Monthly Archives: December 2014
Toucan Play That Game
Steroids = Captain America or Incredible Hulk?
Since 2008 the superhero movie making industry has exploded. You may be asking yourself what this has to do with biology and the answer to that is actually quite simple but first you need a brief background in the history … Keep Reading
Creative Clever Title
Image from Wikimedia Commons For hundreds of years, scientists have been confounded by the phenomena that allow geckos to stick to most all surfaces- adhesion. Adhesion is characterized as the attraction between two unlike molecules that allows them to cling … Keep Reading
DIY DNA
You may remember that DNA is the molecule that determines an organism’s development and functioning. You might also remember that DNA is encoded in 2 base-pairs; adenine and thymine, and guanine and cytosine. What you might not know is that … Keep Reading
Cross-Curricular Connections Bio-Blog
Over my four years at Blue Valley Northwest High School, I have taken quite a few science classes, ranging from the physics field, to the chemistry field, to the biology field. However across those fields of science, I have noticed … Keep Reading
Building a Superhuman
Imagine a world in which disease was nothing but a mere page in a history book, and intelligence no longer varied from human to human, where every person possessed the greatest knowledge that our brains could hold. Imagine a world … Keep Reading
Motor Proteins: Tiny Pirates in Your Cells
I wonder if kinesin proteins are made out of a lot of ARGinine amino acids?
One Strong Stomach
Image from Wikimedia Commons When searching for a meal, most carnivorous animals would have to go through the process of stalking and hunting down their prey; Vultures on the other hand, have a different approach. People generally think of vultures … Keep Reading
Everyday Biology
As the air gets colder the air becomes crisper and the holidays creep up on us. One thing that is noticed however, is the changing color of the leaves. There is no scientific name for this phenomenon but it sure … Keep Reading
Stem Cells: Cancer Treatment of the Future
Although stem cells have been around for years, scientists are still investing time and money into stem cell research. Recently in October, Harvard Stem Cell scientists released they have made a breakthrough in their research. These scientists have created a … Keep Reading
Who Wants Two Parents When You Could Have Three?
Alana Saarinen may appear to be an average 14 year old, but there is something unique about her that is not like the others. This young girl is the offspring of 3 parents. Yes, you heard that right- 3 parents. … Keep Reading
Blog Carnival: Long Term Effects of Marijuana Use
Due to the recent legalization of medical marijuana and marijuana for recreational use in multiple states I wanted to learn about the long term affects of the drug on different types of individuals. http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2014/7/16-30881_Study-Dependence-Alters-the-Brains-Response-to-Pot_story-wide.html This blog is about how research … Keep Reading
eDNA
Last year in my independent research class in CAPS I based my project around the ability of being able to take water samples from a body of water, and find out what kind of animals live in the vicinity. There … Keep Reading
A-Maize-ing Corn
Image from Wikimedia Commons Viewers of the recently-released movie Interstellar found themselves walking away confused and with many questions buzzing around their little heads. Well, I’m here to answer one of the questions you diploids probably have, and arguably the … Keep Reading
Barely Breathing
Ebola and any other deadly diseases that surface make everyone paranoid and frightened. Most people don’t realize that the most prominent killer diseases in the United States are the chronic ones. One of those diseases is asthma. Asthma is a … Keep Reading
The Connection Between Psychology and AP Biology
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes. AP Biology is the advanced study of living organisms. You would probably think that these two subjects aren’t very similar. However, you would be surprised at how closely connected these … Keep Reading