Pregnancy, Labor, and Delivery

So after watching a "wonderful" video about the magic of conception, pregnancy, and birth, I have come to discuss some of the anatomical changes in the body throughout pregnancy. First a bit of review. The male and female contain the sperm and the egg which each hold half of the chromosomes to make a human.  Once intercourse occurs the sperm mightily swim toward the egg breaking through tons of obstacles to get there. Once the sperm fertilizes the egg the DNA combines and creates cells that divide exponentially into a fetus which then is born as a baby.  The mother during this process goes under dramatic hormone and anatomical changes.  Creating a new human isn't always easy and many complications can come throughout the process.

Some obvious changes we see in the mother is no doubt, the growing belly... Others include weight gain, mood swings, cravings, and morning sickness.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/travel/10667685/
Travel-cover-shock-for-pregnant-women.html

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/3-tips-pulverize-cravings.htm

Now if we dive a little deeper than the anatomical changes, we run into the physiological changes. The first one we see is a hormone change. Progesterone and estrogen increase dramatically for the purpose of stopping menstruation. We also see a change in the cardiovascular symptoms. Plasma volumes must increase and blood flow rates must also increase to accommodate to the growing fetus. The forming of the placenta and umbilical cord occurs within the uterus to nourish and protect the fetus. During and after birth, breast size increases due to hormonal changes and also to prepare for lactation so the child may be fed.

From Visible Health Solutions

 http://www.visibleproductions.com/index.php?page=asset_detail&asset_id=vpl_0499_001

From the video above we even see changes in the skeletal system during pregnancy. 

When nine months wraps around, pregnant women begin to experience contractions. These contractions may happen very far apart from each other when they first begin but they soon become more rhythmic as birth approaches. These contractions are the tightening of the abdominal muscles to eventually push the baby out of the womb and into the world. 

Complications from pregnancy include breech birth, premature birth, and various birth defects. Breech birth occurs when the baby doesn't get the memo that it needs to turn around before it is born. Premature birth has a number of causes. The main cause is when the body secretes hormones causing the process of labor to begin earlier than it should. The baby may not be fully developed if it is premature and can experience other complications. Other birth defects can also occur. An example is down syndrome. Many factors such as alcohol consumption and smoking during pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects. Here is a list containing specific birth defects and their risk factors. From CDC website.  http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/data.html

Birth Defects*	Cases per Births	Estimated Annual Number of Cases
Adjusted for maternal race/ethnicity**
Central nervous system defects
Anencephaly	1 in 4,859	859
Spina bifida without anencephaly	1 in 2,858	1,460
Encephalocele	1 in 12,235	341
Eye defects
Anophthalmia/microphthalmia	1 in 5,349	780
Cardiovascular defects
Common truncus	1 in 13,876	301
Transposition of great arteries	1 in 3,333	1,252
Tetralogy of Fallot	1 in 2,518	1,657
Atrioventricular septal defect	1 in 2,122	1,966
Hypoplastic left heart syndrome	1 in 4,344	960
Orofacial defects
Cleft palate without cleft lip	1 in 1,574	2,651
Cleft lip with or without cleft palate	1 in 940	4,437
Gastrointestinal defects
Esophageal atresia/tracheoesophageal fistula	1 in 4,608	905
Rectal and large intestinal atresia/stenosis	1 in 2,138	1,952
Musculoskeletal defects
Reduction deformity, upper limbs	1 in 2,869	1,454
Reduction deformity, lower limbs	1 in 5,949	701
Gastroschisis	1 in 2,229	1,871
Omphalocele	1 in 5,386	775
Diaphragmatic hernia	1 in 3,836	1,088
Adjusted for maternal age**
Chromosomal anomalies
Trisomy 13	1 in 7,906	528
Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome)	1 in 691	6,037
Trisomy 18	1 in 3,762	1,109

Weekly Three Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?

Well I've managed to stay organized and keep up with my homework in all my classes while I was up in Albuquerque for the state tennis tournament. I completed my glog. And well not much other stuff at all.

What have you learned recently?

Well I haven't been at school for three days so not much at all. I learned that overpriced ice cream is not worth it.  And, well, nothing else. Sorry this is a pretty suckish week for three questions. 

What are you planning on doing next?

Well I hope the girls tennis team takes the state championship tomorrow. I plan to come home and do more homework and email my english teacher because he didn't really give me make up work ahead of time sooooooo.  ANYWAYS. ok bye have a nice weekend. Unless you are grading this on monday. AWWWWWWWW i just forgot today was the seniors last day and I didn't get to say bye to them...... SENIORS I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND SAY BYE.

Literacy Glog: The Demon in the Freezer

The Senses: Hearing PowToon

My PowToon video all about hearing is up on youtube! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHlU_vbNCFw&rel=0t

sTrEsSeD oUt

So you see finals week is coming up and for some reason I go into crazy psycho Jacob mode. I am so stressed out I am using every second I breathe for studying or keeping up with the stuff I have to do that week.  That is what I view as short-term stress. If you want the textbook definition of short-term stress go here. Just a quick comment on that website I totally agree with what it talks about. I think some stress is good.  Stress for me is a motivation to do better, and to be more efficient. Yeah I know stress is awful but I usually perform better under a slight amount of pressure. Also it helps to be stressed out and push harder so you can get to the light at the end of the tunnel. But you have to find a balance. Too much stress is not a good thing.

So when we talk about long-term stress we are obviously talking about something a bit bigger than finals week.  So then I start to look at the big picture of things. My academic pressure is really stressful. I constantly have to work hard to meet my goal of staying Valedictorian throughout high school and I have to make sure I am studying for the ACT and SAT to make sure I get into a good Universities. The little individual stresses I have in my classes and extracurriculars all pile into one category of long term stress of meeting some long term goals.

I find that I stress out a lot. However, I don't think it is an entirely bad thing. I think it is part of my type-A personality. I regret my stress at the moment but when I look back at it, I am really appreciative that I powered through because it all paid off in the end. I know in finals week I'll be saying things like: "WHY AM I EVEN HERE. I DON'T EVEN LIKE SCHOOL OR PEOPLE OR TEST. LIFE SUCKS. CAN I GO HOME TILL NEXT YEAR? ANYONE HAVE A PAUSE BUTTON I CAN HIT FOR A FEW MONTHS?" And I am not denying this but if you see me saying these things just remind me I'm dumb, and I'll be ok and that it will all pay off in the end.

So in terms of stress reduction? I like to get my mind off of school for a while.  I play tennis which is fun. I like to go running and walking with my dog in the evenings. It means I have to stay up a little later but it's nice to relax for a little bit. I know this sounds weird, but blogging about this is actually making me feel better. I feel like I'm venting to my Anatomy peers and such and It's actually making me feel a little less stressed.  Another thing I think is a good stress reliever is friend support.  Having someone you can talk to and laugh with makes it a ton easier.

Okay, so I have a goal. During finals week in order to remain calm, I decided I am going to do things one day at a time. I found that that has worked in the past. When I have a busy week instead of looking at it as one messy schedule filled week, I chunk it into days and say "If I can just make it through today ok, then I can do tomorrow." and it works. So I am going to try that. As for long term stress I'm not sure what I want to do about that or even if  I want to do anything about it.  We'll check back in soon and get all updated and stuff on my stress reduction strategy.

Weekly Three Questions

What have you completed recently?

Well I had a tennis match on saturday against Onate.  No one on the team lost any games which is awesome because Onate totally got schooled. I actually made little flyers and attached candy to them to hand out tomorrow for my re-election campaign. Voting day is on Tuesday so if for some reason a freshmen finds this page (which i doubt my blog is pretty lame) Vote for me!! Oh I also procrastinated all weekend and built a really cool metropolis on simcity. In terms of doing anything before the weekend I went to large group for symphony and we got a one superior rating (which is the best you can get besides a one plus). And we had this guest clinician come in to help us in band before our large group which is this Thursday.

What have you learned recently?

I don't even remember. Well maybe let me try. We learned about rational expressions in algebra 2. In english we just talked about the Scarlet Letter and took some quizzes. I learned a lot of new vocabulary. Mostly because I forgot how much I like reading so I've been reading a ton lately. I am almost done with my book for anatomy and that has some pretty non-vernacular uses of language.

What do you plan on doing next?

I plan on winning the election and becoming the Sophomore Class President for next year. I also plan on doing well at large group. Um the district tournament is next weekend. I really want to do well. Oh! Section Leader tryouts for band are this week and next week so I really want to do well in my tryout and interview.

The Nervous System

"From an engineering standpoint, this is the greatest challenge one can imagine: trying to restore the most incredible machine in the universe." -Todd Kuiken

So in case you haven't figured it out yet "the most incredible machine in the universe" is the brain and nervous system. The most fascinating yet most unknown machines of all. Our brain powers our body and can remeber incredible things with breathtaking precision. Speaking of breathing, our brain controls that too. It is absolutely amazing.  I think what Todd Kuiken was trying to say that the nervous system is so complex and fragile and everything has to be in the correct place for it to work properly. It is so complex that if an engineer where to tackle the daunting task of restoring it, or perhaps, creating it, it would be one of the biggest challenges in all of history. This quote was an analogy to put in perspective the utter magnificence of the human nervous system. 

Now if you really think about it, the brain is really "the most incredible machine in the universe."  Lets take for example the lab we did in class today. It was to test reaction time by having one person drop a meter stick while the other person catches it with their fingers. Well how did you catch it? Well you had a visual input of the meterstick dropping. This signal was sent to the brain. Then your brain processes the picture of it dropping and has to decide what to do. It needs to catch it. So your brain then sends a response to your hand to tell it to catch the falling meterstick. Now keep in mind this all happens in the matter of a few milliseconds. Isn't it crazy how your brain did that. Now think about this, you were probably imagining this happening in your head or recalling the memory of you doing it. AND you were also reading and comprehending this text while breathing, blinking, and your heart beating. Thats a lot of multitasking if you ask me. If you find a machine that can do all of that you let me know.

So after watching Todd Kuiken's TED Talk, his work is so awe-inspiring. He is helping people with prosthetic limbs use them on a level that is close to that of a real limbs function. The best part is, they don't have to touch buttons or move them manually, it is like they never lost their arm, they literally do exactly what you would do to move your arm. When you clench your hand your brain sends nerve signals to do that. So does hers. This new ingenious idea where you would transfer the arm nerves to the pectoral muscles and let them grow as regular arm nerves and use them to create these actions. The pectoral muscle now contracts in weird ways that the prosthetic detects as a certain type of movement that in turn makes the prosthetic complete a task. They are emerging on an even bigger idea to embellish the already amazing prosthetic. They are trying to not just send signals to the prosthetic, but for the prosthetic to produce feedback to the brain so we can feel hot and cold, sharp and dull, or smooth and bumpy.  They have a base for it. It requires stimulation to the pectoral area that corresponds to a certain part of the arm or hand. It also requires being connected to many electrodes that are still on a computer in the alpha stage. But pretty soon if they continue advancing through the technology, we may see a prosthetic arm that you couldn't tell apart from a real arm at all in the future. 

So the question you may be wondering is how is this important to the nervous system. Well the nervous system is our body's way of interacting within itself and with the outside world. This new technology harnesses the power of the nervous system and uses it to its advantage by allowing prosthetics to respond to messages from the brain like a regular arm. The nervous system that is very complex and nearly impossible to understand has been "tapped into" by prosthetics. The intricately complicated system of the brain and body relationship is being learned about and applied to modern medicine to benefit humanity. 

I'M SUPPOSED TO BE READING A BOOK?

Just kidding I've been reading a book. I'm about 75% done with it. I'm reading The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston. I have to say, it is quite the terrifying book. It is a book that focuses on true stories about smallpox. The chapters are each different stories or accounts of smallpox outbreaks, or the scientific parts of smallpox, and even chemical warfare stories.  The title itself was quite intriguing to me.  Nothing is more chilling than a demon in the freezer (no pun intended).  And I know they always say, (read this next sentence in your whiniest voice) "don't judge a book by its cover." But seriously look at this cover isn't it awesome?

Anywho, this book is pretty good and it reminds you that things like smallpox can wipe out billions of people like no tomorrow. Literally. No tomorrow. Because smallpox killed everyone. Pretty scary stuff. This book also makes a few mentions of anthrax and how people mail anthrax powder to people to murder them. (I am kind of self-conscious about opening the mail now.) Very.... enlightening? No.... Eye-Opening is more like it.

Weekly Three Questions

What have you completed recently?

First off I would like to apologize that this is late. I had a tennis tournament on Friday and Saturday so I didn't get a chance to get around to this. Anyways. I finished two books recently. The first one was Divergent (which is now in theatres and I want to see it). The second one was The Fault in Our Stars.  Both book were pretty good. It reminded me how much I like to read a good book. It makes me feel like there is hope for good writing unlike The Scarlet Letter we are reading in english. Ugh. It gave away the entire plot in the introduction in the beginning of the book.

What have you learned recently?

Well in math we were just solving radical equations. English we just read the Scarlet Letter (which sucks because of reasons stated above). Oh yeah! I forgot, I learned how to play French Horn. So I went to rehearsal and picked one up for the first time and I had a lot of fun. I am playing trumpet in top band for large group festival and french horn in second band for large group.

What do you plan on doing next?

Well I really need to finish the book for anatomy and get started on my literacy glog. I'm reading The Demon In The Freezer. I'm about 1/3 done and it's pretty nerve-racking I gotta say.  I need to get new tennis shoes so that will be done some time this week. So yeah. hope my weekly updates are entertaining for my audience of about .5 of a person.  #livingthepopularlife

EC Remote Controlled Roach

Woah, creepy huh? A roach is being controlled by someone other than itself. I assume the device on its back is some sort of a way to tap into its central nervous system. Then there is probably an external remote being used to send nerve impulses to cause different reactions. But what if this were to be created to work on humans? Well here is where we run into an ethical wall. As stated in article's, 1, 3, 4 ,5, and 6, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, humans are free to their own will and certain attributes that could result from this device are also prohibited such as slavery, and torture.  I do not believe humans should be able to control your movements and thoughts. That is too controlling. If you have ever read the book 1984 by George Orwell (<<<warning spoiler alert) you might have a good idea about what could happen to society if this technology were implemented in the daily lives of humanity.  The technology is on its way to being able to control more complex nervous systems however this technology should never be used on another human because it defies their inalienable rights. What do you think?

HHMI Leech Lab

So I dissected a leech today.... Gross.  Just kittens, it was a virtual dissection so it wasn't bad at all.  The lab was for an introduction into the nervous system.  The leech which has a very simple nervous system reacts in the same way that our complex nervous system works and reacts to stimuli.  The point of the entire lab was to learn the how each different nerve cell types react to different stimuli.  During the lab you discover several cell types which include Types: N, X, R, T, and P.  When stimulating the cells, each of these nerve cells are responsible for a certain relay of message to the brain.  From the lab these data I concluded were: Type N had a lengthy reaction to forceps, Type T had short repeated reactions to the feather, less short repeated reactions to the probe, and a very short reaction to the forceps, Type P had a short reaction to the probe, Type R had an ongoing short reaction to everything including no stimuli at all, and lastly Type X had no reactions to any stimuli.  If you would like a little bit of review about what exactly a neuron is go here (you know sometimes we just forget, it's part of getting older)

An image depicting a neuron with fluorescent dye to show its shape. Much like what we observed in the leech lab. 

http://www.encorbio.com/Album/pages/ChkNFH-neuron1.htm

Without previous knowledge, you might say it's impossible to explain why these different neuron types provided different reactions. Lucky for you, Anatomy and Physiology seems to be consistent. Form and Function. Our motto. The types of neurons are all shaped differently. If its form is different from another type, then so is its function. Crazy right.  I suspect that the way these nerves are formed cause them to relay different messages to the brain. For example the N type might specifically react to pressure and the X Type react only to burns. Obviously hypothetical but you get the point.  I'm excited to learn more about the nervous system. Not really. I'm not too thrilled. Because nothing can be as exciting as the muscular system AM-I-RIGHT GUYS (also joking).

System Update: Muscles

Oh the muscular system. Curious isn't it? All these muscle fibers upon muscle fibers contain little tiny sarcomeres that expand and contract all at the same time. Millions of them working together to cause contraction. Not to mention how our muscles are attached to the bone in strategic places to move our body in what seems like an infinite number of ways. Each muscle is uniquely fitted designed for specific movements and placements. The anatomy of muscle is simply astounding. Lets take our shoulder muscles for example. Brachialis and Deltoid are two muscles that are responsible for working with about 10 other muscles to move the arm in its rotator cuff. When you move your arm around this "system" of muscles work together to produce the desired motion. 

http://www.ehs.utoronto.ca/services/Ergonomics/exercise.htm

Don't even get me started on the physiology... (just kidding this is for a grade so I kind of have to 'get started' on the physiology) Muscles are primarily for movement. That is their main function. How does this happen you ask? Well it all starts out with an Action Potential. An Action Potential in this case is an electrical impulse that causes the change throughout the muscle cell. When the action potential hits the membrane of a muscle cell, there is an activation of Sodium Potassium pumps. The normal diffusion is now affected and the sodium and potassium concentrations go askew causing a depolarization of the cell (the cell flipped charges now its negative on the inside). Because of this the Sarcoplasmic reticulum (The storage center for calcium) releases calcium around the muscle all at once. Then the calcium bonds to troponin and tropomyosin causing them to change shape (and ultimately function) of the protein. The tropomyosin is then changed so the active sites on the actin are now revealed.  I like to think of this as like a rock climber or batman. They have that cool hook thingy on a rope and they throw it on top of something  and propel up. Well I think of the myosin as the grappler thing and the active sites of actin as like the thing it hooks onto.  Here is where we get into the sliding filament theory. The two filaments actin and myosin slide past each other. It is the revealing of active sites that allow the filaments to connect or hook-on to each other and contract. I know long process it seems but, it happens over the course of a few milliseconds. 

Homeostasis in the muscular system works just like any other system. We have a stimulus and a response. A fantastic example to use is when our body is subject to extreme temperatures. 

http://apblogandrewstarck.blogspot.com/2010/09/homeostasis.html

The initial stimulus is the cold outside which starts cooling our overall body temperature.  Our body then decides that it needs to do something. So, it decides to start muscle contraction, which at the cost of ATP produces a byproduct of heat.  Muscles also help us voluntarily act for homeostatic balance. If put my finger in boiling water it burns and my muscles react by pulling my finger out of the water. 

Muscles, gotta love 'em

Weekly Three Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?

I successfully completed the task of procrastinating every single day of spring break except today. That is why I am doing these questions on Sunday night instead of Friday night. Woops. I didn't really do anything special this spring break. I got a haircut (finally).

What have you learned recently?

Sleep=better life in general. I learned that sleep is a wonderful thing and that I am going to miss it so much when school starts. Other than that I haven't gained any new knowledge.  I played tennis with my grandfather. He used to play tennis in college and got scholarships and stuff so he is pretty good. He helped me with my serve and returns and other stuff.

What do you plan on doing next?

Well I am going to go to school tomorrow unless I get the "stomach flu" and I stay home. Just kidding, I would miss too much. I plan on doing well on the muscular test (I probably won't but you know what they say: Shoot for the stars!). Jazz fest is sometime this week so that should be cool. Um so yeah.

Torn ACL

A torn ACL consists of a ligament within the knee that has either been torn in half or torn away from the bone.  Its impact within the body causes the inability to walk or bend the knee. The bones that would be impacted would be the tibia and the femur. The ACL connects the femur and the tibia and allows for the basic movement of our leg below the knee. This injury can be inflicted in a number of ways. The most common are direct impact, and over extension of the ligament. The treatment for this commonly requires surgery. For immediate treatment the best thing to do is to ice it and to stop movement and stress on the area. Physical therapy is also a common treatment, however, it is a long and slow process. For a full recovery, it can take up to 8 months. Read More.

Weekly Three Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?

Well, lets see.... I ate some pie today. (today is in fact pi day. 3/14... 3.14 get it haha).  I cleaned my room. That was definitely fun.  Oh freshmen class planned out this cool movie night fundraiser that we plan to do in April. I've actually been keeping up with all of the work in Anatomy I am pacing myself a lot better than the last two systems.

What have you learned recently?

Not a gosh darned thing. Just kidding, I go to school.... like everyday. In English, I learned some vocabulary.  That class is so easy. (don't tell Mr. Hoogenboom though I don't need anymore work than I already have) In Algebra 2 we reviewed alllllllllllll weeeeeeeekkk for the NM SBA which I don't have to take but its good practice, I guess. For some reason in tennis, I just seem to have gotten better this week.  My serves and returns are better so are my volleys and I've been doing better in the game Butts. I know what your thinking, "Whats Butts?" you ask? Well, glad you asked, its an awful tennis game where you have to lightly hit the tennis ball in a certain area and if you miss you get strikes. 3 strikes and your out and you have to go to the service line and get into a position where your butt is facing everyone (your like lying down almost in a fetal like position but your face is towards the ground) and they are on the opposite side of the net and they get to serve as hard as they want at your butt. Its fun  when you are serving... but when you aren't it sucks, so bad.  Oh and if you are serving and you end up hitting the person with the ball you get to serve again. It can go on forever. Wow I strayed off topic there.... Oops.

What do you plan on doing next?

Well since the girls basketball team is in the state championship tomorrow I am leaving with pep band to go play and support the team. So I'll be in Abq for the majority of the day. I still haven't gotten my racket re strung. I'm going to take my muscle coloring plates on the bus so I can hopefully finish them. But my interest level drops so much when I could be doing other things so I'll probably end up not doing them Saturday and just doing them Sunday afternoon instead. Or I could play tennis on Sunday and do coloring plates during testing week since I have no morning classes next week.  Or my dog could eat the coloring plates. The possibilities are endless. Tune in next week for a critical update on the show "What did Jacob ever do with his coloring plates?" this is Bob Barker signing off, see you next week!

6.1 String Muscles

       Well, after learning a bit about the muscle system today, I just wanted to get some facts straight. Joints are in our body for the purpose of movement. In a series of pivots, levers, and hinges, these allow articulating bones to move with each other.  Joints all play specific roles in movement. Lets take your elbow joint for example. Go ahead try using it, bend your arm or something. Now, you see how the elbow moves? Well the specific joint is called a hinge joint. It permits flexion and extension. Does your forearm also move left and right? No it doesn't. You can see that the form of the joint (hinge) directly ties into its function. Now if we shift over to the idea of muscles and muscle movement, you might be wondering how these bones move. The answer is muscles. These muscles are attached to the bone in certain places allowing the body (and bones) in their needed ways. Your tibia for example has certain muscles that allow for movement.  You'll notice that your tibia moves at your knee joint. Well the reason for this is that the muscle is attached to your tibia and the joint above your tibia. The point of attachment of your muscles plays a large role in the movement of your body. Also your body has designated muscles for different kinds of movement. You have a muscle for when you flex your arm and a different one when you extend it.    
                         

Integument and Skeleton go Hand in Hand

Within the body, all of the body systems have homeostatic relations with each other in order to keep the organism alive. After studying two systems, the Integumentary System, and the Skeletal System both go hand in hand with each other.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/historicalanatomies/bidloo_home.html

The Skeletal system provides many functions along with the integumentary system. It provides support for body organs such as skin. Skin also synthesizes vitamin D bones need for normal Calcium absorption and deposit of bone salts which make bones strong and hard.

http://www.mpi-inf.mpg.de/departments/d4/areas/physicsbasedmodeling/

Our skeletal and integumentary systems also play a large role in protection in our body. The skin protects from our outside environment from things like disease, infection, heat, and other factors. Our whole Axial Skeleton is there for the purpose of protection. The vertebrae protects the spinal cord. The thoracic cage protects the upper body and its' organs. The Skull protects the brain. Without these systems human life wouldn't be possible. What would we do without our skeleton you ask? See for yourself!

http://sciencewithme.com/learn-about-dem-bones/

Weekly Three Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?

First off sorry for doing this on Saturday. I spent last night practicing for Solo and Ensemble today. Anywho, I just got done with Solo and Ensemble like 10 mins ago. I played a solo and I played in a brass choir piece. I ended up getting a 2+ on my solo. I'm not particularly happy about that my goal was a one. But oh well, I'll live (maybe). We got a 1 on our brass choir which is the best score you can get (besides a 1+ (duh)).  Another task I recently have completed was failing a math test. I missed like 4 days of school and we had an exam over chapter 5 in algebra 2 and i'm 90% sure i got a C or lower. Heck, i don't even know what percent sure i am. I cant solve a polynomial, what makes me think I can pull a probability out of my head. Jeez.

What have you learned recently?

Well i learned i should stop missing school. (even though i have no control over the fact that i do but still...) and i also learned some new rhythms in band while practicing my solo this week. I also played the Whack-a-Bone Arcade and it actually helped me memorize the bones and their locations in the body. I also learned that neck ties can choke you. (not a long story but i'll tell you if you remind me to)

What do you plan on doing next?

Well today since I'm done with Solo and Ensemble i'm using the rest of the day to play catch up on all of my classes. Then at 6 i will be going to the basketball game to play in pep band for the 2nd half of the boys game and all of the girls game. That should be fun. I still need to get my racket re-strung. (thats like the 5th time i've said this on here). But maybe i'll just go play tennis tomorrow and practice for band. Tomorrow is the first break from anything im getting for like 2 weeks and i am going to enjoy every minute of it....... Studying for the skeletal system test -_- *sigh* oh well.

The Integumentary System

http://www.uchospitals.edu/online-library/content=CDR258035

        Ahhh skin, what would we do without it? The truth is, we wouldn't survive without our skin.  Our skin is what makes up our integumentary system. The integumentary system does many things for the good of our body. It protects the body's internal living tissues and organs, protects against invasion by infectious organisms, retains water to prevent dehydration, protects the body against temperature change, helps dispose of waste materials, is a receptor for touch, pressure, pain, heat, and coldness, and it stores water and fat. All of these functions are vital for us to survive and maintain homeostasis within the body.

       One thing you might notice about your skin that is different than other organs (yes it is an organ) is its elasticity and its ability to stretch constantly. This is important so we can maintain a barrier between our body and the outside world and still be able to move our joints and flex our muscles without the skin breaking. The skins rich network of elastic and collagen fibers is what makes it so flexible. 

       The skin is not very thick. you may know this from when you get a cut. You obviously don't have to cut very deep to see the blood from the capillaries below start to come to the surface. But the skin being thin has its advantages.  The skin is perfect for things like absorption and secretion. You may notice that sweat and oils are secreted from the skin. You might also see that your skin absorbs things.  If some medicines are applied topically on the skin, it can be absorbed into the blood stream. However keep in mind that the skin is selectively permeable. Keratin keeps water from being absorbed through direct contact. So basically if you go swimming keratin is the reason your cells don't explode. 

http://www.redefiningthefaceofbeauty.com/2013/04/are-you-suffering-from-extreme-sweating.html

       Your skin can do extraordinary things. One thing it does for us is help maintain a good homeostatic balance in our bodies.  When your body gets hot, you sweat. When your skin gets cold it sends messages to the hypothalamus to tell the body to shiver or trigger constriction.  Our skin is also a great way to contact our outside environment by using nerve receptors in the skin to sense pressure, pain, and heat. These things also help us voluntarily react to the environment around us.  The integument system is truly amazing in the way it works in our body to complete several tasks.

Three Weekly Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?

Well, that raffle didn't do so hot this week. We made like 30 bucks. I actually just got back home from a tennis tournament in El Paso. Didn't do as well as I wanted to, BUT the tennis tournament continues tomorrow so I have two more matches to play. Hopefully I'll do better. Oh! Also on Monday, I made a little speech to the 8th graders on 8th grade open house night about how Mayfield is awesome and why wouldn't you want to be a Trojan and such.  Some people found it quite amusing.  I got my solo for solo and Ensemble. So I'll be working on that piece of music for the next two weeks. Then in Symphony I got on the first "Tromba" part. Apparently "tromba" is the old word for trumpet. I think its Italian or something. I don't know, I only speak English jeesh. It has lots of fun solo's though.

What have you learned recently?

Well. I think this week has been blahhadfhasldkjfadfzzahsf. You know what I mean right? Like I learned stuff but I don't remember most of it. Well I can't say that, it's just the stuff this week isn't as significant as other weeks. Maybe..... I think I learned how to solve polynomial equations in Algebra 2. Woops. I forgot I had math homework. I should probably try not to forget that. Uhhh, other than that it's just the integumentary system that I took notes on and stuff. In English we learned some new vocabulary and got some homework.  So yeah.

What are you planning on doing next?

Well I plan to do better in the tennis tournament tomorrow than I did today. I also plan to get my racket re-strung this weekend. Um we plan to make our next raffle thing more fun and integrative for the people so we have more people enter than this time.  I finally figured out what this years prom theme is gonna be after like 50 people asking me. Its gonna be The Great Gatsby themed. Uh next, I plan to sleep a lot its a 3 day weekend. And I plan to finish our mesa board and car for competition on the 26th. That will be fun.

Three Weekly Questions

What tasks have you completed recently?
Let's see, tasks.... Oh! I have one. So being the president of freshmen class it is my responsibility to organize things and make meetings and a bunch of other junk. Anyways, I had a great fundraiser idea and we decided to go through with it. We are selling raffle tickets for a valentines day date night. The tickets are $1 and you have a chance to win a $25 gift card to Buffalo Wild Wings and two movie passes. The best part is the gift card and movie passes were donated so everything we earn is profit.  So we made posters and planned out who will work the table at lunch and before school. We also made arrangements to get it advertised on the power-point on all of the TV's at Mayfield. So it was a pretty big step forward for freshmen class and this is the first year the freshmen class has actually done something. Cool beans right?

What have you learned recently?
Well, I think the biggest thing I learned this week was how to serve the ball for more power.  I learned how to serve the ball in a totally different way that puts the ball more under my control and it is much easier to hit harder. I think this has made me an overall better tennis player.

What are you planning on doing next?
I would love to ace the chapter 4 test in anatomy. That'd be fantastic. I've really been stressing out about the amount of homework I've had in all of my classes. So I plan to get it all turned in on time even if it means staying up really late doing nothing but homework. Gotta keep that 4.0 going strong.  I also plan to do my best for my audition for a solo in our jazz festival piece. I hope that goes well. Also I plan (and hope) to make it to the end of the week without drowning in school. Intense right?

How is Tissue is like Silk??

So when I was watching the TED Talk video by Fio Omenetto, I had a constant connection in my mind going on between the similarities between the tissues we just learned about in anatomy, and the silk. Cells are what make up tissues in our body. These cells are all made of the same DNA, however it is the controlled expression of genes within the DNA that differentiates the cells form and function. So, from the video about silk, we learned that it can be formed in many different ways to serve endless purposes within our body. If you think about it, tissue and silk aren't all that different. They both represent how form affects function and vice-versa. Lets take an example. There is cartilage in your nose. So lets say for some reason this cartilage becomes damaged and it is not being repaired by your body. Well, since the extracellular matrix is what makes up most of connective tissue, many protein based fibers are used within the cartilage. Silk can be used in the same why by using proteins to make fibers that can substitute for the cartilage. Now keep in mind that this situation is hypothetical and it is unlikely that we have the ability to do this. However the concept that silk and tissue have direct correlations between form and function is extremely important. I predict that in the next several decades, we will have bio-engineered silk to the point where we can manipulate it to have exactly the same form and functions of our tissue and cells. How about your? What do you think silk will serve as in the future? I think this 5 millennial-old material has the potential to become something great.

Image from: http://www.organovo.com/science-technology
/bioprinted-human-tissue/architecturally-correct-tissue

Image from: http://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/high-strength

-silk-scaffolds-improve-bone-rep

Three Weekly Questions

1. What tasks have you completed recently?

Well, I think the biggest task that I accomplished in anatomy this week was studying and taking the chapter one exam. I have to say, it wasn't easy. I made a lot, and I mean a lot (like 60) flashcards for this test. I gotta say the flashcards and re-watching the flip notes made me much more prepared for the test. That test was a truly daunting task, but I think I completed it to the best of my abilities and I feel confident. Which may be either good or bad. Ms. Gardner is probably despicably laughing right now because she knows, that I will never again, be confident about her tests. Oh well.

2. What have you learned recently?

I learned mostly about the regions of the body, directional anatomical terms, and homeostasis. Those three topics were our main points of study in class this week and the previous week. I think I learned a lot. I would've never in a zillion years thought that I could memorize 40 regions of the body that quickly. But I did, so, yay.

3.  What are you planning on doing next?

I plan to make my flashcards in sections rather than all at once. I think it would be easier if I make the flashcards right after I take flip notes or complete a project/assignment that had some info that would be on the test. I am also gonna do my weekly questions from now on. (the whole class forgot to do them last Friday) Also I plan to have an amazing Friday and ace my playing test in jazz band, ace my written test in symphonic band, get a good grade on my MLKJ essay for English, make it into symphony orchestra by doing well in my audition after school, then kick butt at tennis practice, then to finish it off have a fun time in pep band at the basketball game. Busy day tomorrow. Wish me luck!!!!!

I am a Digital Native.

       The term Digital Native was founded by Marc Prensky in 2001. This term was used to describe those born into a new culture in the digital age.  These people such as myself grew up with technology becoming a part of a daily life. You can read more about digital natives by clicking the link. Another thing Marc Prensky argues, is that there are also Digital Immigrants. Digital Immigrants are people were born before the widespread digital technology. Although that doesn't mean that these people don't know how to use technology, rather they were introduced at a later age and had to learn to use it. Marc Prensky's original article can be found here. 

       After researching and taking a quiz or two, I have come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a digital native. Shocker right? (that was sarcastic.) You might find from personal experience that most technology natives are under the age of 25. Being born in 1999, that puts me at 14 years old. So I know that I am in the range for being a digital native. The next thing I thought about is, "Can I remember a time when the internet wasn't in large scale use?" The answer to that was no. As far back as I can remember, the internet was already being largely used. We already had internet in our schools and were integrating digital technology into our education system.  For these reasons I believe that I am a digital native. I grew up with digital technology and it has been very easily accessible to me. I find technology easy to use because I was introduced to it so early on in my life. You might even be able to compare it to learning a language. It's easier to learn when you're younger. 

Here is an infographic I made to show the contrasts between 

Digital Natives and Immigrants. I used Picktochart.com to create 

this infographic.

       Are you not sure which you might be. A digital native? Or a digital immigrant? Take the quiz!

       Whether you are a digital native or a digital immigrant I won't judge you. This has repeatedly happened throughout history.  Maybe someday a new technology will come out when I am much older and I will be an immigrant. Who knows. But for know the natives are one step ahead of the immigrants in digital technology but more and more is being learned each day by each of the two parties. Who knows you may not forever remain either a native or an immigrant to digital technology. Only time will tell.