Summer Assignment 8.26.19

This will be the final week of the summer assignment this year. Great job with all the comments, I hope you found some of the articles I linked to interesting. There are a few things I have for you to do this week.

• To get credit for this week's entry, tell me what your favorite post was over the summer, and what you are most looking forward to learning more about this year.
• If you are registered for Dr. H's class, please visit this website and request access. If you have used PB Works before, you can use your previous account information and will not have to confirm your email. If you are new to PB Works, you DO NOT need to use your school email account to request access. After I accept you, you will receive a confirmation email. 
• If you are registered for Miss Drust's class, she will provide you with the course website.
• Once you have access to the wiki, feel free to have a look around. It is still a work in progress, so there is not too much there yet. There are some things on the front page for you to do.

That's it. See you all next week.

Summer Assignment 8.19.19

Only two stories this week. Remember, if your comments are not showing up, make sure your account settings allow your name to be shown on the blog.

• New research into the formation of the first cells answers a long-standing question.
• Speeding up photosynthesis

Summer Assignment 8.12.19

This weeks links:

• Ongoing debate about the earliest animals: Were they similar to modern sponges or closer to comb jellies?
• Cool/creepy video about parasites
• New research indicates that the human microbiome produces a large number of novel, small proteins. These proteins may have a large effect on our health. 

Summer Assignment 8.5.19

This weeks stories:

• CRISPR technology to be used in human trials for the first time in the US.
• Peppered moth caterpillars can sense the color of their surroundings with their skin. I know the article explains that the caterpillars' eyes were painted over, but I still have the mental image of some poor undergrad student tying hundreds of tiny blindfolds. Research is great. 
• Very interesting article about CTVT, a transmissible cancer of dogs. 

Summer Assignment 7.29.19

There are still a good number of "Unknown" author comments. If your comments are not showing up on the blog, please check your account settings and make sure you have allowed your user name to show on the site. You may need to repost your comment in order for it to show up.

This weeks links:

• Along with being a (very) short history lesson on viruses, this article highlights a very important, and often overlooked, aspect of science. Scientists are very precise in their language, and it is extremely rare that a single term will be used to describe more than one concept. 
• It's Shark Week, again. Although many experts feel that the programming relies on shark-attack reporting too heavily, Discovery.com does have some ideas for anyone interested in learning more about sharks, and helping conservation efforts.  
• Why do mint-flavored foods make your mouth feel cold? It has always been interesting to me that plant evolution to avoid predation (not only mint feeling cool but peppers feeling hot) has lead to properties desirable for humans.

Summer Assignment 7.22.19

There are a good number of comments from last week sitting in the moderation queue because there is no username associated with them. If you no not see your comment, please make sure that the settings allow your username to be viewed. You may need to repost your comment for the name to show up.

This weeks links:

• Humans disrupt ecosystems just by talking
• More unknown cell stuff: Are neurodegenerative diseases and aging due to a failure of cells removing waste?
• Another trend continues: Me posting to physics articles on a AP Bio blog. This one (by the same author as last week) is about what is the physical explanation of objects colors. 

Summer Assignment 7.15.19

First official post of the 2019 Summer Assignment. Rules are simple:

1. Look at the list of links I provide.
2. Pick a few (or all) to read.
3. Make an intelligent comment here that shows you read and thought about at least one.
4. Gain points. Comments that are made within the week receive maximum points. 

Comments are moderated, so they will not show up immediately. If it has been a few days and you don't see yours, let me know and I will look for it. I highly recommend you keep a record of your comments, in case any get lost.

Please remember to complete the form to let us know about any extended vacation plans.

The links:

• It is important to remember that science is an ongoing active process, and there are many topics we still do not fully understand. Cells are a topic that may seem to be fully explained, but as this article points out, there are still some big unanswered questions.
• Why study science? Note, the intro is about the authors chosen field of cold-atom physics, so if you want to skip that, the general stuff starts after the second picture (girl walking on college campus).
• Iodine is an essential nutrient for brain development and production of thyroid hormones. It was added to table salt (iodized salt) to help prevent iodine deficiencies and hypothyroidism. Clues about how prehistoric humans got enough iodine in their diet comes from a recent discovery about bonobos, some of our closest evolutionary relatives. 

Summer Assignment Start Date

Please note, there was an error in the last post regarding the start date of the summer assignment. The first post will be up early next week.

AP Biology Summer Assignment 2019

Welcome to the AP Biology summer blog for 2019. The summer assignment will work as follows:

• Once a week, I will post a few links to current science articles that I find interesting/entertaining
• You pick a few, or all, of the links and read through them
• Post a comment on the blog post about the article(s) that you read. Comments can be anything, as long as it demonstrates that you have read the article and put some thought into your response
• If your comment occurs within the week of posting, you will receive maximum points for that week
• Comments are moderated, so it may take a few days for your comment to show up

I hope to get the first official post (that you will have to comment on) up on the week of July 7; the final post will be the week of August 25. 

In the meantime, some things you can do:


1. Become a follower of the blog. There are two ways to do this, both can be found a little ways down on the right hand sidebar. If you follow via email, Blogger will send you notifications of new posts. There is also the option to subscribe to an RSS feed for both posts and comments.

2. Follow me on Twitter (@DrHMTHS). There is a button to the right to do this quickly. I will be posting on Twitter when new posts are up. If you do not have a Twitter account, it is probably a good idea to go ahead and get one; we will be using it in my class next year.

3. If you know of a time frame which you will be unable to comment due to vacation, follow this link to complete the form to let us know before you leave for vacation. We will make arrangements with you as far as making the missed weeks up. If you do not let us know ahead of time, the missed weeks will count as zeros.