Solved by a verified expert:Topic 2: Creature Chemistry
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Creature Chemistry’
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Before preparing your
response to this week’s discussion topic I recommend (not
required) that you watch this video, a crash course in biological molecules, in
addition to working through this week’s OLI modules:
Pick and research a
topic related to chemistry and your chosen creature from last week. You could
describe the chemical compounds responsible for hair or feather colors, that
helps it survive in various environmental conditions like extreme cold or heat,
that makes it poisounous, glow in the dark, or the chemical composition of its
diet. Before you start your research state a hypothesis. Then summarize what
you learned from your research and in the conclusion state whether the research
support your hypothesis, or not.
As long as the topic
is related to chemistry and your creature you have a free range of topics to
explore here. You need to explore the topic in depth and relate it to the OLI
content. Your response should be 2-3 paragraphs.
One main response is due Sunday
August 31, two replies are due Tuesday September 2.
Example
Hypothesis: The eggs shells of the Great Blue Heron
are made of a calcium compound that make it hard, this is important for
protection of the embryo.
Research
Summary:I learned that bird eggs are made primaryly of calcium carbonate,
which consist of calcium ions and carbonateions,
the latter consisting of one carbonatom and three oxygenatoms. The calcium and carbonate ions are
connected byionic
bonds, the negatively charged
carbonate ions donating two electrons to the positively charged calcium ions:.

Image copied from:
http://pl.static.z-dn.net/files/d4c/e574401f5369dc2cc08fb64a7e14cc38.png
The calcium carbonate in the
ggg shells does make them hard, and this protects the bird embryos, but I also
learned that they have lots of tiny pores that allow transport of various
compounds, such as gasses and water, in and out of the eggs. So in other words,
eggs are surrounded bysemi-permeable membranes just like other cells (we will get back to this next week).
If you are interested in
learning more about the anatomy and chemistry of eggs, check out this
article:https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/eggs/eggcomposition.html

My hypothesis was supported by
the research even though the function of the egg shell is more complex than I
had originally proposed.

Emperor Penguin. My last week creature Pick.
1.
The species that I chose is the Emperor
penguins. I chose this wonderful creatures because of how beautiful they look.
Apart from Barn Owl they are my second favorite birds. I like how they
huddle together to escape wind and keep warm. The female penguins care so much
for their chicks that when they go outside they bring food home, while the male
emperors go to the sea to fetch food just for themselves. I guess
that doesn’t apply to every male species. They live in Anterctic ice, and
like to be in water. I saw this kind of penguins in Europe and in Africa.
.Emperor
penguins picture fromhttp://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/emperor-penguin/

Topic 3. .
Actions for Topic 3: Creature Cells
1) What type of cell does your
species have?
2) Does it have special
cells to detect its environment or cells that help it live in its
environment? Does it have specialized cells that are important for
cellular respiration or photosynthesis or important for another type of
cellular process, like reproduction?
If you are unable to find
information about cells in your specific species you can describe cells that
are characteristic for the group of species your creature belong to (fish,
birds, mammals, flowering plants, fungi etc). Use both the OLI course materials
and additional resources to prepare your response.

Since the Great Blue Heron is a
bird I can conclude that it has eukaryotic cells, and since it is an animal I
can conclude that its cells do not have a cell wall, but they do have a cell
membrane, mitochondria and a nucleus in addition to other organelles (OLI).

When i did a web-search for
“Great Blue Heron cells” I came across an article titledIntracellular Yeasts in Endothelial Cells of a Great Blue Heron (Ardea
Herodias) In this research study scientists from Canada found that theendothelial cells of a dead Great Blue Heron
containedyeast cells. This study was conducted in an attempt to
understand the cause of disease in domestic birds. Endothelial cells are cells
that line the inside of blood vessels. They form a barrier between the blood
and the the rest of the circulatory system and allow for efficient blood flow.
This is an example of the many
single-celled organisms that larger organisms contain. Yeast are single-celled
fungi, which means they are eukaryotic cells. On a side note, have you heard
that we humans have more bacterial cells than human cells? Check out this
article to learn more:Humans Have Ten Times More Bacteria Than Human Cells: How Do Microbial
Communities Affect Human Health?

Topic 4
Actions for Topic 4:
Creature Growth and Reproduction
In your main response answer at
least two of these questions as it related to your favorite creature:

1) How many chromosomes are
found in each cell of your organism? Does this number vary between different
cells? Explain.
2) Explain your species’
reproductive strategy. Sexual and/or asexual?Is mitosis and/or meiosis
involved? Other processes?

3) Can your species regenerate
body parts or is healing limited? Does growth and healing involve mitosis
and/or meiosis?

4) Which stages does your
species grow through as it develops into adulthood?
5) What happens if mitosis is
out of control? Are there any known diseases associated with mitosis errors in
your species?

Example:
1. I was not able to find the
chromosome number for the great blue heron, but I did find that chickens and
doves have 78, and that turkey and pigeons have 80. Since all birds are related
I hypothesize that the Great Blue Herons chromosome number is in the same
range, which is a significantly higher number than humans. This is the number of
chromosomes in somatic cells. Egg and sperm cells would have half that number
chromosomes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_organisms_by_chromosome_count
2. The Great Blue Heron
reproduces sexually, the male producing sperm cells through the process of
meiosis, and the female producing egg cells through the process of meiosis.
Meiosis is the production of four haploid cells through a series of phases
grouped into meiosis I and meiosis II. Each of the haploid cells that result
from meiosis are genetically unique. (OLI)