Blog Post #10

                            This is the male part called the stamen. It's what produces pollen.

This is the carpel cut open with ovules inside it. The ovules are what develop the female gametophytes.  

                 This is the female part called the carpel. This is where pollen grains land on.

Maria Gillis Assignment #10: Anthers and Stigmas and Styles Oh My!

Fertilization occurs in a plant. The males make pollen through their anthers, the male part. This is a key part of fertilization. At the same time the female part is producing ovules. The pollen grains are created and released and stick to a stigma, which is at the end of the female part.  After this, it forms into pollen tubes and splits into two sperm cells. Soon they reach the ovary and the eggs are stored their.

The following pictures show the different parts of the broccoli plant:

This is the flower before we began to dissect it

This image is showing the male reproductive part, the stamen.

The stem of this part is called the filament, the top of the stem is the anther. This part of the plant releases pollen (sperm cells).

This is the female part, the carpel. The mushroom-like top of the carpel is called the stigma. This is the location of pollination where the tubes begin to form.

This last main component of the flower is the ovaries. This

part is held in the bottom of the carpel. The bubble- like things are ovules. The ovary is where the female gametophytes are produced. 

Blog Post # 9

The leaves of the Brassica Oleracea plants seem to exhibit the most variation. The greatest range of variation is shape and height. Some plants seem to grow taller than other ones. Some plants also seem to grow wider than other ones. There is so much variability in the domestic forms of the Brassica because of the different traits and mutations that have been gathered from the environment throughout time. The mutations happen through selective breeding which used to be called artificial breeding. Every plant has different genes that come from their decent of modification. The part of the Brassica Oleracea plants that seems to be most consistently the same in all of the examples in the garden is the stem. All the stems are green and thick which allow them to get the energy they need from the sun. For the plant breeders to create a different plant characteristic they have to breed the less dominant trait with a less dominant trait to come up with a new one.

Maria Gillis Assignment #9: A Matter of Selection

 The texture of the leaves of the plants are consistently the same throughout the garden. When I touched them, they felt strong and thick. I think this is because even though they are different, the all come from the Brassica oleracea species. These plants must share a common ancestor. They all have mutated and created new adaptations over time, but they all seem to have similar, veiny textures. The charctersitic that seems to be the same is the thickness and size of the stems. Yes, the range from many differences colors and purposes but their common ancestor shows the many similarities within these plants. 

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

1. After playing 5 games, my mutations lived 100,000,00 years. I think it took so long because you have to find out which mutations work together well and feed off each others strongest traits. In real life, I think this means that without some species on this earth, others would not be able to survive. I think this because not one species is perfect, they can’t adapt to every environment, so there needs to be a balance.
2. At first, I selected the same exact species, but soon realized that I need 2 to 3 different ones. The first time I won I chose long neck, bulky, and stripped. Long neck is good for getting food off of branches, bulky is good for cold weather, and stripped can camouflage. These three mutations worked well together because each one has traits that benefit the other mutations.
3. I do think this population would be greatly affected by genetic drift  because the mutations rely on each other. One example of genetic drift I saw, was when one of the mutations died off due to random weather conditions.
4. Long necks was dominant and the long legs were recessive. The majority of mutations had long necks and the not many mutations carried the long leg attribute.
5. Cold conditions- they got bulkie; hot conditions- they became thinner and less furry; new large predator- mutations used camouflage; tall food source- their necks became longer to reach the food
6. One improvement I would make, would be to add other coexisting organisms. I would also include more than one food source. Finally, I would add more environmental changes.

Perfection Versus Happiness: GATTACA Review Essay

Perfection Versus Happiness: GATTACA

Perfection versus happiness. In the movie, the “perfect” people are not always the happiest. Theoretically, the valids get to do whatever they want, whatever their heart desires. While the invalids are not positively viewed in society, they are not allowed to do what they please. There is a major void in the setting of the movie that is apparent. There is a lack of laughing, color, and fun. The need for perfection overrules the need for happiness.

For example, Jerome was genetically “perfect”, but you can tell that he is very unhappy. This is shown when he ends up committing suicide at the end of the movie. Society viewed him as “perfect”, but he couldn’t be less happy physically, mentally, and emotionally. In the movie, I noticed that the picture was very dark, no vibrant colors. They wanted to make the movie have a dull and futuristic look. There was no laughing or fun because everybody is focused on being “perfect” because society expects nothing less.

Cleary, being perfect doesn’t mean you are happy. It is an overwhelming expectation to withhold this perfect image. Trying to please everyone causes the most pain if you can’t meet such high expectations. Happiness comes from laughter, fun, and pure joy, they have none of this shown in the film. Everyone looks sad and inundated.

Maria Gillis Assignment #8: Ailish's Seed Story

From this project i have learned that plants have a lot of determining factors that can either help them to survive or kill them. It amazed me how fast our plant grew in a short amount of time. It certainly was a stressful project that made me actually think about different elements that can affect the way my plant grew. I was also amazed by how many factors helped me to grow this plant. It has been a truly unforgettable project.