Blog Post #10

this is a picture of anthers surrounding sigma this shows both male and female parts of the flower when this happens the plant is considered perfect. In other species of flowering plants the female and male parts are in separate plants. sometimes make and female parts are located in different flowers and sometimes there in completely separate plants

This is a 40x view of the plants carpel which is the female reproductive organ of the flower. the stalk of the flower style has a sticky tip so that it can catch pollen.












This is a 40x picture of the male reproductive organ of this flower which is called stamen. the stalk is called a filament and the end of the stalk is the anther, this is what releases  pollen to reproduce





















This is a flower that has had all of its parts stripped away except for the ovaries (the large stalk to the right ) which has been cut open to show the ovules (green oval to the left)

Anthers and Stigmas and Styles, Oh My!

This is the close-up of our Brassica Oleracea flower. It's a small yellow flower on the plants that is used to pollinate the plants. They usually grow in small groups. In the picture, you can see the veins of the flower.

These are the anthers of a flower. It is the stigma part of the Brassica Oleracea flower. In some species of the flower, the male and female parts are located in completely separate flowers. They all part of the same flower though.

Who Wants to Live a Million Years: Analysis of a Natural Selection Simulation

 It took me two generations to win the game, I think it only took two rounds because after the first time I understood what qualities the animals needed to survive. I think this suggests that real species have to learn what tactics they need in order to better their chances of long-term survival. On the first round, I made the animals mostly small with little fur. I chose these phenotypes because I thought if there was a heat wave they would survive because they wouldn't be overly heated, and if there was an ice age they wouldn't be completely bald. I also chose short legs because they could hide. The amount of fur seemed to work, but I had to adjust the height so that they could better survive. For most of the games this combination worked.  Yes, I think they would be affected by genetic drift. The tall height seemed to be dominant because whenever that alleles was chosen they would all be tall rather than just a few of them. The short fur seemed to be recessive. In cold conditions the animals needed longer fur and to keep them warm. When the weather got really hot they got rid of their fur so they didn't over heat and die. Adaptations such as spots, stripes, and long legs helped when there was a large predator. The different markings helped them to hide and blend in with their surroundings, and being taller helped them to run faster. Long legs also helped when the food grew super tall because with this adaptation they were able to reach the top of the plants to eat. I think a good improvement to simulate natural selection more realistically would be to have multiple changes at once, for example a new predator and a weather change. In the game they do one change for a course of years, in reality there are many changes all the time.  Another improvement could be to have an option for the animals to migrate. And lastly, including humans effects could improve the game because humans often alter animals natural environment. This feature could help people understand the effects of this and how much animals have to adapt to their environment being changed.

Who Wants to Live A Million Years Questions

Questions

1. How many generations did it take for you to finally win a game? Why do you think it took this long? What do you think this means/suggests for most real species on Earth in terms of their species's chances of long-term survival?

1. It took me about 4 generations to actual survive a million years.
2. I think it took me this long because I wasn’t using a variety of different traits to be able to survive.
3. I think this means that all their survival depends on their adaption abilities and traits.

2. Which initial phenotypes/phenotype combinations did you select and why?Which starting/initial combinations seemed to allow you to continue/survive the longest (win the most games)? Why do you think this was so?

1. I initially chose the long neck, long legs, short hair, and small body.
2. The combinations that allowed me to win was the long legs, long neck, and fluffy hair.
3. I think it helped me because they were able to run faster, survive the cold weather, and get food easier.

3. Do you think this population of theoretical creatures would be greatly affected by genetic drift? What evidence of drift did you see as you played the game (simulation)?

1. Yes, because if their good traits were taken away, they could easily die.
2. I saw the drift of colors and upper body change a lot.

4. Which alleles/phenotypes seemed to be dominant and which seemed to be recessive? How could you tell?

1. In my opinion, the long legs seemed more dominant than the fur.
2. I could tell because throughout the game, the legs were always consistent while the fur changed from long to short.

5. Match the environments/situations/conditions below with their corresponding adaptations:

(a) cold conditions - longer and thicker fur; (b) hot conditions - short and thin fur; (c) new large predator on the scene - longer legs; (d) new tall food source - long necks

6. How would you improve this simulation to more realistically represent natural selection and biological evolution? Discuss at least three improvements.

1. One improvement could be that hunters are there, because in reality a lot of poachers/hunters are killing animals.
2. Another improvement could be that different natural disasters happen rather than just one because all disasters have different things you should do.
3. Lastly, another improvement could be deforestation. When people cut down the trees of a forest, some animals don’t survive.

GATTACA Essay

“They used to say that a child conceived in love has a greater chance of happiness.” - Vincent. This quote is relevant to the movie GATTACA because in the world that Vincent Anton Freeman lives in, people barely conceive children the natural 50/50 chance way. In the movie, society picks all the traits that they want their child to have. Vincent Freeman was born without the trait selection and turned out with many problems while another man, Jerome Morrow, was born with the selection. Throughout the film, Vincent showed more happiness than Jerome ever did, even if he was “invalid.” Despite his problems, he definitely found happiness. This shows that what Vincent had said, was actually true.

A type of a recurring symbolism is the glass/water that represent invisible obstacles that Vincent has to overcome.  An example would be the game of “Chicken”. This is an example because the water is the obstacle and he is trying to swim through it. The first time he won against his brother Anton, it gave him the confidence to try. Another example would be when Vincent is cleaning the windows at GATTACA and the custodian tells him not to clean the glass too well. This also gives him the confidence to keep trying because he sees what he wants but can’t have.

It is Perfection versus Happiness. In the movie, the society favors perfection more than happiness for reasons such as a better generation in the future. The society is so devoid of happiness because they just want success for everyone. It doesn’t matter to them whether the kids are enjoying themselves or not. The society would rather have perfect people than happy ones.

A Matter Of Selection

I think the leafs of the Brassica oleracea plants have the most variation. Shape is the main variation between all of the Brassica oleracea leafs. Some of the leafs are large with rounded edges, while others have very ridged edges.  Differences in color are also shown. For example, kohlrabi has green leafs with bright purple stems and at the end of the stem is a large baseball sized vegetable. Another form of Brassica oleracea called red anchor cabbage has big oval shaped purple leafs. And lastly one of the forms has green leafs very similar to kohlrabi but the stem is a light green color rather than purple. I think the kohlrabi and the red anchor cabbage display the most differences, between the kohlrabi being very tall with green leafs and bright purple stems and the cabbage being very small with all purple leafs these two plants while from the same species show how small changes in genetics can affect the plants and help them to survive.

Red Anchor Cabbage

Kohlrabi 

A Matter Of Selection

     In my opinion, the characteristic that shows the most variation in the Brassica Oleracea plants are the leaves. Each leaf in the community are different; from curly to a smooth surface. When I went into the garden I noticed this variation right away. The characteristic that seems to show the greatest range of variation are the stems. It would be the stems because every single one was a different shape, color, and design. For example, on the Romanesco, the stem was green and leafy, while the Kale was purple and smooth. Throughout the garden, I noticed many variations on the Brassica Oleracea plants.