Just before we're about to go out onstage, a great surge of energy rushes through us all and gives us a sense of invincibility. This is called an adrenaline rush. Adrenaline rushes are common before performances, games, or near death experiences. Adrenaline, also known as Epinephrine, is a hormone and neurotransmitter. It causes increase in heart rate, contracts blood vessels, dilates air passages, and triggers the flight-or-fight response. Adrenaline is produces by the adrenal gland, specifically from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine.

A Visit to the Barn

Last week, I went to Little Brook Farm with Leanne. I learned many things about baby bunnies, horses, ponies, chickens and even miniature horses.

The first activity we accomplished was grooming a horse named Chelsea who is 32 years old. Chelsea has Cushing's Disease and Uveitis. Because she had Uveitis, her eye popped and now because it is dead, it shrinks each day. Cushings disease causes her to not to be able to control shedding, so she is a lot of work to groom!

Chelsea-

After Chelsea, we groomed Rosy, the pony. She is an example of a different type of horse, thus showing a different combination of gene alleles.

Rosy-

After grooming Rosy and a few more healthy horses, we went and checked out the 3 week old baby bunnies. They are a cross between a completely white rabbit and a black/brown rabbit. As you can see, they are white, black and gray.

baby bunnies-

Overall, we saw a variety of biological concepts. Between gene information, diseases, and new life we realized that a farm is a great place to learn about biology!

( i even made a new friend with Katie the horse! Here i am giving her a big hug!)

I had so much fun!

Welcome to Omaha, NE (aka Big Rockaway)

Hey hey hey, over the weekend, I traveled with Kevin to Omaha, Nebraska so he could compete in the NCFL Grand National Forensics Tournament. He's awesome.

But anyway, Omaha really has nothing there, it's a lot of flat land. But we did go to Creighton University, which has a teaching hospital on campus.

In the teaching hospital, interns learn the anatomy of humans and the science of medicine. For some unfortunate humans are inflicted with diseases such as cancer, which mess up the mitosis process of cells, and these interns are the ones who learn to rid of such deadly mutated cells.

Omaha also happens to have a lot of cows, who are part of the Anamalia kingdom, and apparently produce enough CO2 for it to actually be harmful to the E

arth's ozone layer. That's kinda bizarre.

We had also ventured into a vintage clothing store that smelled a lot of "pharmaceuticals" that are part of Plantea kingdom.

But really, the first things I saw while landing in Omaha was a barn and a tractor.

A Biking Trip

Last week i went bike riding with Zev. While bike riding I realized that biology is everywere. We passed by trees that where making energy through a proccess called photosynthesis. Because Zev does not have and leaves or chloraphyll, he breaks down food into Glucose which is then broken down for energy or stored. Like the trees, Zev is using and making energy. Energy is the capacity to perform work, in this case, pedal his bike. The are two kinds of energy: kinetic and potential. When Zev is on his bike sitting at the top of a hill, that is an example of potential energy. ATP or, Adenine triphosphate, is the cells choice of energy source. In the mitochondria a process called respiration breaks down compounds such as glucose from foods to obtain ATP. When the ATP is used by the body, phosphorylation recharges the ADP, or Adenine Diphosphate, to return it to its original state. Using ATP Zev taking me on a fun and exiting 15 mile bike ride along the Randolph trails. Because i am the Traveling PBWiki Shirt, I reminisce about the past adventures I have had.

By Zev Leopold

Last weekend I went to the beach with Carly and her family and friends. Biology was EVERYWHERE. First as we walked onto the sand we saw all the components it is made up of with minerals and tiny pieces of rock that have come from the erosion and weathering of rocks. Also we went to the freezing water and saw various and fish in the clearer parts of the water. I was especially fascinated when I saw a turtle swim past us in the water. Sea turtles are classified as kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class reptilian and order testudines. They are almost always in the water and have an anaerobic respiration. Also, when Carly was in the ocean, she was stung by a jelly fish. Jelly fish are actually not fish. They are from the kingdom Animalia, phylum crindaria and class scyphozoa. They are very interesting creatures. I learned and observed many interesting things at the beach today and saw biology everywhere I looked!

Haverford College

Hey! This Memorial Day Weekend, I traveled with Derek to Haverford College. We went for his dad's 25th reunion. At the college, I got to sleep in a dorm with Derek, Derek's family, and all of Derek's dad's college friends. Man, it was crazy. It was kind of neat seeing all of Derek's dad's college friends with kids, though. Whereas they used to hang out and party, now they had to constantly change the diapers of their children.

Haverford College is home to one of the most outstanding science centers in the world. Located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, this liberal arts college features one of the largest observatories in America and is the school with the most amount of laboratories than any other college in the world. Along with Swarthmore and Bryn Mawr (two other liberal arts colleges close by), Haverford is one of the top schools in the field of biology. It was at Haverford that Mendel genetics was thoroughly studied. In addition, it was at Haverford that the first artificial heart and lungs were produced. In terms of animal science, Haverford has it's own farm where researchers from around the world visit and study the animals.

At the Haverford observatory, documentation of over 20 different stars has been made. NASA and other space companies around the world use this documentation as a credible and cohesive source to understanding more about space.

Haverford has shown me how much students have helped the scientific world. I would love to go to this school and study under their great facilities and even help professional companies like NASA. Haverford has also shown me that college is not all fun and games-there is a lot of work, too, that goes into all the scientific developments. However, at the reunion, I saw that it is at colleges like Haverford that friendships are made that last forever.

A Walk to Remember!

Last Thursday, I went with Leanne when she took her dog Luke on a walk. We focused on the world around us and you would not imagine what we found. First of all, all the interconnected relationships in the world (tick on luke- (Parasitism), bees pollinating flowers (mutualism), as well as lichen on the trees). Another example of parasitism is a wood pecker pecking a tree in leanne's front yard, causing it to slowly die.

- Magnolia Tree that was pollinated by bees as well as squirrels who ate the buds...

-The woodpecker's masterpiece...

We also examined the effects of excercise on our own bodies. As we walked for longer and longer, our muscles began to burn. Leanne explained to me that because we are doing a hard excercise regime, our bodies are lacking oxygen and therefore having to use lactic fermentation to make energy.

Overall, although I was sore :) , we had a wonderful walk that i hope to repeat again soon!

This week, I got to take a trip to Randolph's very own dance studio with Brooke Freundlich. Every single movement the dancers made involved energy and muscle movement. I enjoyed very much watching the class, however, I couldn't help but notice how all the dancers seemed very sore. Their sore muscles are connected with their breathing patterns while performing. Dancers unfortunately have a very bad habit of holding their breath while moving, which restricts the amount of oxygen in the body. Because there is not enough oxygen, anaerobic respiration takes place. All the steps of respiration start to back up because the NAD+ and FADH "boats" cannot empty their electrons. Therefore, the electrons cannot get onto the ETC. The cells must result to fermentation to empty the "boats." Without the oxygen, lactic acid will build up in the dancer's muscles and cause soreness. Who knew that biology could explain sore muscles?!

Atlantis

Over Spring Break 2010, I traveled with Derek and his family to Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. This trip was fun and exciting, although it was very expensive ($12 dollars for just a hamburger!). However, we had a fabulous time and saw science in the strangest places. Just to start off, the ocean tides are an example of gravity. Just like all matter, the moon has gravity. It pulls on the water and the water hits the shore and then it lessens its pull and the water returns to sea. As the moon revolves around the Earth, the water changes directions to follow it, resulting in high tides and low tides.

A major part of Atlantis is its water park. This water park is filled with famous rides, including the slide pictured here that goes through a shark tank. This slide, being very steep, is angles at about 60 degrees so that the rider does not fall off the slide

but yet ge

ts the thrill of feeling like he/she is

going straight down.

Pictured below is the path to the casino. I am not a fan of gambling, however, the statistics involved in gambling are truly astonishing. In the game with the red and black circle, a gambler bets that a marble with land in a red or black space on the checkered circle (a 50/50 shot). However, there are two green spaces--just enough to throw off the 50/50 odds. Now, the dealer will always win at the end of the night because they tip the odds and have a greater chance of landing on their spaces (now the odds are more like 56/44).

The green eel pictured here is one of life's greatest mystery creatures. Like a slithering snake, this eel glides through the ocean underneath rocks, devouring

prey. Over time, this eel acquired traits necessary for survival. Such traits include its sharp teeth and natural means

of defense: electricity. If you touched

one of the eels and it felt that it was in danger, the eel would release up to hundre

ds of volts of electricity. Eels use this defense in the open ocean as well against predators such as sharks and squids.

The second fish shown is called a deep sea tuna (although they are not tuna fish at all!). Derek and I watched this fish for about thirty minutes...and it did absolutely nothing. Known as the "lazy" fish, the deep sea tuna rests in a single spot for days with an open mouth waiting for small bacteria to enter. It can move quickly if extremely hunger, however, it prefers to stay still. To maintain the largest tank, filled with over 50 different species of fish, Atlantis imports specific foods from around the world so as the fish remain peaceful and well fed. Also, you might be able to see some ruins in the background of the tank. This is because Atlantis tried to design its aquarium after the imaginary underwater city of Atlantis and so they put ruins in to represent underwater buildings.

Back outside the hotel, there is a dock with several yachts, each of which probably cost over a few million dollars. Derek and I are seen standing in front of one of these immense ships. In the other pictures, we are seen in front of the main hotel building of Atlantis.

When you get the chance, you should come down to Atlantis--as

the old saying goes, "Life is better in the Bahamas!"

My golf trip in florida

The first thing I noticed when I saw the golf course was how beautiful it was. Then I looked closer and saw that the whole course was filled with vast areas of green grass, trees, shrubs and plants. In the picture to the left you see me surrounded by lush green grass and trees. I than thought to myself, this whole golf course is performing photosynthesis.


I asked Ollie how photosynthesis works and he told that photosynthesis is the process of converting light energy to chemical energy and storing it in the bonds of sugars. This process occurs in plants and they need light energy, CO2, and H2O to make sugar. Then he told me that it all starts in the Thylakoid membrane. Light hits the membrane and gets excited. The light then passes through various steps and NADP plus and H plus get added to form NADPH. While this is happening ATP is being made through ATP synthase. The ATP and the NADPH then get shipped off to the Calvin cycle. In the Calvin cycle 4 steps occur. Step 1 is when an inorganic carbon joins a RuBP. The molecule it makes is unstable and splits. In step 2 ATP gives carbons energy and the NADPH gives it a hydrogen and two electrons, changing it to G3P. In step 3 one molecule of G3P goes off to become sugar. This sugar is then used as energy in the human body. These sugars are the products of photosynthesis. Now, there are 5 G3P's left. In step 4 the 5 G3P's are converted into RuBP's with the help of ATP.

After hearing all that from Ollie, I had a pretty good understanding of Photosynthesis. I asked, why are the plants green ? Ollie stated that plants are green because of pigment. A pigment is a molecule that absorbs light. Chlorophyll, which is inside a leaf, is a pigment which absorbs all colors except green. When a pigment absorbs light, the human eye only sees what is reflected back to the eye. In the case of chlorophyll, it reflects green so the human eye sees the plants as being green. After hearing this I totally knew everything there was about photosynthesis and why the golf course was so green. The only thing left to do was to learn how to play golf !