...Biology 160 Term Paper Genetically Modified Organisms INTRODUCTION There is a lot of controversy surrounding genetically-modified organisms and whether they ultimately do more harm than good. Genetically-modified organisms are most commonly used to refer to “crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques” (Whitman). The goal of modifying these organisms is to enhance or introduce a desired trait, such as increased resistance to herbicides or improving the nutritional content of the particular organism. This is generally done in a lab using a “Gene Gun” or an Agrobacterium method as described in detail in the next section. However, as convenient and simple as this idea sounds, there are many concerns that will more than likely change the course of future modifications in organisms. First, I'll be describing the methods used to date to modify the genetic composition of an organism. Then, I'll be highlighting the benefits and the potential consequences of genetically-modifying organisms. SCIENCE BEHIND GMO'S Upon researching, I discovered an interesting fact about genetically modified organism's: it has apparently occurred in nature for millions of years through a species called Agrobacterium tumefaciens, which turns out is the cause of crown gall diseases in many ornamental and fruit plants (Keefer). Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a species of soil-dwelling bacteria that has the ability to infect plant cells with a piece of...
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...The Japanese Red Maple is a beautiful and breathtaking tree. They are commonly a very short tree but can reach heights of up to 20 feet in the correct environment. The Japanese Red Maple is not a native to America, where it is so commonly known today, but was brought to the U.S before World War II. (Bellarmine.edu) In Japan, the tree can grow very wide and be much fuller than it is here in America. The Japanese Red Maple, used most commonly as a yard decoration, is also (as all plants are) a great source of oxygen. Even though they can be small as bonsai trees, Japanese Red Maples are beautiful trees that help enrich the surrounding environment with oxygen and rich beautiful color. A Japanese Red Maple can grow in many different environments. With the ability of living in USDA zones 5 through 8, this Japan native has become a popular plant in America. The bending and winding branches, even on the shorter trees, give this tree a different look that many consider attractive. This tree grows very slow, on average 2 to 3 feet per year. It does not require many nutrients so it does not need much upkeep. Just enough water to keep it feed. The Japanese Red Maple needs both sunlight and shade in order to properly grow, if kept in too much sun, the tree can be damaged and burned. ( (Roy, 2006)) The Japanese Red Maple “has a strong fibrous root system, multiple stems, and slender shoots that end in small paired buds.”( (Roy, 2006)) In North Carolina, where I live, the Japanese Maples...
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...Organism Physiology Paper BIO 101 10/27/2012 Hossam Ashour An organism that I had always found interesting to learn about is a snail. A snail, along with other organisms including clams, mussels, slugs, octopuses, squids and oysters are all in the same group of invertebrates called molluscs. There are two types of molluscs, land and marine molluscs. The purpose of this paper is to identify how molluscs evolve physiologically to become suited to its environment. Molluscs are soft-bodied animals, but most are protected by a hard shell (Dr. Anthoni, 2007). Some molluscs have internal shells that are internal that eventually fall off during the evolution process. One thing that seemed to intrigue me was how snails eat and survive. Snails, like many other molluscs have an organ call radula used to scoop up food. Snails use the radula to cut food into smaller pieces before eating it. In the diagram, the main organs shown are the heart, kidney, lung, genitals, stomach and the liver. One of three main parts of molluscs is the visceral mass which is where most of the internal organs are located. A snail falls under one of three major groups of a mollusc called gastropods. Most of these animals have a protected shell. A snail’s internal organs include the following: lung, digestive organs, a kidney, liver and reproductive organs which most were shown in the diagram of a mollusc. It can be very dangerous for a snail in terms of surviving and evolving. Due to their small size and...
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...Organism Physiology Paper The organism that will be getting discussed today will be sharks mainly the bull shark. Sharks are one of the oldest animals in the world dating back to almost 455 million years ago. Sharks have went through a lot of changes over the long existence of their species for instance where the mouth is on the head the original sharks are too have their mouths on top of their heads while sharks now have their mouths on the bottom of their heads, early sharks were also near shore predators instead of the fast swimming off shore predators that we have now. One of the ancient sharks was Cladoselache shark which did not have the tooth-liked scales that provided protection like most ancient and modern sharks have and had. These kind of shark did not have the claspers on the male sharks that are used to mate with female sharks even without having these two key parts to the shark this species of shark survived for over a million years. The modern sharks of the day did not become to be until about 65 million years ago when another global catastrophe happened that destroyed a mass number of species to include the dinosaurs and the sharks that survived this include the species of sharks we have today. Most of the sharks up to this point have been predators but about 65 to 35 million years ago there was group that evolved into a breed of filter feeding sharks that came about on earth. The most common today are the Whale shark and the Basking shark. One of the most...
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...Organism Physiology Paper Markesan Norfleet April 16, 2012 BIO/101 Alison Barrett Organism Physiology There are many different types of organisms that could have been chosen for this assignment. Organisms are any living thing such as fungus, animals, plants, or micro-organism. It is a body made up of organs, organelles, or other parts that will work together to carry on the various process of life. The organism I chose for this assignment is jellyfish. The name “Jellyfish” is a term that refers to the enormous variety of creatures that live in the sea. Some jellyfish live in fresh water. Jellyfish is an animal that belongs to phylum cnidarians, that is included in the class of scyphozoan. They are members of two groups that float freely or swim. The two groups are cnidarians and ctenophores. The type of jellyfish in the diagram is the scyphozoan medusa. They are the jellyfish that is commonly found washed up on seashore (Buiding Bodus of Jelly-Jellyfish, 2012). Jellyfish has two major body forms. The first body form is the polyp stage. This stage is characterized by the non-moving stalk that will catch food floating by. The second major body form is called the medusa stage. This form is characterized by the round body with hanging tentacles that will catch food (Hernandez, 2012). This form is more familiar to most people. The jellyfish feeds off of small fish and zooplankton that has been caught in their tentacles. They also have an incomplete digestive system, this...
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...Organism Physiology Paper: Pavement Ants Amanda James Bio/101- Principles of Biology March 19, 2016 Organism Physiology Paper: Pavement Ants Introduction We never think about how vital ants are to our environment, perhaps because of their size and their inevitable way of making our homes theirs. The reality is we need ants to survive. The most common species of ants that live near me, Richmond Virginia, are the Tetramorium caespitum. The common name for Tetramorium caespitum is the pavement ant. Tetramorium is the genus and the species is T. caespitum. According to “BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR OF THE PAVEMENT ANT, TETRAMORIUM CAESPITUM (L.), IN SOUTHEASTERN WASHINGTON (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE: MYRMICINAE)” the pavement ant is the most common ant in North America (1980). These ants, as well as all ants have important roles detrimental to human existence and the environment they live in play a major part in how well they can perform those roles. Environment Description and Role of Organism Pavement ants live under rocks, sidewalks, pavement, inside houses and inside wood. They don’t build their homes in the open. So when you see the ant nests above ground, those ants are not pavement ants. The pavement ant keeps its home hidden from the human eye. The only time you may see their nest is in the summer months and they are usually seen near the sidewalk in cracks and crevices (Jacobs, 2000). These ants are very territorial! They are fighters and they...
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...Organism Physiology Paper Sarah Szafranski BIO / 101 6/26/2013 Alena Aviles There are many organisms that have survived throughout the history of the earth by adapting to ever-changing environments. One of these, dating back over 220 million years, is the turtle. With over 250 different species still around, this reptile has established a legacy of perseverance and resiliency. They have overcome numerous adversities such as earthquakes, floods, fire, droughts, predators, disease, and urban sprawl. Turtles can be found in every ecosystem spanning the globe from the tropics, the desert, to the ocean. While turtles have been known to predominantly live in the water, they have adapted to conditions on land. Their species have evolved over the years through breeding and acclimation to their environment. This evolution includes changes to their physical characteristics such as shells, shapes, and color, but also incorporates psychological changes such as breeding habits, defensive tactics and migration patterns. My favorite of these would be the majestic sea turtle. Sea turtles can be found in just about every sea throughout the world regardless of fresh water, salt water, light water, or brackish water. As seaworthy as they are, sea turtles still have a strong tie to land and coastal habitats. As seen in the diagram below, the sea turtle has many of the same organs and functions of other mammals however; their bodies are shaped hydrodynamic, meaning...
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...Organism Physiology Paper Sarah Szafranski BIO / 101 6/26/2013 Alena Aviles There are many organisms that have survived throughout the history of the earth by adapting to ever-changing environments. One of these, dating back over 220 million years, is the turtle. With over 250 different species still around, this reptile has established a legacy of perseverance and resiliency. They have overcome numerous adversities such as earthquakes, floods, fire, droughts, predators, disease, and urban sprawl. Turtles can be found in every ecosystem spanning the globe from the tropics, the desert, to the ocean. While turtles have been known to predominantly live in the water, they have adapted to conditions on land. Their species have evolved over the years through breeding and acclimation to their environment. This evolution includes changes to their physical characteristics such as shells, shapes, and color, but also incorporates psychological changes such as breeding habits, defensive tactics and migration patterns. My favorite of these would be the majestic sea turtle. Sea turtles can be found in just about every sea throughout the world regardless of fresh water, salt water, light water, or brackish water. As seaworthy as they are, sea turtles still have a strong tie to land and coastal habitats. As seen in the diagram below, the sea turtle has many of the same organs and functions of other mammals however; their bodies are shaped hydrodynamic, meaning that they can...
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...Organism Physiology Monroe Handy Bio/101 June 9, 2013 Shawn Flanagan At the source of the tree of life lies a single- celled living thing, the 3.8 billion years old ancestor that gave rise to all of following life types. All living things are descendants of that ancestor and on the surface, it might not appear just like all living things are associated, however appearance may be misleading. A living thing regardless of how small or large has gone through modifications all through history. An organism development is significant to the existence of the types. As time alters so should the living thing. Without adjusting to these types of modifications the living thing won't exist and vanish. In this document it will be reviewed on the way the dolphin developed into the living thing that it's today to adjust to their surroundings. Dolphins have adapted their anatomic structures to survive in the water environment and so far, the behavior of their respiratory system during diving has not been fully understood, since they being protected species cannot be subjected to invasive analysis (“Experimental and computational biomechanical characterization of the tracheo-bronchial tree of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncates) during diving,” 2011). . It is important for every living organism to adapt to the altering eras in order to survive. Dolphins, at one time, may have been dependent on land. They are one of the most ingenious mammals whose friendly appearance fun- spirited...
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...Organism Physiology Paper Tigers are the biggest of cats and arguably the deadliest of land predators. Solitary animals, an existence of unmatched superiority is shown in their every stride. Living in forested areas, they have adapted to hunt large animals by virtue of their size, power, and stealth among many other attributes. Hunting from birth Like all other cats, tigers show hunting behaviors early on in playing and interacting with their environment. Even the simple action of a kitten batting at a string displays the natural hunting skills of all cats. All cats also practice stealth in sneaking up on potential targets and pouncing from short distances. The difference with tigers is their incredible size and power even early on in development. Size Evolutionarily speaking, a bigger cat will be more successful in taking down a large animal like a buffalo then will a smaller cat. Natural selection has produced a very powerful animal that can reach a weight of 660 lbs. and a length of 10.9 feet (Sea World, 2012). Tigers can run up to 35 miles per hour, leap up to 20 feet horizontally, and up to 6 feet vertically (Tiger Territory, 2001, Gigantic Leaps). Coupled with sharp teeth and claws, there is no disputing the killing potential in this deadly creature. But often overlooked are the other tools at the Tigers disposal. Senses In the category of senses, a tiger does not differ much from an ordinary house cat. Heightened hearing, smell, and a visual advantage are all traits...
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...Organism Physiology Organism Physiology BIO/ 101 Nov. 30, 2012 University of Phoenix Organism Physiology My paper is going to discuss organism physiology and the basic fundamentals of organism while explaining what my understanding is and what I have learned. In order to better help me understand what organism is I had to first define the meaning. “Organisms are any living thing such as fungus, animals, plants, or micro-organism” (Dictionary.com) in which is a body made up of organs, organelles, along with different other parts that combine together to help continue the process of life. The continuous organisms never stop only cause it is what living things need to live for example the life of a dolphin. Dolphins have been known to be social creatures also being known for their interaction for the purpose of hunting, defense, and reproduction. (Aqua)They are also carnivores that feed on such sea creatures as fish, squid, octopus, cuttlefish, crabs, shrimps, and lobsters as for them; they are mostly food for sharks, killer whales, humans. Most expected age for an normal living Dolphins is said to be around the age of 30 years. Compare to a normal human that’s usually consider a young age. (UnderstandDolphins.com- (Diagram) In looking at the diagram, you see a lot of common factors that most living things have in order to live such as a heart, a brain, bones, and other organs that a body would need to live. As the same as human being animals have certain and...
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...Environmental Hazards Paper Eric Houston ENV 100 8 September 2014 Wendy Armstrong In this paper I will be discussing what toxicants are and how they affect living organisms. I will also cover disease-causing agents and how they are transmitted. Last but not least I will go over how changes in the environment contribute to human diseases and are linked by human activities. Environmental hazards affect human population in many ways and we must be aware of the problems. Toxicants are man-made (synthetic) substances that present a risk of death, disease, injury, or birth defects in living organisms through absorption, ingestion, inhalation, or by altering the organism’s environment ("What Is Toxicant?", 2014). Toxicants are made by humans while toxins are produced naturally by living organisms. Examples of toxicants are pesticide, chlorine, asbestos, and mold. Toxicants can affect living organisms in many ways. One way that toxicants can affect living organisms is by killing off marine life. If the substance gets into the water it can cause fish and invertebrates to start to die. It can also include a change in the abundance, structure and variety of biological communities and habitats. The fish can also cause health risks to consumers of those organisms. The next things I will discuss are disease-causing agents. A disease causing agent is often referred to as a pathogen. A pathogen, such as a virus or a strain of bacteria can enter the body and cause a host of...
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...Pond Microorganisms Lab Observation: Different types of organisms live in different ecosystems. Question (Problem): What types of microorganisms are found in pond water in a North Carolina pond? Hypothesis: If samples from a pond ecosystem are examined under a microscope, then ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Materials: (List the materials used in this experiment here.) Procedure: 1. Collect a few drops of water from the bottom of your water sample using an eye dropper. 2. Place a drop on the center of the microscope slide. 3. Cover the slide with a cover slip by lowering the cover slip at an angle over the water drop in a manner that spreads out the water drop, but does not trap air bubbles. 4. Observe the prepared slide under the microscope. 5. Use the picture ID sheet to identify the organisms observed. 6. Draw a picture in a data table of each organism observed. 7. Write the name of the organism under the picture, if the organism can be identified. 8. Describe each organism using qualitative (adjectives) and quantitative (measurements and counts) terms. 9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 until enough organisms are found. Results: (Describe what you observed. List the different types of organisms found and how many of each type of organism was found. Write a description of each organism (step 8).) Hint: A data table with a title and headings...
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...SPECIMEN PAPER MARK SCHEME SUBJECT REPORTS Macmillan Education 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW A division of Macmillan Publishers Limited Companies and representatives throughout the world www.macmillan-caribbean.com ISBN 978-0-230-48203-6 © Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC ®) 2015 AER www.cxc.org www.cxc-store.com The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 This revised version published 2015 Permission to copy The material in this book is copyright. However, the publisher grants permission for copies to be made without fee. Individuals may make copies for their own use or for use by classes of which they are in charge; institutions may make copies for use within and by the staff and students of that institution. For copying in any other circumstances, prior permission in writing must be obtained from Macmillan Publishers Limited. Under no circumstances may the material in this book be used, in part or in its entirety, for commercial gain. It must not be sold in any format. Designed by Macmillan Publishers Limited Cover design by Macmillan Publishers Limited and Red Giraffe CSEC Biology Free Resources LIST OF CONTENTS CSEC Biology Syllabus Extract 3 CSEC Biology Syllabus 4 CSEC Biology Specimen Papers: Paper 01 Paper 02 Paper 032 89 104 125 CSEC Biology Mark Schemes for Specimen Papers: Paper 01 Paper...
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...Astronomy Research and the Search for Extraterrestrial Life The objective of this paper is to discuss life here on Earth and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life in one’s solar system. The team will describe the properties of life on Earth and explain the theories for the genesis of life, including the theory of natural selection. Members will provide a brief description of the evolution of life and include a geological timescale that describes specific eras throughout the previous three billion plus years. The team will assess the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, and results will be presented. Describe the properties of life on Earth Properties of life on Earth are what define the word life. The properties of life consist of cells and reproduction, responses to the environment, growth and development, and evolution. Every living thing is collected through cells which make tissues and organs that make a living organism. All living organisms can produce such as humans, animals, bacteria, and plants called asexual reproduction. The responses of the living in the environment are through any changes occurring in “light, sound, heat, and chemical contact” through “eyes, ears, and taste buds” (Cliff’s notes, 2011, para. 3). Behavior is one way that all living organisms changes through the environment such as the food chain for one’s survival. Growth and development of an organism takes in all substantial amount of information through energy of building growth...
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