Play Dough Models: Types/Shapes of bacteria

The following models are the shapes and arrangements of bacteria found in the environment. 

1. Spirillum - spiral shaped bacteria

2. Bacillus - rod shaped bacteria

3. Coccus - circular shaped bacteria

Spirillum bacteria are only found alone as a singular entity. But the other two types of bacteria are found either linked in a chain, or in groups and clusters. Bacteria found in clusters use the prefix "staphlo" and bacteria found linked together have the prefix "strepto". 

The structure of a typical bacterium is displayed in the following clay diagram:

A. Plasma Membrane: outermost border of the cytoplasm and the internal part of the cell wall. 

B. Cell wall: a protective layer of the cell that is permeable allowing materials in and out of the cell, and protecting the organelles. 

C. Capsule: Adhered to the surface of the cell wall, the capsule is a storehouse for nutrients and a shield against dehydration and harmful channges in the environment. 

D. Genetic material

E. Cytoplasm: Suspends the organelles within the bacterial cell. 

F. Pili: Help anchor bacterium to a surface, and assist in the exchange of genetic material via conjugation. 

G. Ribosomes: Composed of protein and ribonucleic acid, the site where protein synthesis occurs. 

H. Endospore: The organelle that is used for survival in harsh conditions. 

I. Flagellum: Thin fibers made of protein responsible for the movement of the bacterium. 

The vast landscape and habitat of a small droplet of pond water.

Okay so not very vast, and not very landscape-y I guess, BUT if you look at it from a different point of view, that droplet is much more intriguing than made out to be! Through a microscope you can find many different creepy creatures that you may have missed when looking at the sample with you very naked eye. When we looked at our magnified pond water samples, many people I the class have found creepy creatures with arms and legs, creepy Protists that look somewhat like a slug, and tiny green floaters.

Here is a photo (I was unable to upload the video, but this is a compromise) of one of our findings:

      The protist can be found at the tip of the needle and at the end of the clear path that it had made on its own while in motion. 

Growing Bacteria

      This week we went around the school gathering swabs of bacteria from places where they would most likely be. After our search, each sample (four in total) was applied to our Petri dishes for growth. The following picture display our results.

Quadrant 1: Locker lock

Quadrant 2: Main stairway railing

Quadrant 3: Our friend's iPod screen

Quadrant 4: Another friend's basketball

      The bacteria that we collected may have all been the same type, or one bacteria could have just been more successful with reproduction than the others. I think that since all the places where we collected our samples are touched by the average high schooler on a daily basis, it would make sense that the types of bacteria that we have are either the same or very similar. 

Working With Microscopes

      A while ago we worked with microscopes to view slides of different types of bacteria. There were three types that we looked at-

      baccilli: a rod-shaped bacteria

      cocci:  spherical-shaped bacteria

      spirilli: have curved walls

      Now, this picture is a close-up of the coccus bacteria that we viewed in the lab. It's got a spherical shape and is usually found in clumps. 

When will my reflection show who I am inside... the biology classroom

Reflecting on my Progress

1. What are you proud of so far in biology?

      a)My favourite assignment was the assignment where we got the opportunity to create entirely new species and classify them into different genuses because it was fun and interesting seeing how this must have been done in the past when biologists were still classifying animals.

      b)Another assignment that I was proud of would have been the sock puppet-video on DNA that I worked on with Jessica. It was helpful taking what I've learned and applying to something there than a test because it was memorable. Now I associate sock puppets with DNA facts. Ha.

      c)The last assignment that I am proud of is the test that we got on the evolution of species because I got full marks on it. There really isn't much to expand on that. 

2. Look at your binder- what does it say about your work habits?

      I think that my work habits are acceptable and pretty good in a sense that I've kept and completed all my worksheets and assignments in the same place. I think I can be more organized so that my papers are in order by date, but overall I can find all my needed papers in my binder. The only assignments that I have yet to complete are the colouring sheets.

3. Look at your blog - which posts mean the most to you and why?

      I like my post about the strawberries because it helped ease my curiosity on something that I never really bothered to look up before. That post was also important to me because I got some recognition for it, that someone was as interested as me :). I also liked my posts on viruses because I put a lot of work into it.

4. What does engagement mean to you?

      I think that being engaged in learning and within your class, means being involved with your learning such as asking questions and working with your peers towards fully understanding  the material. I also think that being engaged means to be enthusiastic towards what you learn in class.

3. What can I improve on in this class?
      I think the thing that I need the most improvement on in this class is asking questions. I think that I can be hesitant when I do so and I usually have to force myself. I have a lot more questions than what I usually ask... In addition to that I think that I should study more often, not just before tests but just anytime in general to keep the information fresh in my mind. 

Let's Learn About Viruses! Part Two!

INFLUENZA. (seasonal)
In 1918 there was an influenza pandemic in which thousands of people had been affected and killed (in one year more people have died than in four years of the bubonic plague). By now, humans have found a certain tolerance towards the disease but it remains as the disease that affects populations yearly/ seasonally. Basically, its the flu virus (which we all have been oh so familiar with since the time we became self aware of our world and its inner workings).


1. Whats its vector/ way of being transmitted
- if someone coughs, the virus is then airborne and there is a possibility of it entering into someone else'            respiratory system
- through hands infected with the virus, unwashed hands can infect anyone and anything that they come into      contact with


2. What are the effects and symptoms?
    Symptoms include high fever, dry cough, head ache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise, and runny nose. In large populations, the influenza disease can cause serious public health and economic problems. Many people recover from their symptoms but there are many who have had to receive hospital treatment and some that have died from the disease yearly.


3. How many deaths were caused?
    The number of deaths are undefined.


4. When and where was the epidemic?
    Many populations are affected by influenza worldwide and the symptoms peak around the winter and  autumn seasons due to the damp cold weather.

The Influenza Epidemic of 1918

Seasonal Influenza

Let's Learn About Viruses! (continued...)

Part One 

5. Viruses: Living or Non-living?
              In my opinion, I think that a virus is non-living. Although they have the ability to reproduce, that is only because it needs a host cell to do so. I also don't think viruses do much to respond to "stimuli" and their "environment", and they don't eat/ take in energy to grow and such either.

6. Are there any beneficial viruses?
               EDIT: No, there isn't.

Let's Learn About Viruses!

Part One:

1. A virus particle in biology is known as a virion. Viruses vary in different shapes and sizes but are usually smaller than bacteria measuring at about 15 to 25 nanometers in diameter. Generally, the structure of a virus consists of nucleic acid and genetic material enclosed within a protein shell or membrane.

Here is a diagram of the structure of a virus.

2. The genetic material within the virus is called the viral genome. The viral genome can consist of a small number of genes to hundreds of genes all organized as a long molecule. The virus may have double stranded DNA or double stranded RNA, or it may have single stranded DNA or single stranded RNA. Whether it be either or, the contents of the viral genome depend primarily on the nature and function of the virus itself.

3. THIS IS A FUNKY DIAGRAM OF A BACTERIOPHAGE. 

It kinda looks like an alien spaceship...
(a bacteriophage is a type if virus that parasites a bacterium and uses it as a host to reproduce)

4. Plant Viruses: 
- can cause various diseases that often result in plant death
- symptoms found in affected plants include ring-spots, mosaic pattern development, leaf yellowing, distortion, and deformed growth
- the name of the plant virus is based on the symptoms that the virus causes
-EXAMPLES

Tobacco Mosaic Virus

Papaya Leaf Curl Virus

Animal Viruses
- affect humans
- rely on the host cells for reproduction
- enter the body through gastrointestinal and respiratory tract
- spread via " "
- EXAMPLES

The Common Cold Virus

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)

The Marine Lizard/Iguana (Continued...)

             The marine iguana inhabits the Galapagos Islands and areas throughout the archipelago. The fact that this specific iguana feeds in the water unlike the other iguanas is a result of the adaptations that have happened over millions of years. Originally, these iguanas seized to exist on the Galapagos Islands but somewhere in time, land dwelling iguanas from South America had found themselves drifting out to sea on floating debris thus landing them on the islands. To shorten my explanation, because of the scarcity of food on the islands' surface, the iguana had turned to foraging for food in the sea. Adaptations such as razor-sharp teeth and a tail like a crocodile allow the iguana to scrape the algae off rocks and the ability to maneuver itself around in the water. 

More Info.

"Peekaboo."

The Marine Lizard (Thoughts and Opinions)

OOOHH WWWOOOWW.

My Question: How did this iguana adapt to being underwater as opposed to the iguanas that live on land and in extremely dry environments?
Thoughts and opinions: I think that this iguana had developed the ability to be submerged underwater for various length of time because of its diet of seaweed and algae. ( It must have been available to the iguanas ancestors and then as the water level rose it had to go completely into the water to reach its food.) maybe.  who knows.