Author: Kendra

Poetry Talks – Imagery and Understatement

 

Imagery refers to the use of descriptive language or figurative language that uses the senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell which helps create vivid and memorable images in a reader’s mind. By using sensory details and descriptive language, writers can paint a picture in the reader’s mind, bringing the text to life and making it more engaging, and it is an effective tool that can be effectively used to convey a wide range of moods, emotions, and ideas.

An understatement is a literary device that is used to describe something in a way that makes it seem less important or significant than it really is. It is a form of irony where the writer intentionally downplays the significance of an event or situation, usually for humorous or dramatic effect. Understatements are commonly used in literature and even everyday conversation, and by using understatements, one can evoke a sense of humility or modesty, and to avoid exaggeration or overstatement.

Imagery examples:

  1. “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she.” Shakespeare, William. “Romeo and Juliet.
  2. “The snow was white and fluffy, like a thick blanket covering the ground.”
  3. “As Frodo prepared to draw Sting from its sheath, it seemed to grow tall and very sharp; and the blade almost shimmered in answer. Then he drew it, and its polished and well-oiled length shone suddenly as clearly as if it were transparent.” Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings.

Understatement examples:

  1. “I think it’s raining a little bit.” (in a situation where there is a horrible storm)
  2. “I think so,” said Professor McGonagall dryly, “we teachers are rather good at magic, you know.” – Professor McGonagall in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows.
  3. “I have to have this operation. It isn’t very serious. I have this tiny little tumour on the brain” – Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye

 

 

First People’s Talk – Métis

The word Métis is derived from a French word meaning ‘mixed’, which is fitting because it is a word used to describe people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry. The term métis was first used in the 1700’s when European settlers used it to describe the children with Indigenous and European parents. Even though métis people are of mixed descent, it is important to note that they still have distinct cultural practices that are separate from both Indigenous and European culture.

Examples:

Métis – noun

  1. Métis were recognized as one of Canada’s three Indigenous peoples in 1982.
  2. The term métis (mixed race individuals with European and First Nations descent) was first used in the 17th century, where settlers used it in reference to the children of Europeans and Indigenous peoples.
  3. In Western Canada’s Prairies, the Métis (self-identifying with distinct descent from the source of where their ancestors came from) people hunt bison with their traditional hunting practices.

What Darwin Never Knew

How did the discovery of DNA prove that Darwin’s theory of evolution was correct?

Darwin theorized that species come to evolve over time, through a process called natural selection, where the most fit organisms produce offspring and over time, the species becomes stronger and more fit for survival. All species have variation, but the traits that allow for better survival in nature are chosen to be passed onto offspring. However, Darwin admitted that he did not know how traits were passed down from parent to offspring, though he created the idea of evolution. Once DNA was discovered after Darwin died, it was revealed that DNA was the key behind evolution and gene mutations were what allowed for change through generations. He also theorized that all species came from pre-existing species, and all species shared a common ancestor, which he named common descent. In the study of embryos, it shows that in the early stages of embryo growth, most embryos look very similar to each other, and can barely be differentiated from their species. As they enter the next stages of development, DNA switches turn on to activate certain genes that will determine their chances of survival in their habitat. However, the fact that all species look similar to each other in the beginning proves the fact that all species come from a common ancestor, and DNA allows them to grow into their respective bodies. This proves that the discovery of DNA strongly supports Darwin’s theory of evolution.

 

What is embryology? How does its study lead us to understand evolution?

How does it change the way we view evolution today…

Currently, scientists have learned more about DNA and how mutations affect human development. One example is microcephaly, which is a condition that passed down genetically from parent to child that affects brain development because the baby’s head isn’t able to grow large enough to accommodate the growing brain. Now, we are able to understand the genetic mutations that occur, and there is now a way to test parents to see if they have the defective gene that causes microcephaly so they can plan ahead and be prepared on how to raise a child with microcephaly.

Microcephaly: Causes, Symptoms And Treatment

and into the future?

In the future, we can continue to learn more about DNA and how mutations in DNA affect human development. In the past scientists discovered that even though there is only a 1% difference in the DNA of humans and chimps, the main thing that makes us so much more advanced than chimps are the switches in the genes, rather than the actual genes themselves. The genes were located in the brain, so our thinking is higher level than chimps and other animals. Studying how gene switches affect us and how they affect other organisms is something that can be useful in the future of learning how humans and other animals evolved.

Genetic Difference Between Humans and Chimps - Pediaa.Com

Citations:

Unknown Author. What Is Embryology? How Does Its Study Lead Us to Understand Evolution? Toppr, 10/19/22,  https://www.toppr.com/ask/question/what-is-embryology-how-does-its-study-lead-us-to/.

Bharat, Divya. “Microcephaly: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment.” Netmeds, 9 June 2020, www.netmeds.com/health-library/post/microcephaly-causes-symptoms-and-treatment.

Lakna, By. “Genetic Difference Between Humans and Chimps.” Pediaa.Com, 10/20/22, pediaa.com/genetic-difference-between-humans-and-chimps.

Will black holes affect our planet during our lifetimes? In what way, and will it be destructive to humanity?

Humanity has resided on Earth for 200,000 – 500,000 years, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. But what would happen if a black hole came close to Earth and threatened our survival? The good news is that there is an extremely low (1 in a trillion) chance that a black hole would stray close enough to Earth to cause serious damage to our orbit and solar system, but in the off chance that a black hole does hit Earth, what would happen?

  1. If a black hole enters the solar system, it would send comets towards Earth and absorb all of the planets and mass in its path, including the Sun and Earth. Our solar system would be reduced to nothingness, swallowed by the black hole.
  2. Earth itself would be “spaghettified”, and our planet would be torn into nothingness as well.
  3. Your personal experience of being sucked into a black hole would be similar, first, you would feel as if you were falling into the center of the Earth, and once you reach the center, you would get stretched out until your body turns into minuscule atoms, and you would cease to exist.

The closest chance that Earth has to getting near a black hole is in 4 billion years, when our galaxy, the Milky Way, collides with the Andromeda galaxy. When they collide, the supermassive black hole sitting in the center of the Milky Way could get close enough to Earth and swallow it because of the force of the collision between the two galaxies.

Recently, scientists have unveiled the first picture of the supermassive black hole in the Milky Way, which is called Sagittarius A*. The bright gases surrounding the black hole allowed scientists to gain more visibility and photograph the black hole after 5 years of attempting to get a picture.

In conclusion, the chances of a black hole affecting humanity in our lifetimes are close to zero, so we don’t have to worry about black holes ending the human race. Well, at least not for the next 4 billion years.

Citations:

Siegel, Ethan. “What Will Happen When a Black Hole Hits Earth?” Big Think, 22 Feb. 2022, https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/black-hole-hit-earth/.

Siegel, Ethan. “What Would We Experience If Earth Spontaneously Turned into a Black Hole?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 14 Apr. 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/10/15/what-would-we-experience-if-earth-spontaneously-turned-into-a-black-hole/?sh=778e2aa51199.

Clery, Daniel. “Shadow of Milky Way’s Giant Black Hole Seen for the First Time.” Science, 12 May 2022, https://www.science.org/content/article/shadow-milky-way-s-giant-black-hole-revealed-astronomers.

O’Callaghan, Jonathan. “What Would Happen If a Black Hole Entered Our Solar System?: Space Facts – Astronomy, the Solar System & Outer Space: All about Space Magazine.” Space Facts Astronomy the Solar System Outer Space All About Space Magazine, 19 Oct. 2018, https://www.spaceanswers.com/solar-system/what-would-happen-if-a-black-hole-entered-our-solar-system/.

Biotechnology Group Post – Epigenetics

The first thing you may be wondering is, what is epigenetics, and to be honest I could go on and on because it’s such a complex subject. To explain it in its most basic form I would say it’s the study of outside effects on our genetics. You may not know this, but your genes are not set in stone when you are born. Take identical twins for example, even though they have the same genetic makeup, they can still be so different, but how? Well, depending on the environment, the nutrition and the people around them, they will develop certain habits which will translate into their genes. Another fun fact, since these habits can be written in genes, those genes can be passed down to their offspring. Therefore, if a mother has bad time management, it will most likely be somewhat passed down to her offspring.

Greatest Advancements in Epigenetics

There have been and will be many more advancements in the field of epigenetics. In my opinion, some of the greatest advancements so far have been discovering the role epigenetics have in exercising, inheritance, and how our nutrition can affect our epigenetics. Firstly, methyl groups, chemical tags attached to DNA strands, can prevent nearby genes from expressing what they are programmed to do. Exercising can reverse changes these chemical tags may make on DNA. Unfortunately, with this test, after three weeks of exercise, the methylation tags came back after two days of resting. Next, in a small Swedish town, genetic scientists analyzed 200 years of harvest records. They discovered that food availability and diet can affect how exact sperm cells are copied from the ages of nine to twelve in boys. Epigenetic inheritance can fluxgate through generations, unlike the genome, which takes many generations to change, epigenetics changes can happen quickly. The inheritance of epigenetics can also be passed down to children from things a parent has experienced, as well as changing from the current environment of an individual. Finally, scientists have found that the food an expectant mother eats not only affects their epigenetics, but their children’s as well. A diet that is low in methyl, the chemical tags, can decrease DNA methylation, which affects how genes are expressed. In bees, scientists have found that a larva destined to become a queen will be fed royal jelly, which is a substance that comes from the heads of worker bees. Scientists discovered that a specific gene called Dnmt3 in bees codes to silence the queen genes. Royal jelly turns off this gene, giving larva queenly behaviors and a larger abdomen for laying eggs. Because the queen bee is fed royal jelly, she will develop these traits, which are different than worker bees, who are otherwise genetically identical.

How is this form of biotechnology best used?

Epigenetics is a form of biotechnology that involves manipulating genes by turning them on or off based on the external factors that affect your lifestyle. This form of biotechnology is best used in the form of cancer treatments, which many scientists believe has changed the way we treat cancer. Cancer was thought to be purely a genetic disease; however, scientists have discovered that cancer is also caused by epigenetic matters. Epigenetic cancer treatments target the genes that have been turned off in cancer cells and instead of killing the cell, specific genes are reactivated, which leads to the cancer cell resetting itself back into a normal human cell. Epigenetics has revolutionized the way that cancer is being treated, as well as other neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and schizophrenia in the form of DNA methylation. DNA methylation is when methyl is added to genes and changes the way that genes express themselves, which changes the way that the brain functions and can help in the treatment of neurological disorders.

Epigenetics is a very new and complex subject which you could probably see from the past paragraphs, but the future is looking up for epigenetics. In this “Scholarly Resources for Learning and Research | Gale. https://www.gale.com/” it was shown that epigenetics could be one of the leading ways that we can help avoid mental disorders in children such as autism. Since epigenetics is all about the study of inheritance so what if we could alter what the offspring inherit. This of course wouldn’t fully cure them of everything, but it could heavily lessen their load. Since epigenetics is so new, most of the things I am talking about are very hypothetical, but bio engineering was all hypothetical when it was first introduced.

The study of epigenetics has evolved significantly throughout the years and has changed the way we use biotechnology today. Gaining a better understanding of how epigenetics works has led scientists to many important discoveries, such as how the external environment affects the development of genes and future generations. Epigenetics has also changed the way certain diseases are treated, such as new cancer treatments which are less invasive and more effective than traditional treatments. Finally, as more advancements are made in the study of epigenetics, we are also getting closer to finding cures for mental disorders in children before they are born. As more research is done on epigenetics, we can be sure that the future can lead to breakthroughs that will drastically affect how we understand and implement epigenetics in our daily lives.

Bibliography:

Xi, Sigma. “Scholarly Resources for Learning and Research | Gale.” Gale in Context: Science , 2012, https://www.gale.com/.

Motevalizadeh Ardekani, Ali. “Role of Epigenetics in Biology and Human Diseases.” Iranian Biomedical Journal, Pasteur Institute, Nov. 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5075137/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20major%20effects,to%20health%20and%20cancer%20patients.

Weinhold, Bob. “Epigenetics: The Science of Change.” Environmental Health Perspectives, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Mar. 2006, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392256/.

Issa, Jean-Pierre. “Epigenetic Therapy.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 16 Oct. 2007, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/epigenetic-therapy/.

“Epigenetics and Inheritance.” Epigenetics and Inheritance, genetic science learning centre, 15 July 2013, Epigenetics & Inheritance (utah.edu)

“Nutrition and the Epigenome.” Nutrition and the Epigenome, 15 July 2013,

Nutrition & the Epigenome (utah.edu)

Cheek Cell Lab Response

1. Pictures

Cheek cell DNA:

Stained cheek cells:

Cheek cells with membrane disruption:

2. Cheek cells are easily removed from the inner lining of the mouth and are a great source of DNA from a person. However, the cells must be broken apart before the DNA can be extracted and studied. There are multiple ways of degrading cheek cells. The goal of each method is the same; break apart all membranes inside of a cell without destroying the strands of DNA. Which of the above solutions do you believe would be useful in this process and why?

Both solutions are useful in the process of studying DNA, however, the first option included more steps such as adding different chemicals and spinning the DNA onto a rod. The results were also less reliable because sometimes the DNA wouldn’t appear or would be hardly visible. The second option allowed you to see the cells clearly under a microscope with all of the details, whereas the first option only had a small amount of DNA that you could study.

3. Comment on the three different labs involving cheek cells: what did you find interesting/new?

For the first lab, it was interesting to see your DNA appear after the experiment, as well being able to see your DNA as a tangible object. In the second lab, I was able to use a microscope for the first time, and figure out how to use the different functions of the microscope to be able to see the cheek cells. Lastly, in the third lab, using different chemicals to disrupt the cheek cells and seeing the difference between the normal cell and the cell that had dishwashing soap/acid on it was interesting to see.