Biomes

The assignment went well, we as a group worked well, and each member stayed on task, we were all able to adapt to the constantly changing plan for what we were going to do for our assignment. We probably would have been able to do even better if I had been able to get more information about my biome, from what I can see my fellow group members’ sways had more information about their biome.

The following sways belong to my fellow group members:

Tundra Biome (Luka) – https://sway.com/sIBBnZqxo43OZ9no
Rainforest (Melia) – https://sway.com/5V6V8vkVGWQQeImW
Aquatic Biome (Natalia) – https://sway.com/IScYtLO8PYSEeCFs

Mutation Story- Alzheimer’s disease

Mutation story, part 1, The Story: Hello there, I am AD, which is short for Alzheimer’s disease, I am a Alzheimer’s disease-affected gene, I am a gene that has caused a genetic disease that causes serious and basically incurable symptoms for my host. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of Dementia. While It’s not specifically known how I affect my host’s genes, as there are different ways for the two types of Alzheimer’s, I can tell you what you humans have learned about it so far. First off, let’s talk about the two types of Alzheimer’s; Early-onset Alzheimer’s symptoms first appear in a person when they’re in between the age of 30 and 60, with late-onset Alzheimer’s on the other hand, the symptoms only appear when they are in their mid-60’s. Early-onset Alzheimer’s is caused by genes, late-onset Alzheimer’s is believed to be caused by a mix of genes, environment, and lifestyle.

Anyways, know that we got some background information, let’s start with my story. So I was born when my host was born, which I have no idea when that was because, I don’t know much about my host, but I do know his family suffers from early-onset Alzheimer’s. Anyways, I am chromosome 21 in the cell I belong to, and we chromosomes 21 are known to create a protein called APP, but the APP in my host became corrupted, causing the APP to go through a process that creates a substance, that is normally good for people, but since the APP was corrupted, the substance also became corrupted, thus causing Alzheimer’s in my host. You humans have no idea whether Alzheimer’s is a point mutation or a chromosomal aberration, but in my opinion, Alzheimer’s is a chromosomal aberration due to the fact that it’s caused by a chromosome. It can’t be a point mutation because nothing is substituted, deleted, or inserted.

I unfortunately caused my host to suffer from every Alzheimer’s symptoms, including difficulty remembering recent information, learning new information, struggle to continue a conversation, lose in visuospatial skills, problems concentrating, problems planning, problems organizing, mood problems, delusions, hallucinations, difficulty doing everyday things, death of neurons and synapses, and other minor symptoms. My host’s life has been affected greatly, with him being unable to do everyday things he used to be able to do. My host is now unable to take care of his parents, who also suffer from Alzheimer’s, all because one of his ancestors was very unlucky, and got the corrupted APP that causes Alzheimer’s, passing it on to his children, who then passed it on to their children, repeating the cycle up until we reach my host, thus causing problems for my host and future generations to come. Alzheimer’s has not only affected my host’s life, but also his family for many generations, and more generations to come. Alzheimer’s affects many people, and their families.

The picture above shows difference between a normal brain and an Alzheimer’s affected brain.

Mutation story, Part 2, The making of the mutation story: The questions I had to research/asked were: How do genes cause Alzheimer’s? What kind of mutation is Alzheimer’s? What are the symptoms of Alzheimer’s? Is Alzheimer’s related to Dementia? What is APP? Are there different types of Alzheimer’s? The digital tools I used were Google and websites, the websites include Alzheimer’s foundation websites, Wikipedia, a protein data base, a us government website, and a clinic website. The process I used was that I used some of the recommended questions as an outline, then added information in different places as I went along. I verified information based on the domain name, I stayed away from using websites with domain names like .com, opting to only use domain names like .gov or .org. I cited my information using EasyBib. I think the process went well, but I had a bit of difficulty finding the necessary information, but I continued looking and found the information I needed. I think I could have included more media content to improve understanding of reader, and done more research.

Bibliography:

Search engine used: Google

Various. “Alzheimer’s Disease.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Oct. 2001. Web. 09 Dec. 2016.

“Alzheimer’s Disease Genetics Fact Sheet.” National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 20 Oct. 2016. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

“Help End Alzheimer’s.” Alzheimer’s Association. Alzheimer’s Association, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Society, Alzheimer’s. “What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?” Natasha Judd. Alzheimer’s Society, July 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Goodsell, David. “PDB-101: Amyloid-beta Precursor Protein.” PDB-101: Amyloid-beta Precursor Protein. National Science Foundation (DBI-1338415), the National Institutes of Health, and the US Department of Energy., July 2006. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Mayo Clinic Staff Print. “Alzheimer’s Disease.” Symptoms and Causes – Alzheimer’s Disease – Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 22 Dec. 2015. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Various. “Amyloid Precursor Protein.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 May 2005. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.

Science App Review

Let’s say I had an assignment where I needed to look at compounds, elements, and/or had to write chemical formulae. How can I possibly do one or more of those things? I could search them up on Wikipedia or Google, but that would take too long, and boring. I could find a book that has this information, but that would take even longer, and the information might be outdated by now. That is why I present you with a solution, I could use apps.

The apps I will be using/showing you are Elements 4D and Chemical Formula by Cubic3Solution. Firstly I will be reviewing Elements 4D.

Elements 4D is free, with it using vblocks you can make out of paper, but they also sell wooden version of the blocks, but they aren’t necessary. the only things you need are a phone or tablet, a printer, and some printer paper. You can go to the Elements 4D website and download the templates for the cubes, then you can print them out, fold them, glue them, download the app on your phone, and your done.

Even though you only get 36 elements, it can still further your understanding of certain elements, and can show you some of the compounds that can be created with these elements. Users can learn more about these 36 elements, such as what they look like, and they can learn some of the compounds that are made with them. You can figure out how to use the app by yourself easily, but if you need help figuring it out, you can click a button on the menu that explains how to use the app and blocks.

 

The app uses patterns to identify which element it’s scanning, upon scanning the pattern, it will search in it’s database for the element textures, turning the regular paper block into a see-through container with the element inside.

20161016_130241screenshot_2016-10-16-13-05-34

You can put elements next to each other, casing the compound created by the to be displayed, if the elements can create a compound together.

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I ran into some problems while uploading the video that i wanted to use to show the app, so i have included this zip file which can be downloaded to look at the video: vid_20161016_132439

Some pros and cons are, It is interesting, easy to use, and fun, but you are limited to only 36 elements. You can learn about what some elements look like, and what compounds they make, and what those compounds look like.

My second app is Chemical Formula, which is sort of like a Wikipedia for elements. The app can be used to research information on elements, and formulae. You just search the element, and it tells you information about it. Users can easily use the app do to it being similar to other encyclopedia apps, so users can use it with ease within seconds.

screenshot_2016-10-16-14-55-42screenshot_2016-10-16-14-55-55

The app doesn’t bring any innovative ideas, but this allows it to have a familiar interface that users can use easily. Some pros and cons are, it presents a familiar interface that users can use comfortably and has a lot of useful information, but it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. You can find out more about elements, and find out how to write their formula.

Potassium Oxalate

Potassium Oxalate is an acid usually found in many plants and vegetables. It is a white solid with no odor. It is usually used in the to remove rust, to bleach textiles and wood, and many other uses. It is usually produced by the body during metabolism of certain acids, and is excreted from the body through urination. In my search on the internet to find the price of Potassium Oxalate, the only place I could find that sold it was Alibaba, the online shopping site, where it is sold from $1 to $5 per kilogram. I was unable to find any information on who discovered Potassium Oxalate, and when it was discovered. According to the WHMIS symbols, it is a toxic material with serious and immediate effects.

Potassium Oxalate can be a powder-like substance.

 

Sources:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Potassium_oxalate#section=Top

https://www.reference.com/science/usage-potassium-oxalate-ed88f27666f00201#

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