Chapter 9-11

Chapter 9- “Vision”

This chapter taught me that eyes aren’t the best candidates for fossil preservation due to its softness and vulnerability. I learned that scent and vision have many similarities. One of which is the amount of history one has behind it. It evolves into a better, more efficient structure as each generation passes and is made up of parts and pieces of each model before it: “simply a mosaic.” I was also very intrigued by the path light takes throughout each part of our eyes. I never knew that we need two different kinds of cells to attract different levels of sensitivity in light. Last, Gehring’s experiment showed me that with the eyeless gene, one can manipulate the DNA sequence of a certain organism: adding a new eye or change the location of the eye.

Chapter 10- “Ears”

When I think of an ear, I think of the outer part, the part we can see. I never knew it consisted of three parts, each with different functions. Although, the idea that surprised me the most was that our inner ear was actually comprised of part of our jaw. Our jaw actually shrunk over time to fit the inner parts of our ear. With this, we are able to acquire a more advanced ear with more features. I also found out that acceleration is one of the functions our ear is capable of. When we accelerate, fluid in our air swishes and produces a nerve impulse that is sent to our brain to tell us we are accelerating. Who knew such immense teamwork existed in our bodies?

Chapter 11- “The Meaning of It All"

I believe the most important information in this chapter was the pattern of descent with modification. With this concept, students/educators can clearly understand the way life’s history works and how everything was produced. The diagram of the “bozos” amused me, but at the same time educated me in my knowledge of family history. I also found the idea of suffering for all of our new and improved features very surprising because I never thought of all the defects our body had. When something hurt, I just endured it or took medicine. When Shubin described humanity as “sedentary,” it really encouraged me to be more active so I wouldn’t have to go through all the problems that humans face. Last, when he described all of our diseases and sicknesses, I felt like I had all the knowledge one can possibly attain. Being able to learn all the origins of our diseases gave me a sense of hope that maybe, I can try to avoid it in the future. All in all, I am very grateful to read this novel because I was able to learn more about the human body and that it is important to grow healthy for future generations.