Phases of Mitosis

Last class, we spent most of class looking at plant and animal cells under microscopes in order to see all the different phases of mitosis.  This was pretty easy to see on the plant cells, but wayyyyy harder on the animals cells.  Then we reviewed mitosis, so here's a quick general review:

PHASES OF MITOSIS:

Your Inner Fish: Chapter 6

Embryology is the study of the development of embryos from the fertilization to fetus stage. Interestingly, most embryos look generally alike.

During embryonic development, embryos have three layers of tissue, or germ layers. These layers are called endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.

Endoderm: innermost layer with flattened cells that develops digestive organs
Mesoderm: middle layer that develops skeleton, muscles, and blood system
Ectoderm: outer layer that helps form nervous system and lining of mouth, nails, and nosrils

There is also a DNA control layer that regulates genes and shows genes how to collaborate.

Lab Day :D

After getting our tests back, we began a lab studying cells. Firstly, Mr. Quick taught us all how to use the lab microscopes. I must interject that these microscopes are AMAZING, and I really, really, really, love using them.....

Anyways, moving away from technology and going back to bio, we first began by looking at a dead flea under a microscope so here you go:

 

Next, we swiped toothpicks across the inside of our cheeks and placed these cells underneath the microscope. Here's what my cheek cells looked like:

Next, we looked at a dry plant leaf underneath the microscope. In this picture, you can see the chloroplasts:

Pedigrees

Wellllll today, we learned about pedigrees. Though most people seemed to find them easier to understand than Punnett Squares, I'm not quite sure I'm on the same page.  Pedigrees look like family trees, except for they focus on all the genetics aspects of a family.   Different symbols are used to represent gender and whether or not someone carries a disease, has a disease, or is not a carrier at all.

Here's an example of a very simple pedigree, with the blue, colored-in shapes representing someone that has the disease:

Corn??

Last class, we practiced our knowledge of genetics by looking at different types of corn.  We had to count the individual kernels of corn and use the ratio between colors to determine the genotypic and phenotypic ratios of the corn and also to determine it's parents. The corn looked like the one shown below, soooo yeah it was quite difficult to count but a great way to practice genetics problems.