Kymberly Calica

BSBA I

Plant metabolism

The complex of physical and chemical events of photosynthesis, respiration, and the synthesis and degradation of organic compounds. Photosynthesis produces the substrates for respiration and the starting organic compounds used as building blocks for subsequent biosyntheses of nucleic acids, amino acids, and proteins, carbohydrates and organic acids, lipids, and natural products.

Photosynthesis process in which green plants utilize the energy of sunlight to manufacture carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll. Some of the plants that lack chlorophyll, e.g., the Indian pipe, secure their nutrients from organic material, as do animals, and a few bacteria manufacture their own carbohydrates with hydrogen and energy obtained from inorganic compounds (e.g., hydrogen sulfide) in a process called chemosynthesis. However, the vast majority of plants contain chlorophyll-concentrated, in the higher land plants, in the leaves.

In these plants water is absorbed by the roots and carried to the leaves by the xylem, and carbon dioxide is obtained from air that enters the leaves through the stomata and diffuses to the cells containing chlorophyll. The green pigment chlorophyll is uniquely capable of converting the active energy of light into a latent form that can be stored (in food) and used when needed.

Animal Metabolism

Become familiar with recording respiratory variables using a Gas Analyzer to determine metabolic rate in a small animal.

The aim of this experiment is to provide an introduction to a gas analysis technique for recording respiratory variables and determining metabolic rate in an animal model.  Using a Gas Analyzer and small chamber, students will measure the animal's metabolic rate using indirect calorimetry, a method which relies on oxygen uptake.  Students will be recording metabolic parameters, calculating metabolic rate, and determining the effect environmental variables have on the animal.  This experiment is suitable for students with basic knowledge of the PowerLab Data Acquisition System.

|Small rat in a flow-through chamber.

Kymberly Calica

BSBA I

Characteristics of Life

Living organisms have a definite organisation consisting of structural and functional units called cells that make the physical basis of life namely protoplasm.

Living organisms obtain simple molecules from their surrounding environment, convert them into complex protoplasmic constituents thereby increasing in size and complexity. This phenomenon is called intrasusception (internal growth).

Living organisms are capable of utilising, transferring or transforming energy to carry on various life processes.

Living organisms have the capacity to produce young ones of their kind. This property is called reproduction.

Living organisms show a complex array of biochemical processes, collectively known as metabolism. These activities may be synthetic in nature involving the formation of an organic compound (anabolism) or of destructive nature, involving the breakdown of an organic compound (catabolism).

Living organisms exhibit various mechanisms for maintaining a constant state.

Living organisms show adaptations to their surrounding environment.

Living organisms show the ability to undergo evolution over a period of time.

Living organisms exhibit the capacity to respond to a stimulus. This property is called as irritability.

Living organisms are modified in such a way as to perfectly adapt themselves to the environment in which they live.

Kymberly Calica

BSBA I

DNA uncovers 1 of the world's rarest birds

http://www.biologynews.net/

A team of Australian researchers involving DNA experts from the University of Adelaide has identified a new, critically endangered species of ground parrot in Western Australia.
The team, led by Australian Wildlife Conservancy's Dr Stephen Murphy, used DNA from museum specimens up to 160 years old to reveal that populations of ground parrots in eastern and western Australia are highly distinct from each other and that the western populations should be recognized as a new species, Pezoporus flaviventris.
"The discovery has major conservation implications," said Dr Murphy. "The Western Ground parrot has declined rapidly in the last 20 years, there are now only about 110 birds surviving in the wild and most of these are confined to a single national park. It is now one of the world's rarest birds."
WA Department of Environment and Conservation's Dr Allan Burbidge said: "A single wildfire through the national park or an influx of introduced predators, such as cats, could rapidly push the species to extinction. There is now an urgent need to prevent further population declines and to establish insurance populations into parts of the former range."
"Our findings demonstrate that museum collections, some going back more than 150 years, continue to be relevant and can provide critical information for understanding and conserving the world's biodiversity into the future," said team member Dr Jeremy Austin, Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at the University of Adelaide.
Director of CSIRO's Australian National Wildlife Collection, Dr Leo Joseph, said: "Even after 200 years of study, we are still recognizing new species of birds in Australia. This finding highlights the need for further research on Australia's unique, and sometimes cryptic, biodiversity."
Source : University of Adelaide