Valiant Vacuole

As the cell war begins I think it would be a good idea to introduce the candidate that I am sponsoring. The Valiant Vacuole. The vacuole is a membrane bound sack. They tend to be very large in plant cells. Vacuoles play many roles in a cell. They store nutrients and waste products, increase cell size during plant growth, the removal of waste products, and hydrolyzing of macromolecules.

A very important ability of vacuoles in plant cells is the regulation of turgor pressure. Turgor pressure is when water collects in the vacuole and pushes outward against the cell wall, producing rigidity in the plant. If turgor pressure drops enough a plant will lose its rigidity. This can be seen when a plant wilts.

Now that you know this information vote Valiant Vacuole!

Lauren and Victoria

Valiant Vacuole for President!

Carbohydrates...Yum!

As someone who rows races quite often I understand the importance of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are on of the macromolecules. Carbohydrates are used for fast energy, energy storage, raw materials, and structural materials. Carbohydrates are made up of Carbon and Hydrogen. Carbohydrates are made up of monomers which are sugars. The most common being Glucose. The energy is stored in carbon to carbon bonds. Polysaccharides cost little energy to make and are easily reversible. One carbohydrate commonly seen in animals is Glycogen. Cellulose is a common carbohydrate seen in plants. It is the most abundant organic compound on Earth but humans cannot digest it. Many herbivores have developed a mechanism to digest it though.

Free Write!

So for my free write I did something on rowing. surprise! surprise! It is biology based...somewhat but here's the article.

Rowers lose their senses during races

LONDON – Olympic athletes routinely go to extraordinary levels of sacrifice in pursuit of their competitive dreams, but few endure a greater level of suffering than those in the rowing events.
Olympic legend Matthew Pinsent, who retired after winning the last of his four gold medals for Great Britain at the Athens Games in 2004, revealed how it is not uncommon for rowers' senses, such as their hearing and even their vision, to shut down during a race due to the physical side effects of the sport's torturous test of spirit.
"Towards the end, everything starts to go a bit weird," Pinsent said. "It all starts to go. Your senses are not in control anymore and they start to leave you. The hearing will go, the vision goes out of synch, there isn't much left.
"Your body starts to close down anything it doesn't need at that moment. It prioritizes to the parts of the body that are in trouble, like your muscles suffering the agony of the row."

[ Related: Niger rower's painfully slow finish ]

Rowing, known as crew in American high school and college circles, is undoubtedly one of the toughest events of the Olympic Games. Races are held over 2000 meters and have been described as a "six-minute sprint" that leads to huge lactic acid build-up.
Athletes have been known to suffer from memory loss. The sight of an Olympian throwing up over the side of the boat after a race is not uncommon.
Pinsent described how it takes a few moments for the initial pain to set in, but once it does, the remainder of a race is nothing but punishment for the competitors.
"It won't happen in the first few seconds, even sprinting away from the blocks," Pinsent said. "Our body doesn't register the pain problem for 20 seconds and even then it only starts to really burn after 40. The lactate kicks in after about a minute and stays there, tearing at your muscles and mind for the rest of the race.
"The only way to relieve the pain is to stop and that's not going to happen."
Pinsent was the partner of Sir Steven Redgrave for three of his Olympic victories. Redgrave is the five-time gold medalist who ran the final leg of the Olympic torch relay before it was handed to seven young athletes at the Opening Ceremony.

The credit for this article goes to Mr. Martin Rogers.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/olympics--the-brutal-side-effects-of-rowing-s-torturous-test.html

As someone who rows I have to say this is true, although I haven't had anything this severe, I've definitely experienced the pain. I've never noticed my senses going but that being said I don't remember much of a race when it's over. I feel almost as if I've slept through it I'm so tired. Still rowing is a lot of fun.
Live long and prosper!
VanderWall

Hope for Fatal Brain Diseases

A study recently done at Oregon Health and Science University Doernbecher Children's Hospital has shown that Neural Stem Cells can  survive and produce functioning myelin in mice that are suffering from severe myelin loss. Myelin is a fatty insulation that protects nerve fibers in the brain and is essential for normal brain function. This is a huge step in stem cell therapy because of the fact that many people that suffer from such illness' are not diagnosed until symptoms begin to show. Some diseases that result from  myelin loss are Cerebal Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis. Other diseases that result in the loss of myalin can be fatal. The study showed that ageing and memory loss is due to a vast change in white matter. This results in the damaged myelin and progressive senility.

The mice used in this study had a genetic mutation that caused proggressice neurological deterioration because the brain is unable to make myelin. Stem cells were transplanted into the brains of the mice and it was found that the stem cells were able to survive as well as make functioning myelin. MRI scans showed that production of myelin had begun just a week after transplantation. This is a huge step for stem cell therapy.

 If this study proves to be a plausable treatment of such disorders. Such an advancement could lead to the furthuring of other stem cell studies.  If such advancements were made who knows the cures or treatments that may be found in the future.

Live Long and Prosper!

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/10/10/human_neural_stem_cells_study_offers_new_hope_for_children_with_fatal_brain_diseases.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+biologynews%2Fheadlines+%28Biology+News+Net%29

Homecoming In the Town of Sparta

Ahh homecoming, such a fun time for many but at Sparta it is much more than that. It is a school wide competition that determines the fate of the red apple. The red apple is a prestigious award given to the winning class. How this prize is won is something I would love to inform everyone of but first  I want to describe the atmosphere of homecoming at Sparta.
The week before the Friday of homecoming is filled with dress up days as well as a food drive and penny a point. Class participation is how the base of points is started. It's always interesting to see how into it the classes get. The Freshman are usually unsure of how this process works. They are timid and shy about going all out when participating in dress up days seeing as this is their first year being involved in the competition. This results in participation numbers in the 30% range. Then you have the Sophomores. They have been through this once and are now ready to be true contendors. They are more into taking on aspects of the competition but some don't truely understand the importance of this competition yet as the freshman never come close to winning the red apple. Their numbers tend to hang in the 40% range. And lest we not forget the Juniors. So sure of themselves having done this two times now they believe that they can take away the award from the seniors. Their costumes on dress up days tend to be all out and impressive but still not enough to over take the Seniors who will not let the award fall from their grasp. The juniors love to hover around the 50% mark. Seniors we know how this thing works like the back of our hands. Dress up days call for outrageous outfits as well as a little bit of public humiliation but this is all in the name of continuing on the tradition of the red apple. Thus their numbers hang around the 60% mark.
Now onto the games. On friday all the classes meet in the gym in a battle of the year all for the prestigous honor of having their class be engraved on the red apple. The Freshman fearful, Sophomores self-assured that they have a chance, Juniors Jubilant, and the Seniors salivating for a win. The games consist of the catipillar crawl, orange pass, food structure, kangaroo hop, Scooter relay, HulaHoop game, Tennis ball relay, Pie eating contest, float, and last but not least Mock Rock. Seniors having had three years of experience will win almost every game flawlessly. But the most important competition I believe is mock rock. Every year each grade will present a mock rock that goes along with the theme. This year it was musicals. The poor Freshman presented their misguided version of High School Musical. The Sophomores a cute rendition of Grease. The Juniors their unfortunate arrangement of Footloose. The Seniors their dominating performance of Rock of Ages. All in all this years homecoming was memorable and of course the seniors won with a lead of 20 points. A final note the Sparta homecoming is an event to be seen. Honestly this event should be a tourist attraction.
Live Long and Prosper!

Human Ecological Stupidity: Everglades Wetland Destruction

Wetlands make up a large part of the United States. In total there is about 105.5 million acres, thats roughly the size of California. The wetlands are an incredible place. Many of us have seen a great example of the wetlands in Florida, the Everglades. The Everglades are the largest wetland in the United States, it is also one of the largest in the world. Destruction of the wetlands causes many problems such as: increased flood damages, increased drought damages, and declining bird populations. Much of the destruction of wetlands is due to human activity. Some actions that are commonly seen are: drainage, tilling for crop production, mining, introduction of nonnative species, dredging, and stream channelization.
Drainage is a big cause of the destruction of the Everglades; in the 1940's a large portion of the Everglades was drained for development purposes. The effects of this were devastating. There was a 90% reduction of bird populations. Some animals were at risk of being completely lost in the area. Many native grasses were choked out by exotic species.
Tilling for crop production has also greatly effected the Everglades. The sugarcane industry is one of the biggest offenders. Whats worse is the farmers are protected by the federal government and even recieve benefits to keep the industry alive. Farmers will block water ways and redirect the water the way they see fit disturbing the natural waterflow and effecting the ecosystem in the surrounding areas. Fertilizers are also becoming more prevelant in the water of the Everglades. The soil of the Everglades are not ideal for growing sugarcane.  Phosphorus is a major component of many fertilizers. The effects are seen in algea blooms which leads to a depleted oxygen supply.
Of the original 3 million acres 1.7 acres have either been drained or turned into farm land. The rest of the Everglades have been turned into a national park but many argue that the destruction of the Everglades is still happening. Restoration efforts are happening but with such a large area destroyed it will take many years to return the Everglades to their original state. This is not just happening in the Everglades it is also happening to many other wetlands. We need to learn from our mistakes and stop this from continuing.
Heres a video from PBS discussing the destruction of the Everglades.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=video&cd=3&cad=rja&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQtwIwAg&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.pbs.org%2Fvideo%2F1098938463%2F&ei=x1lcUMLHB6nDyQG3uIHACw&usg=AFQjCNHGsqTXgi5bFRe2CDmNPgaan9IRoQ&sig2=0vtDPqwHY4HRAAhuY6I70Q

Sources:

http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0706f.asp
http://water.epa.gov/type/wetlands/vital_status.cfm
Live Long and Prosper!

Units

The subject I am most looking forward to this semester would have to be genetics. I find it all so fascinating. I really enjoyed it in Biology so I'm hoping going more in depth will be that much better. The subject I am least looking forward to would probably be evolution just because I have mixed feelings on the subject. I always do my best to keep an open mind (note I said I try my best not I always do) when it comes to such topics. Even still I am sure I will enjoy it all. Just a little side note anyone not participating in a fall sport and would like to be you should come row we need people badly. Alright well that's all for now.
Live long and prosper

Get to Know Me

I couldn't figure out how to open my blog so I asked my partner in crime Miss Barber and this is what she came up with : "LAUREN!!!!! Yeah that is ma name." Thank you Liz for your ever wonderful help (do you sense the sarcasm?). Yes, my name is Lauren but I am also known as Ren, VanderWall, and to a select few,Wally. If you don't already know me, just fair warning, I am kinda crazy. I can come across as quiet and withdrawn but really I am just plain nuts and really loud. I am half Dutch and half Italian and anyone of either of these decents know that this can lead to some pretty crazy loud people.
I am a band geek through and through. I play in pit percussion (mallets) during Marching Band and the bass clarinet during Wind Ensemble. This summer I will be traveling with fellow band students from all over the state as well as my grandma and Liz to Europe for a 17 day tour which includes seven performances. I am so excited! I actually have a countdown in my room. I also participate in crew with the Grand Rapids Rowing Association Junior Rowing team. I am on Varsity this season and can't wait to start competing. Last night we did a 10K in two 5K increments. My splits were the best of the girls and right with the boys. I love to talk crew so if you ever want to know something feel free to ask. Just make sure you have a plan in place to shut me up. Next fall I hope to attend Saginaw Valley State University and obtain my BSN (Bachelor's of Science and Nursing). I have an interview in November for the President's scholarship. After I get my degree I hope to work in the Peace Corps or for the Hope Boat. I have always wanted to work in humanitarian aid as well as the medical field and this is a great way for me to do so.I decided to take AP Biology in hopes that it would give me a better basis in this area. I feel this will greatly help me in college as Biology plays a large roll in the nursing field.
Well that's all for today until next time my friends.
Live long and prosper!