Bleeding!

Introduction: Every one of us has blood coursing through our bodies. Most of us don't think about what our blood does during the day or how it helps us. This section is going to go through the functions of blood, some important words to know, different types of blood, and why our blood needs oxygen. (Picture from http://ochealthinfo.com)

Functions
As described in the Mader textbook on page 106, the functions of blood fall into three main categories.

1. Transport: "Blood delivers oxygen from the lungs and nutrients from the digestive tract to the tissues, where an exchange takes place" (Pg 106). In short, blood is what moves our bodies basic needs around the body.

2. Defense: Certain blood cells are in the body to specifically fight diseases. We will discuss the different types of blood cells later.

3. Regulation: Blood helps to regulate body temperature by picking up heat and moving it around the body.

Definitions

*All definitions can be found in the Mader textbook, pages; 107 through 108

Plasma: The liquid where cells and cell fragments are suspended, classified as a liquid tissue.

Plasma Proteins: Most abundant organic molecules in the blood.

Osmotic Pressure: A force that prevents excessive loss of plasma from the capillaries into tissue fluid.

Hemoglobin (Hb): Iron-containing pigment in red blood cells that combines with and transports oxygen (Pg G-9).

Types

Red blood cells are the most common in the body. According to our book, "there are 4-6 million red blood cells per mm of whole blood" (Pg 108). That is a LOT of blood. Red blood cells carry oxygen, help transport carbon dioxide, and are produced in bone marrow.

Below is a picture from http://science.uwe.ac.uk that we saw earlier, depicting red blood cells.
White Blood Cells do not have a nucleus, or hemoglobin. They are see-through unless stained. White blood cells tend to be larger than red blood cells, also. Primarily, the function of these blood cells are to fight infection. The different types of white blood cells, as described in the book on pages 110 through 111 are: Granular leukocytes and agranular leukocytes. Each of these classifications have the multiple different kinds of white blood cells in them.

Here is a picture of white blood cells found at http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk.



















Last but not least are the platelets. These come from "fragmentation of certain large cells in the red bone marrow" (pg 113). Platelets are involved in clotting.

Here is a picture of activated blood platelets that was found at http://biomed.brown.edu.


Here is a picture I found that I really liked that showed most of the objects in a vein, artery, capillary. (http://cache.eb.com)


I Need Air!

On of the main goals of red blood cells is to carry oxygen. All of our cells need oxygen in order to survive, just like we need it. Cell respiration needs oxygen. Frolich put it best when describing how oxygen gets into blood. He said, in the powerpoint, that oxygen diffuses across tissues of the alveolus, across tissues of a capillary, across red blood cell membranes, and is there held by hemoglobin protein molecules (Slide 15).

Conclusion: There are some of the major items need to be known about blood. There are three different types: red, white, and platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen that every other cell needs to survive, and hemoglobins not only give red blood cells their color, they hold onto the oxygen. Next up, is immunity, which deals largely with white blood cells.

Lab One

Introduction: Welcome to the first lab of this unit. In this lab, I gathered groups of people in certain age groups, took their pressures, found the means of each group, and graphed them. I formed a hypothesis and made notations about those with possible hypertension. Below are the results.

Lab Questions

Journal of Lab One, Unit Two

1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.

-- A problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure is that not enough experiments have been conducted to state information about it as fact. It is generally thought that young men and women do not suffer high blood pressure, yet older men and women are more likely to experience it.

2. Use your knowledge about the heart and the circulatory system to make a hypothesis about how the average blood pressure for a group of people would be affected by manipulating the age and gender of the group members.

-- Using men only, I hypothesize that the older the group of men, the higher the blood pressure will become. Using women, I would say the same effects would happen.

3. How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow? What data will you record?

-- I will select all men at a young, adolescent, and adult age then use women of the same age groups. I will take the blood pressure of the young a designated amount of time then find the mean. This will continue for each group until an average blood pressure for each gender and age group is found. I will record every blood pressure measurement and the final mean value. The table only allows me to find the mean, so I will record the initial measurements on a separate sheet of paper.

4. Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.

-- The results of my experiment were as such. The older each group became, the greater the difference between genders. For example, the males age 18-24 had a blood pressure of 127/79 and the women of the same age group had 113/17. Specifically with men, the average systolic and diastolic pressures increased with age. Women, on the other hand, maintained almost a constant until reaching the age group of 45-54. The oldest age group spiked average systolic pressure by 21% and diastolic pressure by 20%. I also noticed the men, as they grew older, showed signs of hypertension, whereas the women were usually within the normal range.

5. Did the result of your experiment support your hypothesis? Why or why not? Based on your experiment what conclusion can you draw about the relationship of age and gender to group blood pressure averages?

-- The result of the experiment did not support my hypothesis. As you recall, I hypothesized that men and women's blood pressure would increase as they became older. This was true in the case of men, but not so much for women. Granted, the oldest group of women did spike in their average, but was a consistent range of 110 -120 until they reached the age group of 45-54. My hypothesis stated each age group would increase, but this was not the case for women, only one two age groups increased.

Based on my experiment, I can draw the conclusion that women's blood pressure should remain around 117/74 for most of their adult life. Men's average blood pressure should increase with age about 20% every six years.

6. During the course of your experiment, did you obtain any blood pressure reading that were outside of the normal range for the group being tested? What did you notice on the medical charts for these individuals that might explain their high reading?

-- During the experiment, there were times when blood pressure readings were outside the normal range. In most cases, after reviewing the medical charts of the individuals with high readings, it was an issue of hypertension history in the family or a lack of exercise. Other bad habits in conjunction with lack of exercise, such as a high salt diet and/or alcohol consumption, with out hypertension history seemed to be a contributor to having high blood pressure.

7. List risk factors associated with the hypertension. Based on your observation, which risk factor do you think is most closely associated with hypertension?

-- Some risk factors associated with hypertension include: a high-salt diet, lack of exercise, history of hypertension in the family, and alcohol consumption.

Based on my observations, I believe that having a history of hypertension in the family is closely associated with hypertension; having a lack of exercise and poor diet come in a close second place, though.

8. What effect might obesity have on blood pressure? Does obesity alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure? What other factors, in combination with obesity, might increase a person's risk for high blood pressure?

-- Obesity has quite the effect on blood pressure. First off, that may mean a person has a poor diet and exercise, which is associated with high blood pressure problems anyway. Secondly, having all of that extra fat on the body makes the heart work harder. Other factors, added to obesity, that may increase a person's risk include: having hypertension history in the family line, and alcohol consumption in unhealthy amounts.

Here is a picture of the graph created after all data about the average blood pressures was inputed. The top two lines are systolic numbers, the bottom line being for women and the top being for men. The bottom two lines are the average diastolic numbers, again the top line being for men and the bottom for women.

Here is the table used to help create the graph above. It is hard to see, but to the left is the different age groups. As you go across the columns, it says, "Male Systolic" "Male Diastolic" and the same for women across the board.

The next two pictures I wanted to put up to show that the men had were more susceptible to hypertension than the women in the test groups. Both groups are age 35-44, take not of the multiple red numbers compared to the women.































Conclusion: That concludes the lab write up for the blood pressure test. My hypothesis was somewhat correct, but I was disproved when it came to women's blood pressure. The men in my study tended to have hypertension, mostly coming from heredity or obesity. The next section will move onto blood.

Pump, Pump, Pump it up!

Introduction: Welcome to the MOST important part of the circulatory system, THE HEART. As you first enter this section, there is a labeled heart picture. It labels the different parts. This picture was obtained from http://www.know-heart-diseases.com. In this section, you will find information about the parts of the heart, the control of a heartbeat, pulse, and the regulation of blood flow.

Parts of Heart

*These definitions are coming from the Mader textbook, pages 88 through 89.*

Heart: Cone-shaped, muscular organ located in the thoracic cavity whose rhythmic contractions maintain blood circulation.

Pericardium: Thick, membranous sac that that supports and protects the heart.

Atria: Atrium singular, upper chambers of the heart that receives blood.

Ventricles: Lower chambers of the heart.

There are, of course and as depicted above, many more parts of the heart. These are some basic parts described in the book.

Control Freak

"Each heartbeat is called a cardiac cycle" (Pg 90). The first paragraph on page 90 does a great job explaining the cardiac cycle. Further down the page, you'll find information about a heart murmur. I found this very interesting because I developed a heart murmur later on in life (most are born with it and it goes away.) So I had to go get an ultrasound performed on my heart. We found out that a valve of my heart was smaller than it should be, which was probably the cause. I never knew how or why I could have developed a heart murmur, but they told me if it did not go away, I would have to have surgery. It was nice to read in the book, years later, why the surgery would have been necessary.

There is nternal and external control of the heartbeat. Internal control, as explained on page 90, is due to Nodial tissue, "which has both muscular and nervous characteristics" (Pg 90). The SA node initiates the heartbeat, acting as a pacemaker to keep it regular. The medulla oblongata is the external control by means of parasympathetic and sympathetic parts of the nervous system.

Pulse

I really enjoyed the link provided on how to take a pulse. I am putting it here for easy reference. www.tutorials.com/09/0902/0902.asp
This picture was taken from www.nlm.nih.gov.

REMEMBER!!!! NEVER USE YOUR THUMB WHEN TAKING A PULSE! Your thumb has its own pulse. Some people will put their two fingers on the wrist, but then grasp the underside with their thumb. This is INCORRECT.

As the book indicates on page 92, "Pulse Rate Equals Heart Rate"

Being Regular

I really feel the book did a great job in the sections concerning the heart. Here are some terms to know all from the Mader textbook on page 92.

Blood Pressure: Pressure of blood against the wall of a blood vessel.

Systolic Pressure: Highest arterial pressure that is reached during ejection of blood from the heart.

Diastolic Pressure: Lowest arterial pressure occurs while the heart ventricles are relaxing.

Here is a picture that shows the cuff placed on the arm and which artery is being pinched shut momentarily. This comes from http://www.knowledgebase-script.com.

Conclusion: That concludes this section of the heart. We had a brief look at different parts of the heart, pulse, blood pressure, and keeping the heartbeat regular. Now we are going to move onto the first lab. This project involved discussing hypertension, taking blood pressures, and using the scientific method.

Blue, Red, and Microscopic Tubes

Introduction: Welcome to the colorful part of the body. Most of our organs are hopefully a skin color, except for fats, which are yellow. If you look at your arms, legs, or if you are pale skinned enough...anywhere really, many can see their veins. Those are those blue lines running all along the body. These are a type of blood vessel we are going to take a look at. This section is going to address arteries, veins, and capillaries. After capillaries, a look at some of the exchanges happening at the capillaries is going to be discussed.

Definitions:

Arteries

Above is a picture seen in the previous section from htt://www.accessexcellence.org. The red, top vessels is an artery. The arteries job is to take blood away from the heart. The artery has a very strong, tri-layer wall to support it when blood enters under pressure (pg 87). Part of the layers is an elastic tissue that allows for expansion to "absorb the pressure" (pg 87).

Veins

Veins are the blue, bottom vessel in the above picture. Their primary job is to bring blood back to the heart. According to our book, the vein wall is thinner than that of the artery because there is less smooth muscle and less connective tissue. Yet, this seemingly disadvantage allows for greater expansion, allowing more blood to be flowing through (pg 87).

Capillaries

Capillaries are narrow microscopic tube that branch off from the arterioles. Arterioles are small arteries. Networks of capillaries (often referred to as capillary beds) are in all regions of the body. The function of the capillaries is to exchange materials with their surroundings.

Here is a picture of a capillary from http://www.jdaross.cwc.net.

Great Exchange

After briefly going over different types of blood vessels, let us get even closer to discuss some different exchanges that occur at capillaries.

At this website, http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072464631/291136/Fluidexchange.swf
you will find the video that was in the web links. I found this to be very helpful. It explains fluid exchange in the capillaries.

The capillaries are involved in gas and tissue fluid exchange in regards to the circulatory system.
Another web site I thought was great at explaining capillary functions was this one:

http://faculty.clintoncc.suny.edu/faculty/michael.gregory/files/Bio%20102/Bio%20102%20lectures/Circulatory%20System/circulat.htm

Hopefully that link will take you directly to the Circulatory System page. Scroll down some and you will find capillaries and interstitial fluid information. It also includes images to help process the information.

Conclusion: That was the basics of blue veins, red arteries, and the tiny tiny capillaries that do so much. A fun fact, capillaries are so small, blood cells travel through in single file (you can find that on the previously provided website about capillaries). Next up is the heart. Every part of the circulatory, and our body to stay alive, depends on the heart.

Reflection

I think my head is spinning!!! There was SOOOO much to cover in this unit. Each one could have a separate unit on its own! Some things I would like to reflect upon include the big lab project and the compendium review.

I had a lot of fun with the lab project. If you've taken the time to look through ALL of this information, you will see that I turned mine into a powerpoint video. It really helped me understand different processes and retain information by going through everything more than once. The lab definitely covered everything. Not only the major lab project but the two little labs to go with it.

I felt way too over whelmed with the compendium review. After looking at other people's, I am uncertain if I did it right. I went over everything that I had known or learned and there are some who just did an overview of the chapters to read. I do like how I did mine because, it took me through everything for probably the third or fourth time.

Lastly, this was fun because I discovered I did learn and retain something from all of my high school biology classes. When I first sat down and started going through this, I felt like I wasn't really learning or focusing. Then, I started to realize it was like a review for me, but so much more. Granted, biology is a class that is usually a two semester ordeal and covers everything into depth what we just briefly touched upon in this unit.

The compendium review was the hardest part for me, and my second topic compendium could definitely have been better. Now that I have a general idea as to what I am doing, hopefully the next unit will not be quit so overwhelming.

Looks Normal, Feels Abnormal

An Ethical Issue Essay

Cloning has been around since 1970. A successful, healthy cloned lamb was completed in 1997. Scientist continue, day in and out, to perfect cloning with high hopes of using the technology to help cure diseases. It may sound like a good idea, but the offspring being produced give more of a chilling effect. Right now, there are many different types of cloning, and the battle of viewpoints makes it even more complicated.

The first type is recombinant DNA technology. This is cloning DNA fragments and producing new cells. Right now, bacteria are the most common used host cells for this type of technology. They are working to use this technology to learn about other technologies, such as genetic engineering. It seems as though DNA cloning is the basic building block of learning how to properly clone. Instead of waiting until that was perfected, scientists decided to jump ahead and work on reproductive cloning.

The purpose of reproductive cloning is to make an animal that has the same DNA as another currently existing animal; hence the cloned lamb dolly. This has been the most successful case, so far. Many articles and news stories involved the idea of reproductive cloning. It also led to the knowledge that specialized cells can, and do, change in the body. Some people think that the success of reproductive cloning is a huge step in human knowledge. Others think it is completely unethical. This is understandable. The produced offspring does not seem real. Especially when they are talking about endangered species. Humans are trying to use reproductive cloning to repopulate species we destroyed in the first place. It seems very unnatural because of how these animals are made. It is no longer the story of the ‘birds and bees.’ Not only have we been experimenting with animals, it has now moved up to experimenting with humans.

Therapeutic cloning is producing human embryos for research. To do this, scientists are extracting stem cells from embryos, which ultimately destroy them. It is obvious as to why this is such an unethical act. We are killing unborn babies to make test tube babies. Right now there have been no successful cases further than it dividing into six cells.

Cloning is a very unnatural process. We have completely taking out nature and substituted chemicals. Another thing to consider is when did animals become nothing to use? If we can successfully use reproductive cloning, we can mass produce pigs and work on using their body parts as organ donations. Do we not already mass produce pigs in factory farms? Do we not already religiously practice genetic engineering? Yet we do not know enough about it to be doing this. Many of the offspring created have several health problems and are born abnormally large, which is extremely dangerous for the host. We are experimenting with more and more, but we do not seem to know enough about one type of cloning before it moves on to the next.

GENES!

Introduction: Genes, according to our textbook, are a unit of heredity exisiting as alleles on the chromosomes. This section is going to look at the Punnett square and alleles.

Genotype and Phenotype

Genotype is the genes of the individual and Phenotype is the physical characteristics.

Alleles one of two or more alternate forms of a gene that arise by mutation and are found at the same place on a chromosome.

*A quick story. When I was in high school, my biology teach was obsessed with the Human Genome Project. He had a big poster up in his classroom that was only partially complete. Now, it has been completed. It is neat to grow up with something like that.*

To finish up the gene section, here is my lab write up concerning the Punnet Square.

Lab Write Up

Introduction: My mother has blue eyes, straight almost black hair. My father, sister, and brother, all have very very dark, straight hair and brown eyes. I have blue eyes and naturally dirty-blonde curly hair. How did that happen? Either I am adopted (which I wouldn't be surprised) or it had something to do with genetic inheritance. Somewhere along the line, the recessive trait of blue eyes and curly hair became dominant.

Definitions:

Genotype: The actual genes of a person for a particular trait. For example, in the dragon lab, you can see the chromosomes and it highlights the genes found on each.

Phenotype: The physical traits from the genotype. Again, looking at the dragons, you see they have horns, which comes from the dominate trait H.

Allele: Alternative form of the gene. In the “Scenario Five” example you see the Punnett square. In the upper right hand corner you have the genotype of LL. The allele to that would the Ll genotype.

Cross: Breeding to organisms to create an offspring. The Punnett square shows two adult flies and if they were crossed, the square gives an estimate of what their offspring would look like.

Dominant: Referring to alleles; it is the primary trait in the heterozygote, stomping the expression of the recessive trait. For example, the long wings would be the dominate trait in the flies.

Recessive: Again referring to allele; only shows through in a homozygote. In the dragon lab, looking at the traits displayed on the right, you can see that breathing fire is a recessive trait.

What you have just seen are the definitions with some examples pertaining to the pictures above. These are from the online lab. Let's begin with the one with dragons. In this lab, you had to match up the genes to get something that looked completely different to the top dragon to what you see now. To do this, one needs to go through and determine which traits are dominant and which are recessive in the dragon you want it to look like. From there, you change the traits in the bottom one and you end up with twins!

After that, you go into the Punnett square example. This example is to give you an idea as to what potential offspring might look like. You pick two adults. In this case we had two heterozygotes, so I chose the differing alleles (Ll). From there you lay out the traits along the out side of the squares then match them. Three of them will look a like, and the fourth will have a slightly different phenotype.

Conclusions: After going through these labs, it has been determined that I was the kid in the fourth square in the bottom right hand corner. My parents have all of the traits I have, the only problem is they aren't visible on them. This lab gave significant definitions as well as examples from the online simulator.