Category Archives: Science

Say you go on a run, most likely by the end of this run you are panting and gasping for air. But what causes this unique phenomenon to occur? Is it because of a lack of oxygen or an excess of carbon dioxide?

While running or doing any form or exercise your body needs more oxygen, or specifically your blood needs more oxygen. Your blood pressure will rise as more oxygen enters your bloodstream, which thus means that this oxygen will increase the oxygen in your muscles. Because of all this, the oxygen in your lungs begins to decrease, which to conclude is why when you are gasping for air it is because of a lack of oxygen, not an excess of carbon dioxide.

As humans our bodies are capable of informing us of things such as you’re hungry, not feeling well, feeling well, etc. The cells and organs play an important role in letting us know of our body’s signals. Something that your body probably tells you a lot is if you are hungry or not hungry. But how does your body let you “know,” when you are feeling hungry or not hungry?

Sugar is vital to our cells, and when we have an empty stomach a hormone known as ghrelin is released which is thus why we feel hunger. Responding to this hunger we will most likely eat something, and this food goes down our digestion system. This food is processed, broken down, and our body’s receive the nutrients. Once our stomach is full the ghrelin hormone is suppressed, which is why you feel full after a meal. If your bloodstream has an excess of sugar your pancreas may release some insulin which suppresses your appetite, or to make you feel not hungry. Thus this is how your body “knows,” when you are hungry/not hungry.

These days people are discovering and creating remarkable things from things that one would not at all imagine as a possible component than ever before. Something that has come into some debate on its uses is venom. Do I personally believe that venom can provide some possible benefits or uses for humans?

One of the uses of venom today is anti-venom, which is used to counteract the effects of venom. But there are other uses; and I see in the future that there will be most likely more studies and discoveries on venom and the uses it will have. Which is why I personally believe that venom can provide possible benefits or uses for humans.

A Chordate is an animal that has a notochord, dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal clefts, and a muscular tail, for a period of their life cycle. Vertebrates on the other hand have an extensive skull, a backbone made of vertebrae, and they also have special hox genes for the formation of brain, backbone, etc. But how are Chordates and Vertebrates different?

Chordates belong to the Phylum Chordata, and also they belong to the Kingdom Animalia. Vertebrates belong to the subphylum of Chordates, and they are also craniates. Which thus in turn means that all Vertebrates are craniates, all craniates are Chordates, and which in turn means that Chordates and Vertebrates are all a part of the animal kingdom.

When someone says: “soil is just dirt to hold a plant up,” do I agree with this statement or not? Well I mean the question does seem relatively sound, soil does seem to offer support to hold a plant up, but there is definitely more to the relationship between soil and plants, right?

Well first of all I will ask the question: where does a plant get a lot of its nutrients? Well, the answer is simple, a plant gets the majority of its nutrients from the soil. With that question out of the way, soil definitely thanks to science is known to have more uses than the statement above states, but does soil also hold up a plant? Yes, the soil does offer support to hold up a plant; soil provides a base for a plant and keeps it in its place.

In conclusion, this would be my answer to someone who said, “soil is just dirt to hold a plant up.”

Plants are very, and I mean very, important to humanity. As humans we consume plants, and we also use plants for things other than consumption. Since plants are so very important, what are one or more roles plants could play in the future of humanity? How are these roles different from what occurred in the past?

There are thousands of plant species, and most of these plants have not yet been explored when it comes to use. Who knows, maybe in the future we will discover new species of plants which are nutritious, sustainable to grow, etc, which can be used for food, or other various reasons. Also who knows maybe in the future we will find plants which can be replacements for other plants which are not very sustainable to grow. 

How are these roles of plants different from what occurred in the past? Plants especially the ones that us humans consume are quite a bit different than how they were before. Now with the rise of chemicals being used on plants, and the scientific modification of plants. Also plants today have a far wider range of uses than before, which is due to the technological advancement today.

How does photosynthesis affect the transfer of energy through an ecosystem? I was asked to consider the forms of energy that are readily available, and processes that make this energy available to other organisms in my answer. Well this seems confusing enough; to make it more simple I have created a scenario for explanation purposes.

In the beginning a seed grows into a plant, which in turn spreads more seeds. Also a herbivore most likely when passing by these plants will consume these plants. The herbivore uses the plant to get fuel and nutrients to continue on the day. The waste of these herbivores will go back to the soil which in turn will provide more nutrients for new plants. Maybe this certain herbivore is killed and eaten by a carnivore. Which in turn provides nutrients to the carnivore.

Now with this analogy in mind, photosynthesis helps transfer the energy from the sun to plants; these plants are most likely food for some herbivores. The Herbivores are food for the carnivores. Which in turn is how photosynthesis affects the transfer of energy through an ecosystem.

Many Biologists are passionately fascinated by prokaryotes, the way a “normal,” person might be excited by sports, music, or any other hobby. What are some of the characteristics that get scientists so excited about these tiny, primitive creatures? How do I feel about them?

Some of the characteristics of prokaryotes that biologists may get excited over include: some prokaryotes are harmful to humans or can kill you, and others are beneficial and are necessary for your survival. Also prokaryotes are very small, around eight micrometers long, and live with limited organelles. Prokaryotes are the most studied cells by biologists, and these characteristics that I mentioned above interest biologists.

To conclude, how do I feel about prokaryotes? To me prokaryotes only interest me due to school; personally I do not become excited about learning more about their characteristics, unlike a biologist. 

In a community with five trophic levels: plants, crickets, mice, snakes, and hawks, what would happen if more hawks entered the community through immigration? What is my reasoning for the outcome? 

Because hawks are predators, that will mean that the population of prey will decrease. Also because snakes are predators too, now there will be an increase in competition between predators. Because of the competition between predators the population of snakes may decrease. With less prey, meaning less food for the hawks, the hawks may emigrate or leave that area to a location with more prey. 

The population of crickets on the other hand in my opinion will stay pretty much the same. Of course they will still be preyed upon but I believe that will not affect the population that much. The plant population will most likely remain the same also.

A biome is a collection of plant and animal species that have common characteristics from the environment that they live in. There are many biomes in this world; two of these biomes are: tropical rain forest and a tropical dry forest.

A tropical rain forest is somewhat similar to a dry tropical forest since they are both tropical but they are definitely different. A tropical rain forest is very wet and humid; on average a tropical rain forest has 200-400 centimeters of rain yearly. The tropical dry forest on the other hand is dryer, with 150-200 centimeters of rain yearly, which is still a fair bit of rain.

The tropical rain forest and tropical dry forest are two unique biomes that have different yet similar characteristics.