The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar

Charlotte Cagliostro

Current Event #1

AP Biology             

9/14/18

Citation:

Yong, Ed. “The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 30 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/climate-change-insects-crops/568978/.

“The Very Hot, Very Hungry Caterpillar”

Author: Ed Yong

In his article, Ed Yong describes the effects of climate change on insects. He shares the results of research conducted by two scientists, Curtis Deutsch and Joshua Tewksbury, which show that as the global temperature increases, insects will adopt new behaviors, which will lead to a significant decrease in the annual global crop yield. Insects will adopt a new eating routine because, at higher temperatures, they burn calories at a faster rate, so they will need to eat more in order to survive. This increased feeding on crops will significantly lower the world’s crop yield. The two scientists estimate that for every degree Celsius in which the globe warms, the portion of crops lost to insects will increase anywhere from 10 to 25 percent. Additionally, the increased temperature will result in dangerous conditions for plants; Deutsch and Tewksbury have concluded that the global warming will reduce crop yields by roughly five percentage points per degree of warming, not even including the insects' behavior. Factoring in both the increased insect appetite and the higher global temperatures, farmers’ crop yields could drop significantly in the future, which would have numerous repercussions, which would be most severe in impoverished communities and households.

The information presented in this article affects the lives of everyone on Earth. As the planet warms, farming crops will become much more challenging. For example, if the global temperature rises two degrees Celsius, a farmer who originally plants 100 tons of grain per hectare would likely only be able to harvest 84 tons. As it becomes more difficult to grow and harvest important crops like maize, rice and wheat, crop prices will rise, which will limit the number of household able to purchase the crops. This price increase will most directly impact the poor.

This article was constructed quite well; the evidence was presented in an understanding and informative way. Yong provided many facts and statistics found in the research conducted by Deutsch and Tewksbury, which served supported the article’s main argument. He also provided new perspectives from other scientists. These other researchers had different views regarding the degree that climate change would affect insect behavior and crop yield. However, Yong was able to integrate all of these different perspectives into his piece, which created a less biased narrative. Yong was able to develop a persuasive article, which makes the reader think about the future of our planet.

Parasitic Vines That Feed on Parasitic Wasps That Feed on Trees

Clara DeMagalhaes    

Current Event Article #1

AP Biology             

9/10/18

Citation:

Greenwood, Veronique. “Parasitic Vines That Feed on Parasitic Wasps That Feed on Trees.”
The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Aug. 2018,
www.nytimes.com/2018/08/30/science/parasitic-vines-wasps.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites.

Parasitic Vines That Feed on Parasitic Wasps That Feed on Trees

Author: Veronique Greenwood

Lately, scientists have been studying the existence of a parasitic type of vine that feeds on a parasitic
wasp, which in turn feeds on an oak tree. The oak leaf gall wasp is a parasite that uses oak leaves to make
galls, or swollen bits of plant tissue, which is where a wasp larva resides. The young wasps grow by
consuming the nutrients provided by the plant. However, in one area scientists found vines, called
parasitic love vines, that wove among the trees and the galls. The vines were usually growing into the
galls, and when the scientists dissected the infested plant tissue, many of them had the body of an adult
wasp. The researchers deduced that the vines interfered with how the nutrition was transferred to the
growing wasp, allowing the insect to grow to adulthood but not be able to leave. As for the state of the
trees themselves, gall-forming wasps typically have negative effects on them, such as causing them to
produce less acorns. But the trees that serve as the host for the oak leaf gall wasp and the love vines
were flourishing just fine and there was no decrease in acorn production.

Parasitic plants and insects have been studied for many years so far, but this is the first time anyone
has found a parasitic plant that feeds on another parasite, which in turn feeds on a plant. So far,
scientists don’t know how common this occurrence is, but they want to investigate it further. I believe
that this could be beneficial to society because if they do find more parasites using other parasites as
hosts, then organisms like the love vine could be used to control things in the same position as the
wasps. For example, if a type of insect was using an important crop as a host and was severely
damaging it, then people could use plants like the love vine to get them under control without causing
harm to the crop. The plant controlling the other parasite won’t stick around when its food source gets
depleted, and will die off when it is no longer needed.

The article as a whole was very interesting and presented its information clearly. It was fast paced and
got straight to the point while providing enough background information for the reader to fully
understand. It also included pictures that showed what the wasps and the galls they made looked like.
That being said, one of its drawbacks was that it fails to highlight the importance of this discovery or
say what the researchers wanted to do next other than looking to see how common this kind of thing is.
As a result, the existence of this type of relationship seems more “cool” than it does “significant”,
and the reader isn’t too sure what researching more instances of this will accomplish for us or for the
ecosystem. In order to improve, I’d suggest adding in what the scientists think they could do with this
knowledge and how it could benefit the human race or the rest of the world. If they said this, then the
readers could be more invested in further discoveries concerning this topic.

Scientists are Retooling Bacteria to Cure Disease

Layla Brinster

Current Event #1

AP Biology

8/7/18

Scientists are Retooling Bacteria to Cure Disease

By Carl Zimmer

In years past, bacteria has been used by scientists to create antibiotics and help cure diseases, making an industrial impact and introducing new cures. However, recently, researchers at Synlogic, a company interested in developing synthetic biotic medicines, have started to investigate the effect bacteria and microbiomes. Researchers have developed a bacterial concoction aimed at treating phenylketonuria or PKU, a rare genetic disease. People who have PKU are unable to breakdown the amino acid phenylalanine, found in cheese, meat, and high amounts of protein. Since the body is unable to breakdown phenylalanine, the acid builds up in the blood causing delayed development, psychiatric problems, and disabilities. The past treatment for PKU is a low protein diet and alternate sources of nutrition. However, the bacteria in the Synlogic treatment is designed to breakdown the phenylalanine, initiating a different and more effective treatment for PKU. Researches took harmless strains of E. Coli and genetically engineered it to break down the phenylalanine once it entered the gut, an area with low oxygen levels, and rid the body of the amino acid through excretion. Before testing people with PKU, Synlogic tested their microbe on people without PKU who then reported lower levels of phenylalanine after ingesting high amounts of protein. The next step in Synlogic’s clinical trial is to test their microbiomes in patients with PKU, and they hope to have positive results within the a year. Additionally, scientists are looking to use synthetic biology in different areas of scientific study. Synthetic biology holds the capacity to be at the forefront of many breakthroughs in the future.

Synlogic’s new approach by genetically engineering bacteria and microbes for treatment is just one of the many ways science is evolving through the generations. According to Tal Danino, a scientist at Columbia University, “anywhere there are bacteria in the body is an opportunity to engineer them to do something else.” This quote represents how much science is advancing and using bacteria in the bodies to do so, aided by the development of new technology. Engineering microbiomes has the potential to be, and is, even more effective than using drugs. As experimenting with bacteria continues to grow, more treatments will be discovered, expanding the area of research potential. Overtime, science and research have impacted society and introduced new cures and treatments, and will continue to do so. Many years ago, typical vaccines were just being discovered, and today we receive them regularly. Because science continually to advances, it changes society and improves people’s lives tremendously.

The information in the article was presented in chronological order, which made it comprehensible and easy to follow. The disease and treatments of PKU were thoroughly explained and well thought out. Although the introduction was catching, it started somewhat in the middle of things. I understand how starting an article in the middle of the action is a literary techniqu; however, I do not think it is necessary for an informative piece about research and science. In my opinion, I would have started an article by introducing the disease and existing treatments, then explain the process and stages of research. A strength of the article was gathering data and quotes from multiple sources, which backs and proves the research. The article was mostly focused on how synthetic biology and manipulating bacteria can help cure PKU, but at the very end it explained a little bit about how it could be used in other areas of study. Connecting the use of microbiomes outside PKU is useful because it supplies context and the next steps of study. Overall, the article was very educative and enjoyable.

Citation:

Zimmer, Carl. “Scientists Are Retooling Bacteria to Cure Disease.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 4 Sept. 2018

Article Link

How Altering Plant Microbiomes Could Feed the World and Save Endangered Species

Ally Bruno

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology

7 September 2018

  Dance, Amber. “How Altering Plant Microbiomes Could Feed the World and Save Endangered Species.” Science News, 6 Sept. 2018, www.sciencenews.org/article/plant-microbes-crops-food-endangered-species?tgt=nr.

This article covers the functions of microbiomes which could help to protect endangered species. Microbiomes, which are a combination of bacteria and fungus living on a plant, can be either beneficial or negative to the plant they live off of. In some cases the the microbiomes actually help to prevent the species from diseases or from predators, whereas other microbiomes do the exact opposite, poisoning their species and even endangering them. For the healthy, beneficial microbiomes, scientists are beginning to realize that these could aid in the replenishment t of dying species. By inducing photosynthesis and and other important biological functions of the plant, scientist are beginning to discover ways to use these microorganisms and fungi to provide treatment to agricultural crops that are suffering.

Thi     This Article has a great significance today because many plants that Human rely in to sustain daily life are struggling to survive. Whether it be harmful microbiomes, predators or draughts, this new treatment with constructive microbiome could potential be the solution to the current agricultural setbacks. For example, the cacao plant, which is the earth's source of chocolate,  are being infected by black pod rot, which attacks the plant and causes darkened, rotten areas. When treated with the microbiomes found on healthy cacao, it was discovered that the plants which had been treated suffered the least amount of rotting. Scientist have even gone as far as to hypothesize that biotech companies like AgiBio could revolutionize the agricultural industry.

usa    

ygs    Overall, this article is extremely informative and based on very current finding that have true significance in present day agricultural world. The information was presented in way which had a strong basis of fact. It also included diagrams and pictures which were extremely helpful in both understanding and enjoying the article. Despite this though, there were moments when the article became a bit wordy and the experiments were not always clears and became a bit repetitive. Also while the majority of the  article delved deeply into the science behind microbiome treatments, towards the middle of the article contained information that was more constant with the biotech companies then the science behind the treatments. The article could have been improved by removing some of the extra, filler information and only providing information that was essential to prevent confusion or disinterest. That being said, the article as a whole did its job in informing its reader of new technological advance which could potential alter the state of the current  agricultural market. 

           

     

H

JD

tsj

yg

Student Produced Review Materials for AP Test May 14

Students were assigned topics to prepare reviews of information/concepts learned over the course of the year.These are the review materials produced by the Odd Day Period C Class:

Biochemistry by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

AP Bio_ Cells by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Cell Division by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Mendellian Genetics by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Molecular Genetics by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Metabolism by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Physiology by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Ecology_ Course Review Presentations by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Evolution Review Packet Mia Gradelski and Cindy Kwok by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Evolution Review Packet Bibliography by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Cells Course Review Packet by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Physiology Review Packet by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Biome Travel Brochure Projects

Biome Brochure Projects

The first project for the fourth quarter required the students to devise a "travel" brochure to tout the marvels to be found in the various biomes on our planet. They were asked to devise a "triptych" three panel double sided travel brochure. These brochures are unedited work. Students were not asked to produce drafts and revise them. These products are their designs using available templates on the web. They were advised to examine brochures produced by previous AP classes and they were given a rubric describing what needed to be included in the brochure. Some students felt restricted by the trifold brochure and chose to submit travel booklets to tout their assigned biome.

Ava'S_ Amazon Rainforest Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Peter's Savanna Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Clio's Grassland Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Olivia's Coniferous Forest Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Charlie's Broadleaf Forest by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Mia's Tundra Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Andrew's Waterlands Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Peyton's Freshwater Lakes Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Alex's Marine Intertidal Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Ellie's Marine Coral Reef Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Katie's Oceanic Benthic Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Luke's Savanna Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Isabel's Desert Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Abby's Chaparral Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

David's Boreal Forest Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Hannah's Temperate Broadleaf Forest Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Mairead's Tundra Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Isabella's Estuary Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Sarah's Freshwater Lake Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Susie's Freshwater River Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Kirsten's Mediterranean Intertidal Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Fiona's Great Barrier Reef Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Kunzang's Marine Benthic Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Julia's Amazon Rain Forest Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Nathan's Savanna Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Robby's Desert Biome Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Viktoria's Chaparral Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd

Amanda's Alpine Vista Travel Brochure by Charles Ippolito on Scribd