Chapter 6-9: Making Bodies from Blobs, Scents and Eyes

The summer countdown has begun!  Two weeks until the first day of school. :)  How is your summer reading going?  Just a reminder, all assignments are due at the start of the year and you will have a book test during the first week!  See below for this week's assignment.  But first...

A little update from Saul about our class pet, a praying mantis:
"The mantis shed twice once a couple weeks ago getting small wings then Again a couple days ago giving it full sized wings its leg bent while it was coming out of its skin you can see it in one of the photos."  

Thanks to Saul and Jose for taking such good care of the Mantis this summer.  Enjoy the pics.  

Our friendly praying mantis grows larger every day...must be all of those yummy worms.

This week, you will read about the journey from a sperm and an egg to you.. and all of the other organisms out there.  How are we different from simpler animals like sea coral or jellyfish?  Why are some organisms so similar during development, but others are very different?  You will read about some crazy experiments and the answers to these questions in Chapter 6.

In Chapter 7, you will read about how bodies are built, and some of the special materials used to build them.  In Chapter 8, you will explore the amazing world of the sense of smell, and find out some very interesting similarities between us and other animals.  Finally, in Chapter 9, you'll explore something pretty rare for paleontologists to find, the eye.  You'll discover the secrets of the eye's evolution as well as the trick to make eyes (more weird science experiments.)

Enjoy your reading.  After reading these chapters (6-9), post or email your response to the assignment questions.

a.  Shubin describes special patches of tissue in organisms called, "Organizers."  Describe the structure and function about organizers and tell the story of one science experiment that led to greater understanding about these key features. 

b.  Chapter 7 describes an interesting experiment by Martin Boraas.  Summarize the theories that arose from this experiment.  Comment on anything new you learned in this chapter.

c.  Compare and contrast the olfactory genes of fish and humans.  Why does Shubin say our genes are leftover and so different from those of a fish?

d.  Shubin says paleontologist's rarely find eyes, because they don't make good fossil materials.  What is worth knowing about the eye, for someone interested in the story of evolution?  Tell what you think are the two most important concepts from this chapter.

Interested in knowing more about the Eye's Evolution?
Check out the Scientific American Article here.