Jacob+Eatmon

Genetics Post entry 1 Jan 16 2013

The branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited characteristics among similar or related organisms. Genetics is something that is speical from person to person that seperates us and is different for everyone else.

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(This video tells how the X and Y chromosomes play in developing males and females.)

Who knew the differences between male and female genitals could be explained with zippers?
===When reporter Jayme Poisson’s A1 story on Toronto couple David Stocker and Kathy Witterick’s decision to raise their baby Storm genderless was posted online last Saturday, it quickly became the most-read item by far at thestar.com during the weekend. But while the number of page views was respectable, the yarn’s popularity was still in its infancy.===





Genetics- []- Before were born we are we are females before the Y chromosome has done its job. [] Two eggs dropped and one got fertilized and then the other got fertilized by another guy. [] The future of how DNA is going to effect our future. [] Explains how your genes work and if you look like your mother then your organs will come from your dad's DNA.

Evolution

A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Evolution is something that has made us into who we are as a species, intelligent, successful, and the development of thumbs.

Finally, an explanation for why our fingers and toes get all pruny when they’re wet.
Shriveled fingers and toes are something we're all familiar with, yet scientists have struggled to explain why it happens. A longstanding theory is that wrinkles are the result of water passing through the outer layer of the skin, causing it to swell. But as neuroscientist Mark Changizi pointed out a few years ago, it's clearly a spontaneous reflex that requires a better explanation. Now, writing in Biology Letters, researcher Tom Smulders believes he's found the answer — and it has to do with our ability to handle wet objects. ===[The study] involved asking volunteers to pick up marbles immersed in a bucket of water with one hand and then passing them through a small slot to be deposited by the other hand in a second container.===

Volunteers with wrinkled fingers routinely completed the task faster than their smooth-skinned counterparts.
===The team found there was no advantage from ridged fingers when moving dry objects. This suggests that the wrinkles serve the specific function of improving our grip on objects under water or when dealing with wet surfaces in general===

ScienceShot: Some Scorpions Turn the Light Out


===As if their venom-injecting tails and crushing pincers weren't frightening enough, scorpions have long been known to glow blue-green under ultraviolet (UV) light. But just as the arachnids' claw size and venom potency vary from species to species, so does their ability to fluoresce, with some species lacking the ability altogether, new research shows. Arachnologist Wilson Lourenço of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris initially sought to test the fluorescing capabilities of four recently discovered, cave-dwelling scorpion species (one of which is shown above, left). To his surprise, his test subjects didn't prove to be noteworthy, but the species he compared them with—the soil-loving Chaerilus telnovi—apparently doesn't glow under UV light (seen above, right). Further tests showed that other species from the Chaerilidae family also don't fluoresce, no matter their habitat, suggesting their inability to glow isn't an ecological adaptation, Lourenço reports in the current issue of the journal Comptes Rendus Biologies. Nobody knows for sure why scorpions glow; the new discovery may help scientists finally illuminate this eerie phenomenon.===

Birds’ brains respond to music the same way human brains do == == ===But do birds really appreciate music, or do they just treat it like a collection of sounds? There's been a lot of debate over the years, with some scientists claiming that only humans truly appreciate music as music. Creatures ranging from birds to whales are capable of making haunting, melodious sounds but whether those count as music has remained controversial.===

In a statement, Sarah Earp, a researcher at Emory University explains her findings:
==="We found that the same neural reward system is activated in female birds in the breeding state that are listening to male birdsong, and in people listening to music that they like. Scientists since the time of Darwin have wondered whether birdsong and music may serve similar purposes, or have the same evolutionary precursors. But most attempts to compare the two have focused on the qualities of the sound themselves, such as melody and rhythm.=== ==="The neural response to birdsong appears to depend on social context, which can be the case with humans as well. "Both birdsong and music elicit responses not only in brain regions associated directly with reward, but also in interconnected regions that are thought to regulate emotion. That suggests that they both may activate evolutionarily ancient mechanisms that are necessary for reproduction and survival."===

Post entry 2 Jan 19th

3-Pound Goldfish Found—How’d It Get So Big?


===On his hook was a 15-inch-long (38-centimeter-long) goldfish that tipped the scales at 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). Compare that to an average aquarium goldfish that generally measures just a few inches—their breeds come in a wide variety of sizes—and it doesn’t take long to figure out that this whopper of a fish is going to need a bigger bowl. That begs the question: What exactly is a goldfish, and how can they get so freakishly big? Goldfish are actually a type of domesticated carp. Almost 2,000 years ago, the ancient Chinese began to domesticate Prussian carp, Carassius gibelio, for food and as ornamental fish. Over time, mutations creating orange, red, and yellow colors began to emerge in the dull-colored Prussian carp, creating the coloring we now associate with goldfish. The fish was transported to Europe in the 1600s and to the United States in the 1850s. Although not naturally found in the wild, goldfish have occasionally been found in ponds, lakes, and streams. Most researchers believe that these goldfish were either dumped there or somehow escaped from the “porcelain express” after being flushed down the toilet. Many of the unusually massive goldfish—like the one Martin caught—have been found in these outdoor settings, but goldfish experts say it’s a myth that a large tank will yield large goldfish.=== media type="custom" key="21962778" align="center"

(The experince of the guy who caught this huge goldfish.)

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The background in site oh how our body’s evolved to deal with wet situations.

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Tells us how our feathery friends can listen and enjoy music like we do. [] The truth of how our fishy friends actually came about and where it started at.