The Greater Roadrunner

Well for my blog this week I researched the greater roadrunner, in Latin known as Geococcyx californianus, this is translated as the Californian Earth-cuckoo. I chose this bird because all I ever knew about this species was what I learned as a kid from cartoons. My understanding of its appearance was quite skewed. So the cartoon bird is so tall and big, but in reality it is only 22 inches tall and only weighs about 10 ounces. I also grew up with the impression it was vibrant shades of blue, but it turns out it only has little bits of blue and is mostly brown and speckled. Its bill is long and dark not at all like the short yellow one I was familiar with. I was also shocked to learn that they can't run fast enough to disappear in a blur, but 26 MPH is nothing to sneeze at. Especially concerning it is the fastest bird that can fly. Instead of using that speed to avoid falling anvils it uses it to catch it's prey of insects and small reptiles. Despite all these differences I am pleased to see that its habitat of the American southwest and Mexico is still the same as well as the extreme base fact that it belongs to the avian group of animals, or for the rest of you that aren't scientifically inclined that means IT IS A BIRD. Knowing all this I can now appreciate the roadrunner both for his comic relief and as a wonderful member of the animal kingdom.

Week 12 Blog

The use of antibiotics in animals should continue in moderation. The over coming of some animal sickness is a good thing. I think the side effects are worth the healthier animals and meat.

Week 10 Blog Genetics

Well I didn't have a terrible time with my genetics questions. They were time consuming and made me think, but I think that I have a pretty good grasp on the concept. I certainly hope so anyway. I guess only time will truely tell.

Pet Cloning

Well my response to this topic was pretty easy. I had thought about this issue before and reached my conclusion. I really don't think this is that great of idea. Cloning pets would give people an idea that death is not finite. Once something has died it is dead. The same pesonality that was in your beloved pet will not necessarily be there when you clone it, it will just appear almost identical. Don't get me wrong, it would cool to be able to have my dog live forever and I will certainly miss her when she dies, but it just isn't a thing I'm going to do. It is part of a grieving process when anyone or anything dies. You have to accept they are gone and remember all the good times you had with it when it was here. And the benefit of a pet is you can always get a new one, that may not take that special pet's place, but you can get some new memories with this one.

Cellular Respriation

I don’t think that humans could survive with just anaerobic cellular respiration. That is because anaerobic cellular respiration doesn't need oxygen. But aerobic respiration needs oxygen our breathing provides which in turn provides us with the ATP energy we need. But we can use anaerobic cellular respiration too.It just needs to work in junction with aerobic respiration. Warm blooded animals have to work harder to maintain the cell processes. Cold blooded animals do not need to be quite so active.

Week 5 Blog

"If energy can't be destroyed, how can there be an energy crisis - we just need to develop some clever ways of recycling our energy."
True and true. Energy can not go away. It is stated in the first law of thermodynamics. It being a law means it is a definite proven fact. The energy produced by the engine creates energy in the form of movement and heat. In some cases, like a snowplow, the movement is used to do work. This can be considered a form of energy. But in most cases this movement is just transferred to the environment around it. The same can be said for all the heat given off by our vehicles. 
So, we do need some more creative ways of recycling or reusing this energy. It can't hurt to use our energy differently. Until we find a good way to reuse the energy given off by cars, we can use our body's energy to get around other ways. Our energy is not being lost, it is just being misused.

Blog Week 3

So when I went and pulled and item from my cupboard about half of it wasn't natural. I think because so much of our food doesn't come straight from the source, it is really hard to eat completely healthy. It is definitely something everyone needs to try to do, and I've become a little more concerned looking at all the unnatural stuff in my food. Although I will probably look at a few more labels, I don't know if i will be extra cautious and avoid many of the foods with manufactured ingredients. It almost seems like it is too difficult to do living in a decent sized American city today.