For this blog post, Mr. Kimbley had assigned us to read an  article called "The Physics of Santa Claus" and rebuttal articles of that article. I really enjoyed "The Physics of Santa Claus"  because it had some humor in it and the author gave really good details supporting his claim. In the article, the author's claim was that Santa Claus is real. He described how flying reindeer exist, how many children receive gifts from Santa, how long it takes for Santa to get to each house and deliver all the gifts AND eat all the snacks left for him, the weight of the gifts and sleigh, and so on. He gave some really good details, and exact (well, almost exact) calculations. It all sounds reasonable, but you never know if it would be really real or not! 
     I'm not really sure what my claim would be for this article. I'm kind of leaning on the yes side, but also a little bit on the no side. The reason for the yes side is because all those reasons that the author gave of that article is reasonable for the reason why we NEVER see Santa Claus. Even if we stay up to wait for him, he is too quick to spot even if he's totally overweight AND he has so many other things to do. And also, the author gave really good details about his idea like how quick Santa arrived to each house, and how quick he delivered the presents, which exactly explains why we never see Santa (except for at the mall.) So, I'm pretty iffy about it. My reason for leaning on the no side is because all those reasons might be  too good to be true. Anybody could come up with those calculations and bust out random numbers, but to actually support it, you would have to see it for your own eyes. That's why I'm kind of on the no side. When the author stated, "The sleigh is moving at 650 miles per. second.." I thought that was kind of ridiculous, but then again, he does have MAGICAL reindeer.  When he also stated that Santa doesn't go to kids that are Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, etc. that totally made me think he was fake because there are many kids who believe in those religions and they still believe in Santa AND they still receive gifts. I know that if I were a little kid, my claim would be that Santa Claus is awesome, and he is totally real. But now that I'm older, I still have second thoughts about it.... 

     The way DNA replicates before dividing is pretty simple. In science class, we had to build a model of DNA's double-helix. During that process, we also learned how the DNA replicates before it divides. So here's how it goes. First, the DNA stays as its usual self. Then the DNA splits right in the middle, and another strand that is complementary to the one that is left is attached to the old one. The new helix is the new copy of the DNA, and the old one is the original. I'm pretty sure that's how DNA replicates before it divides. I don't know to explain it any other way, so that is my description. We also had to write an essay about this blog topic on the day we took the science test. How DNA replicates is pretty simple, so if you want to learn more about it, you could always do extra research. I think that one helix that is taken away is attached to another DNA strand that is looking for a complementary side. 

     There is a lot of things to know about DNA structure. First of all, DNA is made out of nucleotides. Nucleotides contain of deoxyribose sugar, phosphates, and a base. Everything is identical except the bases. There are four bases: adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine. They are often represented by the first letter of their name - A, T, G, and C. A and T are always paired up, while G and C are paired together. These are called "base pairs." The structure of DNA is in a spiral form, known as double helix. On both sides of DNA, there are the nucleotides and in the middle are the based pairs held together by H bonds. I actually had the experience to see and build DNA structure in science class. It was very cool because I was able to actually see how it works. I plan on learning more about DNA structure. 

     Mitosis is a method that almost all cells use to make new cells. Mitosis is a part of the cell cycle. First, the cell cycle starts with interphase. That is when the cell makes a copy of its DNA and prepares to divide. Then comes mitosis. Mitosis is broken down into 4 phases: prophase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Prophase is very important because that is when the cell breaks down its nuclear membrance and the chromosomes start to form. The next phase, metaphase, is when the chromosomes line up to the center of the cell. Once the cell has completed that phase, the cell cycle is almost complete. The next phase, anaphase, is when the chromatids split, and it becomes stretched out. This is when the chromosomes are about to split. Then there is telophase. Telophase is when membranes are formed around the chromosomes that are ready to divide. These are all the phases in mitosis. 
     Then the last stage of the cell cycle is cytokinesis. That is when two new daughter cells form. They have the exact DNA as the original cell. If the cell has a cell wall, there would just be a cell plate between the two. But if the cell doesn't have a cell wall, it just pinches into two seperate cells. 

     Bacteria, plant, and animal cells. How do they differ, and what do they have in common? Well, to start off, plant cells are found in plants, and animal cells are found in animals. They all have some similar structures such as the nucleus, DNA, ribosome, etc. But animal cells do not have chloroplasts or cell walls like plant cells do. Plant and animal cells also recieve food in different ways. Organisms with animal cells consume other organisms to get energy, but organisms with plant cells make their own food to get energy. Bacteria are single-celled organisms. They are very different from animal and plant cells. It just has a cell wall, a nucleus, and thread-like DNA. When they are in the process of making new cells, it just splits into two daughter cells. But with animal cells and plant cells, they go through many different phases such as interphase and mitosis.

     We have recently just finished our edible cell project for science class. I really enjoyed doing that project because it involved team work and creativity. It also helped me learn about cells better.  I learned where most of the cell organelles go, and I learned about their functions. For example, I did not know that cells had a protective barrier called "cell membrane." I also learned about many other organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, vacuole, etc. 
    Our 7th grade science teachers want our opinion about this cell project. Well, for me, it was fun and very educational, and I think we should continue this project. In order to make it, you actually have to take the time to learn about the cell you are making. At first, I wasn't so sure about making this because I didn't know much about cells. But after doing this project, it made me learn a lot about them. This project was very helpful, and tasty. 

     There are many organelles in a cell, and all of them have specific roles. Some organelles are ribosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and lysosomes. All of these organelles are important to the cell. The ribosomes is one of the smallest organelles. The importance of ribosomes is that they provide protien, which is why they are found all over the cell. Most of the time they are around the rough ER. The endoplasmic reticulum is classified into 2 groups: soft and rough. The soft ER is not surrounded by ribosomes. The ER is very important to the cell because it delivers the ribosomes in and out of the cell. For some reason, lysosomes is my favorite organelle. The lysosomes are also important cells because they get rid of waste and old, dying cells. I think that is my favorite because I think of it as a superhero. 
     There is also another important organelle, although I'm not sure if it really is one, but it is the cell membrane. The cell membrane is like the gate entrance to the cell. It controls what goes in and out of the cell. It is made of phosolipids. The outside of the phosolipid likes water, but the inside does not. Which is why it is difficult for certain materials to get through. I think of all these cell organelles as a cell city. 

      When the baby rat is first born, it goes through many changes in its life. When a baby rat is first born, it has no fur and it is blind; therefore, its mother is really needed. After a week or so, the baby's eyes are open. After another week, the baby is able to play wildly. And after four weeks, it is officially weaned and it has some fur. 
     The growth of the baby rat changes over time. To see if it has grown, you have to measure from its head all the way to its tail, and you also measure its weight. By doing that, you can see how much has the baby grown. My science class hasn't really done this because we don't have baby rats. But I have gone to Mr. Kriste's classroom and play with his baby rats. I saw them when they were first born. All the babies were sleeping and their eyes weren't open. But after 5 or 6 weeks, I went back to visit them. They had fur on them and they were playing wildly. I was amazed by how fast the baby rats grew from just being small tiny babies.

     So as you've heard, the first quarter has ended and now we are on to the second quarter. I truly did enjoy my first quarter here at Computech; I learned many things. Some things I learned took place in science class. I learned many new things in that class and I'm glad I did. We did many activities in the 1st quarter. One of the interesting activities we did was bubble gum chewing. I think that was the most interesting activity we did in the first quarter.
     What is bubble gum chewing? Well, it's exactly as it's said. We chewed gum in class for 10 minutes, but stopping every two minutes. The purpose of the activity was to see if mass of the gum would increase or decrease in the 10 minutes that it is being chewed. We used a triple beam scale to measure the mass of the gum. It turns out the gum was decreasing every two minutes that we had to stop and check. During that activity, it was my first time using a triple beam scale. I'm glad I know how to use it because I know that it will be used a lot through out the year in science class. This activity was a good experience, and I hope we get to do more interesting activites like these in the next 3 quarters, including this one. 

    How do you know if your cells are working if you cannot feel the cellular activity that is going on inside your body? Well, that is a pretty simple question. You can not feel cells moving around in your body. But a way to know that your cells are working is that you are alive and healthy. The cells keep you alive and most cells prevent you from getting sick. 
     Another way of knowing that your cells is work that your body is functioning correctly and nothing odd is really happening. Such as one day, all of a sudden, you start throwing up, your head is dizzy, and your stomach really hurts. You probably aren't getting enough nutrients and you need more energy by eating. I think you can figure out if your cells are working or not by pretty obvious things or maybe just having regular check-ups with your doctor.