The Man Who Fed the World Chapter 2

Well I liked this chapter a lot better then the first one. Since I got accepted to the University of Minnesota it was interesting to see how the college worked back then. Norman Borlaug made a huge impact on the University through wrestling and his future. Also Norman and Margaret's love story is really cute. Meeting in the University coffee shop and then knowing 2 years later that they would be married is just amazing. It seems like love at first sight for both of them. A more modern day fairy-tale. Once they did get married they didn't have a honeymoon; not that it really mattered since they loved each other so much. Norman's side jobs are rather fascinating at well. Working out in the forest and surveying everything. It's very interesting how he talks about that he became 'in balance with nature' like many poets I've learned about in English talk about from the Transcendentalists to the Romantics. This chapter embodies universal themes of love, perseverance, and nature. A reminder that love , nature, and all that are involved in more than art and literature they can also be involved in science. :)

Thoughts on The Man Who Fed The World

I found it really interesting that Norman Borlaug didn't believe that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize and then went back to work. His high school education may have been "worse" by today's standard but , for him, he made use of it to solve a global issue. Norman was a family person and did everything for them. Also thanks to him and his family there is still a market for farming in the U.S. since they preserved through the depression. I'm really excited to see how his past effect him later on and helps him fed the world.

Solar Power From Space

National Geographic reported that it may be possible to collect solar power from space (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2011/12/111205-solar-power-from-space/?source=hp_dl3_news_solar20111208 ). Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency plans on launching demo satellites "scheduled to be up by the end of the next decade". According to National Geographic "The most frequently cited barrier to deploying—or even testing—many of the existing space-based solar platforms is the cost of launching the necessary equipment into orbit.". This Technology could be a great solution for the energy crisis. Since the power would be collected in space there would not be problems, such as cloud cover. Also no solar energy would be lost to the atmosphere , since space acts like a vacuum. One downside of this is how to get the power to earth. Stephen Sweeney's team belives a narrow beam would be the best solution. However he also stated "which means you have a particular point on Earth where you can target energy delivery." which may be hard to do for such a distance. Some people believe it wll be great for disasters. The energy could be "rolled up" and sent to disaster sites a lot faster then generators and other equipment. The same could be done for the energy , which would most likely become cheaper in the long run.

While many flaws still exist with this technology the future for it looks very bright. Solar power from space may be costly to start but I believe the benefits would be worth it. Fossil fuels will not be around forever and this is a very plausible and efficient alternative. There is so much that can be done with this technology that would help save our environment.

Transpiration Lab Essay

I would predict that group 2 would have less transpiration. This is because water travels from areas of high water potential to low water potential. If it was humid the air would have a high water potential than the leaf so very little water would leave. The same idea applies to group 3 but reversed. If there was more air movement within the room the water would be constantly moving away from the leaf. The air would have a lower water potential causing the water to leave the leaf. In group four the plant would release more water because of photosynthesis  Stomata must be open during photosynthesis to allow oxygen to leave and CO2 to be let in. Since the stomata is open the water inside the cell can freely leave into , what is most likely, an area of lower water potential.

Angiosperm Adaptation (1990 prompt)

With the planet always changing angiosperms, or flowering plants,  have had to adapt from aquatic environments to terrestrial ones. Flowering plants have had to adapt in many way including reproduction, support, and dehydration.
  The most important adaptation angiosperms is reproduction. If i plant could not reproduce it would die out. Flowering plants have many ways the pollinate. With many angiosperms they create flowers to attract pollinators such as bees or other insects. This allows the pollen to get spread out very far and gives more diversity in the gene pool of the plant. A few angiosperms can self pollinate , so that if need be they can reproduce, but it does not allow much diversity. Plants now rely on pollinators and themselves for reproduction instead of water as the would have to in an aquatic environment.
 The structural adaptations go hand in hand with the adaptations for water intake and loss. Plants gained xylems to help support the plants. The also gained lignin.

Movement of Water During Transpiration

Imagine a lonely little water molecule in the soil when , suddenly, it feels the pull of root pressure. It is then sucked up into the xylem of the plant and begins its travel. A water molecule up above is calling to the new molecules and attracts it to travel up, know as the process of cohesion. Another attraction befalls the water molecule and now its stuck to the wall of the plant, called adhesion. After travelling up the shoot by these methods that little water molecule will enter a leaf. It will travel in the leaf veins and eventually leave through a stomata back into the air.

New Type of Stem Cell ?

Scientific American recently reported that there may be a new type of stem cell called parthenogenetic stem cells (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=you-say-embryo-i-say-parthenote). Parthenogenetic stem cells are similar to embryonic stem cells but come from an unfertilized egg. This stem cell is created by tacking a unfertilized egg and adding certain hormones to it. The hormones creates the effect of a fertilized egg but since there is no genetic dna transferred the egg cannot become a fetus. However while these cells will become any kind of cell it is still tricky to control. Also research for this type of cell is hard to come by. The U.S. government is currently defining parthenotes as embryos so the government is not allowed to fund any of the research. Many research facilities rely on federal funding so only very few private researching firms can work on it.

This is just another are in genetics that needs researchers and funding. This could be a remarkable step forward. Now parent that are unable to have children could donate eggs and help save someone's life. Also all the "old" eggs in facilities could be used for research or to help save a life instead of wasting away or being thrown away. Also by using these type of cells we might be able to mix adult cells and parhenogenetic stem cells to create healthier and longer lasting muscles,tissues,organs, etc...