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

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