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A couple of classes ago, my AP Bio teammates and I had an opportunity to participate in a LiveChat room. We were able to talk and listen to Dr. Anusha Shankar. I found her presentation to be very interesting and well thought out. The research Dr. Shankar is doing is not only very important but you can tell the love and commitment she puts into her work.

Dr. Shankar started off by talking about her past research on hummingbirds. At first, I thought that it was a bit silly because a hummingbird is a bird and I thought all birds lived pretty similar lifestyles. But, as the presentation went on, I found myself fascinated by the information she was presenting. Hummingbirds need to constantly eat in order to survive because they use up energy quickly. While we, as humans, can survive hours and days without food, hummingbirds can not survive without food for more than a few hours. Dr. Shankar’s research was focused on finding out how hummingbirds survive at night because they can only eat during the day.

Apparently, when hummingbirds rest, they fall into a state of deep sleep called Torpord. Torpord is a state a which hummingbirds shut down their bodies. During this state, the bird can rest but slowing down the rate at which they use up energy. In torpord, hummingbirds can switch body temperatures from hot to cold and can even carry out activities such as cleaning while in this state. Hummingbirds are interesting organisms and I am glad I was able to learn more about them from Dr. Shankar’s very passionate research. 

At the end of the presentation, Dr. Shankar also talked briefly about the research she is currently working on in Alaska. She is studying grass rats in order to learn more about seasonal depression in humans. Seasonal depression or SAD is an issue that affects people who move to places such as Alaska and Washington where days are short and the sun does not fully go up. This research is essential in order to help people who move to places like these or even those who live in these places. I found this information to also be interesting because I am considering moving to Washington for college. Knowing the risks of SAD and how I can prevent it can benefit my academic performance and mental health in college.

Thank you so much to Dr. Anusha Shankar for taking the time to present and talk to my AP Bio class!

The concept of Genetics is often labeled as a topic that focuses on learning about the DNA and genes found in the human body. To be honest, Genetics has not always been a topic of science I have liked because of the focus on the human body placed when learning about genetics. However, this season, I found out that genetics not only fascinates me but also directly connects to the major I wish to pursue in college- food science or nutrition.

My favorite lab by far has to be the pGLO lab. When we started the pGLO lab I thought that I would not be able to accomplish the lab because of how complicated the processes seamed. However, once my fellow lab partners and I started the lab, I realized how much I actually knew. For example, I remembered my micropipette skills and remembered how much fun they are to use. Overall, I would say that I love this lab because we were able to literally make bacteria glow! We took E. Coli Bacteria and mixed the bacteria with a pQuince plasmid. A Plasmid is a ring of DNA typically from a different organism that is absorbed by a bacteria in order to change the DNA of the original organism. The pQuince plasmid contained GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) gene and the regulatory gene for GFP, Ara. An origin gene was also added so that the DNA start could replicate. And finally, the Amp gene was added to make the bacteria that would absorb pQuince ampicillin resistant. In order to increase the chances of the bacteria absorbing the plasmid, the bacteria have to undergo heat shock so that little pore could be created. In our conclusions, we found that the bacteria that was able to grow and glow was on the agar plate with ampicillin, lysogeny broth, and arabinose sugar.

This season, I also enjoyed learning about biotechnology especially biotechnology found and used in agriculture. The topic that stood out to me the most was Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) because GMOs directly connect to Food Science. I learned that GMOs are created by taking the DNA of one organism and adding that DNA to the DNA of the target organism in order to improve that organism. What fascinated me the most about GMOs is that scientists are now able to change the DNA of crops so that they can grow in conditions they could not before. For example, in my group project on Agriculture Applications, we talk about how, in India, crops such as rice have are being genetically modified to be able to grow in the high salinity waters. India is a country that has minimal food sources so GMOs can benefit their health. Check out more of my presentation below!

This season, I learned a lot about genetics and I discovered a new topic that interests me. I am excited to see where the next season on Evolution goes and beyond that, I am excited to see where science will take me in the future!

Work Cited

Lab photo taken by me.

California is home to some of the biggest agricultural businesses in the Nation! Recently I had to opportunity to research and learn more about the genetic technologies that fall within the agriculture business. My fellow classmates and I were able to learn more about genetic replication to improve the outcome of crops and livestock such as the use of GMOs- Genetically Modified Organisms. Check out our slide presentation below!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1I_QlUaDnVEtl6m8Yl7EQRIZSZzGkapPKcgIU_sXUX6Q/edit?usp=sharing

“I have a dream…” -Martin Luther King Jr. (1963)

Once upon a time, I wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to be the first Mexican-American woman to vogue in space to Mars. As a child, I was heavily involved in setting dreams because of my role models such as Martin Luther King. As a daughter of immigrants, I was told to dream because as an American I have thousands of opportunities to do the things I want to accomplish. Dreams are the reason behind everything I do and want to accomplish however it has been hard to maintain the same confidence in myself as I did when I was a child. 

After watching Diana Nyad’s TedTalk on her swim journey from Cuba to Florida, I realized that in order to accomplish my dreams, I have to push through all the challenges I face. Diana tried over and over to swim across the ocean but even though she did not always succeed, she continued to try. She continued to push because she knew that swimming across that ocean as what she was destined to do, what she loves to do. Yes, Diana had a hard time and there were times where people told her to give up. However, despite all of this, she pushed to accomplish her dreams. Diana’s story also made me realize the importance of my support system in accomplishing my own dreams. Diana’s exploration team on each one for her swims were the people who believed in her even in times when she doubted herself. They were the people who support her dreams even when people told her she was crazy. They are the people Diana, herself, continued to push to accomplish her dreams. 

One of my dreams is to open up my own restaurant where I will be able to express my love for different food cultures and incorporate my love for science. I want to create a space where people will be able to discover different cultures and try different foods while also creating an environment where people are curious to uncover the science behind the developmental process of creating the food. My journey will not be easy but after hearing Diana’s story, I know that I have to push through my struggles and if I feel that I can not, I must look to my own support team to gain that motivation and thrive to accomplish my dreams.

Coming into AP biology, I was scared but excited. Not really knowing what to expect from the class, I carried my knowledge from biology honors and my passion for learning about science. This semester I learned a lot more than I had anticipated and I know there is still so much I can learn. I learned about the properties of water which connects to why ALL life on Earth relies on water. I learned about cell organelles and functions such as osmosis, the mitochondrion, and the chloroplast. I also had the opportunity to further my knowledge of enzymes. All these pieces of information later connected to lessons on cell signaling and metabolism. I learned about the steps of cell signaling that is caused by a cascaded of activating and deactivating enzymes. I learned about the chemical reaction that converts light energy into molecular energy contained in glucose through the process of photosynthesis. Also, cellular respiration which is a chemical reaction that converts glucose into ATP energy organisms needs to do work. Finally, I learned about genetics an excited and recent topic that contains a lot of information on what makes up human beings but also holds so many unanswered questions on what makes up human beings. 

Some of my favorite assignments/projects from the class would be the Vortex Swim video, the yogurt lab, and the DNA extraction above and beyond. The Vortex Swim was my favorite project because I got to create a video on a topic I chose. I chose to focus on the effects of plastic pollution in the ocean has on the reproductive systems of Seas Turtles- my favorite animals. Growing up, I had always thought about the ocean as clear and blue with colorful animals, such as turtles, swimming and living peacefully. However, after doing the Vortex Swim video, I came to the realization that ocean life is suffering because of the mass consumption and pollution of non-biodegradable plastic. The yogurt lab was my favorite lab because I was able to explore concepts that directly connect to my major for college- food science. The yogurt lab taught me about fermentation and how simple but amazing the process is of making yogurt from milk. While I was not able to complete the DNA extraction above and beyond, I did enjoy the experiment because, again, food was involved. Again, I was blown away at how science can be traced behind every process and part of the food. Because of the assignments I list above, I have become even more certain of what I wish to accomplish in college and in my future. 

This semester did have challenges and struggles but overall, I was able to grow as a student. I learned to take every failure as a lesson for future success. I took every success as something to improve and work on for the future. While I did not end the semester the way I wanted to, I have become even more motivated to succeed this next semester and push to succeed in my future. 

I enjoyed learning to set up a website because I feel better prepared for my future which will inevitably have to do with technology. I learned not only how to start my own website, and I also learned how to set up pages, categories, and make dropdown menus. I hope that in the future when I hopefully start my own small business, I will use the technological skills I have learned from developing my digital portfolio.

Works Cited

Sunga, Arabella, and Noosha Steward. “Extracting DNA From Strawberries!” YouTube, YouTube, 8 Dec. 2019, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FG2xNZ1Poc&w=420&h=237.