TERM PAPERS ON BIOLOGY
A Study of Inheritable Traits in Fruit
Flies
The Drosophila melanogaster, more commonly known as the fruit fly, is a
popular species used in genetic experiments. In fact, Thomas Hunt Morgan
began using Drosophila in the early 1900’s to study genes and their
relation to certain chromosomes (Biology 263). Scientists have located
over 500 genes on the four chromosomes in the fly. There are many
advantages in using Drosophila for these types of studies. Drosophila
melanogaster can lay hundreds of eggs after just one mating, and have a
generation time of two weeks at 21°C (Genetics: Drosophila Crosses 9).
Another reason for using fruit flies is that they mature rather quickly
and don’t require very much space. Drosophila melanogaster has a life
cycle of four specific stages. The first stage is the egg, which is
about .5mm long. In the 24 hours when the fly is in the egg stage,
numerous cleavage nuclei form. Next, the egg hatches to reveal the
larva. During this stage, growth and molting occur. Once growth is
complete, the Drosophila enter the pupal
stage, where it develops into an adult through metamorphosis. Upon
reaching adulthood, the flies are ready to mate and produce the next
generation of Drosophila melanogaster.
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Animals in
The Research Lab
The use of living animals is an important way to solve a medical
problem. Researchers continually seek other models to understand the
human organism, study disease processes, and test new therapies. In
seeking quicker and not so expensive ways to look for biological
information that can be applied to human disease, scientists sometimes
study simpler things such as bacteria, fruit flies and a few other
things. Researchers have spent many years learning how to sustain cells,
tissues and organs from animals and humans outside the body to
understand biological processes and develop new medical treatments.
Computers allow scientists to analyze vast amounts of data and test new
ideas. But, in the end, the results obtained must be verified in
appropriate animal systems and, possibly as the final step, in clinical
trials using humans who will volunteer.
Before beginning a project, all research proposals involving animals
must be reviewed and approved by a committee comprised of scientists,
veterinarians, and private citizens.
Animal activist organizations believe that there are no moral reasons
for the use of animals in research. This has attempted to slow or halt
the work of scientists. Some activists groups intimidate or harass
individual scientists, conduct demonstrations, or sometimes commit acts
of vandalism. There are a few health professionals who support the
activist movement but they truly stand apart from the vast majority of
physians and most Americans who readily accept the fact that animal
research is necessary to gain medical progress.
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Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
For about 50 years, antibiotics have been the answer to many bacterial
infections.
Antibiotics are chemical substances that are secreted by living things.
Doctors prescribed these
medicines to cure many diseases. During World War II, it treated one of
the biggest killers
during wartime - infected wounds. It was the beginning of the antibiotic
era. But just when
antibiotics were being mass produced, bacteria started to evolve and
became resistant to these
medicines.
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Australopithecus
There are many types of the hominid called
Australopithecus, which means southern apes. These were small ape-like
creatures with a height between 107cm and 152cm) that showed evidence of
walking upright. It is difficult to tell whether these begins are
"humans" or "apes". Many of their characteristics are split between
humans and apes.
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Cancer
Right now, cancer is one of the most feared diseases in the world. In
the early 1990s almost 6 million new cancer cases developed and more
than 4 million deaths from cancers occurred. Also more than one-fifth of
all deaths were caused by cancer and it has been predicted, by the
American Cancer Society, that about 33% of Americans will eventually
develop this disease. This is a huge disease that is killing people all
over the world.
The field of cancer study is called Oncology. The government has spent
billions of dollars on research of this fatal disease. Cancer is the
most aggressive disease of a larger class known as neoplasms. Neoplasms
do not fully comply with the parts of the cell that control the growth
and functions of the cell. These cells eventually become abnormal
growths and can be recognized as not normal tissue. These traits are
passed down as the cell reproduces therefore spreading the cancer.
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The Effects of Antibiotics on
Bacterial Growth
Bacteria are the most common and ancient microorganisms on earth. Most
bacteria are microscopic, measuring 1 micron in length. However,
colonies of bacteria grown in a laboratory petri dish can be seen with
the unaided eye.
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Acid Rain Essay
Within this past century, acidity of the air and acid rain have become
recognized as one of the leading threats to our planet’s environment. No
longer limited by geographic boundaries, acid causing emissions are
causing problems all over the world. Some laws have been passed which
limit the amount of pollutants that are released into the air, but
tougher legislation must be implemented before this problem can be
overcome.
Acid rain is produced, when automobiles, smelters, power plants, and
other industrial factories burn fossil fuels such as gasoline, coal, and
fuel oils. When combusted, the non renewable resources release
pollutants such as sulfur, carbon and nitrogen oxides into the air.
These oxide combine with the humidity in the air and form sulfuric,
nitric and carbonic acid. This acidic solution eventually condenses in
the air and comes back down to the earth in any from of precipitation
(snow, rain, hail).
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History of the Cell Theory
Cells, the make-up of all living things. Some cell are complete
organisms, such as unicellular bacteria and protozoa. Other types of
cells are called multicellular, such as nerve cells and muscle cells.
Withen the cell is genetic material, Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
containing coded instructions for the behavior and reproduction of the
cell. The cell was first discovered by the 1665 English scientist Robert
Hooke, who studied the dead cells of cork with a crude microscope.
Robert Hooke was born on the isle of Whight and educated at the
University of Oxford. Hooke could not have discovered the cell without
the microscope which was developed by Antoni van Leeuwenhoek a 1674
Dutch maker of microscopes. Leeuwenhoek born in Delft, Holland and had
little or no scientific education. Leeuwenhoek also confirmed the
discovery of capillary systems. Theodor Schwann a German physiologist
born in Neuss and educated at the universities of Bonn, Wurzburg, and
Berlin, Schwann was involved in the study of the structure of plant and
animal tissues. Along with Matthias Jakob Schleiden a German botanist,
Schwann proposed the cell theory.
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A Massive Project
for the Benefit of Mankind
A Look at the Human Genome Project
Scientists are taking medical
technology to new heights as they race to map all of the genes, nearly
100,000, in the 23 chromosomes of the human body. Along the way, they
hope to understand the basis of, and maybe even develop methods of
treating certain genetic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Muscular
Dystrophy. They plan to do this by identifying the DNA sequence of an
abnormal gene in which a disease originates and comparing it with the
data of a normal or healthy gene. The entire research project is
entitled "The Human Genome Project."
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Cloning : Where Do We Draw the Line?
The first attempt in cloning was conducted in 1952 on a group of frogs.
The experiment was a partial success. The frog cells were cloned into
other living frogs however, only one in every thousand developed
normally , all of which were sterile. The rest of the frogs that
survived grew to abnormally large sizes. In 1993, scientist and director
of the in vitro lab at George Washington University, Jerry Hall and
associate Robert Stillman, reported the first ever successful cloning of
human embryos. It was the discovery of in-vitro fertilization in the
1940’s that began the pursuit to ease the suffering of infertile
couples. After years of research, scientists learned that "in a typical
in-vitro procedure, doctors will insert three to five embryos in hopes
that, at most, one or two will implant" (Elmer-Dewitt 38). And that "a
woman with only one embryo has about a 10% to 20% chance of getting
pregnant through in-vitro fertilization. If that embryo could be cloned
and turned into three or four, the cha
nces of a successful pregnancy would increase significantly"(Elmer-Dewitt
38).
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AIDS + HIV
Being one of the most fatal viruses in the nation, AIDS (Acquired
Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is now a serious public health concern in
most major
U.S. cities and in countries worldwide. Since 1986 there have been
impressive
advances in understanding of the AIDS virus, its mechanisms, and its
routes of
transmission. Even though researchers have put in countless hours, and
millions of
dollars it has not led to a drug that can cure infection with the virus
or to a vaccine
that can prevent it. With AIDS being the leading cause of death among
adults,
individuals are now taking more precautions with sexual intercourse, and
medical
facilities are screening blood more thoroughly. Even though HIV ( Human
Immunodeficiency Virus) can be transmitted through sharing of non
sterilize needles
and syringes, sexual intercourse, blood transfusion, and through most
bodily fluids,
it is not transmitted through casual contact or by biting or blood
sucking insects.
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Albinism
The word "albinism" refers to a group of inherited conditions. People
with albinism
have little or no pigment in their eyes, skin, or hair. They have
inherited genes that do not
make the usual amounts of a pigment called melanin. One person in 17,000
has some type of albinism. Albinism affects people from all races. Most
children with albinism are born to parents who have normal hair and eye
color for their ethnic backgrounds. Albinism is found on the eleventh
chromosome, section q, loci 14-21.
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All About Ants
Among the many hundreds of thousands of
astonishing organisms with which we must share this earth, there is one
seemingly ordinary group of specimens which fascinates many people
beyond all others. There is nothing too extraordinary in the proportions
or appearance of ants, but it is their history and culture that induces
a second look. These insects are about as different from us mammals as
two organisms can be, yet it appears that of all the known animals their
way of life appears closest to our human way of life. The similarities
in the ways in which we organize our lives are astounding. Ants are
doubtlessly the most successful of all the social insects of the
Hymenoptera, an order also including wasps and bees.
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Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive and
irreversible brain disease that destroys mental
and physical functioning in human beings, and invariably leads to death.
It is the fourth
leading cause of adult death in the United States. Alzheimer's creates
emotional and
financial catastrophe for many American families every year, but
fortunately, a large
amount of progress is being made to combat Alzheimer's disease every
year. To fully be able to comprehend and combat Alzheimer's disease, one
must know what it does to the brain, the part of the human body it
most greatly affects. Many Alzheimer's disease sufferers had their
brains examined. A large number of differences were present when
comparing the normal brain to the Alzheimer's brain. There was a loss of
nerve cells from the Cerebral Cortex in the Alzheimer's victim.
Approximately ten percent of the neurons in this region were lost. But a
ten percent loss is relatively minor, and cannot account for the severe
impairment suffered by Alzheimer's victims. Neurofibrillary Tangles are
also found in the brains of Alzheimer's victims.
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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
(Lou Gherig's Disease)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a deadly disease of the nervous system.
Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS at this time affects 25,000
people in the U.S. today. One in 50,000 people will be affected in any
one year. The average age for diagnosis of ALS is between 30 and 70,
although there have been cases of teenagers contracting it.
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