Dictionary

                                              Vocabulary

• Gap Junctions: A connection that is made between the cytoplasm of two cells. 

 Gap junctions allow ions and molecules to pass through from cell to cell.

• Tight Junctions: When the membrane of two proteins are connected.

Tight junctions limit the passage of certain ions that want to pass through.

• Desmosomes: Localized patches that hold two cells together.

Desmosomes are attached to intermediate filaments.

Works Cited:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Gap_cell_junction-en.svg/2000px-Gap_cell_junction-en.svg.png

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2742079/

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/J/Junctions.html

http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/problem_sets/membranes/graphics/desmosomes.gif

Encounter

           

                              Is it hot in here or is it just me?


                       Another encounter I had with the show The Doctors, involved a lady who was would always sweat. She would not even exercise but she would start sweating excessively. When she was on the show, she took a shower before coming and she was already sweating. The doctors on the show referred her to a specialist who thought it was best to inject her sweat glands under her armpits with a form of botox. This enabled her to not sweat as frequently. She would have to get the injections every six months but she was okay with that. I wanted to do more research on this and it led me to a condition called Hyperhidrosis. This is when your body is excessively using its cooling mechanism and you sweat without even doing any work. The cause of this can almost be anything. It can be due to the type of medications you take or if you have a certain type of syndrome. It can also be caused due to infections. It looks like the only way to treat this is based on the symptoms of sweating. Unless they find the actual cause of the sweating, you will be treated for just the sweating part of it.

 Works Cited:

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007259.htm

Keloid (Encounter)

                                                                          Keloid

                I was watching TV one evening when something strange caught my eye. I was flipping through channels to watch and there was one show that seemed particularly interesting to me. It was called "The Doctors". In this, many people come with various problems and we get to see what these people are going through and what is exactly wrong with them. There was one man that had Keloid. This was unfamiliar to me so I started researching it. Keloid is when an area of your body forms an overgrowth of scar tissue. You are able to get this when you have any type of scars that are healing on your body. It can vary from acne scars all the way to chickenpox scars. Treatment for this isn't going to be as serious because you only need it when it's really bad. You can be given various things from corticosteroid injections to laser treatments. This may not seem terrible the way it sounds but when you look at people who have the worst case scenario part, you can see how challenging it can be to live with this. Just like anything in life, it only takes one thing to turn your life around and keloid can be one of them.

Works Cited Page

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000849.htm

http://bmcdermatol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-5945-9-8

Dictionary

                                                         
                                                                Vocabulary

• Neurotransmitters: A substance that is released at the end of nerve fiber due to an action potential that is triggered. This causes the impulse to go from one nerve to another nerve.

         Norepinephrine is a type of neurotransmitter that is released in the brain.

• Phytohormones: Plant hormones that regulates their growth. 

      Phytohormones occur in plants when there are extremely low concentrations. 

• Actin: A protein that is found in eukaryotic cells to help muscles contract along with myosin.

          There are two types of actin, F-actin and G-actin.

                               



                                                                     Work Cited:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10957/

http://www.compoundchem.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Chemical-Structures-of-Neurotransmitters-2015.png

https://courses.stu.qmul.ac.uk/SMD/Kb/microanatomy/muscle_nerve/images/sarcfinl.jpg

Dictionary!

• Collagen: Is made of a triple helical alpha domain and has three different alpha domains. It is a triple helix of Gly-X-Y repeats. Collagen is usually found in connective tissue and the skin. This enables the flexibility of the skin. It can help tissues and skin withstand the pressure of pulling without breaking. Collagen is composed of amino acids which include oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. 

         Collagen has specific amino acids like glycine, proline, hydroxyproline and arginine.

• Laminins: They are heterotrimeric proteins that contain an alpha, beta, and a gamma chain. The proteins intersect to form a cross-like structure. This can bind to the cell membrane and the extracellular molecules. They can bind to cell membranes and contribute to the cell attachment and differentiation. This enables the organs and tissues in body to be held together. 

          Laminins can bind to each other and to other proteins.

• Integrins: These are transmembrane receptors that are able to bridge together cells with other cells and cells with the extracellular matrix. What ligand in the extracellular matrix the integrin can bind to is usually based on the alpha and beta subunits. They can trigger chemical pathways as well. They are obligate heterodimers that have alpha and beta subunits. They also help define cell shape, mobility, and help in the regulation of the cell cycle. The cell’s will be unable to move as it should and function normally. Cell will be unable to reach wherever it needs to go and therefore unable to perform normally.

          When integrins are unable to work properly, they disable the cell shape and structure to work   

                                                                         properly.                                                                     

                                                                 Works Cited Page:

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/technical-documents/articles/biofiles/laminin.html

http://www.dermoaroma.com/collagen/

http://amdbook.org/content/figure-3-alpha-and-beta-subunits-integrins-are-transmembrane-proteins

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21582/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23057746

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26867/

Investigation (3)

                                                                       Cholera


                       During the last couple of class periods in my Cell and Molecular class, we have talked about various channels and pumps that are located on the lipid bilayer. It made me start to think about what might happen when something goes wrong with the membrane itself. I started to research about various malfunctions that can occur at the membrane. One that I came across was quite familiar to me but I did not fully understand the concept of what it does. Cholera is a disease that is caused by Vibrio cholerae. This bacteria produces a toxin that attaches to the cell membrane and activates cyclic AMP. Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a type of chloride ion channel that pumps chloride ions out of cells. It is activated by the cyclic AMP. When there is a large amount of cyclic AMP, it triggers the channel to open and the channel stays open. This all occurs in the small intestines. Now, there is a lot of chloride ions in the lumen of the intestines. The sodium ions are attracted to them so they leave the cell as well. Now that there are many ions present in the lumen, the water leaves the cell through osmosis. The cells lose so much water that it causes an individual with this disease to feel dehydrated. The large amount of water in the lumen causes the individual to vomit or feel nauseous. This can be treated by oral rehydration solutions. This is just one type of disease that relates to cell but when we start to learn, we discover that there are many things we still do not know.




                                                                      Works Cited Page

http://bigpictureeducation.com/biology-behind-cholera

Investigation (2)

 Peroxisome Disorder

                In class, we learn all the material in our book. We are told to also look at various diseases that can occur when something malfunctions. Last week, we were talking about the importance of peroxisomes. We were also asked for examples of what will happen to our body if a peroxisome were not working. Let's look at what the original function of a peroxisome is. It is an oxidative organelle that uses hydrogen peroxide to detoxify toxins like formic acid and ethanol. When this function is not carried out, you are unable to detoxify anything in your blood and it can cause deadly results. There is a disorder that deals with malfunctioning peroxisomes. Zellweger spectrum disorder is when the body is unable to make peroxins. Peroxins are essential in the formation and function of a peroxisome. These peroxisomes are unable to function properly due to mutations in genes. These mutations don't let peroxisomes to form and work as it normally should. Eventually, the body is unable to detoxify toxins and it accumulates. Children with this disorder can develop issues with their organs and their tissues. The normal body functions are not normal when compared to an average person without the disorder. They are unable to live very long due to this condition. There is no real cure for this syndrome and the treatment is based on the symptoms of the patient. 

              It is important to understand that even though we may learn how everything should work, it is quintessential to know what to do when things go wrong. We have to know what to do. As a Biology major, the purpose of me learning about the body is to know how to fix malfunctions. We may not understand certain things in life but it is always important to try your best!

Works Cited:

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/zellweger-spectrum-disorder

https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/gard/7917/zellweger-syndrome/resources/1

Investigation (1)

Methemoglobinemia

                In class the other day, we talked about a disease that had to do with keratin. It made me think about how so many things in our bodies can go wrong. I wanted to research a disease that most people have never even heard of. I was searching various diseases and one that caught my eye was the disease called Methemoglobinemia. This is a type of blood disorder that produces abnormal amount of methemoglobin in the blood. Now we all know that too much of a good thing can be bad. So, what exactly is Methemoglobin? It is a type of hemoglobin that is unable to bind to oxygen. We know that hemoglobin has a Fe2+ (Ferrous) but methemoglobin has a Fe3+ (Ferric). This is something that is detrimental because our bodies need oxygenated blood to survive and if we do not have oxygen, we can ultimately die. People who have this disease, their blood is dark brown. Their skin also has a blueish appearance. A severe case of this disease is life threatening. People tend to feel tired and weak. A medicine called methylene blue is used to treat severe cases. Ascorbic acid and hyperbaric oxygen therapy can also be used. You are able to get this due to genetics. 

                  This disease has a lot to do with me Cell and Molecular Biology class. We learn so much about the cells of our bodies and how the cells are able to help the body function as a whole. Red blood cells are a type of cells that help oxygenate our blood and any malfunction could be serious. We may never know every single disease that exists but learning about them one by one is a step.

Works Cited

https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/methemoglobinemia-beta-globin-type

Encounter (3)

                                                                     Appendicitis


                    Every saturday at my church, a big group of people decide to visit members who are sick and pray for them. This week, there was a member who has appendicitis. The member had an inflamed appendix. No one actually knows what the specific function of an appendix is but some believe that it houses good bacteria. If this burts, then all the infectious contents inside could spill inside the abdominal cavity and cause serious issues. You would need antibiotics to be treated if this occurs. You are able to get this if the passage to the appendix has been blocked. If you have this, you tend to become weak and have sharp pains in your abdomen. This relates to cell and molecular biology in many ways. Foreign substances are able to block the appendix as well as cancer or the stool. When there is a foreign substance blocking the appendix, inflammation occurs. Inflammation also occurs when you get a cut and foreign substances enter your body. Also, if the appendix bursts, this could cause an infection. In this, white blood cells can only do so much to help but antibiotics are required to help fight it.




                                                                  Works Cited Page

http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/digestive-diseases/appendicitis/Pages/overview.aspx

Encounter (2)

              Our world is full of many things that we are unaware of. We may have so much knowledge on a subject that another person would have no clue on. Today, at my music lesson, I learned about the Hand-Foot-and mouth disease. At my lesson, I asked my teacher how is children were doing and he let me know that is youngest child had this viral infection. He let me know how common this was among kids. I was familiar with many kids contracting chicken pox but this was something that I was completely unaware about. The most common disease has the coxsackievirus A16 strand. This non polio enterovirus is mostly common in children because of diaper changes, potty training, and little children putting their hands in their mouth. Adults are also able to contract this disease as well. The disease causes rashes around the mouth, feet, and hands. The virus is able to stay in the infected individuals system for about a week. You can contract this disease by coming in contact with bodily secretions from the infected individual. In class, we learn about how our bodies can do so many diverse functions. Each cell is different, whether it be red or white blood cells. They all have a specific role. We rely on how our bodies fight foreign material in order to survive. The fact that this disease is not fatal is because we are assuming that our body will fight the virus. White blood cells play a quintessential part in our daily lives. The world is full of things that we do not know and so we never stop learning new things. 

                                 

                                         

SITES:

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/RLHbq2L_qgU/maxresdefault.jpg

http://www.cdc.gov/features/handfootmouthdisease/

Dictionary (3)

• Chaperones: Proteins that bind and stabilize unfolded proteins.

          Chaperones can be found in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells.

• Nuclear Pore Complex: A large protein that is found in the nuclear envelope that enables materials to be transported from the cytoplasm into the nucleus and vice versa. 

          RNA and ribosomal proteins are able to move from the nucleus into the cytoplasm through the           nuclear pore complex.

• Lytic Cycle: A type of viral reproduction that results in the destruction of a host cell and release of new viruses. 

          Lytic cycle and lysogenic cycles are types of viral reproductions.

                                                                     
                                                                        Websites!

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/nuclear+pore+complex

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_pore

http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Lytic_cycle

http://classes.midlandstech.edu/carterp/Courses/bio225/chap13/ss3.htm

http://www.nature.com/ncb/journal/v7/n8/fig_tab/ncb0805-736_F1.html

Encounter (1)

                                                                       Zika Virus

We always find viral things on the internet without even trying. New ideas and events are shared all over the internet. You know almost everyone who has access to the internet knows about the "new thing" everyone is talking about. This new thing does not have to be a good thing. Something that I had stumbled on recently is the Zika virus. At first, I thought it was just another virus until I saw numerous articles on it. Each new article that came out describes how it's spreading very quickly. I heard about it on the radio as well. Even though I have never encountered the virus, reading about it intrigued me. The virus is spread through a mosquito bite and is found in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Infected individuals experience mild flu-like symptoms. Based on certain situations, the virus has caused pregnant women to give birth to babies who have microcephaly. This is still being tested but pregnant women are told to not travel in these areas until the situation is handled. This has a lot to do with my Cell and Molecular Biology class. In class, we learned about how our cells replicate DNA and how the cell functions. In order for a virus to be able to reproduce, it needs a host cell. The virus incorporates itself into the genetic material of the host. The process of how it uses the host cell is what relates the virus to class. In order for us to understand how something is affecting our bodies negatively, we need to first understand what is supposed to happen to be considered normal. Everything affects us either directly or indirectly, we just have to find the connection.




                                                                          Website
                                           http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/index.html

Dictionary (2)

• Carbohydrates (saccharides): First source of energy for our bodies. This is derived from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Carbohydrates can be categorized as monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides and 

                                                                  polysaccharides.

• Lipids: Fatty compounds that can be dissolved in non-polar solvents but not in polar solvents. You can find lipids in a cell membrane.

                                                Waxes and oils are examples of lipids.

• Nucleic Acid: An organic substance that is found in DNA and RNA. 

                                            Nucleic Acids can either be in one or two chains

                  

                                                                      Links:

http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Carbohydrate 

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3t8bcv

https://sites.google.com/site/adairmark4thperiod/home/part-1a-physical-chemical-and-cellular-basis-of-life/nucleicacids

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/73535406391197400/

Dictionary

• Eukaryotic Cell: A cell that composes of at true nucleus and various organelles that are enclosed within membranes. 

Animals are considered to be composed of eukaryotic cells.

• Prokaryotic Cell: A cell that does not have a cell nucleus and lacks membranes inside.

Bacteria or archaea are considered to be prokaryotic cells.

• Cellular fractionation: A technique that uses centrifugation to separate specific parts of cells to study them in depth.

You could use cellular fractionation to study the mitochondria in cells.