Mitochondrial Eve

Because all mitochondrial DNA  is generally passed from mother to offspring without recombination, all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in every living person is directly descended from hers by definition. Mitochondrial Eve is estimated to have lived around 200,000 years ago,most likely in East Africa,when Homo sapiens sapiens were developing as a population distinct from other human sub-species.

Hypothetical picture of "Mitochondrial Eve"

 

Homemade Biodiesel

Visit this link below to obtain "easy" step-by-step instructions on how to create your own biodiesel in your very own kitchen! According to the web site, "Anybody can make biodiesel. It's easy, you can make it in your kitchen -- and it's better fuel than the petro-diesel the oil companies sell you.Your diesel motor will run better and last longer on your home-made fuel, and it's much cleaner -- better for the environment and better for health.If you make it from used cooking oil it's not only cheap but you'll be recycling a troublesome waste product that too often ends up in sewers and landfills instead of being recycled."


http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

Dog Parks: Good for your puppy...and you! :)

Sure, dog parks are beneficial to your dog because they provide a safe space for your dog to run, play, and get exercise. The dog parks also a beneficial for humans as well. Not only do humans benefit from the exercise they receive from walking their dog, but they also make and maintain friendship with people who frequent the park.
There can be some hidden dangers of a dog park that owners should keep in mind in order to protect their dogs. Bacteria from dog waste can cause sickness. The bacteria is sometimes washed into streams which can contaminate drinking water. Visit the website below for more information. Even though this website has a funny name, it contains some very interesting facts that can help dog owners keep themselves, their dogs, and others healthy.
http://www.poopbutler.com/pooper-scooper-health.htm

Amphioxus

Online Britannica explains Amphioxus as small marine animals found widely in the coastal waters of the warmer parts of the world and less commonly in temperate waters. Both morphological and molecular evidence show them to be close relatives of the vertebrates. This creature is considered to be one of the first vertebrates. Below is a picture of an Amphioxus.

Amphioxus

Hitchiti Experimental Forest

This is a view from one of the river trails we visited.

Love a tree, Hug a tree :).

We visited the Hitchiti Experimental Forest in north Macon. We discussed several aspects of the environment in this area and certain species that have an affect on the ecosystem. One of the types of plants we encountered is called a sassafras. The bark of the roots is used to make a pleasant tasting "tea". The powdered leaves are used in Louisiana to thicken soup. Sassafras is derived from an old French word referring to its use in medicine; albidum refers to the light-colored wood. A picture of the plant is attached below.

Sassafras

Sad, Sad Sunflower

   Towards the beginning of school, I planted a sunflower seed. My assignment was to nurture the plant and help it grow. The sunflower progress pretty well, reaching about a foot in height, until one sad day. Recently, I gave my sunflower too much water. I believe this caused the roots to rot and has in turn started to kill my plant. :(
   Don't worry! I planted a Coleus around the same time and it is growing very nicely. I have decided to adopt it as my class project! :)

Don't get too excited. This is not a picture of my actual plant. My  plant is still small (about  6 inches tall) :).

Jackson Springs Park

   Jackson Springs Park is located at 998 Nottingham drive, Macon Georgia, 31211, in the Shirley Hills neighborhood. The park was originally created as a picturesque landscape for the surrounding well-to-do homeowners. The park is also believed to have been one of Andrew Jackson's camping sites (hints the Park's name). 
   While visiting the park for lab, we learned that the park was eventually inherited to the the community of Macon (community here meaning the white mothers and children). This eventually became an issue at the time of desegregation. The City of Macon somehow managed to reissue the land to everyone, making the park public. We also looked at the different types of rocks found in the park. We examined the rocks by breaking off bits of the rocks with a hammer. The sieve was used to collect samples from the creek bed. By looking at the samples we collected in the creek bed, we were able to see different particle sizes that were present in the water.

Lake Peigneur

Lake Peigneur

This diagram depicts where the man-made disaster of Lake Peigneur occured. Lake Peigneur is located in Louisiana.The lake was a 10-foot deep freshwater lake popular with sportsmen until an unusual man-made disaster on November 20, 1980, changed the structure of the lake and surrounding land. The Diamond Crystal Salt Company operated the Jefferson Island salt mine under the lake, while a Texaco oil rig drilled down from the surface of the lake searching for petroleum. Due to a miscalculation, the 14-inch drill bit entered the mine, starting a chain of events which turned the freshwater lake into a salt water lake with a deep hole.Since 1994 AGL Resources has been using Lake Peigneur’s underlying salt dome as a storage hub for pressurized natural gas.There is currently concern from local residents to the safety of storing the gas under the lake and nearby drilling operations.

Ocmulgee National Park: Indian Mounds

  While on our field trip to see the Indian Mounds at Ocmulgee National Park, we took a quick detour through the woods. Besides having a wonderful time by just simply walking through the woods and taking in the fresh air, I learned a lot about different types of soil layers. We stopped at a creek bank where we we able to see different layers of soil development. There were about 3 or 4 noticeably different soil types and colors in the embankment. 

  Seeing this small example of different soil layer developments, my mind immanently drifted to the sights I saw while visiting Providence Canyon in Lumpkin, Georgia. This link will take you to a wonderful site that has information and pictures of this site:  http://www.gastateparks.org/ProvidenceCanyon .The massive gullies, as deep as 150 feet, were caused by poor farming practices during the 1800s. You can see lots of different soil types within the walls of the canyon.

Providence Canyon--Lumpkin, Georgia

In class on September 29, 2011, Dr. Rood measured his normal blood sugar level at 9:25 a.m. After the initial measurement, he ate a Snickers Bar and quickly drank a can of Sprite. He then recorded his blood sugar every 5 minutes of class (for a total of 10 measurements).  The results are shown in the graph above.
What caused Dr.Rood's body to return to the baseline of normal glucose levels? Blood sugar levels are regulated by negative feedback in order to keep the body in homeostasis.

12 Soil Orders of the World

This is an awesome link to a website named "Dig It"! It includes pictures and explanations of the 12 different types of soil of the world.

http://forces.si.edu/soils/swf/soilorders.html

To me, the soil type known as Vertisol is very interresting. Vertisols are clayey soils that shrink and develop cracks when they dry and swell shut when they are moist. The location of these soils in the United States is primarily found in Texas where they are used to grow cotton.



This map shows where Vertisol soil can be found in the United States.



Campus Nature Walk (Continued)

Camellia (Camellia japonica)

Wandering Jew (Zebrina pendula)

Azuratum (Eupatorium coelestinum)

Coleus (Coleus Blumei)

Bradford Pear Tree ( Pyrus calleryana )

Campus-Nature Walk Lab

Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta)

Lantana (Lantana Camara)

Gingko Tree (Gingko Biloba)

River Birch (Betula Nigra)



Ocmulgee River Lab

This graph shows the work of one of the other small groups in lab. The group measured the elevation across the river.

Ocmulgee River Lab

 

During the Ocmulgee River Lab, the class divided into small groups to preform a number of different tasks. My group and I shoveled dirt from the bottom of the river and sifted the dirt to collect clams. We counted the number of clams found in the dirt and measured the smallest and largest clams in the sample. Below is a list denoting the number of clams we found at each of the thumb tacked sites in the Google Earth map above.

#1--5

#2--2

#3--5

#4--9

#5--2
#6--2
#7--0
#8--0
#9--9
#10--0
#11--7
#12--3
#13--2

Types of Maps

This is a screenshot of the google earth locations I created. Labeled on the map are images of my home in Molena, Ga and my happy place, the Thomaston Airport. I also created a path of the roads I take to visit the airport.

This is the map I drew of the annual rainfall in Georgia.

This is a dot density map that demonstrates the population of the United States in 2000. There are more people residing in the  places where the dots are more compact and numerous on the map.

This is a proportional symbol map that demonstrates the capitals of the world with populations greater than 750,000.  Capitals with larger circle have a larger population. The circles correspond with the circles on the symbol key at the bottom right hand of the map.

This is an Isarithmic map that is used to measure the temperatures that exists over a defined space. Different colors were used to represent the temperature classes. 



This Chloropleth map represents the methane emissions that are released by cattle in North Carolina by shading or coloring defined units. On this particular map, different colors were used to represent different amounts of emissions and the unites are the counties.



The Kakapo!

This is the kakapo--the world's heaviest parrot. Weighing in at 8 lbs., the kakapo is too heavy to fly! The bird is not closely related to any other parrot species but is instead an owl-like bird. The Kakapo's soft plumage and facial species is liken to that of an owl. This bird interests me because of it's history, physical appearance, behavior, and rarity. 

The kakapo only exists in New Zealand. Because land mammals did not exists on the island of New Zealand until they were introduced by Polynesians who settled on the land, the kakapo had no natural predators for some time. Unfortunately, there are no kakapos in existence on the mainland of New Zealand. The approximate 62 kakapos that are living today have been relocated to islands off the mainland (Codfish, Maud and Little Barrier) in hopes of saving the species.

As seen in the picture above,  the kakapo has owl like "whiskers" and a pale blue and ivory beak. The kakapo's legs are strong and sturdy. The kakapo uses it's strong legs and talons to climb trees. Even though this bird is incapable of flying, the kakapo can use it's wings as a type of parachute when gliding from tree to tree.

The behavior of the kakapo also favors that of an owl. Only active at night, the kakapo travel several kilometers in one night to find food. This parrot species is New Zealand's only herbivorous bird. The kakapo live off of roots, seeds, fruits, bulbs, buds, flowers, leaves, cones and pollen of many different plants. Therefore, the kakapos must wait to breed in a time that is high in plant production. The average lifespan of a kakapo is 60 years!

source: http://www.kakapo.net/en/