What an experience! Team Man-Mo has successfully dissected subject PIG-25 (aka Daphne). We removed the heart, lungs, pancreas, stomach, spleen, intestines, kidneys, liver, ovaries, bladder diaphragm and brain (not very perfectly though). The experience was definitely an enriching one. We had a real-life view of what we learned in textbooks. Below are pictures from this extraordinary event:



Daphne in all her gory glory

One interesting symbiosis relationship we talked about at the ROM is the one between the snowshoe hare and the lynx. This predator-prey (+/-) relationship is particularly interesting as the habitat of these two species does not have a lot of other relationships. For this reason the predator-prey boom-and-bust cycle is especially distinct between the two.
The population of the lynx lags slightly behind the population of hares. As the hare population increases, more food is available to the lynx and hence its population also increases. However, as the lynx population increases, it consumes a greater number of hares. This causes the hare population to decrease, diminishing the food supply for the lynx, in turn causing the lynx population to decline. The cycle repeats itself.

Of course, besides predator-prey population control, each species is limited by the density-dependent limiting factors, as both are K-selected species.

2. Where is the dolphin slaughter taking place?
A: Taiji, Japan

6. What country indirectly runs the International Whaling Commission?
A: Japan

8. How do the fisherman trap the dolphins in the cove?
A: The method is called the "drive hunt". Fishing boats form a barrier that traps the dolphins between the boats and the cove. The fishermen then lower a stick-like material into the water and knock on one end of it. This produces sounds within the water that is perceived by the dolphins. This sound barrier scares the dolphins and forces them towards the cove.

12. What toxic substance is found in dolphin meat?
A: Mercury

23. If you go to Marineland are you contributing to dolphin slaughter?
A: Yes. By paying to watch dolphins, I am sending the message that I support the industry. Although my decision matters little, it is from little things that great changes are made. As long as people are ignorant of the indirect slaughter of dolphins through captivity, they will continue contributing to the industry, which goads it into expanding and thriving.

The results show that the more the subjects pinches, the harder it becomes to pinch. This is due to muscle fatigue caused by accumulation of lactic acid. I suspect anaerobic respiration will be our area of focus next.

Energy

• In a local closed system, orderliness can arise without entropy increasing. However, the energy used to maintain this order will be transferred to an unusable form, hence causing entropy to increase outside the system. 
• In chemical reactions, entropy increases when
• Solids become liquid/gas products (or liquid becomes gas products)
• x moles of reactant molecules form more than x moles of product molecules
• Complex molecules form simpler molecules
• Solutes diffuse to achieve a homogeneous mixture 

Metabolism

• Energy in a reaction

• 1) Activation energy is absorbed by the reactants to break bonds 2) Reactants enter transition state 3) As products form by bonding, energy is released
• Product is more stable (bond energy is higher) than reactants 
• Change in Heat energy is negative = Exothermic reaction; Change in heat energy is positive = Endothermic
• Free Energy (usable energy) in a reaction
• Change in Gibbs free energy is negative = Exergonic reaction [spontaneous]; Change in Gibbs free energy is positive = Endergonic reaction [not spontaneous]
• Metabolic Reactions
• ATP + ATPase --> ADP + Pi + Energy
• Energy is usually not released as heat; Instead, it is coupled with an endergonic reaction 
• Redox reaction
• Involves oxidation and reduction
• A series of redox reactants result in the final oxidizing agent (that gets reduced) being the strongest 

Enzymes

• Reduces activation energy required for a reaction
• Enzymes are inhibited by competitive inhibitors (resembling the substrate) and noncompetitive inhibitors (alters binding site by binding to another site)
• Allosteric sites
• Activators: bind to these sites to stabilize an active form of the enzyme
• Inhibitors: bind to these sites to stabilize an inactive form of the enzyme
• Feedback Inhibition: Substrate --enzyme 1--> Intermediate A --enzyme 2--> Intermediate B --enzyme 3 --> end product...............end product inhibits enzyme 1.
• If end product concentration decreases, less enzyme 1 is inhibited and more end product is produced. 

Gel Electrophoresis

• Used in vector cloning (to isolate the gene of interest), RFLP (to compare fragments), DNA Sequencing

Vector Cloning (Overview, RE)

• Required materials: pBluescript vector plasmid, Restriction Enzymes, Ligase, Bacteria
• Steps
• Cut donor DNA with restriction enzymes, find the targeted DNA fragment through gel electrophoresis 
• Remove section of pBluescript using compatible RE, attach DNA fragment into plasmid at sticky ends, Bind the 2 pieces of DNA using ligase
• Reintroduce pBluescript into the bacterial vector through transformation
• Select bacteria that contains the targeted gene
• Introduce the selected bacteria to a host 

RFLP (Restricted Fragment Length Polymorphism)

•  Steps
• Cut DNA using RE (blunt)
•  Gel electrophoresis
• Southern blotting (or hybridization) onto a autoradiogram
• Compare sequences of interest 

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) 

• Materials: Taq Polymerase, DNA primers, dNTPs, PCR Machine 
• Process: heat --> Cool --> Slight heat = 1 cycle
• The required piece of DNA will be obtained after the 3rd cycle 

DNA Sequencing

• Materials: DNA Polymerase, Radioactive DNA primers, dNTPs, ddNTPs
• All lanes (A T C G) will contain strands of DNA with its complete set of nucleotides