Reblog:Bee Essay

Queen Of the Sun

 

Colony Collapse disorder is the disappearance of the honey bees. The honey bees are dying, because there is not enough food (honey) for the bees. People don't realize that the pesticides such as acetamiprid, clothianidin and imidacloprid, some of the most widely-used pesticides in the world, has roughly tracked rising bee deaths, and those who do notice don't do a thing. Its time they take action, or else we will have no more bees, and what we get from them. 

We don't do anything about this because we think it wont effect us, but it does. People wont do anything about it until bees are actually decreasing, then that is when people will try to do something from stopping Colony Collapse disorder, but it'll already be to late. Farmers, bee keepers, and company workers are noticing how pesticides effect the bees, and plants, such as flowers. And are noticing why we need bees. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is a serious problem threatening the health of honey bees and the economic stability of commercial beekeeping and pollination operations in the United States. Despite a number of claims in the general and scientific media, a cause or causes of CCD have not been identified by researchers. The main symptom of CCD is very low or no adult honey bees present in the hive but with a live queen and no dead honey bee bodies present. Often there is still honey in the hive, and immature bees are present. Another harmful issue is Varroa mites ,or mites, a virus-transmitting parasite of honey bees, have frequently been found in hives hit by CCD.

Why should we care about bees you may ask? Bees are  more useful then  you think. They provide foods that we have today. Bees help the flowers, without bees all our flowers will die. Our plants will die, animals, like birds, that feed of plants will die. If they cant complete their jobs our whole ecosystem will fail. Bees are flower feeding insects. Bees need nectar from flowers to survive. We need bees to pollinate flowers for food production. Americans consume 1.5 pounds of honey per person. Bee pollination is responsible for more than $15 billion in increased crop value each year. About one mouthful in three in our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination. Commercial production of many specialty crops like almonds and other tree nuts, berries, fruits and vegetables are dependent on pollinated by honey bees. These are the foods that give our diet diversity, flavor, and nutrition. We look at bees like harmful stingers, and nasty bugs that fly around. We don't look at them as helpers. When really they are. Don't you think its time we help them.

 



Abbie's Seed Story

          Abbie's experience in story of the seed.

Abbie Meyer learned many new things during her experience of story of the seed. She learned that you can grow seeds on just a napkin, and lemon water. Even though Abbie new a lot about planting a seed, she never experienced anything like this. She was surprised how seeds can grow on just a single napkin, and a small amount of lemon water. Watching our collards grow into beautiful plants, really amazed her. Experiencing something like this really got not only Abbie, but the whole team to talk about this amazing experience. Abbie loved the fact that we got to know each other and become not only good teammates, but good friends. Making all those jokes, and talking about our life experiences really gave Abbie a laugh. This gave Abbie a little pause, and started to think about how much more she wants to learn about throughout her years. This is a experience Abbie will never forget.

Blog Post # 8: Reflection of the Year Interview

                                                    Billy's Experience in Story Of the Seed


Billy learned many new things about biology during the Story Of the Seed experience, as well as the others in the group. He learned about plant growth, biodiversity between climates, and how photosynthesis has an effect on the environment. Watching the plants that he and his group started from little tiny seeds on paper napkins to fully grown and beautiful collard plants amazed him. Hanging out with his group while doing fun and interesting labs made the story of the seed experience fun. The events that made him pause and think a little bit deeper was going through the biology and realizing how much he learned of the course of this year. Billy will always remember his experience he had in the story of the seed.

Patricia's Seed Story

Patricia's Story of the Seed Experience

                  While Patricia Silvia already had a tenacious grasp on what biology entailed, in the course of the last semester she found out she had even more to learn. For instance, when we first met and sat down at our lab table for the very first Patricia still remembers the first time we ever laid eyes on out packet of little seedlings. This is when we learn the scientific name and what kind of climate it would need to thrive in. We spent most of that period pouring over the bits of information that the packet had to offer. Moreover onto the actual garden which Patricia remembers enjoying the germination part of the lab because it gave her a chance to really talk with and get to know her teammates. She was moved when our plant first started to grow and we were able to see our product of labor come to life. After that she couldn't help but ask herself are these plants even edible? Patricia remembers silently chuckling to herself and then proceeding back into the classroom. 

                                              

Evolution Webquest

1. Life on Earth began with simple chemistry. But the simple chemistry was not simple. In fact it was very compicated. Life was made from an RNA strand with the code ACUG. A was made through a recipe of life. Part of it joined together on the ground and then it evaporated. When it came down the part joined joined with the other part making A. When A was exposed to sunlight it became U Simple ingredients made these too parts of RNA we just have to find out how C and G were made and then we know how life started.

2.In the evolution in action game it shows clearly how evolution works. If the environment changes to quickly then they cant adapt and they will all die. If they are clumped together they wont be able to feed themselves and they will all die. If they are too isolated they wont wont be able to reproduce well. Without reproduction their species cannot thrive. Only in the right conditions can humans and animals adapt reproduce and thrive. Also genetic variation plays a role because 20 percent of the time a mutation occurs.

Queen Of The Sun

                                                                Be Essay

 Colony collapse disorder is a term used for the sudden disappearance of the honey bees. The bees are dying and there are many reasons why. There is enough food and honey, so it is peculiar to why the bees are leaving. The main causes Colony collapse disorder are pesticides, and the environment. If we do not pay attention to this, the bess will so be no more, and so would everything we get from them.

       Honey bees are so vital to all living things. These little workers can complete a huge job. Honey bees pollinate over 40 percent of the food we consume. Imagine life without the hiner bees, we would have nearly nothing to eat. If the bees die, so will other insects,and when the insects die, the flowers will die. When the flowers die, the plants will begin to die. When the plants die, birds will die, and the animals will have nothing to eat. If the animals and plants die, we will starve. The honey bees practically control all life. If they cannot complete their job, our entire ecosystem will fail. The honey bees are one the the life’s greatest nurturers and fertilizers. But that’s not the end of it. Not only do the bees complete a job, but their honey is sacred. Honey contains natural enzymes and nutrients. In fact, before we had medicines and topical treatments, people used honey for almost everything. Honey has the ability to help externally and internally.

       Bees are dying because of our careless actions. Most of the honey manufacturers are in it for the money, not for the health of our bees. We now feed the bees high fructose corn syrup to strengthen them, which is not at all  good for them. The honey bee population is also decreasing due to our genetic modification of them. Most are now realizing the negative, long term effects of manipulating nature. But that isn’t even the worst part. They really only care for the Queen Bee, which her main duty is breeding. She can carry more larvae inside her than her own weight. But the honey companies mistreat her a lot. They trap the honey bees in a tiny cage and ship them off to someplace where they get manually impregnated by the sperm that was injected to them in a science lab. So the queen bees are forced to make there own babies.

       Pesticides, parasites, and genetic modification are the main reason to why colony collapse disorder is occurring. We spray the flowers with pesticides to eliminate unwanted pests, but these chemicals are also harming the bees. We need the bees to pollinate the flowers, but now they are dying off. Genetic modification is also a big reason. They genetically modify the plant and flower seeds. When the seeds are modified, so are is the pollen. With the lack of pollen nutrients, the bees become malnourished or even poisoned for the chemicals. Parasites play a big role with the honey bee lifetime. The most known one is the varroa mite. This mite lives off the honey bee and suck it's blood, slowly killing it. The varroa mite is common in honey bees. Varroa mite infestations usually begin with the importing of bees from other countries with different standards. Bee keepers try to rid the varroa mites with chemical sprays but while attempting to kill the mites, more pests breed. The bee keepers are now trying to determine whether the bee and fight off the mite on it's own.

       We can make a change to prevent this from happening, but it wont be easy, especially not by ours self if we get communities to work together, we can improve. We can plant, become backyard beekeepers, and create a bee-friendly garden. These changes will make a better life of the bees. I believe it will be very difficult for America to open their eyes about CCD. I honestly think many just won't care. People nowadays are busy, and not a large amount of people have the time to care for the bees, but he bees care for us everyday, with nothing given in return. America will be stunned once most of our environmental life will have vanished. First, life will decrease, then, we will start losing food, lastly, we will start to die. If you really think about it, bees control everything, we just think of them as stingers, but in reality they are much more!

Queen of the Sun Response

Billy Markham
Per 4

Help the Bees

         Through watching the movie i absorbed new information which I and most of the population of earth had never heard of.  The movie revealed startling and surprising facts the directly affects everyone and yet we are still no nothing of the situation of the bees. We rely on bees for each season of crops and the season after that. Bees are the breeders of the plants and without the bees carrying pollen from flower to flower we would have no next season. Our existence is closely tied with that of the bees. A strange phenomenom has been occurring known as colony collapse where hives of bees are just found dead. Hives carry thousands of bees and thousands of hives have been found vacant and collapsed. If we don't find a way to stop the disappearance of bees then then humans to, will begin to disappear as well.

         Dangerous toxins and poisons are one of the leading attributes killing the bees. Pesticides and fertilizers used on plants directly effect the bee. It is there food source and now with these fertilizer it is a poisoned lethal food that can kill a bee. Plant pesticide can affect the bees memory causing the bee to no longer get back to the hive this happens so often mass numbers of bee have died trying to find the way back. Without enough workers to support the hive the system will fall out of balance and the colony will collapse. We have to take a step back and realize cause and effects a our actions and ask ourselves which is more important. Bees or fertilizers. Well right now fertilizers are needed to guarantee a full crop but eventually bees will decline in numbers and will no longer be there to pollenate the plants.

         A second problem is mites. Mites attach themselves to bees and slowly suck their blood ultimately killing bees. Beekeepers are going to extreme measures by using their own insecticides to kill the mites yet most mites are just adapting to overcome the toxins put in the hives. Most bee keepers are using this method but some believe in letting nature run its course pesticide free.
       A final problem that leads to colony collapse is monoculture. Large fields of a single crops might be beneficial to the bee for one season, but for the rest of the year it is a barren landscape.
         Bees are in grave danger and people need to see this. We cant just throw money at the problem, we need to be interested and get involved. Will we choose to start now and help ourselves by helping the bees or wait too long and go hungry?  If we do not wake up and smell the honey we may lose the precious bee.

Colony Collapse Disorder

The Queen of the Sun

Due to the dramatic decline in the bee population, farmers, governments, and beekeepers are now noticing why we need bees. Without bees pollinating and allowing our crops to prosper, our economy will ultimately fail. For instance, almonds, California’s largest crop, brings in a revenue of $3,897 per acre. If we did not have bees regularly visiting these crops, then California would not only lose money but its main export.  Aside from the economic impact, no one can deny the disappearance of bee colonies and yet people don’t seem to realize what this truly means. Bees have always taken care of us and this is their way of telling us we need to step it up. Unfortunately, people will not realize what they have until it’s  gone and until we suffer from some natural disaster causing us to lose bees all together, we cannot truly comprehend what colony collapse means.

Pesticide is a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms that threaten a crop. It is mainly sprayed over plants to kill insects that would otherwise consume the produce. However, by spraying this toxic chemical it is also destroying the insects that are designed to visit these plants and pollinate them. For example, as bees and butterflies move from flower to flower they are pollinating each individual to help them grow into voluptuous fruits and vegetables, without their help most rural countries would otherwise starve to death. This is an example of a non natural disaster that would cause people to realize the importance of our furry friends

Colony collapse disorder, a disorder defining the disappearance or death of bees, is a pressing issue that still remains to be recognized as a national problem. Bees in states all across America have been suffering from this, but their governments refuse to pass pesticide laws or to allow beekeeping permits easily accessible. As a result, we will lose or fresh fruits, vegetables, and all other American grown produce; causing us to turn the alternatives such as processed foods. This will inevitably increase the obesity rate all across America and making cardiovascular related deaths skyrocket. However, I would like to think that this catastrophic event would cause people to wake up and smell the unpollinated flowers but sadly I still believe that a natural disaster wiping out bees entirely would better their chance of the beeing recognize as a necessity.

Although colony collapse disorder is undeniable, people still do not understand the toll it will take humans in the long run. By using harsh chemical pesticides we not only destroy the nutritional value of California’s crops but we are contributing to the demise of the most under appreciated insect in the world. Ultimately, if we continue to treat bees in such a heinous manner we could lose them forever. However, we can help prevent this by fulfilling bees essential needs, such as flowers. By planting more flowers we not only create a better environment for ourselves but for the bees too. Since they play a key role in pollinating our fruits and vegetables, we can give back by providing them with a catering service. But in this kitchen all you need is soil, water, and a seed. Hopefully, by completing these task we will be able to save our bees.

The Bee's Crisis

Bees, the insects all of nature depends on to keep it sustainable, are now slowly disappearing. Without bees we would barely be able to eat the various amounts of food that we eat. Instead of eating tons of delicious fruits and vegetables, we would be eating porridge and some nuts. If we do not save the population of bees, it will all be gone.

What is the bee population like today? Well numbers are dropping, and have by dying in huge numbers over the past decade. The problem is that people are not noticing. The bee is considered a sacred animal, because it mainly started the human civilization. If it were not for them, we would not have as many flowers and various plants as we do today. In fact most of them would not even exist, if it weren't for them. Humans would not have fruit like apples and peaches, no nuts like almonds, or beautiful flowers like lavender or sunflowers. And the reason why the population of bees is decreasing, is because of how they are being treated.

Many bees are being transported to other countries in the world. Where they are forced to work in areas called mono-cultural farms. Mono-cultural farms, are farms that only produce one crop. For example, almond tree farms, thousands of them are contained in the farm, where the bees are forced to pollinate them. This hurts the bees, because there is not a vast variety of crops to pollinate. Not to mention, the bees are being abused with chemicals, like pesticides, that corporate farms use to create the food. It affects them by losing navigation and memory, because bees can not fight off chemicals, because their bodies are not built for that. Plus people are hurting the queen bees, by interbreeding with manufactured   sperm, which causes problems in who the bees are being produced. Naturally bees are being produced by the queen bee who flies around for about a day or so while male bees, from different hives, give her their sperm to her, so that when she gets back to the hive, she can then reproduce offspring that are bio-diversed and are perfectly healthy bees, without any manufactured problems. But many queen bees are often being produced, and then shipped to factories that inject the manufactured genes for a bee. This is unfair, because bees are being pushed to work themselves to death. Which is why the bee population is decreasing, and people need to realize the problem, and figure out a solution to save the bees.

But how can this get out to people around the world. To get them to know that this is a huge problem. There have already been documentaries, and articles to tell people, but that is not enough. To ways that it can be publicized to the world is by starvation and fascination. With starvation, countries around the world can show the people what the world is like without any bees, and raise up the food prices of the produces that were already produced. But in my opinion, that is a little to harsh, Instead countries can start a new trend of growing their own produce in their backyards which will create a healthy environment and a healthy diet. This will help the bee population and the health of people world wide.

Even though the bee population is decreasing, some people are realizing that, and are helping to restore the bees by becoming beekeepers. Today bee keeping is becoming more popular, and is now allowed to be on rooftops of city buildings since 2010. But bee keeping is not the only thing people could do to help the bee population, simply planting various flowers for bees to come in a pollinate is a great and easy way. Also, leave water in the garden by plants, because bees, like humans, get thirsty. So please help the bees, because they depend on us, and we depend on them to make our world a beautiful place.

PBS Nova Web Quest

I watched a video on PBS Nova called Revealing the Origins of Life. I learned that life on earth probably started billions of years ago by a single celled organism. This organism was made up of Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, and Nitrogen. It also started to form in a small pond where there was lots of sunlight.

I also watched a video called Evolution of Laughter. It explained that us humans start to laugh at the age of three months. Scientists say that the laugh evolved from four other monkeys. First the orangutan, then the gorilla, then the chimpanzee, then the bonobo, which then led to us. Scientist also say that the louder the you have, the more happy you are.

assignment #7

         The plant seeds are divided in to two groups called gymnosperms and angiosperms. Gymnosperms seeds are on the surface of the cone and Angiosperm are a layer under to protect the seeds. Angiosperm go through the process of pollination before reproduction and have stamens which on one end is the anther where pollen is made. The stigma then goes down the tube called the style of ovary. And the fertilization is during the process of pollination. A female flowers center contains long thin filaments and topped with oblong anthers combined to call stamen.  The anthers have 4 pollen sacs that produce pollen that are microscopic mother cells. Each sac will produce  sperm cells from mother cells and when ripe the anthers open releasing sticky pollen onto the stamen making seeds.

PBS NOVA Quest

           This short video touched on the beginning factors of the tree of life. Starting with the basic recipe of RNA, which links all living things together. In other words, below the tree of life are the roots which is composed of the chemical bases of life. When these chemicals are combined in a certain fashion in the right environment you can create the bases of an RNA strand.

          Later, I was able to go in a completely different direction and watch a short film documenting the evolution of laughter. The film started out by explaining why human babies laugh? This question can be answered in one simple yet complex word and that is survival. Since newborns are so weak and defenseless they use laughter to help persuade parents that their cherubic appearance is no act. As the zoologist went deeper into the origins of laughter they were able to create an accurate timeline of laughter. This timeline consisted of orangutan, bonobo, and finally humans. However, the laughter of humans is a bit more complicated then the laughter of primates. For example, human laughter can act as a "glue" which connects one and other and has helped made us more successful as a species. Highlighting this factor is simple because it can be some up by looking at human interaction in a romantic perspective. For example, by husband and wife laughing they create a bond or trust which would allow them to reproduce and the population would therefor evolve.

Assignment #7 Anthers, Stigma, and Styles

Here is my yellow flower before I removed it from the broccoli stalks

A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants, consisting of an ovary, a stigma, and usually a style. It may occur singly or as one of a group.

 This is the male reproductive part of a flower known as the stamen. The stam is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Anthers are attached to the filament either at the base or in the middle portion.

The image above shows the female ovary that has been removed and is containing a minuscule ovule. The small egg shaped ball next to the stigma  is an unfertilized female gametes







































  

Blog Post #7: Dissection of a Flower pictures

Period 4 all had to dissect a flower to show the different parts of the reproductive system of a flower. Here is the flower that I dissected.

This is a close up view of the flower from under the microscope.

In this close up view, it is showing the male stamen of the flower. This produces pollen in order to be spread around the bees. This process creates more flowers.

These two pictures show the female carpel. This part of the flower holds the ovaries at the base of the flower. In order to reproduce it collects the pollen with a sticky substance contained in a tube like shape called the stigma. 

Brassica oleracea Anatomy Blogpost 7

Our Broccoli Flower from our school garden.

Here is the stamen of our broccoli stalk. The stamen is the male reproductive system. The stamen produces pollen rthat get released. This is how flowers reproduce. This why bees help flowers; they accidently pick up pollen and the next time they land on a flower with the female reproductive organ they fertilize it.

This is the carpel, the female reproductive organ. Pollen is released into the carpel. The sticky tip called the stigma collects the pollen and it releases into the tube of the carpel. Then it fertilizes the ovaries.

In this picture everything on the flower except the ovaries.

GATTACA Quote responce

"I got the better end of the deal. I only lent you my body, but you lent me your dreams."

Both Jerome and Vincent both saw themselves as useless, Vincent is an invalid and Jerome has no legs. Jerome and Vincent both are looking for away to save themselves from there problems, as soon as they met and started to corporate they went from useless to useful. Jerome helped Vincent to his dream to go on the space ship, and Vincent gave Jerome a reason to stay alive. At the end Jerome killed him self because he had no point to live, but he took his award as him being proud of himself with him. Vincent was able to go on his dream mission but as an invalid.

Quote Response From The Movie GATTACA

"If at first you don't succeed... try, try again"(Jerome).

I think what Jerome meant when he said this quote, that if a person fails at something. They should not give up, but keeping trying your best in order to achieve what you want to succeed. So keep trying, even if you fail.

Responding to Gattaca

"You want to know how I did it? This is how I did it, Anton. I never saved anything for the swim back." -Vincent

       When Vincent said this to Anton its ironic in a sense that he is referring to his life since GATTACA.  He is depicting his life under a false identity as a race with his brother. Vincent was determined to go all the way even if it meant he would not return. Anton was always destined to out do his brother, but when Vincent re-writes the statuesque and beats his brother, he is proving the flaws within genoism. By giving 100% in his in the race and in life he was able to accomplish all he set out to do.

GATTACA Blog Post

Responding to GATTACA Quote

"I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when i was right beside it."

       While Vincent was scrubbing and cleaning at the facility, he realized that he really might never reach his goal. He realized that it was now literally impossible to get a land an ideal occupation with the new technology that is used in all jobs of the future. Invalids are destined to be low paying jobs until they die off from disease or age. Vincent had little hope but still kept his dreams alive by never giving up.

One of a kind: The Wonders of Biodiversity

Our story of the seed group is experimnting with collards. Our collards have grown a lot since day one. They look like there parents because they inheried there parents genetics. Since our collards have thin stem and long leaves, the collards offspring would have the same. You can also see what offsprings they have by using the punnent square. Before going off there offsprings the collards have to go though meiosis to create the genes to the cell to produce the offspring. The next collard to come will carry on the genetics to more generations to come.

Wonders Of Biodiversity With Collard Plants

The story of the seed group 4-2 has been experimenting with collard plants, learning about genetics. We learned that we can use the punnett square to trace back our collard's parents, and determine its characteristics, because they inherit the genetics from the parents. So they look alike. Our collard plants have thin stems and big long leafy leaves. We could also use the punnett square to most likely or specifically know what the offspring would inherit. In order to create the offspring the collard plants would go through meiosis, also known as the division of cells, to create gamete cells(or sex cells). Which then go through fermentation to produce the offspring. Son our collard plants will be doing the same things as the parents, creating more collard plants for generations to come.

The Wonders of Biodiversity

A type of Brassica Oleracea carrying the phenotype for purple leaves.

4-2 Collards

          The 4-2 group has been experimenting with Brassica Oleracea L or collards. By looking at the collard's leaves we can tell that one of the parents carried the phenotype for the color green. Since the plant show the dominant gene for color its off-spring will most likely share the same phenotype. This trait will be passed down through meiosis; these sex cells are complete when the cell divided one more time to produce the four daughter cells. Our plants off-spring will vary due to the genotype of its partner. Thankfully due to genetics our collards off-spring will be even more beautiful then its parents because it will inherit genotypes from both of its parents. My classmates and I share different but fundamentally similar plants because they all have bread with numerous other types of plants. However, they are are still considered Brassica Oleracea because they still carry their species dominant gene for leaves. Our plants have varied from their ancestors because they have produced gametes from varies different types of collards.  

4-2 Meiosis Pictures

Replication of cellular DNA begins with the S phase, which when gets duplicated with the cell containing nearly double the amount of chromosomes

Homologous chromosomes begin to pair up.

Pieces of chromatin from the chromosome may break off and swap. 

spindle fibers will begin to attach to the chromosomes.

The chromosomes are then pulled apart 

Once they have been they been pulled apart to create four genetically unique daughter cells.

The Wonders of Biodiversity. Markham

             Currently our group as been working and nurturing with collard greens. They are an edible plant used in many dishes. It has thin pinkish veins expanding from the stem. I believe the parents look very related to there offspring, our plant. Since parents pass down their traits, they should be somewhat the same. To predict what our plant would have looked like before it grew, we would have had to use the Punnet square. To actually use the square we would have to extensively research the traits of collard greens and chart the genes the parent plants have. It would be a long process to fully be able to predict what the plant might have looked like.  Even though all of our plants are related they all look different. The millions of combination of genes and traits create diversity in the class garden.

Our Collard Plants

Brassica Oleracia 
Carrying green long leave traits.