ch 6 : the best laid body plans

in this chapter they compare embryos between fish and chicken. This chapter showed how embryos start forming the same. all embyos form in the same pattern, but become different species.I learned in this chapter about the problems thqat can happen when being fertilized with a uterus. A lot of complications can happen, it can be really dangerous. They explained the tube within a tube heory and it made sense, I was interested in the three layers, known as ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm. I never knew about that. It was interesting to learn how Mangold discovered Organizer, I feel that it sucked to have someone else take credit, the person who took credit was Spemann. The chapter also introduced Hox gens. It ia found in every animal with a body.The diagrams were very interesting in this chapter. especially, the diagram of a human to an anemone. I also wonder about the jellyfish theory. The flies was also interesting, especially since they can have faults in being born and formed. We however, can have that happen du to malfunctions in genes. We can sometimes grow a leg in a wrong area or an extra arm, but those cases are very rare. this chapter was very interesting and I look forward to the next.

Chapter 6: The Best Laid (Body) Plans

This chapter basically talks about how our body is structured and how there are different forms of cells all put together in our bodies. I learned that all humans are structured the same and that they all have the same outer form. In this chapter I learned the clue of the embryo and how they compare us to primitive animals. I think it is pretty cool how Shubin talks about the three layers of our tissues, it was pretty cool how the layer is called the "germ layer". I never knew that every animal organ originates from one of the three layers. Shubin really surprised me in this chapter, because he compares different species that I never even knew could happen, but Shubin did it. Like how he compared humans to a sea anenome. I learned that even though all animlas are the different, all animals are some kind connected in the littlest and simplist way. This chapter is by far my favorite, I can't wait for the next chapter.

Ch. 6: The Best-Laid Plans

It was very interesting to read again about how our bodies are formed. It was amazing to learn about the discoveries made by experimenting with the embryos. I was surprised to find out that our organs and other cells are produced from only three layers. Hilde Mangold's experiment was also very fascinating. I never knew that a tiny piece of tissue (the organizer) could hold such ability to create a whole body. There are so many relations between humans and other animals that I have never known. So many genes or other parts of our inner body are found inside of such different animals. It's amazing how much one can learn by observing embryos. I find it so interesting how Shubin introduces structures of creatures that we would never consider to be like us in any way, but then explains how we are much more similar than we think.

The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

Chapter five was also about the biological similitude between human and other animals. Shubin says birds, frogs, turtles, and other creatures follows same development process when they are in embryos. The most interesting part in this chapter was that all organs in the chicken can be traced to one of three layers of tissue in the developing embryo. That our incredibly complicated body is ,in fact, originated from mere three layers of tissue made me to think that i would ever stick to creationism. Because I realized that digging up the whole genesis and history of the human beings passes all understanding as creationism does. I guess I would rather believe that God created the world until I fully comprehend every single fact and step and it would take truly long. Through the study about process of how embryos develop, several special embryos, and the stages of their development, I found another connection between humans and other beings.

Chapter 6: The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

Chapter 6 was definitely one of my favorite chapters. Shubin started the chapter off by informing the readers that all humans were made up of cells and that the bodies exist in three dimensions. As I read on, Shubin began to explain embryos and how humans can be comparable to primitive animals. It was interesting to learn that a human embryo went through the stages of fish, reptiles, and mammals. I find it fascinating that all vertebrate animals are alike as embryos. Shubin explains the importance of embryos and how they are "clues to some of the profound mysteries of life." I also found the "Hox genes" to be incredibly significant because they are the leading factors to explain the proportion of the human body and determine the basic structure of an organism. Overall, it was entertaining to read about the similarities humans have with animals.

-Stacey Kim

Chapter 6: The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

Shubin opens the chapter by describing our bodies as "a package of two trillion cells assembled in a very precise way" (97). This is what differentiates us from more primitive creatures. Shubin claims that all the basic structures of the embryos are the same, saying that the "fundamental similarities" of these embryos allow us to disregard their differences. He also mentions the famous scientist Karl Ernst von Baer, who discovered that all organs of the chicken can be identified with one layer of tissue. Von Baer then discovered that every animal organ followed this arrangement of three layers. The outer layer, the ectoderm, forms the skin and the nervous system while the endoderm forms the many parts of the internal structure. The mesoderm, the middle layer, forms tissue in between our "guts and skin." I find it very interesting how this basic paradigm reveals how similar we are to many other organisms. To encompass the idea that our complex genetic-makeup is similar to those of basic organisms is nearly impossible. However, reading this book made me appreciate the connection between our bodies and nearly every organism on Earth, even an organism as simple as the fruit fly.

Chapter 6: The Best-Laid (Body) Plans

Neil Shubin has showed me that human 's basic architecture is similar to those of many other organisms, such as fish, lizards, and cows. Although we may differ from the structures of sponges or jellyfishes, all the organisms started from a generally similar place. It was fascinating to discover that most of the developing embryos show similar layers of development even though the species end up looking totally different. Through the comparison made by Von Baer, he discovered that each animal organ originated from each of the layers. It was interesting to find that we had similarities to a species that doesn't even look a bit like ourselves. I didn't even think a sea anemones and I would have anything in common. However, when i read this chapter, I was able to realize that there is a " common genetic recipe" for every animal body.
I learned a lot from this chapter and I'm looking forward to reading chapter 7. (: