Youtube Channels

Youtube Channels

Hello everyone! As I am writing this, I should be studying for my math 4B final. But I am not. It seems like procrastinating studying is a common theme for me finals week.

Sigh. What a poor survival technique.

Instead I spend my time on youtube, hoarding random science news/facts/knowledge, crowding out everything I need to know for my classes. But hey, at least it makes me happy!

So I thought I’d share a bunch of my favorite science youtube channels. I’ll start with biology but I’ll add the other ones at the end.


Deep Look
This one is my personal favorite. The whole idea of this channel is to explore the huge overarching themes of biology by studying the very very teeny tiny. 

Stylistically it’s wonderful. 
Her voice is soothing.
The high definition of these super close shots are totally awesome.
They create music specific to the thing they are studying and it totally matches.
Plus all the videos are interesting! I’ve never been bored of one!

The only problem is the time it takes to produce a single video. :(
It’s well worth the wait though!


PBS Eons
I more recently found this channel, but I am growing very fond of it. It’s all about the science of ancient Earth and early life. There are so many things on the channel that we discussed in class that they expand upon. Super dope.

Let’s just say I especially enjoy this channel when I get back from treesus. 

The topics of the videos are always so totally rad. It's so cool to learn about all these weird, fascinating, and totally foreign creatures that once walked the same earth as us.
Also the atmospheric music that’s in the background helps the vibe of the channel you know?

My favorite thing about this channel is the illustrations they have. It’s one thing to see a fossil of an ancient organism, but it’s totally another to see it reimagined. You look at this alien creature and go, “I’m related to that?!”


Scishow + all the other specific scishows
Everyone knows about scishow. If you haven’t just check it out.


It’s Okay To Be Smart
This is another one of my favorites. It isn’t exclusively biology, but it does cover a lot. 

I love the topics. I love the lame* science puns. I love the delivery. Basically, I love all this show except for the name. (I feel weird saying it out loud to people idk.)


Gross Science
This is a great channel if you have the stomach for it. I personally don’t think it’s that bad, but I am trying to give y’all a fair warning; it’s all in the name. 

These videos are quirky and entertaining. It’s really just to have a fun time. She has fun little illustrations/animations with voices that I really find humor in. Such a shame it’s on hiatus. :(

Here are a few more just for funsies:
AsapSCIENCE
Life Noggin
Kurzgesagt
CrashCourse
Mathologer
Minutephysics
PBS Space Time

*lame is a compliment btw

Zooniverse

Zooniverse

Hey guys! On the last day of class, during the presentation,
I mentioned a cool website called Zooniverse.

Zooniverse is basically a website that allows you all to participate
in research based projects. Often times, creating a program to
analyze for specific data from a large collection sample is way too
hard and complicated. Humans are more efficient and better at
scanning and looking for patterns.   

Woohoo! Go citizen science!

There are plenty of different topics to choose from, but this is a
biology blog so I’ll mention some that might spark one of y’all’s
interest.

1. For marine life lovers: Invader ID

A bunch of researchers strategically placed small tiles in many
various coastal regions around the U.S. for sealife to settle on.
They can track how these ecosystems are changing over time by
tracking the identity of organisms that colonize these tiles.

Pros:

-You get to see a bunch of cool organisms from various environments

-It’s satisfying seeing yourself improve as you learn to classify all the organisms

Cons:

-Kinda slow

-A little too difficult to be doing it for effortless entertainment

2. Paleobotanists should check out: Fossil Atmospheres

Remember how we mentioned analyzing fossils of leaves for stomata in
order to learn about ancient atmospheric composition and also how we
need to analyze something like the Ginkgo tree? Well that’s exactly
what this is.

Pros:

-Super rad concept

-If you have the patience, you’ll feel accomplished at the end

Cons:

-Too.

-Many.

-Goddamn.

-Cells.

3. Cell Biology people: Etch a Cell

These researchers took numerous pictures of cells using an Electron
Microscope to analyze the nucleases of the cells. Computers
apparently suck at doing this, but with a bunch of data collected
from volunteers, they think they can program computers to do it
better.

Pros:

-Kinda entertaining but mildly frustrating

-You’re literally teaching computers how to science

Cons:

-DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE A PERFECTIONIST! YOU’RE HEAD WILL EXPLODE INTO A KAJILLION PIECES!

I’m too tired to write any more examples, just check it out.
This website is pretty dope. It’s a good time waster too. And who
doesn’t need another one of those amirite?

Tl;dr: Check out Zooniverse.org

Raccoon Dogs

Tanuki, or raccoon dogs, are really pretty distant relatives of raccoons. Their In fact, Tanuki belong to the Canidae family with wolves and foxes. They are thought to be a basal species, meaning that they most resemble the ancestral form of the Canidae family. These sweet looking dogs value companionship and family, typically living in monogamous pairs or in small, close-knit groups. Males are known to be especially compassionate partners and fathers. Tanukis are also communal hibernators. Yes, they all get together and cuddle up for the winter. Within Japanese folklore, tanuki used to be seen as frightening and malevolent spirits. Today, a tanuki, more specifically a well-endowed tanuki, is seen as a sign of good fortune and prosperity.

Blue People in Kentucky

               Stories about aliens or blue people are easily waved off as urban myth. However, rumors that spread across Kentucky in the early 1980s that there was a family of blue-skinned people living in the rural hills of Hazard, Kentucky rang true. Dr. Madison Caewin, caught wind of these rumors at the time while working at the University of Kentucky’s Lexington medical clinic. Being an avid hematologist, Caewin went in search of this legendary family. After scouring the hills and medical facilities in between Lexington and Hazard, he at last found the Fugate family. They were in fact blue and even close to purple. The family seemed rather embarrassed by their blueness but allowed Caewin to conduct his tests.

Caewin found that they did not show evidence of any heart or lung disease and instead began to chart out the family tree in order to trace the trait back up their pedigree. This led back to one Martin Fugate. Martin had migrated to the Troublesome creek area in 1820. At the time there were no roads in or out of the area and the group intermarried. This allowed the recessive gene causing their blue skin to persist through the next six generations.

 Caewin suspected the culprit to be a condition called: Methemoglobinemia, a rare hereditary blood disorder which results from excessive levels of methemoglobin in the blood. Methemoglobin is a nonfunctional form of the red hemoglobin. It is the color of the oxygen-depleted blood seen in blue veins. However, the cause of their methemoglobinemia was still a mystery in it was in fact the cause. Methemoglobinemia can be caused by: abnormal hemoglobin formation (the Fugates tested negative), an excess of a certain drug or vitamin (did not support the hereditary nature of the blue skin), or an enzyme deficiency. Caewin found a paper by a doctor at the Arctic Health Research center describing a group of Alaskan Eskimos and native Americans with methemoglobinemia caused by the absence of the enzyme Diaphorase in their red blood cells. Upon further testing, Caewin found the same lack of Diaphorase in the blue Fugates.

In most people, hemoglobin is converted to methemoglobin a slow rate. However, if this conversion continues without counteraction all the hemoglobin would eventually be converted and useless for carrying oxygen. Diaphorase does the job of converting methemoglobin back to hemoglobin. Without diaphorase, the blood accumulates so much of the blue molecule that the red hemoglobin is overwhelmed and shows blue through the skin.

Thankfully the body has ulterior functions to convert methemoglobin. However, these functions require activation by a substance that acts as an electron donor. Caewin, ironically, chose methylene blue dye as said substance. When administered with 100 mL, the Fugates reverted to a pink color within minutes. Since this is a temporary fix, they were given a supply of tablets as a daily pill and have not been blue since.

Kawah Ijen

          Located on the Indonesian island of Java, the volcano Kawah Ijen is home to two of the most anomalous occurrences on Earth. Although the volcano itself is dormant, at night a lava-like substance can be seen seeping down the sides of the mountain. However, this lave is neon blue and adorned with electric blue flames that reach up to five meters in the air. This phenomenon is due to the active solfatara there. A solfatara is a vent which emits hot, flammable sulfurous gases. When the sulfur gases escape from the volcanic vents and interact with Earth’s oxygen-rich environment they ignite into these electric blue flames. Some of this Sulfur gas also condenses in the lowered temperatures and falls to the ground as a liquid resembling molten sulfur. This liquid sulfur can also solidify, creating a renewable deposit of mineral sulfur. Locals make two trips up the volcano per day to mine it, carrying up to 200 lbs of sulfur each trip.

       Kawah Ijen’s second wonder is the one-kilometer wide lake that sits in the caldera of the volcano. It is the world’s largest highly acidic lake. Its pH has been measured as low as 0.5, giving it its bright turquoise color. The high acidity is caused by the hydrothermal waters charged with gases from the hot magma chamber below it. 

California Red-legged Frog- Threatened Species!

Inspired by the constant croaking of an army of frogs outside my bedroom window- The California red-legged frog, Rana draytonii,  is the largest native frog in western US. It is a threatened frog in California with over 70% of it's historical habitat destroyed. Now it spends time in coastal streams and wetlands around SLO and Santa Barbara County, with the Los Padres Nation Forest supporting the highest population densities. There have been experiments conduced as to why and how the frog populations have declined. Studies have looked into how the population can be protected and increased, as well as habitat conservation and restoration.

One study (see below) conducted a field experiment to quantify the effect of the presence of non-native bullfrogs in proximity to R. draytonii tadpoles and found less than 5% survival rate of the R. draytonii tadpoles! The bullfrog tadpoles are larger which leads to competition of resources such as space and nourishment. The presence of bullfrog tadpoles also delays the metamorphosis of R. draytonii, leading to decreased survival and fitness of organism. Adult bullfrogs also eat the R. draytonii tadpoles and may infect them with fatal viruses.

Efforts have been placed by US Fish and Wildlife Service to protect and manage key habitat sites, but little data has been collected through monitoring. Something we can do is talk about this threatened species of native frog more! Spread the word, share the knowledge, help the frogs man!
Listen to them make their noises!- Croaking


Check out more info:
Los Padre Forest Watch

(Below) Effects of introduced bull-frog

Frogs that can freeze

The wood frog of Alaska is a very unique amphibian. Instead of migrating for warm weather or burying itself in the ground to hibernate, it remains in its natural habitat year-round and freezes with the environment. When spring comes, it thaws and and can begin hopping around within an hour.

What gives the frog this unique ability is their cells' ability to be without water. As the frog begins to freeze, water goes out of the cells, into the bloodstream, and freezes there while keeping the cells in place without damage. Their lungs, heart, and brain stop functioning as well due to lack of blood flow. While in the process of freezing, the cells stock up on glucose to help get their systems going again when they defrost in the spring. When warm weather does come, the ice in their veins melts and returns to their cells. It only takes about 20 minutes to start circulation and to regain heart and brain function.
To learn more about the wood frog's amazing ability, read this nat geo article:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070220-frog-antifreeze.html

RNA World Update

So y'all remember week 1 when John mentioned RNA world? Well, it turns out that researchers at UCSB had been busy trying to build on the hypothesis of RNA world. More specifically, what amino acid properties in this pre-biotic world were responsible for the synthesis of proteins.

On February 1st, 2018, post-doc researchers Celia Blanco, published a paper with three other researchers in the journal Current Biology which outlined her research in this exact area. The difference between what other researchers have investigated and what Blanco chose to investigate is a simple perspective. Other researchers focused on what amino acids came first, while she chose to focus on "biophysical importance".

It was a really cool paper to read. If you would like to read more about her discovery in Blanco's words,  the daily nexus covered this.

Blanco C., Bayas M., Yan F., Chen I. A. Analysis of Evolutionarily Independent Protein-RNA Complexes Yields a Criterion to Evaluate the Relevance of Prebiotic Scenarios. 19 Feb 2018. Current Biology 28, 526-537.

http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30016-2

Hey guys! In case you need a good study break from finals, and are looking for a good new EEMB documentary, check this one out! Completely free courtesy of youtube and me!


https://youtu.be/nJMZ6reOB0E

wo0O0oO0Oo0O0

Spooky!

I read this article about Lazarus and Elvis taxa, but also ZOMBIE and GHOST taxa! Oooh! This is not my topic I'm going to discuss in class today, so if you are, I apologize for stealing it.

Lazarus taxa: Species dies out, then reemerges in fossil record

Elvis taxa: Species dies out, then a very similar species reemerges in fossil record

Ghost taxa: species/taxa we predict might have existed once (ex: a dodo tree which would reproduce by dodos eating their fruits and the seeds coming out the other end)

Zombie taxa: Fossil erodes out of its own layer and is re-fossilized in different layer in which the original animal/plant did not live

PPI (payment protection insurance) taxa (made up by the author): taxa that will not go extinct even if we've been actively trying to eradicate them (like specific bacteria strains). I think it's a cute idea

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/may/03/zombies-ghosts-elvis-fossil-record

The Keepers of the Forest

Yo Fungus is dope y'all.

And not just the super cool mushrooms that pop up after it rains! Fungus is primarily under the ground in a mycelial mat, mushrooms are just the fruit which pop up to release spores!

Fun Fact: The biggest living organism in the world is Armillaria ostoyae, a 2,385 acre mycelial mat in Oregon! 


Anyway, mycorrhizal fungus, which we talked about a couple weeks ago is something I researched for one of my chosen topics and I learned some cool stuff! It turns out that 80% of vascular plants will form this symbiotic relationship, though it's super important in trees. Fungus give trees nitrogen and phosphorous, trees reciprocate with sugar AND lipids.
 (cool article here >> https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170725100649.htm)

Mycorrhizae also form a network in forests, the wood-wide-web if you will (Not my idea I definitely stole it from this cool video >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dibKZHhij6k). This network helps trees share nutrients, warn each other of danger, and even "parent" their young (seriously watch the video). 

Fungus is not always so generous though. Because the fungal web controls nutrient flow in forests, fungus have immense power on the diversity of trees. Mycorrhizae can choose "favorites", allocating nutrients to some species and taking from others. Also if a tree is sick or weak, mycorrhizae may stop sharing nutrients and signals with it. This maintains the overall health of forests and leaves mycorrhizae the true keepers of the forest.

Trickster Plant

No, the actual name of the plant isn't trickster. It's called the Venus Flytrap. These plants produce nectar in order to attract their prey, and, once the prey is trapped, they produce an enzyme to digest it. However, they can only eat the soft parts of their prey, therefore the exoskeleton of the prey stays in the plant's grasp for about a week.

Many of the plants, mainly flowering angiosperms, that we have learned about produce nectar as a way to attract insects, birds, etc. for the objective of pollination. The Venus Flytrap, however, produces a sweet smelling nectar for the objective of FEEDING. It tricks the organism into thinking there is food availably, but instead the Venus flytrap clenches it's lobes around the body of an organism and begins to digest it. Not only that, but they're picky, too. They  only close their "mouths" around an organism they think is heavy enough and will fill them up most.

These plants are ruthless.

Plant Biology Greenhouse, University of Illinois. 

http://www.life.illinois.edu/plantbio/greenhouse/vt_carnivorous.html

Living an Artificial Life

Scientists at Imperial College London have found a way to merge living and artificial cells into one cell. Wait. What? When I read the headline, it sounded like something out of a science fiction novel, but it's actually really interesting.

Scientists have actually been able to mimic cells artificially for a while now, but these cell's capability was very limited. The method was to take specific enzymes for desired reactions and place them in a type of casing. The obvious downside to this was that this was taking only PARTS of a cell, and the artificial cells produced were only capable of so much due to their lack of "evolved biochemical pathways". However, this artificial cell could survive conditions that its biological counterparts couldn't.

This recent discovery allows for both a living and artificial cell to coexist as one, with little to no risks. The artificial casing placed around the living cell allows the living cell to survive in harsh conditions. The cell could exist, for example, in conditions where copper is abundant (in case y'all didn't know copper easily reduces cell viability). They tested that too!

Also, they look really cool.

Imperial College London. "Artificial and biological cells work together as mini chemical factories." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 March 2018. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180313091810.htm

Elani Y., Trantidou T., Wylie D., Dekker L., Polizzi K., Law R.V., Ces O. Constructing vesicle-based artificial cells with embedded living cells as organelle-like modules. 14 March 2018. Scientific Reports 8: 4564.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22263-3

Why the Vaquita shouldn't have gone silent

Sorry for talking about what could be conservation's most depressing story, but I feel as if its an important message. If you don't know what the vaquita is that's part of our societies problem. I didn't know about the vaquita until about 2 years ago, but at that point there were about 60 left. There was a cry for conservation and the world's smallest porpoise appeared everywhere in the news I was looking at. People were talking about the vaquita and potential ways to save it: but there were only about thirty left.
Extensive efforts from conservations and the US, and Mexican governments were made in an effort to save the Baja species. The use of gillnets was banned in the vaquita's habitat (accidental entanglement was the main cause of their demise), and the US Navy trained dolphins to locate the last of them in an effort to corral them in a protected captive area. It was easy to follow this story for two years till November when it finally came time to capture the vaquita and try to relocate one. With only 30 individuals left, this was a risky endeavor; no one knew how a the delicate porpoise would react to the stress of being captured. Unfortunately, the captured vaquita died, and operations to rescue it were suspended. Attempted conservation had brought this species one individual closer to extinction.
At this point, people stopped talking about the porpoise, which I believe is kinda silly. I really think we can learn an important message about the vaquita: just like leaving impending assignment to the last minute is generally irresponsible process, ignoring a species till there's less than 100 left is generally a terrible idea. The best strategies, millions of dollars, and
radical legislation were implemented in order to try to save the species, yet extinction still seems imminent. We have been able to save species with similarly low populations; the condor and elephant seal come to mind. At least the vaquita got a voice in its last years, many species don't, I just hope that the vaquita can be a education tool for the future of conservation, because trying to save earlier is far easier and utilizes far less resources! Conservation is an amazing field, which is progressing very rapidly, because of this I'm confident that in the face of many obstacles we will still be able to save many species before its too late for them. Again, sorry for rambling.

The World's Oldest Living Trees

Pinus longaeva, also known as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, is a species of pine tree that has been living in the high mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah for thousands of years. While their large size and interesting twists may be striking, the most incredible thing about them is their longevity. Many Great Basin bristlecone pines are thousands of years old. The oldest one on record is 5,064 years old and counting! It is hypothesized that the pine is able to live so long by maintaining a high ratio of heartwood to sapwood.

 While bristlecone pines can grow to be 60 feet tall, it's a long journey to get there. It takes 40 years for some of them to reach a height of six inches. Also, it is estimated that their diameter only grows one inch per century. It is amazing to think that a little half-foot sapling will not only grow into a massive structure, but that it may outlast many societies in the millennia to come.


If you would like to learn more about the Great Basin bristlecone pine the Forest Service has a great info page:
https://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pinlon/all.html
If you would like to read about other really old trees, read this article:
https://www.livescience.com/29152-oldest-tree-in-world.html

1884 Article in the New York Sun: "Curiosities of Natute"

Aphid Cornicles

Aphids secrete defensive fluid or pheromones from their cornicles. Source

In class last week I was wondering why aphids have cornicles, which are the pointy things on their backs. I spent at least a hundred hours identifying insects in the lab in 2017, but when they are all dead the function of their anatomy is easy to ignore.

The fluid the cornicles secrete is not honeydew- that comes from their rectum. Rather, their cornicle fluid doesn't have a clear universal function. Source Pea aphids use this as an alarm system to warn the other aphids in their groups about threats, and even release different amounts of pheromones depending on which predators attack. Source They can also be used as a defence for the colony, but not for the individual. When aphids are being attacked by parasitoids, they smear their attackers with cornicle fluid, which doesn't improve the prognosis for the individual, but does increase the amount of time the parasitoid spends grooming as opposed to looking for aphids to lay its eggs in. This is considered to be altruistic because it doesn't help the aphid being eaten, but does help its surrounding aphids. Source  I imagine that natural selection would particularly favor altruistism in aphids, because they live in colonies of clones, so even if the individual dies or is injured, doing so in a way that protects the others makes its genes stand a greater chance of being passed on. 

Photosynthesizing Slugs!?!?!?!

The Emerald Green Sea Slug was the world's first animal discovered to photosynthesize. As a juvenile, the slug feeds on algae. During the digestion process, the slug's cells take up the chloroplasts from the algae. These chloroplasts can remain functioning for up to eight months, almost the entire life span of the slug. DNA analysis has found that while the slug genome does not have genes to produce chloroplasts, they have picked up genes from the algae that allow them to maintain them for months.

Here are a couple of resources if you're interested in learning more:



K Pierce, Sidney & Curtis, Nicholas. 2012. Cell Biology of the Chloroplast Symbiosis in Sacoglossan Sea Slugs. International review of cell and molecular biology. 293. 123-48.

https://www.britannica.com/animal/Elysia-chlorotica

How Do Plants Defend Themselves?

Plants have far more defense mechanisms than mammals due to their silent existence. Plants express their defense mechanisms through physical and chemical responses, signaling behaviors, camouflage, and mimicry. These mechanisms are from millions of years of evolution that included mutation and many generations that have survived to reproduce or fallen to external threats. The largest threat of plants are herbivores. Plants have phototrophic abilities where they can physically reorientate themselves to capture the most light, as well as skills to gain them the most nutrients and water. There is a communication system between roots and plants that allow plants to share and trade resources or through the direction of sun-soaking competitors. Communication is also used when a plant is being put under attack. In this situation, insects that are eating the plant give off powerful airborne chemicals that attract large predators, who will then go to the plant and eat the insects without harming the tree. However, there is also commensalism that takes place between plants and insects where insects can reside on a tree and be fed, while the insects defend the tree to their death. The three most common physical defenses are thorns, prickles, and spines. These physical adaptations were formed so large predators weren't able to eat their fruits or flowers, as well as being able to bring in essential seed and pollen particles in a safe way. Another adaptation is a trichome, which is sharp fur that leaves the predator with a sting when it brushes skin. Other plants can close up at the slightest bit of physical contact. Another one is chemical defenses, which are chemical reactions that induce fast delivery systems, including the release of unpleasant chemicals or sticky sap that traps organisms.

Staughton, John. “How Do Plants Defend Themselves? » Science ABC.” Science ABC, Science ABC, 26 July 2017, www.scienceabc.com/nature/how-do-plants-defend-themselves-dangers-attacks.html.