Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

I liked how Shubin started the chapter off with a little story of his own. It was quite terrifying, especially when he said he was holding half of the head in each hand. But I also thought it was funny because he got scared and locked his house keys in the lab. As I read on, I found it interesting when he talked about the 12 cranial nerves and how these nerves supply muscles that we use to bite, to talk, and to move our eyes and whole head. As he went on to describe what the nerves' specific purpose was, I began to get a little confused and had to reread it a couple of times. When Shubin started to talk about arches and embryos, I just got confused and found it uninteresting, even the pictured didn't help me that much. But I liked the part where he talked about birth defects. When I went on to reading about sharks, I was extremely suprised when Shubin said we were similar to them. And especially when I read how we are similar to worms, I just couldn't believe it. Well overall, the chapter had its ups and downs and it wasn't the best compared to the others, but I still kind of liked it.

Chapter FIVE

Getting ahead. The title does not really seem to be much like the main story. This chapter was really interesting because it was talking about cranial nerves. The way that Shubin described the head surgery was also very interesting, also having a hint of humor. The way that Shubin describes the head surgery was funny, saying it in a way where the head had no feeling whatsoever, that it was like operating on a machine. There is also the way that Shubin describes the cranial nerves that interests me as well. Shubin describes the cranial nerves to be like a puzzle. Some of the cranial nerves were described as the most impossible puzzle to solve which interests me even more, making me anxious to find out if anyone ever overcomes the puzzle and solves it. The fact that everything in the body is connected by nerves is interesting. What if nobody in the world were to have any nerves? If nobody in the world were to have any nerves than people would not be able to feel anything physically. For example, without nerves, people would not be able to feel stabs, hunger, slaps, punches, and etc. Without these nerves, people could just die without realizing it, and so people would not be able to call out for help when they get hurt. The way that Shubin connects the brain and nerves to a building's wiring is also interesting. When Shubin describes this he describes it in such a way that makes the inside of a building cleaner and more organized than inside the brain. This was a very interesting chapter.

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

Shubin starts off the beginning of chapter 5 by discussing the complexity of cranial nerves by comparing it to the wall of wires within his household as being a big jumbled mess. Shubin then goes on to discuss all of the specific functions of certain cranial nerves like the facial and trigeminal nerves. It was very interesting to read that each nerve was able to control certain muscles within our body, and how they all function as one unit for the result of one single movement within our bodies. As the chapter continued, Shubin again was able to convince readers of the universal connection between humanity and other creatures where he compared humans with sharks. Within the embryos of humans and sharks there are arches within our heads that shows that we are connected because each arch has the same function between two completely different species. I was also very shocked when Shubin attempted to prove that there is not only a connection between humanity and sharks, but with humans and earth worms. How can there be a connection when humans have heads and earthworms do not? But yet again, Shubin was able to open my eyes by proving that there truly is a connection. It was shocking to learn that there is one similarity between earth worms and humans: a notochord. It was so odd that as humans we could have a similarity with an organism that seems so foreign on the outside that it couldn't be possible to be the same as humans. As I continue to read this novel, it truly wakes me up and makes me see how all humans are connected to every animal.

Getting Ahead

I really found that the way Shubin likes to learn is similar to my style of learning. He seems to be the character that has a hands on approach to learning. My point of view is such that when he was studying the facial nerves he needed the skull to see it and trace the complex pathways that each facial nerve takes. This seems to be a key way of learning for archaeologists because most of their days work is out in the field and they are on their hands and knees trying to look for clues to where we and other animals came from.

Another thing in this chapter that I found interesting was how he took the aspects he learned in college and applied it to real life. I am specifically talking about how when he broke open the wall and found the utility cables all jumbled around. And at that specific moment he connected it to the facial nerves and the way the nerves had intrinsic pathways and how the pathway was unique.

6. The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

So, another chapter on comparing humans to other animals... I already guessed that humans are related to pretty much every single animal on Earth in some way, but a jellyfish? A sea anemone? 0_0 They do not seem to have anything even close to comparable, but I will just have to accept the fact that we all have the same body plan, just set up by different versions of the same genes.

It was entertaining to read about the gene Noggin and how injecting extra amounts of frog Noggin into a frog egg can transform a frog into a mutant with two heads and extra back structures. That would be cool to see. It is surprising how that one gene can make such a big difference. The Hox genes too, can mess with the body plan of animals significantly. It is interesting how slight changes in the Hox genes can greatly impact the formation of our bodies.

Chapter5

Chapter five getting ahead was very interesting because he had started out with a story and went along with the description. When Shubin said that this chapter was about seeing the essence inside our heads he actually meant it. At first i thought he is probably exaggerating but when i started reading a little more then i thought it was actually the truth. The inner chaos of the head was interesting because Shubin was talking about how the head actually works. I was very surprised when i saw the images of a theoretical head and our head because the theoretical is in our every bone in our head. The essence in embryos was interesting also because it wasnt just about the head it was about the formation of an human. Our inner shark got me thinking about how i heard that chapter's name but then i realized i had read inner shark instead of our inner shark. Gill arch genes was about different types of genes which had helped me realized that there are many genes in one body. Lastly tracing heads: from headless wonders to our heades ancestor diagram had also helped me becauseit showed a worm which was relative to animals which had given me an idea of the gill slits. Overall this chapter seemed the most interesting to me because i got interested in learning about the head.

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

Okay, the beginning of this chapter sounds like a horror story! Here's a guy in the middle of the night holding a human head in both hands surrounded by other dead bodies... and all for a final??! An interesting fact, I didn't know the bone plates that cover our brain are separated until the age of two. The arch idea was good, although I did have to reread it a few times, in explaining a simplistic technique to understand our brain. As noted as early as the 1800's the vertebrae holds our brain and sense organs it is what segments our body. It was neat to learn that the segmentation of our head can only be seen among a developing embryo. As one might have guessed by being able to understand the brain and its arch patterns one can also note the casue of certain birth defects found amongst children. Another engaging thought was that the upper bone in a shark's jaw can also be found as the stapes in a human's ear. Backing up the continuing thought that all organisms evolved from similar products and it is with time these certain organisms develop purposes and uses for the things they are given . For example, the evolution of a lever system of bones is used in both a shark and human however for very diverse purposes.

Chapter Four: Teeth Everywhere

Well I believe this is an appropriate time to say I am not the biggest fan of the dentist. However, it was remarkable to think that our teeth can reveal not only what kind of food we eat but also the way in which that feeding process came about. And I can honestly say I did end up biting up and down when Shubin described our teeth being in alignment :). Also, as a sidenote, when he explains him and Chuck's walk in the deserted Arizona desert I got the feeling that paleontologists don't have the most social jobs, but on another note a very rewarding one as you can sense the excitement as he describes the mass of bone they had unveiled among the desert. Wow, and again his stories amaze me to think that they went from thinking they had found nothing special to learning they had uncovered one of the first jaws known to a part mammal and part reptile creature. The body although amazing is slightly repetative, it takes one process and from it one can inherit teeth, brests, or even feathers. My last thought is going to focus on the brief facts on conodonts, it was mind-boggling to think a jawless fish would have teeth as well. hahaha... teeth really are everywhere :)

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

What startled me in this chapter was that Shubin, not once, talked about his findings or his explorations to finding the fish, instead, he concentrated on explaining something that is very profound and hard to understand: the importance and the secret of the brain. In the very beginning, Shubin exemplifies how, even as a student, he was able to see many patterns in the brain, showing that he knew his stuff. One thing that amazed me in this chapter was how he compared the human embryo arches to arches of a shark embryo! I was really shocked when I read at how similar, yet different both are. Also, I was shocked by how turning off and turning on some genes in any animals would change the appearance of the entire animal! This chapter was extremely thorough in detail, and thought it was a bit confusing, every detail and information did make sense in its own way. Overall, this was an interesting chapter that I was looking forward to since the title left me blank.

Chapter 5- "Getting Ahead"

Chapter 5 was a bit confusing to me due to my lack of ability in human anatomy. Just as perplexed as Shubin's mind was, so was mine, trying to comprehend the structure of the human head and why everything worked the way it did. Then as I kept reading, I began to see our head in a different perspective. With the different diagrams and blueprints, I was able to visualize exactly how the bones in our head function and develop. Also with his explanation with the first, second, third, and fourth gill arches, I was able to understand exactly how separated parts of the head are.
The thing that really caught my attention was the fact that our bones and cartilage are segmented and our nerves are also segmental. This means that they both work in parallel or "correspondence" with one another. I began to comprehend more and more how come all the nerves in our head are jumbled up the way it is: because they all have a specific destination in the end. Another thing I found interesting was the discovery that humans are similar to sharks and worms in means of structure. I never realized how an animal can be so different to us, yet so alike in various ways.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

Seeing as I do tend to use my skull for a lot of things (such as banging it on a diving board while doing a back-flip when I was 7 or slamming it against a fence in baseball in an attempt to catch a long fly ball during Cypress All-Star season when I was 14), I found this chapter extremely interesting. I found it awesome how all these little muscles and elusive indents in your face could help you say a pick-up line to a girl at a party and then feel a hard slap in the face from her when the pick-up line is "Did you just fart? Because you completely just blew me away" (because really, whoever uses that pick-up line deserves a slap in the face).

I was never able to flare my nostrils, but when Shubin mentioned the muscle we used for that was the nasalis, I googled it right away. Discovering all these tiny little muscles in our face and finding out that each one has a sophisticated job was almost an overwhelming concept for me. How the heck could all those muscles even fit in a head? I guess the process of human growth really is amazing.

To top it off, I could not believe my eyes when Shubin mentioned our relationship to sharks and, let alone, WORMS. What?? How can we be related to something not even 1/32 of our size? Not to mention that worms don't even have heads! This chapter really helped clear that up for me, although I'm still in awe. That darn Amphioxus.

I learned numerous concepts from this chapter. Unfortunately, I still am unable to flare my nostrils, but I'm sure I will find some other muscle in my body that will help me do something subtle that others can't, like maybe something a worm can do..

Devin Larscheid

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

Prior to reading, I've noticed that the title of this chapter has not given away any clue as to what Shubin will encompass. Soon after I finished the first paragraph, I knew it will entail human skull and how it functions. I found it nightmarish that Shubin had to bisect a skull and cut open the bones of the cheek to study about cranial nerves. Although I had a slim insight in head anatomy, I was amazed by its complicating structure. Nevertheless, I learned that our skulls are made up of three parts that include plates, blocks, and rods. At first I always believed that when we chew and bite, we solely use muscle that lie in our mouth; however, that wasn't the case because we also use the muscles attached to the bones and organs in the head. It was interesting when Shubin compared the trigenminal's branches to t.v cables for they both carry information. In spite of this, I discovered that branch of the trigeminal plays a crucial role as it controls muscle and carries sensory information from our face back to our brain. Though it may seem that we easily smile and frown, it is the facial nerve that controls muscles; thus, an uneven smile is a sign that something is wrong with one's facial nerve. While I continued reading, it was ironic how we can only see a pattern of arches in an embryo, rather than an adult. Again, I was surprised that humans have similar traits as creatures such as shark and Amphioxus, a worm with gill slits. Overall, I came to a realization that head anatomy is mesmerizing and that science allows us to see a pattern in what seems chaotic.

Chapter 5

Reading this chapter gave me a lot of insight into how exactly the human brain works, using the cranial nerves and other such complicated things to make our bodies run and perform the ways they do. From the moment he started talking about holding two human pieces of brain in his hands all the way to the gilled arches of insects and worms, I was captivated and I never stopped flipping those pages. The many pieces that make up the human brain and enable us to function both amaze me and mystify me both in very peculiar ways, and even as Shubin tried there was no way he could fully explain just how complicated our brain is; and I never expected him to. That would have required a lot more reading, and I'm vehemently apposed to that. Also, the embryos developmental stages and growth of "arches" better helped to understand just how we changed from that small little baby to what we are now. When Shubin first tried to explain just how we are alike sharks in our early developmental stages, I had to pause and just evaluate how bold that statement was; as I don't know about you, but I don't look anything like a shark or a worm or an insect. But just look at the diagrams, and it all felt clear as we shared a "jaw" and thank god for that; otherwise we never would have had Jaws.

Keith Renner

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

The first thing I noticed when I starting read the fifth chapter was that Shubin, the author, was a procrastinator just like me! He was staying up late trying to cram in information for his big final coming up. I might have waited till the night OF, but still. And I probably wouldn't be holding to pieces of head in my hands, but to each their own. Moving on, I found his discussion of the brain and its inner working profoundly interesting, everything felt so methodical and astoundingly perfect that its quite hard to rap your head around. No pun intended if there was one. Everything seems to work in perfect unison, and that leads into his next topic which discusses embryos and the different arches that develop during our growth, and how even a small discrepancy or mistake can mean major damages to a person's life. When it comes to the Shark and Human Embryo Diagram, I couldn't help but compare the human embryo to an Elephant and the Shark's to a snake. There's just nothing else you can say when looking at those two pictures! Sharks are cool, but I'm glad we're different.

Matt Xa

Chapter Five : Getting Ahead

It was a bit startling how Shubin began this chapter by describing him in a lab, sawing off bones, and holding a dead body's head at two in the morning. After such a moment, the chapter began to lose its charm on me as I read on. Like his previous chapters however, he talks about how a specific structure is almost universal in a variety of species. It was amusing and difficult to grasp how worms, sharks, and humans are related physically somehow. Especially a worm because its brain isn't even developed anywhere near the way ours are. Apparently heads have bones,rods, and plates which are like Legos, to "build" our head for our brain. With teeth, hands, feet, and now head done, I wonder what other features Shubin can link back to us or to other animals.
-Jennifer LY

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

One thing I really like about Shubin, is that he actually puts meaning into his titles, and it makes me feel giddy afterwards when I understand what the title means. Going into this chapter, I was just hoping to God it wasn't as boring as last chapter. And for the most part it lived up to my expectations, even though it kind of stumped me at the whole arches and embroyos part but I figured everything out. Who knew that picture books would come back into style and be so useful? I felt like a kid again putting the book sideways and trying to visualize in my own head what was being shown to me. And it really is amazing how studying the arches and brain development can show early signs of birth defects and other mental illnesses. Personally, I wish we were still a lot like sharks, because Jaws seems to be pretty cool. While everyone else was grossed out by the fact that he cut open a human cadaver to observe the brain and how it works, I found it amazing and I hope to share the experience some day. Not saying its fun or anything, it being dead people and all, but its amazing to look into the wonder that is the human body. 

-Cameron Chear 

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter was both the best and worst chapter and topic of the book so far.

The beginning dealt with the structure and development of the head. The body being my favorite field of biology, i was completely immersed in reading about it. Everything that shubin said surprised me and interested me. How the head looks like it is a complete jumble, yet was made in perfect design puzzled me. This is why i loved this chapter. It went into such detail about something i loved to learn about.

Then, it began to talk about the relationships between our heads and those of a shark and worm. I cannot completely grasp such an idea. To have evolved and share common ancestors with a shark and worm did not make sense to me. Yes we have common structures, but still, i believe other wise. Also, a worm neither has such a developed brain as humans, nor the same structures that we have in our heads. How could we be related in some way? This theory puzzles and surprises me. Yet, i read with an opened mind and tried hard to understand shubin's point of view, because there are things that humans and other creatures have in common, such as limbs, muscles, vertebrae and more.

This chapter was overall very interesting, mind-blowing, and controversial. I hope to continue to be intrigued and impressed by shubin and his ideas.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

When I first read a few pages of this chapter, I thought it was pretty funny to see how with the head, a person is able to discover the traits of his or her cranium. Moreover, as pages went on, I was not fully convinced about the similarities between a human and shark. This impression was like the sight I had in chapter one because of either lack of diagrams given or my stereotypes on this topic. However, as Shubin started to jot down the ideas of the similarities of humans and sharks embryos through diagrams. Therefore, I was able to see the development of them clearly. But even with these explanations, I was still not fully persuaded. Shubin went on deeper to elaborate the mere differences of humans and sharks by showing that it is the genetic codes that distinguish one organism. For example, Otx and Hox are the ones that shape the arches. As I go into deeper theories in this book, I realize that the amazing feature in this book is its ability to prove a point that seems even impossible to even reach. Especially the parts where Shubin easily prove the similarities of unattractive animals, I have been remarked each part.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This book seriously gets more and more interesting as I read it. Although there are parts that gross me out, like the one about how he was "holding half of the head in each hand" and "being surrounded by the bodies of 25 human beings under sheets" , Shubin catches my attention to learn and read more about the complex structure of the human body with more enthusiasim. I also love how the author tells the readers a main idea of what the chapter would be about. Learning about the different nerves in our body, the anguli oris, was also very interesting. The diagram explaing the process of the embryo really helped me understand the gill archs from embryo to adult. In all, it always connects our body to other simpler animals or fish such as the shark. How arches, which are the road map for major chunks of the skull are connected to thoses of a shark's. I wonder what will he next after learning about the complex structure of the head.

Chapter 5

This chapter starts off with Shubin in his lab late a night, only to realize he is surrounded by dead bodies. Honestly, that flashback caught my attention because I know that if that was me, I would not be in a room filled with dead bodies.

Shubin then goes on to say that a theoretical head includes plates, blocks, and rods and how every bone in our head can be traced to one of these items. Whenever I think of a head, I imagine hundreds of pieces of bone and tissue keeping my brain in place. Therefore, I think that it's amazing to have our head be primarily made up of only those three items. I have banged my head into a lot of poles or doors in my lifetime, so those three bones up there must be pretty strong to keep it intact.

Another section of this chapter which I found intriguing was that the gill region of a human and shark embryo look very similar early in the process. I heard about this similarity with a chicken and a human but never a shark. I found that very strange because sharks are not mammals, so that further proves that there is a link between us. However I still believe in God, but evolution is also a theory.

Brenda Panuco :)

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

I found Shubin's introduction to this chapter fairly interesting compared to the previous chapters. He catches my attention with his first sentence. After reading that sentence, i could tell that i was going to enjoy this chapter.

He starts off talking about how complex our heads are, and it made me realize that it's not just brain up there. He talks about the plates, blocks, and rods in our head which i have never heard of before. He teaches us about the complicated trigeminal branches and compares them to cables that carry television, internet, and voice information, which helped me imagine them more clearly since there was no diagram. He also tells us the names of some of the muscles that help us do daily things such as smiling or frowning; when he said the names, i began to play with my face for a bit. It kind of saddened me when i couldn't pronounce the names of the muscles, though. Now i can see why he had to stay up so late studying the nerves.

When we get into the section about the embryos, however, i began to get lost and confused. He talks about the arches, and at first i was okay with it, but for some reason i began to become very agitated as i read further on. Don't get me wrong, i still found it interesting, but it was just so much information in such a short amount of time. I guess i'll just have to read that section over again.

-Shay Fajardo

chapter 5

The beginning of this chapter was very interesting for me. I really enjoy Shubin's stories. I find them entertaining and they always relate to what the chapter is about. I was grateful for the diagrams that are included in the chapter because at some parts I found it difficult to wrap my head around what he was talking about. Although I'm a fast reader, I almost never fully understand what it is I'm reading. Reading this chapter proved to be very problematic for me. I got confused while he was explaining the trigeminal and facial nerves. Reading things never really sticks with me in my mind. I usually forget what I just read by the end of the chapter. I had to go back and read one part two times. Luckily the rest of the chapter wasn't any trouble to me and thanks to the illustrations I understood the four arches and how we look the same as sharks from early on. That was pretty cool. At first I was slightly confused when he decided to talk about insects and worms. He definitely answered my question right off the bat and I quickly realized what he was talking. This chapter was very informative and it gave me a headache reading and yeah. So bless your face and if you sneezed during this blog of inner chaos of the head then bless you! Peace Off!

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

Chapter five was not my favorite. I like how Shubin talks about how he stayed up late studying the twelve cranial nerves (talk about procrasinating). This chapter was based mainly on the essence of our own head. I was a little grossed out about him mentioning he had to "saw through the cheeks" to see the vessels and organs inside a head. That's not very pleasant. He moves on to talk about our brains being complex and full of wires and connections from one thing to another. We also learn why a slap on the face hurts so bad because it sends the pain to our brain. That sounds painful!

Towards the middle of this chapter, I was a little inattentive when Shubin talked about archs and the essence of an embryo. I just didn't find that interesting and had to reread, but once I started reading about birth defects in children, I had finally learned something I had always wondered. I use to think, how do you know a baby is born with a birth defect? Well, It mainly depends on the development of the brain and through that you can see the missing structures explaining where the problem is whether its in the first, second, third, or fourth arch.

My biggest fear of the chapter was finding out our correlation to sharks. I have an extreme fear of sharks and I was extremely shocked to find out we are "modified sharks". Creepy huh? I wasn't really satisfied with this chapter but hopefully the next one will be better!

-Mitasha Sujan

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

I just love how Shubin titles his titles so cleverly. When I first started reading the beginning of this chapter, I was slightly disturbed by the way he says that he sawed through the head of the human, but it was still caught my attention. Later on, I was interested in the line, "To Goeth, this revealed the essential pattern within: the head is made up of vertebrae that fused and grew a vault to hold our brains and sense organs" (88-89). This shocked me because I never thought that the head was like a vertebrae at the back of spine. Then, Shubin explains how the embryo is segmented. Although the picture is weird, its amazing how the embryo shows the segments that will later become later the parts of the skull. In addition, the section of "Our Inner Shark" showed to me how closely we resemble sharks in our early stages. Even though the different segments do not completely become the same parts of the head, the resemblance is amazing. This shows how early creatures evolved to program the segments to become different parts of the head to their advantage. Shubin still amazes me.

Ch.5 : Getting Ahead

Just like the beginning of most chapters in this book, the images described by Shubin are not pleasant but when he gets into detail about what he sees, it becomes very interesting. Its interesting how there are only 12 nerves that control our ability to bite, talk, move our eyes, and our whole head. The completely of the human brain is further described when he divides it into 2 categories of nerves called the trigeminal and facial nerves. The trigeminal nerves carry sensory information from our eyes and face and carries it back to brain, these same nerves also control our hearing and chewing food. Its also interesting to note how embryos from 2 completely different species can begin so similar but grow into separate organisms. We have come a long way in understanding our own bodies and other organisms in the world.

Getting Ahead (Ch. 5)

After reading chapter five, I found it quite interesting how Shubin stated, "Twelve nerves supply these muscles, each exiting the brain to travel to a different region in our head," (pg 83.). Although the cranial nerve actually has only a single function, that function serves to allow humans to do many important things, such as seeing and hearing. The true complexity of humans' inner bodies is shown when Shubin mentions the major roles of the trigeminal branches. Knowing that the trigeminal's branches control muscles and also carry sensory information from the face to the brain, just imagine what would happen if the trigeminal branches didn't properly do its job.
When Shubin also describes how the embryos of humans and those of sharks have conspicuous similarities, it amazes me how such similar embryos can turn out to become very different from one another. Furthermore, when Shubin included, "... we can manipulate the identity of the gill arches almost at will, by changing the activity of the genes inside," (94), I became aware of how far humans have come, in terms of understanding the inner structure(s) of both humans and other living organisms.

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

The most interesting part in chapter three was Shubin's experience in anatomy lab. Being alone among twenty-five corpse is pretty terrifyng, but I didn't expect it to be told from Shubin. It was impressive part because it showed me a humanlike aspect of scientist. This chapter was about the cranial bone structure. Our head consists of three parts; three plates, three blocks, and three rods. There are numorous rooms in our skull and there are organs it those. And muscles are attached to the bones and organs in the skull enabling us to bite, talk, and to moce our eyes and whole head. And this time, Shubin compared human to shark. He suggested the arches in our bodies reveal that we are close to shark. Honestly, this chapter sounded somewhat dull to me comparing to other chapters. But I want to believe it was worth it reading through this chapter.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

I find every chapter in Your Inner Fish to be getting more and more interesting as the novel progresses and it was true about chapter 5 as well.

It was enticing to learn about the head of a human and how it progresses and it's connection to the gills of a shark was an add-on.

It was no surprise that the head would be a complex pathway of nerves and such. Only something with that much complexity could be the explanation of the successful functioning of a human-and in some cases the unsuccessful and unfortunate lives lived because of arch syndromes.

The facial nerve sparked some interest when I read about it because of the fact that it is the main nerve that controls the muscles of facial expression. A simple blemish in the structure of a person's face could be explained by none other than a fault in the facial nerve.

Although this chapter had many different hidden agendas, just like the structure of the brain, it was overall interesting to learn about.

Chapter 4- "Teeth Everywhere"

This chapter was intriguing because it opened my mind to the small things in life: such as teeth. I never knew an organism's teeth is so essential in uncovering the history of their being/structure. I also never knew that it was the most sturdy and informative fossil a paleontologist can find. Then when Shubin was describing the precision of the human mouth, I felt a sense of pride because we are one of the few organisms that can consume plants AND meat due to the different types of teeth we have.
As Shubin conveyed his introduction to fossil finding, I was surprised because I didn't know that it would be as difficult as he portrayed it to be. Only an extremely patient adventurer would have the perseverence he had to obtain his first finding: his first tooth. I also didn't realize that there were certain "rules" to fossil finding until he himself laid them out to his readers. Later, when Shubin led his first expedition and found a part mammal, part reptile fossil, I caught myself smiling at his success. "He deserves those praises," I thought to myself, "for his such unconditional dedication."

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

I really didn't feel like reading anything, but Shubin caught my attention when he said that 2 cranial nerves, trigeminal and facial, were "outrageously easy" in the beginning of the chapter. I always knew that whatever was going on in the head was complicated and I wanted to stay away from any information about it until I was to learn them in class. Shubin hooked me to reading the rest of the chapter to understand what he meant by "outrageously easy."

I really enjoyed the simile of vessels and nerves in the brain to tangled fishing lines. I know how it feels to have tangled fishing lines and I found it easy to relate to Shubin when he opened up a human head. Additionally, I never thought that dentists needed to know the trigeminal nerve well. I always took them from granted thinking that they jabbed the anesthetic anywhere. Now, I will keep in mind that dentists know something.

When Shubin named the facial nerves like depressor angulioris, corrugator supercilii, and nasalis, I was doubting whether Shubin really found the 2 nerves easy, or he was completely crazy. However, by the end of the chapter, I found the 2 nerves easy as well. He stated the importance of 2 nerves such as the facial nerves control the muscles to smile and open our eyelids effectively. He also proved to me that history is a major factor in understanding one's cartilages' and nerves' placement in the head. He went as far back as to the embryo and explained the significance of the insignificant arches, swelling, and indentations of the embryo.

As he explained the way to find nerves easy, he even advised me about the embryos' head's similarities between humans and sharks. Additionally, he informed me about the Amphioxus which is an invertebrate that has the huge similarity to a vertebrate, the notochord.

CH. 5 Getting Ahead

This week's chapter had the biggest impact on me by far. Sure, the teeth and hands are important to understanding our Inner Fish, but for me, reading about the importance of our heads and its complicated structure was very exciting. Still, the downside to chapter five would have to be reading about how Shubin dissected the heads (it felt very...detailed). In the beginning, I fully understood why our heads are the heaviest parts of our bodies seeing that there are so many different components contained in such a small space. It was fascinating how embryos that look like globs, could form and mature to take the form of a human and have all the distinct traits of one, no matter how complex.

I like how Shubin introduced his understanding of our heads before heading into his explanation of how human heads are connected to those of animals. The diagram he provided on page 92 was of big help because after reading about all of the different aspects, I began getting confused so the picture helped clear things up. It's interesting how in this chapter, we get compared to such different kinds of animals such as sharks and worms. My viewpoint on these creatures has changed a lot now that I know that I do share some similarities with them (although it is a bit of a strange concept to grasp). Even though I now feel like we humans have some sort of connection to all of the creatures of this world, I'm fully convinced that Shubin will bring a new surprising comparison to us in next week's reading.

During the embroytic stage we most resemble sharks. Shuben explains to us that the characteristics of people are formed form the characteristics of sharks therefore we are an adaptation. In this chapter in all the human head is compared to the head of a shark which in all actuality is a fish. The human embryo is very similar to the embryo of a shark. Humans share the same structure of the body with sharks. Our heads in nerves inside our brains are the most complex and confounding part of our body and what goes on inside of it is interesting as well.

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

Shubin started the chapter with the detailed description of human brain. Though the brain structure was complex and chaotic, author's descriptions helped me visualize the appearance of the anatomy. While learning about the different nerves, it was interesting to learn the names of each facial nerves, such as anguli oris and corrugator supercelli. Like previous chapters, Shubin continued to compare the human bone structures to those of other creatures. "If we follow the gill arches from an embryo to an adult, we can trace the origins of jaws, ears, larynx, and throat. Bones, muscles, nerves, and arteries all develop inside these gill arches" (96). Knowing these facts, doctors use the information to predict and prevent birth defects. Another interesting fact was that a shark embryo and a human embryo share similar appearances and functions, which helped me understand Shubin's theory of our inner fish.
Amphioxus and Haikouella (over 530 million years old) share similar anatomy; Both worms have notochords, a nerve cord, and gill slits. These worms are known as the earliest creatures with notochords and nerve cords. Scientists use this information to prove the revolution of species, since some of human body parts come from these worms. This chapter amazed me once again about the origin of our body and bone structures.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

I had no idea that during the embroytic stage that we most resembeled sharks, or that we had 5 archs before we were born. I found that amazing yet creepy at the same time. It was fascinating to learn that the human brain is also found in other animals like the shark and an ancient worm found in China. This chapter was quite entertaing, I have to say so far this was one of my favorite chapters because it captures the mysteries of life right at the beginnning stages. Looking forward to what the next chapter has to offer.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

Shubin, as always fascinates me in many ways. He talks about the human development and how it starts from the similar effect as sharks. I learned about the bits of embryo that create the head of characteristics of people and the head and gills of fish are in the same place and are in the same figure, and that there are four arches in every vertebrate creatures. We are therefore, an adaptation to sharks. Like Shubin stated, our heads are the astonishingly confounded structures and I agree to that. This chapter just got into more details as I was further reading throughout as Shubin explains to us about how humans can sometimes get disrupted disks into their spines-a disk that conducts a worm, or amphioxus. It just amazes me how the concept of ordinary descent can be consumed to make new forecasts and find to find brand-new informations.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter was interesting in many different ways. Shubin taught us the very essence of the human head and of course, the head of fish. It amazed me when I found out the three fundamental parts of the skull and how they merged together as humans grow older. Shubin also talked about the basic principles of the nerves and how they are used to operate the sense of olfactory, facial, trieminal, and etc. These different types of functions have helped me understand more about the human body. The most interesting portion of this chapter was the idea of "our inner shark". It fascinated me when I discovered that the human embryo was very similar to that of a shark. Furthermore, it was even more fascinating when I discovered that humans shared the same structures to those of sharks!

-Stacey Kim

Ch 5: Getting Ahead

The way Shubin described that at first he was confused how the head and the nerves (cranial nerves) running through it worked; I can relate completely because I was very confused at first too. But, the examples that Shubin gave of the plumbing and the big jumbo of wires interlaced in his laboratory; he explained very well that the people who designed the building made it to comfort the scientists of that certain time period. Meaning that the wires were made to look a certain way because of the history of that time. Shubin also explains that how our heads and nerves inside our head look today are because of the constant developments and changes they have undergone throughout the years; meaning how they have evolved over the years. I would say that I couldn't believe that worms and humans were related when worms don't even have bones, but after reading the first couple of chapters, Shubin has convinced me that there is no creature on this earth that we humans don't share a similarity with. The way he showed diagrams of how sharks and humans have 4 arches definitely shows how similar we are to sharks. This chapter by far was the most interesting because it also shows how genes can be modified in any of the arches and it could cause a different organ or the same organ to be made in two arches. I found that extremely interesting.

5. Getting Ahead

I agree with Shubin that the head is the most complex and confounding part of our body, but it was interesting to read about what goes on inside the tangled mess, like the four cranial nerves and how they act as cables. It's fascinating to learn how the head of an embryo does not form until several weeks later, which by then, is only a big glob and how such complicated body parts can originate from simply a ball of cells. The diagram on pg. 88 helped to elucidate Shubin's discussion on the four arch tissues that can be traced from an embryo to an adult and how the jaws, ears, larynx, and throat came about. After Shubin described humans as "modified sharks" and how we all have an inner shark inside of us, I realized that there is nothing humans do not have in common with if something as different as a shark and something as small as a worm have similarities with humans.

chapter 5 getting ahead

I really enjoyed this chapter. It was very interesting learning about the head. I never knew the skull used to be seperated and then formed together, it was so interesting because I am interested in the head. I always wonder about the nerves and organs. I think this was the most exciting, especially when the chapter discussed the trigeminal nerve and facial nerve. I liked the example of the slap in the face, I realized it is not just us reacting it is our body telling us to. That goes for other things as well. The head is very complicated but it is one of the most interesting parts of our body. To me the head is like a monitor to a computer, the computer is the brain. Our head holds our brain, the most valuable thing in thebody that holds memory and much more.
The shark theory was very interesting as well. I saw the comparison of the gill region it amazed me how similar theis can be to ours. They also contain some of the same nerve patterns as us. This chapter really showed a good comparison to the shark and human. I was also intruiged by the comparison to the worm. No one would think a worm could relate to something of us.

Ch 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter, like all the other chapters, made a connection between a certain part of our body to that of a simpler creature. Shubin talked about how our skull in particular had the same basic structure and blueprint as a shark and even a headless worm. I found it interesting when he stated that though our head was filled with complex nerves, it has a pattern that makes our head simpler to understand. It was interesting to see that the four arches that form when embryos are developing resemble the gills in shark embryos, and can even connect to worms. Each arch is composed of different cells that create different parts of our skull. And nerves like the facial and trigeminal supply certain structures that developed from a certain arch. These four arches that form in embryos allow scientists to connect human heads to the heads of sharks and other simpler creatures.
-Sarah You

Chapter 5 Getting Ahead

Shubin started off this chapter discussing anatomy. He went ahead and explained the structure of the human head, including all the intricate parts that make it up. Shubin talked about the trigeminal and facial nerves that serve different functions in our head. He later mentioned that "Nobody starts life with a head" but develops one after a sperm and egg come together to make a single cell. Shubin introduced the four different arches that made up the fundamental blueprint of heads that made it easier for me to understand the complicated structure. I learned that the organization of our nerves, as well as our vertebra, are all segmental. I realized the importance of embryo in order to study these different segments because they disappear as we become adults. What interested me was how every head on every animal from a shark to a human shares those four arches in development. I was also fascinated when I discovered that worms can tell us something about the origin of parts of our bodies. It was very interesting to see that those little worms could share gill arches with humans, who are far more complex. I'm excited to see how not only our teeth, genes, and limbs, and now our head structures, are similar to those of other, simpler organisms.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

The one thing that I could truly relate to Shubin was on page 85 when he said "Nothing about them seems to make sense". Of all the chapters so far this one was by far the most informative, but also hardest to comprehend. I don't know if its because I don't have any medical background or he was just talking in a language higher up than mine, but nothing really stuff for me. I did find it however interesting that we don't fully start of with a head, that we develop it over a series of weeks in the womb. The developing fetus head looks somewhat like a cray tablet used in a pottery class. I would have not believed beforehand that we are even somewhat related to sharks, that was a truly incredible thing to see in the book. We have gill arches, or we share the commonality with worms that have gill arches? I'm so confused.

Ch. 5: Getting Ahead

Once again in chapter 5, shubin has shown me how devoted and passionate he is about his work. When he was talking about the structures of our head I remember the plates that cover our brain and how these large plates were separated when we were born. Which explains the reason why infants have such soft heads. I learned so much through this chapter about our bone structures and our senses and nerves. Such as how the trigeminal is hte major nerve for sensation in the face. The reason why a slap in the face hurts is all thanks to the trigeminal nerve. Once again Shubin compared us to to an animal, this time, a shark. Shubin began explaining the structures a shark has and how our embryos are very similar. What really caught my attention was when Shubin said, "Bones that support the upper and lower jaws in sharks are used in us to swallow and hear". Furthermore, he also stated, "The muscles and cranial nerves weuse to swallow and talk move the gills in sharks and fish". Shubin also began talking about genes such as the Otx and Hox genes andhow when we change the genetic address of a fill arch into another such as a frog embryo, you can get frog that has two jaws! I never knew that genetic addressess could have such a powerful impact. For some reason i feel like i have learned the most through readin chapter 5 of Shubin's book so far. I am intrested in what more he has to say.

Chapter Six: The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

This chapter was difficult for me to read and stay focused. It again had a lot of detail, like Chapter Five, but it read like a textbook to me. The three layer concept was easy and I understood how all creatures started out with the three layers. And that those three layers all formed different structures, but the same in every species. Some paragraphs seemed out of place, like if our ball of cells develops in the wrong places, I just didn’t see why that had any significance in this chapter. The diagrams weren’t as helpful as they were last chapter; in fact, some of them even confused me more. I am amazed that one patch of tissue could create a body, and that this tissue can be placed in any species and it will show no effect to that species other than it has a twin. When Shubin began discussing the flies, I became lost; the only thing that really caught my attention was the mutations. That flies could grow to miss sections of their bodies or have limbs growing out of their heads. I am still in shock that sea anemone have similar structure cells like us.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

Shubin opens the chapter by discussing anatomy. He notes that the human head is actually very simple, rather than full of complexities. Shubin's analogy to the cables helped me visualize how a human head might look. It's fascinating to think that no matter how diverse we are, we all originated from a simple archetype, used to develop an embryo. He notes that arches form before birth and eventually evolve into the cranial nerves, which provide the head with crucial functions such as hearing and sight. I like how he made the connection between "every skull on Earth," further emphasizing the prevailing idea that our structures all follow a humble blueprint. It was interesting to see the connection Shubin made from our "headed ancestors" to "headless worms." It's shocking to think that we could have anything in common with the most simplest of creatures, and it's simply fascinating to realize that all the complexities of our head point back to this ancient worm.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

Our head, Shubin also tells us, is formed after years of modifying and reshaping. This head is responsible for our daily activities. I realized that we could continually research the different functions of our structures of our heads to further support for children born with defects. I also realized our heads were meticulously and intricately developed and one slight mistake could cause severe damage. It was interesting also in how the sharks gills were similar to a humans while in development.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

When first reading this chapter, I had no idea where Shubin was going with the profoundness of the anatomy of the cranium. However, with the introduction of arches, the subject started to make more sense. Each of the four arches form the blueprint for nerves, cartilage, bones, plates, and structures. Thus, even though a single system of nerves such as the trigeminal nerve have confusing twists and multiple purposes, it is still connected because it all originated from the first arch. From this point, it was more of the diagram of the shark and human embryos that gave me visual persuasion of the similarities between human and shark development. In addition, Shubin explains that although sharks and humans have different structures, they are not actually that different. In support, he points out that a bone that is formed for our throats in an arch is used for the jaw in a shark. Thus, Shubin returns to the theme of how we are merely variations of an ancient blue print and not a completely new creature. In relation, Shubin alludes to the genetic similarities by pointing out genes such as the Otx and the Hox that guide the arches. This is one of the elements I find great about this book; so far, each chapter supports a common theme. I felt that the comparison between humans and shark was the section I understood the most in this chapter. However, the section I still find confusing is how humans are linked to other creatures such as worms. I understood both creatures had a notochord, but I felt like it should have been a different topic.

Chapter 5: Getting ahead

One thing that I found interesting about this chapter was the similarities between shark embryos and human embryos. As Shubin explained on pg 90, every head on every animal from a shark to a human shares those four arches in development. And he goes on the next page describing the point-by-point comparison between our human heads and those of sharks. Before reading this part, I would have never imagined that sharks were in any way similar to us. However, Shubin thoroughly explains in this chapter on how sharks develop through their arches in a similar way that human arches do. The pictures on pg 91 was very helpful in understanding this because it displayed the obvious similarity between us and sharks. Also, in pg 88, the diagram also helped me understand how these small arches develop into the parts of our face and how each one of them grow into different functions. And as Shubin quoted on pg 93, 'Our head may look incredibly complicated, but it is built from a simple and elegant blueprint.' This really summed up his explanations, understanding how human blueprints are in a way, very similar to many other creatures.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

I have to admit, when I started this chapter, I was fairly confused as to what was going on and how the nerves were important in learning about our inner fish. I completely empathized with Shubin about the fact that it was really hard to distinguish the facial and trigeminal nerves, and I wasn't really thinking about the connections between embryos and the nerves as I got farther into the chapter. After this, when he starts delving into information about the way a head develops, I was thinking, "How will all this come together?"
I really like how after I got into the chapter, I understood the nerves because of the discussion of the 4 archs. I have to admit, I wouldn't have truly understood the beginning of this chapter if it hadn't been for the diagrams.
I shouldn't have been surprised when I read about the connection between a human embryo and a shark embryo, but I was very shocked at how similar they look! When I read, "Virtually all our nerves are present in sharks" (92), I was surprised that we share the same nerves, but they don't make us do exactly the same thing.
Overall, I thought that it was a lot of discussion about our heads, but the information was tied together very well. Especially at the end. It's surprising to know we even have something in common with a headless worm. Now I wish Shubin included more information about Amphioxus, because that little worm sounds very strange, but interesting at the same time...

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter had to be the one with the most information I was unfamiliar with. In the beginning when Shubin was talking about his late night studying in the lab, it startled me when he mentioned that there were 25 other cadavers in the room he was in. I can't imagine taking anatomy in college and being in a room like Shubin was in, (especially at night).

I would have never guessed that when humans are born, the three plates on the top part of our heads have gapes in between them until they fuse together later on. Thanks to his connection from the jumble of wires in the wall, it was a good visual to understand what trigeminal and facial nerves looked like inside the head. I can only imagine the twisting and turning of all the nerves everywhere, impossible to take in all at once.

In addition, I found it quite interesting that "Every head on every animal from a shark to a human shares those four arches in development" (90). Even though in appearance the arches look similar in the shark and human embryo, its amazing that soon enough, major differences appear later on. The head is filled with a puzzle of nerves, plates, blocks, rods, and muscles I'm eager to learn about later on this year.

Ch. 5: Getting Ahead

Even though most of Shubin's chapters begin with one of his old stories from when he was in class or studying for a final it makes the reader more interested because we get to see how he thinks as well as see what his perspective was on the topic. Moving on, the way that Shubin split the head up made it easier to understand. For example, he split it in two plates, blocks, and rods. The plates are which cover the brain almost like shield in the shape of a jig-saw puzzle. Then the blocks are the plate like bones at the top, and the rods are basically the muscles that help us chew, hear, and swallow. Even though the diagram that is on the let side of page 83 doesn't look anything like the right it still helps us break down what the functions of the certain parts are. It was interesting reading about the mallues and incus which for the upper and lower jaws as well as the 2 tiny ear bones. The stapes formed the 3rd ear bones which were the 2nd and 3rd arches which formed the bones and muscles deep inside the throat. Overall this was an interesting chapter that helped explain the parts of the head using the plates, blocks, and rods method.

-Neha Modha

Ch. 5: Getting Ahead

I was interested in this chapter right away as Shubin started explaining how the human skull looked like. He described it in a simple way so I was able to understand it easily. However, when he began talking about the cranial nerves, I tried to follow along, but ended up confused. Thankfully, like always, there were pictures to help me. I thought it was so amazing how all the nerves that seem jumbled up were actually very organized when we were embryos. I'm not sure why, but I was really interested in reading about the arches and how it shows the origins of the complicated nerves. When Shubin talked about the similarities between humans and sharks and even worms, it really revealed how so many things about us originated from different animals so long ago.

Ch.5: Getting Ahead

I think it was me instead of the heat that made this chapter confusing and then amazing. Like being bipolar, throughout the chapter, I liked this part and hated that maybebecause the simplicity was within the complexity of the text. The twisted paths of the nervous system and the 4 arches that tormented college students also tormented me because the complexity was greatly reduced that it took me a long time to realize that something looks complex can be deceiving.
The human brain is a big mass of nerves that connects to every part of the body from head to toe which is covered by a vertebrae which holds the brain and sense organs together. Everything that defines humans are held up by a vertebrate! The development of the brain in the fetus was interesting, from a single cell embryo to the most remarkable piece of organ in the world.
The human focus in this chapter was something new so far and something that made a difference in understanding the rest of the chapter. The foundation or basics of the human brain was down with the 4 arches of the trigeminal and facial nerves and functions, now, the big picture comes in:
The connection with fishes-sharks. The embryos developed similarly except for the gill production, but the rest such as the jaws were very similar giving us insight to how we and the fishes share the same ancestor deep deep down. In addition, the similarity of fishes to humans can also mean that the same simple stencil for the brain can be used for many other animals, even invertebrates.
This is the part that caught my attention the most, how could invertebrates have ancestral connections to humans? Not only are humans descentants from fishes, but also from maybe worms. Come to think of it, billions of years ago, only simple organisms thrived on Earth and so worms could have been the first insects that had somewhat of a brain and then evolved to more intricate creatures which could have soon branched out to become humans. So many possibilities overwhelmed my thoughts. Who could have known that humans who are at the top of the food chain is connected to one of the first consumers of that food chain and that thing that connects them is the reason why humans are on top. The Brain.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter caught my attention right from the beginning, with Shubin's little anecdote.

I always thought that the human head was very complicated, but Shubin explained it in a simple way, so I understood what he was talking about. I found the trigeminal and facial nerves interesting to read about. At first, I didn't understand why there was a separate nerve to send branches to the same region as another nerve. It made more sense if there was just one nerve to control one region in the body. But, as I read on, I understood that the arches that develop in the embryo are the reason why the cranial nerves are the way they are.

I also found it interesting that something as simple as a worm has so much in common with us. Not only do we both have nerve chords, but we both also have gill arches.

- Aarti Kumar

Chapter Five: Getting Ahead

When he began talking about how the inside of your skull looks I was interested. I liked that he mostly focused on the human species instead of the fish when explaining the concepts of the brain. And when I understood the concepts it was easier to understand the connections. The diagrams helped the most, I am a visual person and I can’t always picture how the two things are similar, and the diagrams achieved that for me. Though this was the most detailed chapter so far, it wasn’t confusing and it didn’t seem like I was reading a textbook. Maybe it’s because I was interested in the structure of the brain or because Shubin explained it on much simpler levels. Though this chapter didn’t reveal a story or a discovery, which I usually dislike in this book, I was intrigued throughout this entire chapter and I kept wanting to turn the page.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter was one of the more confusing ones for me. Shubin definitely captured my attention with his anecdote at the beginning of the chapter, where he was in a room full of dead bodies. It gave me the willies, and I laughed out loud when he said he left his keys in the lab. However, when he started talking about the arches, I got a little lost. His diagrams and illustrations helped me to understand what he was talking about, which is basically that our initial construction of our head is similar to that of a shark's.
One thing I really liked reading about was the different kinds of nerves, particularly the facial nerve. I found it pretty cool to know a few of the specific muscles that control our facial expressions, like furrowing our brow and such. I also really liked how he said that, even though our heads seem as complicated as tangled fishing lines, it could all be traced back to the plates, blocks, and rods that basically make it up.

6) The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

Seems like the chapter-a-week routine isn't going to work now that there's a month left of summer... I'm sad. Time to step up the pace.

Anyways, this chapter? For science. I think I get it now... everything is pretty much related to everything right? I'm probably made from the same fundamental structure as the spider I squished with my foot awhile ago... accidentally of course. It's funny how he compares us with the most random-est of creatures, yet we still relate.

I thought it was pretty neat how we are able to learn about ourselves and how we are developed by messing with other organisms... like a double-headed frog after injecting extra Noggin, the Nickelodeon Jr. television channel. No, I'm kidding. But that isn't creepy at all.

It was nice of Shubin to tell me the process of being born, with the fertilized cell diagram and the "YOU ARE HERE" graphic, like I'm at a mall looking at the directory. Good since I didn't get the slightest clue when he was describing it with words. And funny how he mentions it being awkward in social situations if our anus was in our forward end. You can imagine... no, scratch that... that's disgusting. What that reminded me of was this sick demented movie I watched called The Human Centipede, where the other person's digestive tract was pulled out of his/her anus into the other person's mou... yeah. Fun stuff.

But in a serious manner, I found it amazing how we and our DNA are so similar to that of other organisms. And the Organizer... since I've never actually learned how embryos developed, until now. I liked his analogy of a cake recipe that was passed down from generation to generation, helped me picture it all.

Tickle Me Elmo.

- Keith Choison

Chapter 8: Making Scents

This was by far my favorite chapter title because it combines making sense of how smell works and the word 'scents.' I found it extremely clever and appealing to my curiosity. He began this chapter by teaching us how to extract DNA in our kitchens, which was particularly interesting although I have already extracted DNA before reading this book. Shubin then went on to state that by extracting DNA from any tissue, you can decipher the history of any part of our body...including our sense of smell! We can do this because the apparatus used to detect odors in the environment are locked inside our DNA. He defined smell as the brain's response to molecules floating in the air (with the molecules binding to our nerve cells sending signals to the brain, which we interpret as smell). He compared the molecular part of smelling to a lock and key mechanism, only working once the molecules (key) connect to the nerve cells (lock). And if this comparison did not help readers understand completely, Shubin went on to compare smell to music, stating it was like a chord. By tracing how organisms smell, we can trace our history as fish, amphibians, and mammals. Through experimentation scientists discovered odor receptors have a characterized structure with a number of molecular loops that help convey information across the cell. These genes (in receptors) have a very specific activity (and has to be lots of these genes since many kinds of chemicals can stimulate different smells). Buck and Axel discovered that three percent of the entire genome is devoted to genes for detecting different odors (each makes a receptor for molecule), and these olfactory receptor genes are found in major transitions in the history of life. For example, research shows that smelling genes eventually split into two types: one picks up chemical scents in water, while the other one picks up these scents in the air; while the number of odor genes present increases over time (from relatively few to enormous numbers). As the organism has more genes, they have a more acute ability to discern different kinds of smells, with large number odor genes arising from many duplications of small number genes, present in more primitive species. However, many of humans' odor genes are rendered completely functionless by mutations that altered their structure beyone repair (these mutations crop up in genomes from generation to generation as time goes on). This sparked my curiosity because I did not understand why we have so many odor genes, but most were functionless. Some scientists, such as Gilad, were just as curious as I was when this was discovered, and through experimentation found that primates that develop color vision have large numbers of knock-out smell genes, trading use of smell for sight, or, in other words, relying more on sight than smell. All in all, this chapter taught us that our DNA carries baggage in our nose that are silent witnesses to our past (basically contains a veritable tree of life!).

getting ahead

Every chapter chooses an interesting aspect of the human body to discuss. In this particular one, Shubin explains the "wiring" inside our heads. I have always been fascinated by how humans are able to control every single muscle starting with a thought of wanting to do so. I cannot imagine how complicated the inside of our heads actually are. As Shubin explains it in a way to compare to the head or the formation of a shark, he started to lose me. I couldnt really get the grip of the arches and all. But the part about messing with the frogs' genetics caught my attention again. The human body as a whole is so complicated and skilled in many ways, and the way Shubin explains it, we all started out as simple as fish.

Chapter 4- "Teeth Everywhere"

Chapter 7: Adventures in Bodybuilding

This chapter compared animals' bodies to a house being built from information contained in bricks rather than the builder...this concept was initially hard to grasp, but then Shubin stated that different parts work together to make a greater whole; dividing labor between parts. He stated that most of life's history is that of single-celled creatures...comparing Earth's timeline with a twelve-month calendar (only single-celled creatures present until June and then humans appear on Decemter 31st). The first creatures of many cells occur during the Precambrian, populating the sea 600 million years ago, and with these bodies bring the first trackways, revealing some were able to move in relatively complicated motions. To better understand how our bodies work, Shubin stated the difference between organs rests in the way cells and materials are arranged in tissues; with molecules that make cellular arrangements possible also making formation of bodies possible (these molecules make our bones). These moleules determine the mechanical differences among bone, teeth and cartilage based on their ratios of various materials. It is so cool how one is able to tell which molecules and where they come from just by their formation under a microscope! Then Shubin even went on to state that all animals have molecules that lie between cells (more specifically collagen and proteoglycans). These molecules are very interesting, especially since collagen is the most common protein in our body (nearly 90% of body's protein by weight!). Cells in organs have to able to stick to one another and to talk to each other; with molecular rivets to help them stick together (selective rivets enable cells to organize our bodies in a fundamental way) and allowing cells to communicate by using "words" written as molecules that move from cell to cell (send molecules back and forth). Although I always felt our body is extremely complicated and way more advanced than single-celled organisms, I was shocked once Shubin stated our bodies have many of the same things as placozoans (literally blobs!) and sponges: they have cells with divisions of labor, cells that can communicate, and an array of cells that functions as a single individual (simple versions of our bodies!). Further study of single-celled microbes proved the potential to build bodies came before bodies actually appeared! It is believed that predation could have brought about bodies (microbes began to eat one another), and that bodies came when they did because the environment was not ready before-hand (levels of oxygen too low to support larger organisms). This chapter further enlightened me on our body and the history of where it came from...I am excited to find out what else Shubin has to teach me!

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

This chapter was interesting and suprising at the same time. I think this was the chapter that started to really intrique me into the book. The first paragraph in this chapter caught my attention, when Shubin explained that teeth are vitual in understanding how our bodies evolved. Shubin conitued to explain how teeth are the hardest bone in the human body, so they are the best perserved. I enjoyed Shubin's expedition and found it humours that first Shubin was unable to discover the bones and fossisls that Chuck and Bill could find, but after he found one of his own teeth glisenting in the rock; a new world was opened to him. Who knew that Shubin, the person who paid the dinner bills, would be able to lead his very own expedition in fossil finding. I can understand now what Shubin meant by teeth being the fossil that scientists can find the most of. Each teeth has a unique curve and blade making it contain compleelty unique characteristics. This fact, not only caught my attention, but also showed me how this discovery could lead to the knowledge about the creatures eating and evolving habit. Because we are what we eat! Eat allow us to explore what the animal ate and how they were able to survive. Each creature had a different complexity in the sturcutre of their mouth, for example, either incisors in the front became specialized to cut food, or little mammals, who obtained no molars. I found this fact very interesting and exciting. Also teeth developby by an interaction of two layers of tissue in our developing skin. This was shocking at the same time very interesting to me. I always thought that evolvution was an interesting subject, but very difficult to grasp, however, Shubin mangages to explain the subject of evolvution in the most interesting and exciting was possible, by keeping you engaged in all he says.

5) Getting Ahead

This chapter was about getting ahead on the head. I like how he begins by telling the reader a story about when he was in a laboratory studying for his finals only to realize he is surrounded by a bunch of dead bodies. That made me chuckle. But afterwards, he begins explaining the two nerves that were most confusing because of all the mazes that they created, connecting the jaw, the ear, and such. While he was describing that, I was confused myself. I couldn't grasp the idea of the arches he started talking about all of a sudden, but then once I saw his diagrams, I saw what he was talking about. Then he talked about them sharks and how their embryonic structures related to ours... that was pretty interesting. And genetic manipulation... a frog with 2 jaws. Cool. If sharks weren't weird enough then he starts talking about how we have similar structures to Amphioxus, which has structures completely different than us. So our brain is sort of like a wall with all its pipe-lines and wiring, eh? Then I wonder what's it not like...

- Keith Choison

Chapter 6: The Best-laid (Body) Plans

This chapter focused greatly on embryos. Shubin stated early on that embryos generally all look alike; stating that we were seeing common architecture. During the 1800s, a couple of scientists found that all organs in chicken can be traced to one of three layers of tissue in a developing embryo; these tissues became known as germ layers. Scientists then went on to discover that with every animal, the same organ came from the same germ tissue. These three layers: outer layer (ectoderm), inner layer (endoderm), and middle layer (mesoderm) all behave the same in each type of embryo. We know that the ectoderm forms the skin and nervous system, the endoderm forms many structures of the inner body (e.g. digestive tract), and the mesoderm forms tissue in between the guts and skin (including much of muscles and bones). Many discoveries were made that include the idea that there are two features in development: the features shared by every species (developed early on) and then the features that vary from species to species (developed later in development). The common idea of "ontogeny recaptitulates phylogeny" states that species track their evolutionary history as they proceed through development. However, I found it more interesting when Shubin stated that this common idea was not as good as the idea developed in the 1800s because it does not compare species at the same time. Once Shubin started talking about more modern discoveries, I found it pretty cool how Spemann's experiment resulted in identical twins (more than one offspring can be made from one egg), and then one of Spemann's students, Mangold, had such nimble hands that she discovered a small patch of tissue able to direct other cells to form an entire body plan; this patch of cells became known as the Organizer (pretty easy name to remember...since it organizes other cells). It surprised me that scientists used flies to help explain how DNA works and to help us understand where and how mutations occur within species. Scientists also discovered how genes are organized: their position along DNA strand parallels the structure of body from front to back. On top of all of this, they also discovered that versions of the Hox genes appear in every animal with a body (these organize the body and establish proportions). During the Hox frenzy, scientists stumbled upon genes (such as Noggin) that interact to organize the body plan. However, this statement became less impressive once Shubin stated that genes interact with others at all stages of development (sometime to turn another on or off; off-on interactions). The last thing that Shubin stated that stuck with me was that the recipe that builds us is a more intricate version of one that builds species like jellyfish and sea anemones (invertebrates!)....so apparently I have an inner sea anemone too!

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

I think this chapter has been the best to support Shubin's theory so far with all his specific evidence and and personal experience. When Shubin describes how each tooth has a characteristic pattern of wear it is really specific and detailed which presents a really strong argument. It is made clear why and how Shubin knows so much from teeth later on in the chapter when he introduces what makes teeth the most preserved bones of an animals skeleton: hydroxyapatite. The fact that teeth are preserved well due to hydroxyapatite also explains why Shubin's argument was benefited so much by them, because there already is a lot of research on them. Another thought that Shubin brought up was the fact that teeth were the first hard bones ever recorded as Conodonts, which means that animals developed teeth in order to eat other animals, not for protection.

Chapter 3: Handy Genes

Although the experiments in this chapter were helpful in revealing many traces to our "inner fish" they seem to be very unpleasant for the animals being tested on. Some of the experiments were to study genetically mutated animals or experiments "when things go wrong"(48). The discoveries, however, like the ZPA and Sonic Hedgehog were quite significant to Shubin's theory linking our genes to a lot of different animal species, like mice and sharks.

Chapter 2: Getting A Grip

Shubin's passionate description of a hand, making it seem like so much more, was a fascinating way to start his scientific journey from the bones of a fish to the bones of a human. His absolute faith in his theory really showed how enthusiastic he could be on the idea of evolution, just like the scientists he cited, such as, Owen. It really amazed me how stuck to his one bone- two bones- lotsa blobs- digits pattern even though it seemed unlikely at first. My favorite part of this chapter is when him and his crew are unwrapping their finds after his 2004 expedition, it really shows his love for his field. Their discovery of the Tiktaalik and his insightful questions, such as, why the fish needed to evolve a "wrist" were helpful in understanding the theory of evolution. I really liked his explanation on how the fish's evolution was a result of what it needed to survive in its environment was very. As well as addressing the similarities, Shubin also mentioned the major difference between Tiktaalik bones and human bones was the positioning of the fish's hips.

Chapter 5: Getting Ahead

This chapter's title was just as witty as all the others...it grasps my attention and adds a bit of comical relief by revealing to the reader what the chapter will be about based on the title. The beginning of this chapter, in which he provides a flashback of when he was studying for a final in the lab late one night, creates a hook by describing how he felt when he realized he was standing with twenty-five dead human bodies. It made me laugh when he said it gave him the willies and he left in such a hurry that he locked his house keys...in the lab! The idea of providing a spooky story at the beginning of the chapter is a definite way of grabbing the attention of the reader early on and keeps them hooked throughout the rest of the chapter. He stated early on in the chapter that the brain made three fundamental parts: think plates, blocks, and rods. Once this was established, Shubin stated that every bone on our head can be traced to one of these three parts. This fact I found quite intriguing because it amazed me that every bone on our head can be traced to one of three fundamental parts of the brain. Instead of trying to explain the nerves in great detail, Shubin provides some details, but what really allowed me to better understand the brain is how he connects the nerves in our brain to things that we can reltate to (e.g. cable and internet). He also explains why a brain appears jumbled and seems completely random, just like the wiring and plumbing of an old building (ancient history with slight renovations as time goes on, like a brain). The idea of tracking the development of the brain starting with an embryo is very interesting because the rate at which everything was being made was at a fast-moving pace. This is where he introduced the four arches and how the trigeminal nerve is developed with the first arch, the facial nerve with the second arch, the glossopharynxgeal with the third arch, and the vagus with the fourth arch (all arose from respective arches and attend structures from the same arch). Another cool fact that Shubin stated was when he said the body is segmental, like with the spinal cord and brain. However, what really surprised me is that our arches develop the same way as they develop in sharks. This is true also with genetics and the gene process of these arches. We have acquired so much knowledge that we can manipulate the identity of gill arches at will simply by changing activity of genes inside! That is very cool in my opinion. And once the chapter nears its end, Shubin introduces a worm, Amphioxus, that has a nerve cord along its back along with a notocord, just like vertebrates, however, our notocords break apart and become disks. On top of that, this worm that has no head has the same gill arches that we find in our head! That is amazing! We even have an inner worm!

chapter.4 teeth everywhere

In this chapter, Shubin described another connection animals and how it developed into human. The teeth works as great evidence because it lasts for long generation and able to show the development from the ancient creatures to humans today, if they can find those old ones. He made me realize how important teeth are and changed my way of how I think of teeth. These would be another way to leave my trace for future. Also, his journey at Nova Scotia with Paul and Chuck and his very first expedition. It was pretty funny how he describes himself stupid and not having much information about finding fossils. Also, his excitement when his fellow found the major discovery...this chapter, once again, brought my attention.

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

You can always tell what the chapter is going to be about by just reading the title, so I knew right away that this chapter was all about teeth. I never thought teeth could be so important and I thought this chapter would be the dullest of them all, but agin I was wrong. I was fascinated by how a specific shape of a tooth can tell a scientist all about the animal, like what it eats and what type of animal it was. By reading this chapter, I now believe that teeth are the most interesting fossil because they can be persereved for a long time, they tell so much about the animal, and all are unique in their own way. Also it was just amazing how Shubin said that teeth themselves evolved overtime to increase an animals' survival rate. It's so awsome how something so small could help decide whether the animal can survive in its nature or not. So far the book is really good and I can't wait to start reading the next chapter.

Chapter 5 :Getting Ahead

The passage about the facial muscles intrigued me. I had never really thought about muscles in the face. The facial muscles didn't seem very significant and kind of surprised me that there were actual scientific names for them like the depressor arguli iris or the corrugator supercillii.
When Shubin started talking about arches, the chapter suddenly started to become perplexing and monotonous. However, when I read back so that I could have a better sense of understanding what the passage was saying, it became much more lucid.
I also thought the fact that humans and sharks have similar jaws was very interesting. It is hard to imagine that a 13 ton shark like the whale shark could ever have similar jaws to a much smaller human. However, it turns out that even though fully grown humans and sharks differ in many different ways, as embryos, they look very similar. The diagram on page 92 helped me to see how similarities between he structure of the cranium of a human and shark.
The most strangest thing that I learned in this chapter was the passage that stated that animals with heads are most closely related to worms with gill slits like the Amphioxus. They were "small worms that lack heads, complex brains, or cranial nerves. However, even though they seemed to differ from us by a huge amount, they were similar in the way they had gill arches. I couldn"t believe that the "essence of our head" could have came from worms that don't even have a head.

Teeth Everywhere

Every time before I read a chapter, I like to think of the title of it and see if I have any previous information stored somewhere in my noggin beforehand. Well, when I actually started thinking, I don't know anything really. I get baby teeth, they fall out, then I get my permanents. I find this really strange because of all the dentist visits I've been on, I don't talk about teeth with them, but actually just watch the TV in front of me. I learned that teeth can give you an image of the animal of the fossil and show you their lifestyle and diet. I found that to be really cool, because if you looked at my teeth, you could tell I was a hormonal teenager who ate his enamel away on sweets, and slightly crooked teeth from post braces. On a side note it must really be irritating to have his job sometimes, because you're on a mission to look for something, but nothing shows up, but when he persists his perseverance rewards him. Good job Shubin.

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

Chapter 4 was not a very interesting chapter in my opinion. Teeth are only occasionally fascinating to me; for example the teeth of a saber tooth tiger are very impressive. Also, the idea that by looking at teeth, you can tell an animal's lifestyle is intriguing. Shubin evidently had a hard time finding fossils in the beginning, compared to Chuck and Bill. He gives us a look into his lifestyle, and how he learned how to improve at seeing fossils. I found the long process Neil had to go through very impressive. Shubin is passionate about paleontology; he describes the hardships he had to experience as being stressful, but necessary. Neil makes it easy for me, as a reader, to connect with him.

Chapter 4

First reading this chapter I could tell just by the writer's style how much this particular subject meant to him, as teeth seemed to excite him in many ways I daresay not many other people can share. Through the writer's passion, I found how important teeth actually are to paleontologists, as they are not only the best preserved fossil of them all, but also the most useful in identifying the eating habits and type of animal involved. Soon I was enthralled following Shubin on his journey back to Novia Scotia with his fellow paleontologist Chuck as they searched for tiny pieces of history buried deep within the sandstone all the way to ostracoderms, which are ancient jawless fish and the earliest creature found with a bony head. I never took my eyes off the pages as I flew through them and I never felt the need to. I've been enjoying the book since Chapter 1, and Shubin has yet to let me down.

-Keith Renner

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

WOW. This was so far the most interesting and unique chapter of this book. I had no clue that so much can be depended on a one inch tooth. Shubin exemplified how teeth are the most unique features of all body and it is important to know how they came about. On page 73, the picture of the Conodonts and the Ostracoderms was eye-catching because I wouldn't have imagined the Conodonts to actually look like Eels or Worms. In that picture, the Conodonts look so worm-like, but then when I read about how they acted as teeth for the Ostracoderms, then I realized that they were much more than worm-like. Also, Shubin explains the first time he finally started to find the bones and fossils in the desert of Arizona that as "All of a sudden, the desert floor exploded with bone; where once I had seen only rock, now I was seeing little bits and pieces of flossil everywhere, as if I were wearing a special new pair of glasses and a spotlight was shining on all the different pieces of bone" (page 65). I was so astonished when I read that Shubin didn't get his abilities of finding fossils naturally, it took time for his senses to accustom to the grounds and ignore what his naked eye saw. Overall, this was an extremely unique chapter and I really enjoyed it. When I started reading chapter 4, I was hoping that it would be better than chapter 3, and it really was!

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

I was pretty surprised when I found out the title of the chapter. The importance of teeth has never come to my mind. At first I expected this chapter to be dull and hard to read, but as I got further into it, I found myself quite indulged and fascinated in what Shubin had to say.

Up until I read this chapter, I thought of teeth as just these white things in my mouth that helped crush my food so I can swallow it. But then I learned that the molecule hydroxyapatite is what makes the tooth nearly invincible, along with the help from enamel. I also found it interesting that teeth aren’t the same for every animal, but instead they are designed for each individual animal’s diet, whether they be herbivores or carnivores. I had always wondered why our front teeth are flat and the backs are more rigid.

While he was discussing his expeditions, I wasn’t quite interested. But his determination to find a fossil no matter how long he tried was inspiring. I would never have that kind of patience.

Chapter Four: Teeth Eveywhere

Through chapter three, Shubin demonstrated another connection between human and other creatures. It was about teeth. Until I read this chapter, I just have regarded teeth as helping tools for digestion. The informations about how profound meaning the teeth have for the paleontologists enlightened me that even trivial part of a body can be a useful clue for scientists. The most interesting part was that reptiles replace their teeth continually as they wear and break down. I wondered why God did not give the humans that quality because there are so many people pouring money to get implant surgery. When I got to the part that Shubin and his colleagues found a fossil that was part mammal, part reptile, I was proud of them as if I was a part of their study. I am looking forward to their further discoveries about my biological origin.

Chapter Four: Teeth Everywhere

If you told someone you just read an entire chapter about teeth, they would probably question you, and I found myself questioning why I was reading 20 pages about them as well. I actually just guessed that it would be 20 pages and I was surprisingly dead one. But I digress. And so then a new question came to me, how could the author Shubin manage to retain my interest on such a dull subject such as teeth for 20 pages? Well the answer is he didn't. Nonetheless there were still many interesting facts hidden beneath the pile of boring, one such fact being that the teeth are in fact the most informant pieces of fossil found, as they are both excellently preserved and can give incite into the particular diet and animal that the fossil belongs to. Also I chuckled when he talked about lamphreys and mentioned that we might have heard about them in Biology class because I didn't even have close to a clue what those were.
-Cameron Chear

Chapter Four : Teeth Everywhere

This chapter was all about the teeth of animals and how its specific shape can tell a scientist what it eats, what kind of animal it was, and whether or not it was singular set of teeth or it was regularly replaced every time a tooth was overused. He also mentions how the teeth itself has evolved to increase an animal's survival rate. The earliest "teeth" found in a fossil was composed of conodonts in an ancient jaw less fish; and the teeth wasn't for protection, it was for eating their prey. However, animals (particularly fishes) started having hard bones as their skeleton which kickstarted the "fish eat fish world" . Finding the teeth bones are also a difficult task since the teeth are usually about two millimeters long and even a small piece of rock could block the teeth from ever being discovered. What I found amusing was that he talked about having a new "look" on things; like what he couldn't see in the sand before, he could now because he knew what to look for in teeth fossils. So far, the book is very intriguing and I look forward to the next chapter
-jenniferly

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

As I read the first couple pages, I was thinking to myself, "where do teeths actually come from?" I mean we know, just by looking at the title of this chapter that teeth are actually everywhere. It has been proven that the earliest teeth in the fossil record come from an extinct marine animal which is now believed to be the earliest vertebrate called the conodonts. Conodonts have millions of fossil cone-shaped materials and no one knew that animals who were correlated to these cone-shaped things can be found everywhere. One thing I found really interesting was that the teeth are the earliest source of all compact parts of vertebrate creatures. Also, teeth are the common predecessor in family of everything that comes from the skin. We begin to examine that the entirety in our anatomy are based on clear alterations to already exisiting whole.

Chapter 4: Teeth Everywhere

I must say that this chapter was much easier to read, maybe because I was in a dentistry at the time.

It’s amazing how teeth are so important, and I'm sure my dentist would agree. When eating, one thinks mostly of the food they are about to devour, not the utensils that will help themselves eat. When Cuvier boasted about reconstructing an entire skeleton just from one tooth, I was finally able to grasp teeth's importance. I always knew that humans were all purpose eaters, but I never thought that there would be a huge difference in the teeth between other organisms that have different diets than us.

I never knew organisms like trithledonts and tiktalik existed. Trithledonts amazed me and opened my mind to all possibilities. Also, the conodonts amazed me as well. I thought, "how else would you eat without teeth?”, but there was a way.

Just by reading the first 4 chapters, I can see now that there are many ways that we can trace the same organ in different creatures. With a mixture of an autobiography, information, and personal anecdotes, Shubin created a novel that is perfect to read without any dozing-offs.