My Inner Fish Blog Post

The video "My Inner Fish" reveals evidences of the evolution from fish to humans. Through analysis and comparison of different organisms' structures,  the paleontologists display the structures that us humans have in common with our distant ancestor, fish. Some of the similar structures are that we both have are backbones and same nerves. Another evidence is how fish embryos resemble human embryos in the early stage. The similarity in the embryos proves that reptiles mammals, amphibians are all descendants of fish. It also shows that as the offspring develops in an embryo, genes responsible for turning on traits will make us produce structures different than those of reptiles, amphibans, and fish. In addition to those evidence, it also can be seen that human's testicles were in the same place as the fish, which shows how our structures evolved from fish. There is also evidence that the digits of our hands evolved from the bones in fish's fin. This shows where and how our fingers develop. Through years of study of the evolution, scientists have also found genes that are responsible for producing several traits. One of them being them being the Sonic Hedgehog gene, which generates the pattern of digits. The increase in this gene is the reason why mutations occur, giving people 6 fingers instead of 5. Another gene is the EDA gene, which controls how many teeth we have and how our skin develops. Without this gene, our skin would not function properly and would lead to development of certain disorders. In conclusion, there are many evidence proving our evolution from fish.

4th Blog Post: 921 Earthquake

For the past several weeks, I've been trying to find people diagnosed with PTSD. Unfortunately, I've encountered one of my biggest setback, which is not being able to get any patient for interview. I am very disappointed at myself for not being able to do anything about that. However, I am still trying and asking mainly because I really want to know how these patients feel. Aside from that, I've also looked more into articles, news, and websites about this disorder. I've found that  many people who witnessed 9/11 terrorist attack had been diagnosed with PTSD. I think this one of the reasons why the disorder PTSD sounds familiar to many of us. When I researched this disorder in Chinese, I've found that the government had been giving huge support and financial aids to PTSD patients who had been affected by 921 Earthquake, which is the second deadliest earthquakes that happened in Taiwan. After reading about this news, I immediately asked my parents, who were victims of this earthquake, about PTSD. They said that they've heard of it on the news during that period of time, but didn't know anyone diagnosed with it. Now I am trying my best to contact my relatives and friends and ask them about people diagnosed with this disorder. This will be my plan for next week. Also, I've started on the brochure that I am making for this project. I will be working on it at home throughout the week. I hope that my project can really raise awareness among the students and also help those patients, especially my friends, relatives, or family members, who suffered from natural disaster.

Carybdea Marsupialis

Carybdea Marsupialis is a scientific name of the sea wasps. Sea wasps are from phylum Cnidaria. They are transparent jellyfish that is 3 inches in length and has tentacles that can be as long as 12 inches. Their have the shape of a cube and have complex eyes that detect light. Their tentacles allow them to capture their food quickly. They are found in Australian coasts and mid and northeastern sea of Italy. Although their stingers are considered mildly venomous to humans, it is very painful when getting stabbed by them. This box-like jellyfish swims by making rapid contractions in its belly, allowing it to move up to 10 to 20 ft per minute. They feed on Crustaceans, polychaetes, and small fish. This species is in the order of Carybdeida, the family of Cubozoa, the phylum of Cnidaria, and the kingdom of Animalia. My only question is "How much food do they consume everyday?"

https://scripps.ucsd.edu/zooplanktonguide/sites/default/files/Box%20Jelly%20copy.jpghttps://scripps.ucsd.edu/zooplanktonguide/species/carybdea-marsupialis

http://www.perseus-net.eu/en/species_of_jellyfish/index.html

3rd Blog Post

In the past few weeks, I've experienced many events that helped me learn more about my topic. First, my family and I had to fly back to Taiwan due to the sudden death of my grandfather. After attending the funeral, I heard that my 4-year-old cousin and my grandmother witnessed the entire incident, which worries me, especially because I was studying PTSD. My aunt later told me that my little cousin, who was left with my grandpa until the last second, was terrified as she witnessed my grandpa falling to the ground and losing consciousness. She was crying so hard and was saying that she doesn't want grandpa to disappear. My grandma, who ran upstairs after hearing a big crash, was not able to save my grandpa on time and was devastated when the hospital revealed the time of death. After hearing the details, I became very worried about my loved ones being diagnosed with stress disorder as death is one of the most common causes of PTSD. Thinking about the incident, I began remembering many cases of children and elders being diagnosed with PTSD after an experiencing traumatizing event. Using my knowledge, I informed my parents about what I learned and told them to be aware of the disorder.

Through this incident, I was able to understand more about PTSD and also raise awareness among my relatives. I was also able to use the facts that I learned to give my parents some useful information that might help my grandma and my cousin in the future. One of the things that I learned about myself is that I really want to help people who suffer from depression and sadness. I am hoping to help my loved ones walk through this sad period of time.

One of the setbacks that i have is that I was not and is still not able to do much on my project except researching. This is because I am still in Taiwan and is still staying at a place where it is hard to get internet. My next step is to quickly start on my presentation after going back to America.