Biodiesel and Bioethanol

This week in lab we learned about biodiesel and bioethanol. Biodiesel is is made using vegetable oil or animal fat. To make biodiesel you react lipids with alcohol. It is made to be used in standard diesel engines, which makes it distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel. It can also be used as a low carbon alternative to heating oil.


Biologically produced alcohols, most commonly ethanol, are produced by the action of microorganisms and enzymes through the fermentation of sugars or starches, or cellulose. Ethanol Fuel is the most common biofuel worldwide. Alcohol Fuels are produced by fermentation of sugars derived from the same sources as alcoholic beverages. Ethanol can be used in petrol engines as a replacement for gasoline; it can be mixed with gasoline to any percentage. Most existing car petrol engines can run on blends of up to 15% bioethanol with petroleum/gasoline.

Here is a photo of a bus that runs on biofuel:

More information can be found at the Biodiesel 101 website:
http://www.biodiesel.org/resources/biodiesel_basics/

Mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial Eve is the name given to the matrilineal most recent common ancestor. She was the woman from whom all living humans today descend from on their mother's side. This is possible because all mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to offspring without recombination. Mitochondrial Eve is the female counterpart of Y-Chromosomal Adam, the patrilineal most recent common ancestor, but they lived thousands of years apart. Here is a diagram showing how this would have worked.

The existence of a matrilineal most recent common ancestor also explains how there are people all over the world who can look very different and still share one common ancestor. Mitochondrial Eve is believed to have lived in East Africa before a major shift occurred, in which people began to migrate to other parts of the world.

After many years of living in new areas with new conditions, people began to change. The attributes that may have been useful to them in their old habitat might not have done them any good in their new habitat. Over time the changes became more pronounced until they were common to every child born in this new area, explaining the existence of multiple races spread out over the world.

Iman (Somalian Model)

Zhang Ziyi (Chinese Actress)

Miranda Otto (Australian Actress)

Karen Gillan (Scottish Actress)

Cote de Pablo (Chilean Actress)

Amphioxus

That lovely little creature up there is the Amphioxus. You may have also heard it called the Lancelet. They are small creatures usually found buried in sand in the shallow areas of temperate and tropical seas. It is important for zoologists to study them because they may hold information about the origins of vertebrates. They are used as a comparison to show how vertebrates have evolved and adapted. Lancelets split from vertebrates more than 520 million years ago, but their genomes hold clues about evolution. They are regarded as similar to the archetypal vertebrate form.

Darwin's Dilemma and the Burgess Shale

This lab was one of the rare occasions when we were able to stay on campus. We watched a film called Darwin's Dilemma and learned about the Burgess Shale.

The film is a documentary dealing with the sudden appearance of many new species of animals during the Cambrian Explosion around 530 million years ago. The film discusses how this seemingly sudden arrival of many phyla is the biggest challenge to Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Darwin himself recognized this, and discussed the problem in The Origin of Species. 

One of the most important sites for researching the Cambrian Explosion is the Burgess Shale. The Burgess Shale is located in British Columbia and is one of the greatest fossil fields that we have. It dates back to the mid-Cambrian period, and it is so unique because it contains soft parts of fossils. It was discovered by Charles Walcott in 1909. By the time he died, Walcott had collected over 65,000 specimens from the shale. Later research would show that the species found there were far more unusual than even Walcott had suspected.

Some of the species found in the Burgess Shale include Marrella, Anomalocaris, Halwaxiida, Opabina, and Odontogriphus.

The Dog Park

This week we took a fun little trip to the Macon Dog Park that is located near campus. We were actually able to see it in use, because there was a girl there with her two dogs. They certainly seemed to be enjoying it. We learned that there are both positives and negatives to having dog parks, especially in a city like Macon.

Good Things About Dog Parks

*It can increase the sense of community, especially in larger cities where people may not have the opportunity to get to know others so readily. Going to a dog park allows you to meet people who have a similar interest to you (pets/animals).

*It can often clean up a bad community. Gangs and troublemakers are not going to want to "work" in an area that is highly populated/used by people, especially families. Having a dog park can act as a deterrent to people who could otherwise use that empty space for negative activities.

*It provides an open space for the dogs to run and play, so they are able to get good exercise and have time to interact and play with other dogs. Many people in urban areas like Macon do not have big back yards, so the dog park is the only place for their pets to really have space to play.

Bad Things About Dog Parks

 *It is much more likely that dogs who play in dog parks will be exposed to diseases, like worms or parvo.

*If the water source is connected to the city water source, then it can lead to water contamination.

Overall, I do think that dog parks in urban areas are a good thing. I come from a small town where they aren't really necessary, but I can definitely see how it would be important in a city like Macon.

Hitchiti Forest

This week the class visited the Hitchiti Forest and went hiking on the trail that is located there. The forest occupies a total of over 4,000 acres of land north east of Macon. Information about the Forest can be found at the Georgia Forestry Commission website:

http://www.gatrees.org/forestmanagement/brender.cfm

One of the things that we discussed while on the trail was the presence of Wild Ginger in the forest. Wild Ginger grows in forests all over North America and has many uses, including for medicinal purposes.

This is a picture of the large Wild Ginger leaves growing in a dense forest.

Jackson Springs Park

This lab was a lot of fun. I got to learn a lot about Geology that I had never even thought about before, and it was nice to do some exploring. We visited Jackson Springs Park, and lovely little park in Macon that I had no idea even existed. It was a beautiful place and I can definitely see myself visiting the park again in the future. The primary purpose of this lab was to study Geology and Trees, but we also learned a little bit about the not-so-nice history of Macon. Jackson Springs is what remains of the historically white, wealthy area of Macon. The city was once heavily divided into three main areas, or neighborhoods. Jackson Springs was upper class, and there was another for middle class citizens, and another for the lower class citizens, which included primarily black people. The socioeconomic divisions of the city were actually manifested physically by the division into well known neighborhoods that were rarely ever crossed.

While at the park we studied various types of rocks and tried to find samples of them. Some of the types that we found were:

Quartz

Feldspar

Granite

Sandstone

Gneiss

I really enjoyed this lab because I was able to learn how to identify various types of rocks and trees in nature on my own. We also found (and named) two baby frogs.

Ocmulgee National Monument

This week we visited the Ocmulgee National Monument and were able to learn a lot about the history of the area. One thing that I did not know about the history of Macon is that the city was founded on the Fall Line of the Ocmulgee River. Fall Lines are areas located between an upland region of hard rock and a coastal plain of soft rock. These areas were quite popular for settlements because of the increased amount of resources that can be found around Fall Lines. I never knew much about the Ocmulgee River, other than that it is a tributary of the Altamaha River, which I grew up on. It was interesting to learn how important the River and the Fall Line were in motivating the settlement of the area.

We also spent a great deal of time hiking the area and looking at the mounds. We were able to enter the Earth Lodge, but the lack of space and ventilation made it difficult to stay for more than just a minute.

We were also able to hike to the top of the Great Temple Mound, which is actually much higher than it seems. From the top were able to get a wonderful view of downtown Macon, part of Mercer, and the entire Ocmulgee National Monument Park.

I had a really great time at this lab because I was able to learn some things about Macon that I had never known before. It really helped give me a new perspective on the city and what it once was.

Negative Feedback Loops

Negative feedback loops involve the process by which particular factors change, but ultimately reach homeostasis (or constant levels that are considered normal). Negative feedback loops happen all throughout nature, in plants and in animals. In humans we often see Negative feedback loops in relation to blood sugar or body temperature, or other similar physical factors.

In class we used the example of blood sugar to demonstrate how negative feedback loops work. Dr. Rood tested his blood sugar at the beginning of class, and then consumed a soda and a candy bar before testing his blood sugar again. The graph below shows how his blood sugar levels changed.

There was a clear increase in blood sugar in the minutes following Dr. Rood's consumption of the junk food. However, his body was able to recognize the spike and prevent the levels from becoming dangerously high. A negative feedback loop slowly occurred, in which his body brought the levels back down to normal. His body had reached homeostasis, and he was in no danger of becoming sick due to the intake of sugar. However, if Dr. Rood had been diabetic, then his body would not have been able to properly control the blood sugar level and reach homeostasis, which would have put him at risk of illness.