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Vote Nucleus for organelle president! Thanks! http://landryapbiology.blogspot.com

Nucleus for President!

It has begun! The presidential race of the cell! Which organelle will win this year? What alliances will be formed?  Will friendships be destroyed? Only time will tell.

 Visit @knowingnucleus on Twitter to view our page. Voting will begin shortly, make yours count.

You can also search #shscellwar to see the discussion.

The Pros To Being A Protein: An Actual Life Story

If I had to be a macromolecule, I would be a protein.

I was formed in the warm summery month of July. My mother and father, both polypeptide chains had a bond together that eventually formed me (proteins can be one or more polypeptide chains folded or bonded together). As i grew up I liked to dip my feet in all sorts of activities. I learned how to do everything (Proteins are involved in almost everything). I tried ultimate cup stacking (enzymes), gymnastics (structure), girl scouts (carrier), cheer leading (cell communication), karate (defense), ballet (movement), and hoarding (storage). I  like being a protein. I have a very diverse group of friends (Proteins are the most structurally and functionally diverse group). I also like that I can do everything, being a protein in all.

                                                                         WARNING: GRAPHIC

   Me being formed

 

 

 

Me, aren't I cute? :)

Just another funny :P

AP = Alotta Parties

I  know what you're thinking. "Monica, that's definitely not what AP stand for". Well, in this case it could help. This past Wednesday we had an AP Bio test, a couple of us decided we would have a study party the night before. It was a lot more fun than studying by myself and we got a plethora of work done. I was also more prepared for the test. I think we should have parties more often. I've also learned that doing the reading guides really help, the extra credit is always a good thing. c:

Sarah was working at some point, I promise.

Tom ato a tomato

According to an article from ScienceNews.com, men with high blood levels of lycopene are less likely to suffer from strokes. Lycopene is a compound found in tomatoes that gives them their red color. Lycopenes affect on strokes is a topic that has not been studied much. Jouni Karppi and colleagues at the University of Eastern Finland conducted an experiment with 1,031 men ranging from 46-65 years old. The results stated that men with lower lycopene levels were twice as likely to have a stroke as the men with higher lycopene levels. While this test was specifically aimed toward studying the affect of lycopene levels from eating tomatoes, lycopene is not the only nutrient found in tomatoes so the other nutrients such as: folic acid, vitamin C, and vitamin E may effect the results. As always eating fruits and vegetables will reduce your risk of stroke and heart disease. Stay healthy.

Homecoming 2012: A week where you never come home (your mom calls to make sure you still exist)

Sparta High School's Homecoming has no competition. We spend the whole day playing games, cheering on our grade, and engaging in some friendly competition. Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors compete for the red apple. Each grade really comes together and gets excited for the games. No one knows what will happen. Each grade preforms a dance related to the homecoming theme. Our games are somewhat unique. We play a game called the caterpillar where 60 students from each grade get in 3 lines on each side of the gym, in rows of 10 and they all line up heel to toe, then 1 student crawls in between all of their legs and the student in the beginning of the line pulls the student crawling up. Whoever is the fastest to complete all 6 lines wins. It may sound confusing, but its a grand ole' time (your knees will never forgive you). We also play games such as limbo, orange pass, and a cart race. These games occur on the Friday before the homecoming game. During the week we have a food drive and penny a point, both the food and the money go to charity. We also have dress up days during the week. Whichever grade has more students dressed up will get more points toward that grades final score, and they will be even closer to winning the red apple.

For me, freshman year and sophomore year were not as exciting as my junior and senior year. Although I didn't participate in the mock rock dance until my junior year. Being in the dance makes homecoming even more fun because you finally get to show everyone the dance that you've been working so hard on. My favorite homecoming would have to be this year. I went all out because I knew it would be my last one. I also spent several days at my friend Alyshia's (shout out). However, I didn't participate in as many games as I would have liked to but it was still a ton of fun. Every grade gets involved in the friendly competition with cheers and taunts. Something I enjoyed was Mark, Nick, and Lucas' "mating call". It wasn't annoying at all.The homecoming court speeches were more enjoyable this year because I knew the people giving the speeches. Overall, Sparta knows how to make a mark, not to mention some noise.

Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow.

Deforestation also known as clearing is the removal of forest and the land is then converted for non forest use. Deforestation has a large effect on the environment. North America has cut down around 7 million square kilometers of forest. 70% of earths land animals and plants live in forests, deforestation is causing loss of habitat for millions of species. It is also causing climate change and drying of soil due to the lack of protection from the sun. Trees also absorb the harmful greenhouse gases that cause global warming. The more deforestation, the fewer tress, the larger the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Deforestation is a simple fix, stop cutting down trees and save millions of plants and animals. We could even attempt to reverse the effect by planting new trees.

The Negative Effects of Deforestation

Internet Sources (I like to save paper)
http://www.globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/deforest/deforest.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deforestation
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation-overview

The good, the bad, and the ugly!

Just kidding about the ugly, I posted the naked mole rat pictures last week :D

The topic im looking most forward to this semester is probably genetics. Its so interesting to learn how characteristics are transferred from your madre y padre to you and your siblings! Its even more interesting when you look nothing like your parents or siblings, I think I should be a poster child for recessive genes :P

The topic im least looking forward to this semester is probably biochemistry. Ughhhhhhh, im not a fan of chemistry and I had a whole year
 of it last year. It was rough. Although I love biology and it IS a combination of the 2 so it should even out to be an ok unit.

Just a casual picture of my brother and I.

Awwww, that face.

Today, we discussed how behavior evolves and some specific behaviors of certain species. Included in those species were the "cutie pies" of the animal kingdom, naked mole rats. I did some quick research and learned that naked mole rats behave a lot like insects. Like bees, naked mole rats have a "queen" that will be the only female breeding for her community. Cool right? You learn something new everyday! No? Cmon you totally didn't know that, stop lying to yourself.

                                           You gotta little something in your teeth there buddy

Edumacational article

Oh, I didn't see you there.

Now that you're here though i'll tell you a little about myself. My name is Monica, and im a senior at Sparta High School. I enjoy science and love to learn new things! I hope to major in biology and minor in forensic science at Ferris State University. Im taking AP biology to prepare myself for all the biology and other science classes that I will take in college. Im hoping to gain some lab experience and learn more about the world as a whole.

Have a nice day :)

And the best blog ever was born!

I like to set the bar.