Summer Assignment 8.25

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 (Block 1 or 2), 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 (Block 3), 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 8.18

• I had no idea that mathematicians were actively working on what shapes I could use to tile my bathroom.  There are now 15 different pentagons that I can use, after a new one was discovered. Here are the options, the new one is the yellow one in the bottom right hand corner. 

  

  Photograph: Ed Pegg/Wikipedia

• Polio may be eradicated during our lifetime. Roadblocks to this are more social than scientific.
• Neural activity in a fruit fly larva can be mapped at near single-neuron resolution. Mice are next; possibly humans somewhere down the line?
• Possible first flower discovered.

Summer Assignment 8.11

• Follow-up on the four-legged snake from last week. It may have been removed from Brazil illegally. Also raises the question of the role/responsibility of scientists to check on the history of the samples they are studying.
• Look up! (Or don't. There may be zombies up there.)
• The basic science behind colors. This one is a bit more chemistry/physics related, but is still pretty interesting.

Summer Assignment 8.4

• No new dinosaur this week, but a pretty cool new snake species. With legs.
• Ants work together with mathematical precision.
• Leave that bird on the ground alone. Unless its ugly. Then you can put it back.
• Promising results for the latest Ebola vaccine. Definitely something to keep an eye on for the next few months. 

Summer Assignment 7.28

Only one link this week, since it is a longer article, and I think it is important for everyone to read it. CRISPR-Cas9 technology allows researchers to edit DNA sequences in any living organism. This technology is being looked at for applications ranging from curing diseases, to making organisms resistant to parasites, to basic research about gene function. But there are major ethical issues, which the article points out.

What do you all think? Is this something that is worthwhile? Or do the potential risks outweigh the benefits?

Summer Assignment 7.21

Quick reminder before the links that comments go through moderation before they are posted. This makes it easier for me to keep track of who has commented and when. If you don't see your comment show up immediately, it is most likely in the moderation list. I generally try to check a few times a day, usually early in the morning and in the evening.

• What breaking up does to your brain
• You've heard the Wilhelm Scream, even if you've never heard of it

• Another week, another new dinosaur
• Turns out black panthers actually have spots, we just couldn't see them before, Hope there is time to update this.

Summer Assignment 7.14

First official post of the 2015 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.

• When the official advice after being by stung is to "just lie down and start screaming" I think it is pretty safe to say the tarantula hawk is going right to the top of everyone's least favorite animal list.
• New dinosaur
• New subatomic particle
• And of course... Pluto

Summer Assignment 2015

Welcome to the AP Biology summer blog for 2015. I hope to get the first official post (that you will have to comment on) in the next few days. 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. Check out the Podcast list to the right. All of these are excellent, and are a great way to keep up with current science topics, and they are very entertaining as well.

4. 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.