I will be in room 237 for tutorial today until 3pm
We want to know!
Do starfish grow new bodies from separated limbs?
Beyond their distinctive shape, sea stars are famous for their ability to regenerate limbs, and in some cases, entire bodies. They accomplish this by housing most or all of their vital organs in their arms. Some require the central body to be intact to regenerate, but a few species can grow an entirely new sea star just from a portion of a severed limb. (National Geographic Society)
How do you grow potatoes? Eyes? Seeds?
- Plant seed potatoes (pieces of whole potato or a small whole potato, with at least 2 eyes per piece) 0-2 weeks after last spring frost.
- If you are cutting up potato pieces for planting, do so a 1-2 days ahead of time. This will give them the chance to form a protective layer, both for moisture retention and rot resistance.
- Plant seed potatoes one foot apart in a 4-inch deep trench, eye side up.
- See our video on how to grow potatoes in a trash can, the easiest ever container garden!
- (The Old Farmer's Almanac)
Geneticists at 23andMe in California asked about 25,000 people whether they like cilantro or think it smells soapy. When they searched the people's DNA for regions that correlate with a distaste for the herb, a single spot jumped out. And, it sits right next to a cluster of odor-detecting genes, including one that is known to specifically recognize the soapy aromas in cilantro's bouquet. (npr.org)
Why does asparagus make urine small unpleasant?
Even Benjamin Franklin took note, stating in a 1781 letter to the Royal Academy of Brussels that “A few Stems of Asparagus eaten, shall give our Urine a disagreable Odour” (he was trying to convince the academy to “To discover some Drug…that shall render the natural Discharges of Wind from our Bodies, not only inoffensive, but agreeable as Perfumes”—a goal that, alas, modern science has still not achieved). Scientists tell us that the asparagus-urine link all comes down to one chemical: asparagusic acid. Asparagusic acid, as the name implies, is (to our knowledge) only found in asparagus. When our bodies digest the vegetable, they break down this chemical into a group of related sulfur-containing compounds. As with many other substances that include sulfur—such as garlic, skunk spray and odorized natural gas—these sulfur-containing molecules convey a powerful, typically unpleasant scent. Of course, the whole asparagus-urine scent issue is complicated by an entire separate issue: Some people simply don’t smell anything different when they urinate after they eat asparagus. Scientists have long been divided into two camps in explaining this issue. Some believe that, for physiological reasons, these people (which constitute anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the population) don’t produce the aroma in their urine when they digest asparagus, while others think that they produce the exact same scent, but somehow lack the ability to smell it.The most recent study, from 2010, found that differences existed between individuals in both the production and detection of the scent.It’s still unclear why some people don’t produce the smell, but we do seem to have a clear explanation of why some people don’t perceive it.This peculiarity—which you might consider useful if you eat asparagus frequently—appears to stem from a single genetic mutation, a switched base-pair among a cluster of 50 different genes that code for olfactory receptors.
(smithsonianmag.org)
...interesting!
If you missed class Tuesday 4/14: read 11.1 in textbook and take notes or ask a neighbor to borrow their notes
(11.1 Learning Objectives: I can differentiate between asexual and sexual reproduction & discuss the importance of chromosome number to organisms)
11.1 Finish presentation with note taking in interactive notebooks
11.1 Active Reading - 10pts due today (3pts for annotating text & one point per question otherwise); work independently or w/labs
BRAIN BREAK (LITERALLY)
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