Final Blog Assignments

Here are your final blog assignments!

Ø    Post a brief paragraph describing why you chose your Research Topic

Ø    Post a comment to a classmate’s blog entry

Ø    Enjoy your break!

Our Potluck will start at 10:00 next Wednesday!

Antioxidants and Free Radicals

Thank you for your patience today.
We'll be picking up on our Antioxidants and Free Radicals unit next class - August 13th.

And a reminder that our last day of class - August 20th - will be a potluck!
More information next week.

Lastly - an invitation to join our Physics/Biophysics Field Trip to have your aura photographed.
The Field Trip takes place next Tuesday, 8/12, from 5:30 - 7:00 at Psychic Reality, a couple of blocks from the school
Join us if you can!

Take care

Larry

Vaccination and Public Health - Assignments

1.      Blog Assignments required this week: 

Ø    Should “parents take a more active role in designing their children’s immunization schedule”? 

Ø    Would you support making vaccination programs “compulsory”? 

Ø    Post a comment to a classmate’s blog entry 

2.      Check out the following links: 

Vaccines--How and Why?

http://www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEC/CC/vaccines_how_why.html 

Public Health Risk Seen as Parents Reject Vaccines

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/21/us/21vaccine.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 

Measles (Rubeola)  CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/measles/

Assignments - Restoring the American Bison to its rightful range.

Blog Assignments required this week: 

Ø    How would you prioritize the reintroduction of the American Bison?

Ø    “World breaks temperature record for June after hottest May”  Are we doing enough to reduce global warming?

Ø    Post a comment to a classmate’s blog 

2.      Check out the following links: 

http://www.intertribalbison.org/default.asp

InterTribal Bison Cooperative

http://www.gprc.org/Buffalo_Commons.html

Buffalo Commons

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/buffalo/strength.html

A SYMBOL OF STRENGTH

Assignments for Ecosystems and Deep Ecology

Blog assignments for this week:

• What do you think about the “eight-point Deep Ecology Platform”?
• Can you explain why “Ecosystems are both strong and fragile”?
• Post a comment to a classmate's blog entry

Check out the following links:

http://www.bioregions.org/GYE.htm
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA

http://www.zulenet.com/see/newStuartHill.html
Social Ecology
http://uber.tv/g-one/archives/2005/03/005499.html
Making the Invisible Visible

Class Blog List

Here is the latest list of class blog addresses:

http://jessiehollandbiochem.blogspot.com/

http://lynnacchs.blogspot.com/

http://quietwatermajorwaves.blogspot.com/

http://sciencecircles.blogspot.com/

http://emilyrosetcm.blogspot.com/

http://www.naturallygazania.blogspot.com/

http://isabelsciences.blogspot.com/

http://arthurdy.blogspot.com/

http://blackdeer1026.blogspot.com/

http://tippilelu.blogspot.com/

http://claireasoper.blogspot.com/

http://johnny3333.blogspot.com/

http://acchsbio.blogspot.com/

http://saramiznerschemblog.blogspot.com/

http://october10.blog.com/

http://hilarybiochem.blogspot.com/

Assignments for Cell Biology: HIV and AIDS

Blog assignments for this week:

How do you feel about western approaches to HIV/AIDS?

Are we overly reliant on the expectation of the development of a "cure" for HIV?

Post a comment to a classmate's blog entry

Check out the following links:

http://www.alternativemedicinechannel.com/hivaids/tcmtreatment.shtml
alternative medicine channel

http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC22/Zimmrman.htm
Introduction To Deep Ecology
 http://www.ecospherics.net/pages/DrengEcophil.html
Ecophilosophy, Ecosophy and the Deep Ecology Movement: An Overview

Biology Field Trip Assignment

Your Western Sciences Field Trip Assignment between our classes on June 24/25 – July 8/9

“Loafing around without feeling guilty”

Each day you will be required to “loaf around without feeling guilty”.

Use your blog to describe your experiences!

 

 

Assignments for Week Seven - Cell Biology and Cancer

Blog assignments for this week:

• How sophisticated is our understanding of cancer?
• How does a TCM approach to cancer differ?
• Post your thoughts on one of today's articles
• Post a comment to a classmate's blog entry

Check out the following links:

http://www.learner.org/channel/courses/biology/textbook/cancer/cancer_13.html
Rediscovering Biologyhttp://www.learner.org/channel/courses/biology/textbook/hiv/hiv_1.html
HIV and AIDShttp://www.stemworks.org/digests/EDO-SE-02-07.pdf
Teaching About the Life and Health of Cells


Enjoy your loafing - and remember to post your observations!

Research Presentations

Here are the scheduled Biology Research Presentations
 

June 18                John           “The Human Microbiome” 

June 25                Arthur        “Whether the fish is happy”

July 9                        Hilary        “Biology of Birth”

                             Susan        “Geo Engineering”

                             Emily         ”Microflora in Chronic Conditions”

July 16                 Sara            JRA 

July 23                 Jillian           "Stress" 

 

July 30                 Ali                 TBD

                            Gazania         "Evolution or Creation"
 

                             Ayo             “Parasites”

August 6             Jessie            “Telomeres”

                            Claire            TBD

August 13           Nori               "Mitochondria"

                            Heather         TBD

                            Isabel            "Plant Intelligence in Medicine"

 

 

   

 

Assignments for Week Six - The Nature of Life

Blog assignments for this week:

• How would you distinguish between living and non-living systems?
• "DNA doesn't determine race. Society does" Would you agree?
• Post a response to a classmate's blog

Check out the following links:
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/plants/cell/
 Plant Cell Anatomy

http://www.life.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/plantbio/cell/cell.cgi 
Virtual Cell

Assignments for Week Five - The Complexity of Life

Blog assignments for this week:

• How do you now suppose new species emerge?
• Do you vote for the chicken or the egg?
• Respond to a classmate's blog entries

Check out the following links:

http://www.reed.edu/~mab/papers/4.puzzles.htm
Four Puzzles about Life

 http://mandalazone.com/wordpress/thinking-through-the-mind-and-the-mandala/
Thinking Through: The Mind and the Mandala
by Peter Barreda

Assignments for Week Four - The Pattern of Life

Blog assignments for this week:

• Post your thoughts on how we view animal intelligence?
• Post a comment to a classmate's blog

 

Check out the following links:

http://www.combusem.com/CAPRA4.HTM 
THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OUR SECOND BRAIN
FRITJOF CAPRA 
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/playground/life.html 
The Game of Life

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-36174 

Philosophy of biology
> The nature of biological systems
> Viewpoints on the nature of life

Assignments for Week Three - Genetic Evolution

Blog assignments for this week:

• “99.4% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in human and chimp genes”
  What do you make of this?
• Check out the Prokaryotes, Eukaryotes, & Viruses Tutorial
  http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/tutorials/pev/page2.html
  Post your results in your blog
• Post a comment on one of this morning's discussions
• Post a response to a classmate's blog

Check out the following links on Cybernetics and Self-organization:

http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/COMPNATS.HTML
Self-organization and complexity in the natural sciences

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopoiesis
Autopoiesis

http://www.calresco.org/lucas/auto.htm
Autopoiesis and Coevolution

Week Two Assignments - Evo-Devo

Blog assignments required for this week:

* Post your thoughts on Evo-Devo
* How does Darwinism matter to you?
* Respond to a classmate's blog

Additional blog posts welcome on the discussions in class!

And check out the following links:

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/evolution/howdidwegethere.html
How Did We Get Here?
From the inheritance of acquired traits to natural selection to evo devo, evolutionary theory has itself evolved
By Steve Mirsky

http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/arn/pearcey/np_dcpolicy0500.htm
Why Darwinism Matters
Washington DC Policy Briefing
May 10, 2000
By Nancy R. Pearcey

http://www.answersingenesis.org/home/area/faq/origin.aspOrigin of Life Questions and Answers
“Answers in Genesis”

Use your blog to record your impressions

Week One Assignments - Our Biological World

1. Start your blog - try blogger.com - and send your url to laurence_spears@yahoo.com

Your blog assignments for this week:

* Post a short bio introducing yourself
* Post your thoughts on one of the discussions in class to your blog.
* Post a comment to a classmate's blog entry


2. Check out the following links on Evolution:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/A PBS program from 2001
“Evolution – a journey into where we’re from…and where we’re going”

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/
UC Berkeley’s website
“Understanding Evolution”


Use your blog to record your impressions

Welcome!

Welcome to Biology at ACCHS!

My name is Larry Spears, and I'll be guiding you through your Biology Course here.
As you now know, your assignments will be posted to your own blog
So, please email me as soon as you have set up your blog account
- my email address is laurence_spears@yahoo.com

The assignments for each week will be posted here on the Biology Class blog, as will a list of blog addresses for the class.

And if you would like to discuss your Research Presentation Topic, please let me know.

Take care

Larry Spears