Response to Queen of the Sun

Shannon Hanley

Mr.Bursch

3 April, 2013

Period 4

Response to Queen of the Sun
                               

                   

    Many people do not know that honey bees’ lives are in danger. Over the last

decade the population of honey bees have decreased, because of chemicals and mites

attacking the bees. What people do not realize is that honey bees provide pollination of

seeds in which necessary plants grow. Not only honey bees but wasps, butterflies, and

bumblebees provide similar jobs in order for humans to survive.  Many people believe

bees are trying to tell us they need our help in order to survive. It is people’s jobs to raise

awareness of colony collapse disorder and help save the bees. Some things people can

do to help save bees are more people can become beekeepers and  raise awareness.

    One thing some people can do is become a beekeeper. By becoming a

beekeeper they are strengthening the bee gene pool by adding healthy local bees.  This

is important, because beekeepers help to increase the population of the  honey bees.

People can become a backyard beekeepers and learn about bees and how they work

while giving back to environment. After becoming beekeeper and getting closer with the

honey bees, some say they get very attached and find a new hobby.

 

 Another thing people can do is raise awareness. By raising  awareness people are giving


bees a voice.  One thing people can do  to raise awareness is protest  to the

 

way bees are treated. This is important because, people need to recognize  bees

provide a lot for humans and the environment. If enough people raise their voice thing

 

can change for the better.

Response to Queen of the Sun

Honors Biology 

4 April 2013

Period 4

Queen of the Sun Response

After experiencing this movie, a certain realization came upon me. How can I have gone so long without knowing the truth and startling facts introduced to me by this video? I have now realized the greater influence these bees have on life as a whole and also how delicate and fragile our bond is. I was now daunted by a new question creeping into my brain, what if we do not realize the severity of the problem before it is too late?

Beekeepers are becoming tangled into a competition to earn money but they must realize that our diversity is decreasing. Using pesticides that kill plants, insects, and humans nearby is also killing those who eat foods drenched by chemicals. One way, which may seem the simplest, is to disentangle ourselves from this never ending battle by stepping back and thinking our decisions through. Innovation is not defined by poisoning the life around us, we must better that life. By reducing or even stopping our use of chemicals, we would be innovating.

These deadly toxins are not just killing, they are mutating problems that were already present. Bees have been found to receive a mite that sucks their blood, but instead of leaving this situation to the wonders of mother nature, we took it into our own hands. We developed an antibiotic to kill the mite yet that antibiotic also kills the bee and contaminates the honey. If our world can not wake up soon, it will be the death of us. By doing these deadly acts of contamination, we are limiting our resources. Bees are responsible for pollinating one fourth of our crops. With those bees in danger, we are putting ourselves into a very fatal game not worth playing.

Response to NOVA

The video we watched today explained about the recipe for life. We heard their point of view about how the elements needed to survive came together to create the simplest forms of life. From that, they believe that these forms have evolved to modern life now.

While playing the evolution in action game, it clearly portrays how evolution works. When the  environment changes too quick, then the organisims have no time to adapt and they die. If they are not spread out evenly the animals have a harder time feeding themselves and may die but when they are too isolated, they wont wont be able to reproduce quick enough. Only with perfect conditions can these organisms adapt, reproduce, and thrive. Finally, genetic variation plays a role since 20 percent of the time a mutation occured making it easier or harder to survive.

Response to NOVA

How did life on earth probably begin?
Every organism that exists or existed comes from a common ancestor billions of years ago. Life emerged from the following elements in chemistry: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. These elements form the building block of RNA, known as a ribonucleotide. Many scientists believe that RNA, or something similar to it, was the first molecule on Earth to self-replicate and begin the process of evolution that led to more advanced forms of life, such as humans. John Sutherland discovered a recipe for life which required sunlight. Although another possible recipe which contains no sunlight occurs in volcanic vents, thousands of feet below the surface of the Earth.

Anthers and Stigmas and Styles oh my!

Shannon Hanley 

Mr. Bursch 

Honors Biology period 4

2 February 2013

Anthers and Stigmas and Styles oh my!

Reproduction in Angiosperms takes place within the flower. Following pollination and fertilization, the seeds develop inside protective structures. Reproduction in angiosperms takes place within the flower. After pollination, the seeds of angiosperms develop inside protective structures. The anthers are part of the stamen, and stigmas are part of the pistil.  Anthers store the pollen while stigmas collect the pollen. The stamen (male part) contains the anther and filament. The anther produces pollen grains which are transferred to other flower’s stigmas. The filament and the polllen contained in the stalk produce the organ anther. The pistal (female part) contains the stigma, ovary, and the style. The stigma receives or raps the pollen. The ovary protects and stores the ovule. The style connects the ovary to the stigma.

   

Anthers & Stigmas & Styles, Oh My!

How do flowering plants (angiosperms) like our Brassica oleracea plants reproduce? 
Flowering plants reproduce through their pollen. The female part of a flowering plant is called the pistil, and on top is the stigma, also known as the "sticky stigma". On the other hand, the male part of flowering plants is called the stamen. Above the stamens are anthers, which inside pollen is produced. Once the pollen meets the stigma, it (pollen) acts as the sperm for the flowering plant. Reproduction begins when the pollen goes down the pollen tube and meets the egg.

• In the photo shown above, the green, centered & stem-look figure is called the style. Above the style, with the circular shape is the stigma where pollen meets and enters the pollen tube. Around the pistil are the anthers (yellow, fuzzy parts). Inside the anthers is where pollen is produced.

• Here we have a photo of a long stalk called the style and its sticky tip called the stigma. The pollen from a flower can get in touch with the stigma, either by wind, birds moving them around etc. 

• In the image shown above shows how the ovary has been cut open and contains small ovule, which are the unfertilized seeds that contain the female egg cell. Shown in the photograph, the ovule is the small, green ball near the stigma.

Anthers, Stigmas, and Styles, Oh My!

Above is the stamen, or the male reproductive system. Stamens produce pollen in saclike structures called anthers. The number of stamens is usually the same as the number of petals. Stamens usually consist of a long slender stalk, the filament, with the anthers at the tip. Some stamens are similar to leaves, with the anthers at or near the margins.

Here is the carpel, or the female reproductive system.It is the female part of the plant which produce fruit once pollination has taken place. The fruit contains seeds. (Carpels, stigma> top where it gets pollen, style > pollen travels down, ovary > where fruit is formed)

Above there are anthers surrounding the stigma. Pollen is typically highly desiccated when it leaves an anther. Stigmas have been shown to assist in the rehydration of pollen and in promoting germination of the pollen tube. Stigmas also ensure proper adhesion of the correct species of pollen.

Displayed is the female reproductive system, the ovary. The ovary contains ovules, which develop into seeds upon fertilization.