubby body stature
 * Symptoms:**



Unknown,. (2011). //Achondroplasia//. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002544/

Post 11

**__ Progeria __** Progeria it is derived from the Greek word //progeros which// means “prematurely old.” It is the condition where someone ages very rapidly during their childhood. The main cause of progeria is a mutation on the gene of that encodes the protein lamin A. This affects a stable nucleus in the cell and makes it very unstable which causes premature aging. It is so similar to aging because you experience many cardiovascular problems such as heart disease.

Progeria is a very rare disease. There are currently only 53 cases of it known around the world. That comes out to about 1 in every 4 to 8 million babies that are diagnosed with the disease. Only one child in the whole family experiences it and has 1 in 100 chance of passing it down.

Unknown, Initials. (2011). //What is progeria?//. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/146746.php

Post #12

**__ Autism __** Autism is a development disorder during the first 3 years of life. It affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. This disorder is a physical condition linked to abnormal biology and chemistry in the brain. The exact cause for autism has not yet been identified but researchers are currently trying to figure out what causes it. There are some leads though. Some believe that it is the neurotransmitters inside the brain that let the neurons help you perform the 5 senses are not working proper. Others believe that it is just a hereditary disease passed on from generation to generation.

** Symptoms **
 * A number of other possible causes have been suspected, but not proven. They involve: **
 * Diet
 * Digestive tract changes
 * Mercury poisoning
 * The body's inability to properly use vitamins and minerals
 * Vaccine sensitivity
 * Cannot start or maintain a social conversation
 * Communicates with gestures instead of words
 * Develops language slowly or not at all
 * May treat others as if they are objects
 * Has heightened or low senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste

media type="youtube" key="iBOmnZQl3TM" height="349" width="425" align="center"

Unknown,. (2011). //Autism//. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/