Henrietta Lacks

Over spring break I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot. I had previously heard of the story last year and was immediately intrigued. Basically the story is, an African American woman named Henrietta Lacks was treated for cervical cancer at John Hopkins. A sample of the cancerous tissue was sent to a lab and scientist, George Gey discovered that these cancerous cells kept dividing in the lab. However, neither Henrietta or her family knew about this sample and the experimentation that was going on. The cells were a great medical and scientific breakthrough, but Henrietta’s name was not associated with the cells. So Rebecca Skloot wanted to bring the truth to light and share the story of Henrietta.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but I think I liked the movie better. Although the book focused more on the science side and the movie focused more on the family of Henrietta and their relationships the movie was more emotional to me. The book evoked anger but the movie evoked sympathy. To be quite honest I would be awfully mad if a doctor used one of my family’s cells for research and not tell me about it.

So I want to pose a question to you, how would you feel if your family member’s cells were taken without consent?

Click here to buy the book!

May 17, 2018May 19, 2018 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: ap bio, ap biology, book, cells, cool, hela, henrietta, henrietta lacks, lacks, movie 2 Comments

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

Save The Bay Reflection

AP Biology went on another field trip this week to wetlands in Palo Alto. Save The Bay is an organization that helps cities around the Bay Area restore wetlands. The wetlands in the Bay Area serve an important purpose as a habitat for a diverse set of species and help protect the area from floods. Save The Bay restores the wetlands by planting native plants around the wetlands and removing invasive species of plants as well.

I learned so much of the history of the Bay Area wetlands through documentaries we watched in class before our field trip and from our amazing guides. I also learned about the diverse species that are only seen in the Bay Area. The history of California has always been interesting but I have never learned about the ocean we live so close to. While watching the documentary I was surprised and proud that the people who founded Save The Bay were three women who wanted to protect the waters from the trash that had been dumped.

If you are ever in the Bay Area, I would definitely suggest to volunteer at Save The Bay. The work that we did was not hard at all but very tedious. We first had to calculate the biotic factors in a quadrat that was provided. We counted every species that was in the quadrat and then calculated the Simpson’s Biodiversity index to see how diverse each plot was. Then we calculated the abiotic factors of each plot through measuring the soil moisture, pH, and salinity. The work is easy enough for anyone to volunteer.

Link: Save The Bay

April 26, 2018May 8, 2018 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: ap bio, ap biology, cool, field, field trip, fun, marsh, save the bay, work 2 Comments

“Never Give Up” Ted Talk

Here’s Diana Nyad’s Ted Talk about her journey being a 64 year old achieving her goal of swimming from Cuba to Florida, a 100-mile journey.

As of late I have been trying to go zero/low waste, meaning I create little to no trash and recycle less. I have been researching about how to achieve a zero waste lifestyle and the process seems challenging to me but saving the environment is important to me and makes me want to work extra hard to achieve my goal of zero waste. I have doubted a lot of times if I can achieve a zero waste lifestyle because the beginning transition is the hardest part (like being able to not use plastic packaged products, using reusable bags, and overall not use single-use items like straws or plastic utensils). By seeing other people living a zero waste life, I feel that I have to be perfect. However many videos and blogs that I have come across has made me realize that people do make mistakes and that the people a part of the zero waste community are here to help. The most important thing that Diana introduced in her talk was in order to not give up, you need to have supportive people in your life to help you through the hard times in you journey. Also the overarching message of Diana’s Ted Talk, never give up, may be cheesy but is very inspirational.

 

Some zero waste resources:

Infamous Lauren Singer’s (4 years of trash in a mason jar girl) blog Trash is for Tossers.

A San Francisco based editor, Anne Marie, focusing on zero waste home management in her blog The Zero Waste Chef

My favorite zero waste YouTubers: Taylor Nicole, Alli Cherry, Going Zero Waste, Lizzie Bombini, and Sustainably Vegan.

Other videos: why takeout is so bad, beginning zero waste, and grocery shopping zero waste.

January 9, 2018January 9, 2018 by kaitlynoshiro Tags: cool, give, never, talk, Ted, Tedtalk, up, zero waste 3 Comments

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

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