CSM Cadaver Lab

Our final field trip with the AP Bio 2018 team was to visit the anatomy and physiology department at the local junior college. The department actually receives cadavers from a university in San Francisco. We were told that to respect the deceased we could not take pictures and that people actually donate their body to science. We were only there for around an hour which we packed a lot of information in that time. We split into groups and rotated through stations. The first station I went to was to see the cadaver. I was surprised at how the human body looked like after being preserved in chemicals. In previous science classes I have dissected fetal pigs, frogs, rats, and a cow’s eye so I was familiar with the smell of the preservative and seeing the organs of something that was living at one point. However, I did not know that the nails of a deceased person still grow after they have died. Next we saw the three different types of muscles (skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle tissue) under a microscope and learned about the organs in our body. Lastly, our group saw the brain of the cadaver in the very first station. I did not want to hold the brain because frankly I thought it’s weird and a little creepy, but from what my group members said, the brain was heavier than what they expected and very dense. I surprisingly enjoyed this field trip because I do not think I would have had another opportunity to see a cadaver. So for future AP Bio students, if you every get this opportunity, take it!

Below are pictures relevant to our field trip!

College of San Mateo

Different lobes of the brain!

Three types of muscle tissue, can you guess each type (cardiac, skeletal, smooth)?

May 4, 2018May 8, 2018 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: ap biology, apbio, cadaver, cadaver lab, cool, csm, field trip, lab 2 Comments

Botany of Desire Reflection

Botany of Desire is a documentary by PBS which discusses human interaction with plants. There are four main chapters of the documentary: How Sweet, Beauty, Cannabis, and Potato. The first chapter, How Sweet, talks about apples and their history within the United States. Throughout time, apples have once been sold with a wide variety, but now there are only a handful of apple species we eat. In the past, wild apple trees were abundant and those apples, because of their bitterness, were used to make hard cider. Apple orchards are only growing a monoculture, one variety, of apples because those are the apples that will be sold and eaten. However, there are still people who grow, what they call, antique varieties of apples. Because most of these apples are not sweet enough to be on the market, the growers use the apples to make hard cider.

The next chapter is Beauty which discusses flowers, specifically tulips. In the past there was a tulip bulb market because tulips were a sign of high status and wealth. However, the tulip trade was hurting the European economy so tulips were now seen negatively. Today, tulips are still seen as beautiful and there are now breeders that create new varieties of tulips, these breeders are called human bees. There are tulip farms all around the world and flowers are a multi-billion dollar trade.

Following flowers, the discussion about cannabis is presented. Cannabis, also known as weed, marijuana, or pot, has been a controversial topic for the past several decades. According to the documentary 15 million Americans smoke cannabis per month. Another interesting fact about intoxicants that was presented in the chapter was that in every society there are about 1-2 intoxicants accepted and promoted but the rest are condemned such as alcohol is widely accepted in Western society. Because marijuana farms in Mexico were being taken down by United States forces, marijuana growers mixed two cannabis plants to make the new version, short to be able to grow the plant inside and unintentionally made the plant more potent.

Lastly, the discussion ends on potatoes. Potatoes are a substantial food source since  1/2 acre of land for growing potatoes can provide enough for a family to survive for a year. Thus potatoes were adapted by Europe to end the famine. However, the single potato species in Ireland were destroyed by a disease and led Ireland into an awful famine killing many people. To avoid this famine to ever happen again, scientists genetically modified potatoes and now use an abundance of pesticides. However, the moral of the documentary evidenced by each chapter, is for farmers and society to stay away from monoculture.

 

 

I definitely suggest watching the film so here are the links to the Botany of Desire documentary:

Botany of Desire part 1

Botany of Desire part 2

Botany of Desire part 3

April 13, 2018May 8, 2018 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: ap biology, apbio, biology, botany, botany of desire, desire, documentary, earth, food, fun, interesting, movie 1 Comment

Body Worlds Decoded

On our first AP Biology field trip, we went to The Tech Museum in San Jose specifically for the Body Worlds exhibit. Body Worlds consists of human bodies that have been plasticized, injected with plastic, and put on display. In the exhibit I saw lungs that were both from a smoker and ones that were healthy. I also saw the entire digestive tract which was very strange and makes me wonder how all that can be packed in our bodies. Another interesting subject I saw was a spine with scoliosis. I thought that was interesting because I have mild scoliosis and to see what my spine potentially looks like is crazy. Lastly I saw entire human bodies including muscles, tendons, bones, and brains. The bodies were absolutely amazing because of how well thee bodies are preserved and how the bodies are posed. I learned that the bodies and parts are specifically donated to the Body Worlds exhibit for plasticizing and putting on display. The Body Worlds exhibit is a huge step in educating people on their bodies and the effects of different situations, like smoking, can affect our body.

Overall the Body Worlds exhibit was really interesting. There were many kids and adults walking around as well, meaning that the exhibit is appropriate for any visitor. The content of Body Worlds is not inappropriate, but people could definitely be sensitive of the elements. I would just suggest know what you are going to and if seeing plasticized bodies makes you uncomfortable do not go! Walking around the exhibit I had a great sense of empathy towards the people who donated their bodies to the exhibit. For one to donate their organs is a big deal to them and especially to their family and to take that a step further and donate your body to science is inspirational. By having bodies donated to Body Worlds there can be medical and scientific advances to come.

The very first exhibit our class went to contained videos of how technology can be used to better the world. In this exhibit I learned that technology can be used for good and to help people in need like depression, vaccines, and a voice. Secondly we went to the BioDesign Studios which contains interactive activities to teach exhibit goers all about biology. The most interesting part of the BioDesign Studios was the synthetic biology, and how you can distinguish the different smells when they are all together. Our next exhibit was the Body Metrics area. Body Metrics is all about how our health. There was a table to measure your heart rate and breathing, screens to measure your ability to stretch and balance, and a station to measure your emotions. One of the most interesting things that I learned in the Body Metrics exhibit is that to be considered zen all you have to do is have rhythmic breathing! I would say that these exhibits were just as interesting and worth going as Body Worlds.

Link to The Tech Museum

November 27, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, body worlds, cool, field trip, ndbtiger 1 Comment

Cracking the Code of Life

Cracking the Code of Life Video was very interesting.  The video focused on the Human Genome Project and how the project can help with determining mutations in a person’s genome sequence.  There are many mutations which occur with a slight differentiation in gene pairing that make a mutation.  Such as 4 out of 3 billion pairs are arranged differently and then that person can have a disease that can hinder there life and even lifespan.  I thought the most interest part of the video was the information about how the mispairing of nucleotides can create a huge difference.  Also the fact that if a protein is misshapen then the protein’s function changes and a child can have cystic fibrosis.

Overall I thought that the video is super helpful in understanding how important genes are.  At the end of the video, we were posed a question on if a parent can pick their child’s DNA, should they do it.  I believe that if you could prevent a deadly disease but should not be done to “pick” a perfect baby.  Although the human race shares 99% of the same genes we are all super different and unique.

November 21, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, chromosome, cool, cracking the code of life, DNA, gene, genetics, movie, ndbtigers 2 Comments

Radium Girls Reflection

I went to see a tri-school production of “Radium Girls”.  “Radium Girls” is set in the 1920’s just when Marie Curie discovered radium.  Radium is a chemical element that is both toxic and glows.  To help with the war efforts women were in factories painting watch dials for soldiers to see the time in the dark.  And for the women to get pointed brushes for precise painting, they put the paintbrushes in their mouths.  Over the years women from the factories have died with jaw complications and cells dying in the hand.  The remaining women from the radium plant fought against the radium corporation to get compensation for their medical bills and care.

The production of “Radium Girls” taught me that women fought for their justice so the radium issue was not just a science discovery but also a start for women to challenge society.  The radium girls from the plant challenged socially higher people and ultimately won against the big corporations.  Overall I believe that “Radium Girls” is a great production for showing young women to stand up for what they believe in and also a great insight to what’s to come in AP Biology!

November 9, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, ndbtigers, play, radium girls, reflection, theater, trischool 1 Comment

Earth Science Week and Laudato Si

During Earth Science Week the American Geosciences Institute holds a contest which students can enter photographs pertaining to a theme.  This years theme was about human activity on the earth.  I took this prompt as how humans help the environment rather than hurt the earth.  Also last week at school we discussed Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si which is about how humans need to protect the environment and that a poor environment badly impacts the poor.  By corresponding our discussion of Laudato Si and Environmental Science Week helps our understanding of helping the environment is both a scientific and social issue.

This is my submitted photograph for the Environmental Science Week contest.  I chose this photo to embody human interaction on Earth since the photograph was taken at Yosemite National Park in California.  Human interaction with the environment is clearly seen by the people on the trail in the bottom right corner, but it is the mountains that are the epitome of our interaction with the earth.  Since Yosemite is a national park, it is paid by the government to be protected which is absolutely incredible.  People all over the world can then come to this national park to observe the beauty of nature and that is what I believe to be human interaction with the environment, enjoy and preserve nature.

Here is a short video describing Pope Francis’ Laudato Si.

October 19, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, earth, earth science week, ESW, Laudato Si, ndbtigers, photo, Pope Francis 1 Comment

FLOW Reflection

Although water is the majority of the Earth, so many people die from not having water.  Water sustains life, and without there is no life.  The documentary FLOW discusses the topic of water, water privatization, bottling companies, and the hardships in third world countries on finding clean water sources.  The one thing that surprised me the most in the film was that bottled water is not any purer than tap water.  I always thought that bottled water was more pure and free of chemicals but it turns out that we don’t know what’s in bottled water.  Because of this I have been drinking more tap water rather than bottled water (another perk, using less plastic!).

The entire documentary was very informative and even though I have seen this once before, there were some facts that I forgot and shocked me again.  I learned that water companies unrightfully take water from poor families and companies then make these people either pay for the water or not even give them water.  The film’s main purpose is to spread awareness of water privatization and companies taking advantage of third world countries.  The filmmaker is trying to get across that water is not a privilege but a human right.  The filmmaker is ultimately trying to get support for Article 31 to be put into the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which establishes access to clean water as a human right.

The documentary was released in 2008 and in the 9 years between then and now there has been a plethora of water charities that fund water to places where clean water is not accessible.  However, bottled water companies, especially Nestle, have continued to take water from public sources, claiming its theirs, and selling it for a huge profit margin.  As seen in the film, Nestle’s main source for spring water is in Michigan and there were many petitions and court cases saying that what Nestle is doing is inhumane and unconstitutional.  With that being said, today Nestle is still pumping from wells and springs from Michigan.  Even with successes of educating the population of the water issue, companies are still unrightfully taking water from people who need it most.

Here are some images from the documentary:

September 11, 2017December 12, 2017 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: apbio, cool, documentary, flow, movie, ndbtigers, save water, water Leave a comment