The End- The Box Jellyfish

The Box Jellyfish or Chironex Fleckeri (best-known species)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Cubozoa
Order: Cubomedusae

The Box Jellyfish is one of the most deadly creatures in the world. They are called the box jellyfish because they have four distinct sides. Not all of their kind are lethal, but some are extremely venomous and can be lethal. Their venom is considered the most deadly in the animal kingdom. One would most likely die from the venomous sting unless they are treated immediately. The box jellyfish actually hunts its prey instead of just drifting and catching whatever they find. They are most abundant in Australia and the Indo-Pacific areas. They are usually one to three inches tall with tentacles as long as two feet. They can have up to fifteen tentacles.

They are very dangerous creatures and it would be wise to check the areas you are swimming in if you are vacationing in Australia or Hawaii.

Week 13- Mass Extinction

I am not quite sure if we are in a mass extinction. There is a part of me that thinks we are, but also a part that doesn't think we are. I believe that there are certain species that we are definitely going to see go extinct if we don't do our best to save them. But think about deer. There are soooooooo many deer in the world. Overall, I am going to have to say that we probably are going through mass extinction. The reason we don't see that many dead animals around is that extinction doesn't happen in one day. Unless you were a dinosaur and were killed by the meteor, or whatever killed them. When the books start to show how many animals are actually becoming extinct and how quickly it is happening compared to the past, we might see just how many are dying off.

Week 12- Evolution

It is true that a lot of people say that evolution is "just a theory." Heck, I am guilty of saying it at least once or twice. But after learning that a theory is something that has a lot of evidence to prove it but not quite enough to be known as a law, I can say that "just a theory" is not the comment that people are intending. Having a religious background myself, I was raised with the belief that God created everything. Evolution is so controversial and is often an emotional topic, especially among religious followers. I believe that people are afraid of evolution being real. They don't like change, and to think that our population and lives were created from constant changing is scary.
In my personal opinion, I believe in concepts of evolution but I also believe that there are certain things which cannot be explained other than some higher power. I believe in religion and religious beliefs, but I do not argue that evolution has occurred in some ways. I think both are true and were combined to create the world we live in today.

Pet Cloning

This weeks topic is very interesting to me because I worked for a year in an emergency vet clinic. I saw a lot of pets die and a lot of families lose a very important part of their lives. I remember a while back, there was the woman who cloned her dog and it was huge news and all I could think was, "If they cloned you lady, would it still be you?" You have personality and likes and dislikes. Just because something looks the same as you because of genes, does not mean you will be the same exact person or animal. I love my dog Foxy Cleopatra, don't get me wrong. But I would never clone her when she dies. She is unique and has so many special qualities that are not replaceable. In my personal opinion, when your pet dies it is a fact of life. Everything at some point will die. Although we love our pets, most of us even consider them a family member, they are meant to die. Just as we are. We were not made to live forever. For someone to clone their pet is them just holding on to the pet that passed. You have to grieve and move on. By creating a look-alike of your pet, you are not grieving properly. I just want to enjoy Foxy and the time I have with her. I do not want another Foxy when she is gone. I want to hold on to the great memories I will have of her and then create some new ones with the next pet I get. No other animal could ever replace her, even if they looked exactly like her and was made from her cells. And personally, I wouldn't want them to replace her.

Genetics problems

I need help with 8, 11 and 14. On number 8, I can't figure out the sex of the kittens. On 11, I am completely stuck and don't know where to begin. The same on number 14. Please help me if you can.

Week 9-Genetic Disclosure

I do not think that giving genetic information to insurance companies would be a good idea. While we do get exams to get the insurance, genetics is private. Giving that information to the insurance companies would give them a lot more power. They would definitely deny the insurance or make it extremely expensive if you had some type of genetic disorder. We need to know about these disorders and try to control them or treat them, but it is not for the insurance companies to decide who should get insurance based on their genes.

Week 8- Embryo Testing

This is also a tough subject for me, like others have said it is for them. I believe that life begins at conception so I would have a very hard time deciding whether or not to destroy an embryo even if i knew it might have a disease. I think that the testing to find out if the diseases are there is okay, because it can only prepare you for what may come if you decide to go on with the pregnancy. I would not destroy the embryo even if it had a disease because it is not fair of us to play with what God gives us. A baby is a baby, with or without illness. I would destroy the baby would be if it were going to die upon birth or would risk death to the mother.
Technology on eye color is a whole other story. I do not agree with testing in order to select different physical attributes in a child. Why wouldn't you like your child if it had brown eyes, not blue? Does that really make a parent love a child?

Week 7- Respiration

After reading the lecture notes on aerobic respiration, I found it very useful to see how important breathing is. We know we need oxygen to live of course, but to see the difference in ATP produced in aerobic compared to anaerobic respiration really shows it.
Obviously humans cannot rely on just anaerobic respiration or aerobic respiration. There are times when we need to hold our breath in order to perform the activity, such as swimming. You don't see Michael Phelps with a snorkeler popping out of the pool. Same thing goes for sprinters or weightlifters. By holding their breath they are able to perform better, but as soon as they are done they are taking long, deep breaths in order to make up for the air they were not able to get.
With warm-blooded and cold-blooded animals, I now see why the cold-blooded animals are so much more "lazy" than the warm-blooded ones. The warm-blooded animals definitely have to create enough ATP to keep their bodies at a healthy temperature. It is almost like when we are really cold and then we go for a jog and are then warm. The action warms up our bodies and makes us burn more.

Week 6- Photosynthesis and Deforestation

The world may not always think about it, but photosynthesis is occurring all the time around us. Walking around the campus to our biology class, it is happening. Energy produced by photosynthesis is the energy that Earth lives for. There hasn't been PG&E for millions of years.
We depend on plants a lot. We use them for food, decoration, even medicine. Plants have so many uses in keeping the world alive.
Deforestation has huge consequences. Without the trees, we would not have oxygen. Too many times we take for granted all that Earth does for us. If we continue to cut down large numbers of trees, we will kill different species as well as create more pollution in the air. When we cut forests down, it is usually to put in more housing complexes or malls. What will we do when we run out of trees to cut?

Week 5- We are overweight America.

I think America has become so overweight for a few reasons. The first is that we are not as strict as other nations, like China. It is very regimented, especially during school. The kids all exercise together and are expected to be in sync as a group. While we have P.E. here, it is definitely not as strict as it is elsewhere.
The next reason is that we are so busy and feel like there isn't enough time in a day to do everything we need to do. The result is eating fast food or at a restaurant because of the convenience. As an example again, in China, families will sometimes spend hours eating the same meal. They take their time and pace their consumption. It is science that if you eat faster you will consume more and gain weight.
The last reason I have is that fast food and restaurants are everywhere. Turn on the TV or radio, the commercials are on all the time. We definitely fall for the ads and go get that burger.
America has definitely become dependent on companies. We expect you to feed us, clothe us, and provide for us. Families rarely use their natural resources that are available in order to make things for themselves. Why make a shirt when JC Penney already has one ready for us to buy?
To prevent weight gain in our children, we must raise them to understand and appreciate their health. Show them what can happen if they do not take care of themselves. Also, don't treat fast food and restaurants as a regular meal. Make it a special treat every once in a while if you do not want it eliminated completely. Eating out is a treat, not a lifestyle.