In chapter three when Dian came in contact with the gorillas and the swarm of termites, she learned a lot about gorillas habits. The main thing she learned is that gorillas do not need tools to eat because they are endowed with their hands and mouths that can be used easily to maintain the vegetation that they eat. When they found the termites they simply moved to another location to eat, unlike the chimps Dian thought to compare them to.

1.              Dian had been very eager to study gorillas for a long time and after her first failed attempt at the study she was very upset. She was ecstatic when she was offered the chance by Dr. Leakey to return to Africa, so when given the chance she gladly took it. The chance to finally see the gorillas is what greatly motivated her, as on her first trip she never actually got the chance to see them.

2.              Dian wanted a chance to see the gorillas in their natural habitat. Though she thought the it was possible that leaving the woods might be a mistake, she did it gradually and even got a chance to see the gorillas. She did it slowly and even attempted to make herself seem like a strange, new gorilla. This gave her a better opportunity to monitor and see the gorillas in their natural habitat.

We live in a temperate forest environment, as we are surronded mainly in West Virginia by trees that go through leaf changes throughout the seasons, an example being losing them in the winter. As biotic characteristics describe the living organisms in a biome, these would be things such as the trees, plants, animals and obviously humans. All living things within our biome here are biotic factors. Abiotic characteristics include the non-living things within our environment as well as our temperature and its changes throughout seasons.  Streams of running water, rocks, nd soil are just a few examples of the abiotic factors in our biome. All these things, both abiotic and biotic alike, do indeed reflect our actual surroundings, as it is very likely to step outside of your house and find any of these things in your yard.

Two hundred years ago, we did not have the problem that we have today dealing with Global Warming and the Ozone layer. As time progressed we began to develop more and more problems with the environment as the amount of pollution in the air increased. I believe that it is due to this that the density of stomata per unit of leaf decreased. Pollution harmed and mutated certain characteristics of plants, making the stomata not as dense as it was two hundredd years ago.

1. shampoo – to wash my hair

2. soap – to bathe

3. lotion – to keep skin moist

4. pencil – to write with

5. paper – to write on

6. clothes made from cotton – to wear

7. toothpaste – to brush my teeth

8. salad – to eat

9. vitamins – to keep myself healthy

Over the last century the amount of plant-made products has definitely increased. People have found new ways to incorporate plants in many things in hopes of creating products with renewable resources. This makes things much easier to com by in the world. In the future the amount of plant products could go either way, increasing or decreasing. I think it will decrease, as things like paper are made from trees and several trees are being cut down throughout the years. However, things that are made from plants grown by farmers will continue to increase, as people are always finding new things to put plants in.

Embyrotic stem cells are cells that can potentially develop into a child. There is a large controversy over embryotic stem cell research due to the fact that these cells are considered by some to be an actual iving person. “Pro-lifers” are people who are strongly against embryotic stem cell research, as in the process of testing the stem cells, the embryo is killed. Others disagree with this, as the embryo is not actually living, it simply contains living cells. The debate is heated because of the debate on the embryo being living on non-living. I agree with those for embryotic stem cell research because the embryo is not yet a living being. The research is actually quite beneficial and no one is actually being murdered, as the embryo is not fully developed into a child.

              I’m somewhat undecided about if I myself would like to be cloned. I do know that during my lifetime I would not like to be cloned while I myself were still living, because if I were then the whole thing would be quite strange. To have someone with your identical genome is quite strange, and I believe that I do not want to have a person identical to me running around in the world. However, once I am deceased, it is possible that I may want to be cloned, so that my life may continue on where I left it. In a sense one could say I am trying to be immortal, but I am simply thinking about what another Jaimee Staunton may bring to the world one day.

     The Mammalian genome is structurally more complex than prokaryotic genome, as mammals are characterized as eukaryotes. Eukaryotes are known to have a more complex genome than prokaryotes, as prokaryotes are very simple organisms, such as bacteria and fungi. Also, functions such as DNA replication in prokaryotes takes place much more quickly than in eukaryotes because the DNA in prokaryotes is not separated by a nucleus, so it is easily accessed and processes such as transcription and translation take place at nearly the same time. The structure of the eukaryotic genome is very complex and processes take time. All in all, as a eukaryotic organism, the Mammalian genome is much more complex than that of a prokaryotic organism.

     Viruses cannot clearly be classified as living or nonliving; they border on the two realms. Viruses do contain DNA, but they do not contain cells, protoplasm, or any cell structure. They simply have a cell capsid, complex molecules, left-handed amino acids, and phages, containing their single coil of DNA. Viruses can also regulate themselves as well as their host and also take control over the management of host organisms and convert the host’s metabolism to the virus’s own needs; however, they cannot reproduce by themselves. As another argument stating that cells are infact nonliving is the fact that they have no metabolism. On the living argument viruses do show motion, responsiveness, and variation. The debate over whether or not viruses, which are very durable, are living is a ifficult one, as there are many arguments on both sides and it could go either way.

DNA aids forensics scientists a great deal. As all their work circles around DNA, they cannot do anything without DNA. As the structure of DNA and the arrangement of the nitrogen bases is what determines a person’s phenotypic traits, a forensics investigator can use the blood, hair, or any bodily fluid containing DNA to determine who has committed a crime.  If blood is found at the scene of a murder that does not belong to the victim, it could belong to the murderer. This means only the criminal will have DNA with that specific structure, and suspects can be tested to determine who the guilty party is.