Summer Assignment 8.28.18

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 8.21.18

Almost done for the summer, keep up the great comments.

• Wheat genome finally solved. 
• Charting the evolution of human intelligence.
• News headline or AP Bio exam question: If identical twins married identical twins, how genetically similar would their children be?

Summer Assignment 8.14.18

Only a couple weeks to go for the Summer Assignment. Keep up the great comments.

Only one link this week, it is another long article. Are we wrong about why the dinosaurs went extinct?

It is important to remember the role that debates like this play in scientific research. If everyone just accepted the first explanation presented them, there would never be any advances.

Summer Assignment 8.7.18

There are still a few comments that list "Unknown" as the author. If your comments from the last few weeks have not shown up, please check the settings and make sure you are allowing Google to show a user name on the blog.

• Bioengineered lungs transplanted into pigs
• Good overview of cognitive biases. You can't escape these, only hope to recognize when you may be falling victim to them.

Summer Assignment 7.31

Sorry for the post being a day late, had a busy day yesterday and didn't get the post up in time.

Only one link today, it is a longer article. Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change details the period from 1979 - 1989 when global warming and the greenhouse effect first came into public awareness. We came very close to solving the problem then; hopefully we can find a solution now before it is too late.

Summer Assignment 7.24.18

There are still a few "unknown" comments from the last two weeks in my queue. If your comments have not shown up, please change the settings on your account and repost them.

• What forms of faster than light travel are most scientifically likely? My favorite SF project right now, The Expanse, doesn't have FTL travel, and it is one of the more scientifically realistic stories that I have read/watched.
• Possible new lead in the search for an Ebola virus vaccine. New protein target that may increase the effectiveness of the vaccines.
• Finding vs developing your passions.

Summer Assignment 7.17.18

Before we get to the posts this week, please make sure that your Google account settings allow your name to show up in the comment section. There are a handful of comments from last week that were listed "Unkown" as the author. If your comment has not been posted, please check your settings. I need to know names in order to give everyone credit.

The links:

• Why do some genes have interesting names like "Sonic Hedgehog" and "Ken and Barbie"? 
• Amyloid-beta protein buildup has been linked to Alzheimer's disease. New research shows that the normal function of this protein may be in defense against viral infections.
• More parasites this week. This time, focusing on the efforts to raise awareness that some parasite species are in danger of going extinct, and what we may learn from them.

Summer Assignment 7.10.18

First official post of the 2017 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. 

Please remember to follow me on Twitter (@DrHMTHS) to get notified when new posts go up, and to complete the form to let us know about any extended vacation plans.

The links:

• Parasites don't need to infect a host to control behavior. Slight case of overselling the data with the headline, but it basically holds. Group behavior can be dangerous. 
• New guidelines on antibiotic treatment coming? Maybe finishing the entire run will no longer be the standard. This may also require closer monitoring during treatment, since it seems sugar levels are a major indicator.
• CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing may not work in stem cells. 

Summer Assignment 2018

Welcome to the AP Biology summer blog for 2018. 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 9; the final post will be the week of August 27. 

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.