Chapter Seven: Adventures in Bodybuilding

That title could have been funny if I was still a freshman, but alas its not the case. In this chapter, Shubin explained to us how our bodies formed from tiny microscopic cells, and how important those tiny cells really are. Another thing I didn't know was that cells are connected by molecules, which allow the cells to communicate with each other and make sure each other does its job for the body. He also showed how important oxygen is to the body, and the irony of the fact that our bodies form when microbes learn to consume each other. Without the skeleton, our body would be nothing but a pile of organs sitting atop each other, and the skeleton provides the blueprint to the human body. This chapter was very interesting at times, yet at other parts where he describes the hydroxyapatite, collagen, and proteoglycan levels I tended to drift off a little bit, but he still always brings me back.

Chapter 8-11

Chapter 8

Chapter eight’s title making scents had got me interested. Ay first I read the title as making sense but then after reading that chapter I realized that making sense didn’t actually make sense for that title. So then I looked back and there I saw the title making scents. I got amused in this chapter because it had helped me learn how the nose actually worked. When I read the part with how the tiktaalik’s have two nostrils I was fascinated because it never occurred to me that a awkward looking animal can have two nostrils as a human. When the chapter was about to end I read the part where Shubin said that humans rely more on sight then the sense of smell. Which was true but then I peeked at the next chapter I saw it was about sight so then I thought that Shubin is really good at ending the chapter by introducing the next chapter.

Chapter 9Chapter nine vision had also interested me because now it was about sight. From the diagram with an impel, nautilus, scallop, and human I can see that the human eye can see better. Eyes are like a camera without it we wouldn’t be able to visualize and see anything. I knew that genes make up eyes whether if they are big or small. It depends all on the genes. This chapter was not that long so I didn’t learn much from it. Most of the facts I already knew about. But im glad that it helped me learn some new thing then none at all. I cant wait until I read the next chapter. The only thing that can be left would be to hear.

Chapter 10Chapter 10’s title ear was obvious because of the two past chapters making scents and sight. Obviously ears are there for you to hear but the real thing is how do they actually work? I really got amused on how the ear has three parts to it. The inner, outer, and the middle ear which would help process that to the brain. The inner ear really helps a lot well basically it does most of the work from the three parts of the ear. It is weird how each animal’s ear part’s are different. They either have something extra added to it or it either has something taken away from it. I wanted to learn more about how fishes hear and how they use there ear. I think Shubin should have added a little more about how the ear would be used for fish for clearer understanding. This chapter didn’t actually interest me as much but then it did help me learn a lot of information. As a result the two previous chapter’s had got me interested more.

Chapter 11Chapter eleven the making of it all was the best from through out the book because it had cleared up a lot of question that I had. Although I still had some questions that I still needed help answering, well I guess I’ll ask Mr.Tisor or I probably look it up online. The diagram of the bozo family tree had taken out a chuckle in me (which was the only laugh I got out of me from this book) which was also true that each generation had some new problems but when the last generation came it got all the problems. I really liked this chapter because it had some new things that I never learned about and it had some things that I knew about but didn’t but so much pressure into for learning. As a result this book was very educational and the fist book that I read which didn’t make me fall asleep. I like how Neil Shubin wrote his book with stories and fun and interesting facts!

CHAPTERS 8-11

Chapter 8:
After reading chapter 8, I started to appreciate my olfactory senses more and stop taking them for granted. Shubin explained the process of smell by discussing that we perceive smell by inhaling odor molecules that then go to an area behind our nose where they are trapped by the mucous lining of our nasal passages. Deep within our noses is a lining of a patch of tissue that contains millions of nerves cells. The odor molecules then bind to this patch of tissue which then sends a signal to our brain which perceives these signals as smell. I was shocked to learn that there are so many mutations within our sense of smell that it knocked out many odor genes where we have multiple function less odor cells. Shubin really stunned me where he stated that we as humans traded in our sense of smell for our sense of sight. To think that we rely more on our eye sight that it started to 'deemphasized' our sense of smell that it created functionless odor cells.

Chapter 9:
Shubin used this chapter to reemphasize again the unifying theme that humans are a history of all types of animals through his explanations of vision. Shubin discussed that the shift from black and white vision to color ed vision can be traced back to the 'changes in the flora of the earth millions of years ago.' Shubin explained that colored vision can estimated to have been introduced about 55 million years ago, where before the forests had the same general color. But as time went on, the color started to diversify where more colors were introduced that forced mammals to have colored vision in order to survive. This chapter was able to show that vision is not only a necessity in every animals life, but that their natural surroundings was able to change and alter vision, and added color in order for animals to prolong their life.

Chapter 10:
The beginning of chapter 10 started off with the introduction of the three different parts of the ears: the outer, middle, and inner ear. Shubin went on to explain how the function of the ear goes about the enables each animal to hear. He was able to unify the similarities that each animals has to each other by discussing that the mammalian ear came about from the upper part of a fish jaw. The fish jaw started to shrink due to the transition from water residing animals to land walking animals. It was a very interesting to learn that parts of our ears hold the past of our transition from water to land. This fact really allowed me to see how truly connected we humans are to fish.

Chapter 11:
And finally to the last chapter. This final chapter was really the wrap to the overall theme of the connection between all different kinds of animals. Shubin begun the chapter by explaining the mechanics of genetics and also showing how specific traits are passed down from one generation to the next and how connected they all are. Shubin discussed different traits that humans acquire through their past history by explaining the difficulties humans are forced to undergo because of their past. Humans for example weren't made to be inactive and have a hard time today due to the lack of activity. In previous times humans were used going through long periods of times without food, and end up storing the fat for later. But now with different times, and fast food everywhere, humans now face different diseases such as obesity and heart attacks.

My last blog: Chapter 7-11

Chapter 7: The title of this chapter caught my attention and I became very eager to learn more about what Shubin had to say about our body. Shubin compares our body with a house that is coming together spontaneously from informatino from bricksa where as our bodies come together with cells. I really liked this comparison becaue it allows the readers to get a clear view of how our body is made. Shubin later in the chpater goes more in depth with how our cells and the glue that keeps them attached interact with each other and "talk" to each other, and the molecules make up our cells. Shubin explains that Precambrian literally means "before life" showing us that they too have a biological organziation as explained in chapter 6. What really cuaght my attention was when Shubin explained about the collagen and streptococcus bacteria which is common in our mouths. Shubin even goes in depth to explain that our bodies need energy to grow and collegan needs oxygen and because the oxygen level was very low for billions of years, microbes learned to eat each other.

Chapter 8: The title of this chapter was very interesting to me and extremely unique. I enjoyed reading this chapter becuase i was able to get an insight about the functions of the nose. Well, is a nose jsut an organ or something more. Without breath its claustrophobic but, to find out how the organ works was very educational. I have more respect for my body now. My memories take me back when I had experienced the Body Works exhibit and learnt about our nose. Reading this chapter has helped me connect the dots. I found it very interesting that "eacg smell is composed of many different molecules attaching to differnt receptors" and our brain perceives them as one smell. Of course, Shubin will connect our nose to the nose of a fish, and explain how smelll gets connected with tissues to later connect with neurons. The history of dormant genes in a dolphin, transition from no longer necessary to perform the function of being able to smell and are replaced by a blowhole is extremely suprising.

Chapter 9: The chapter was very self explanatory which the information presented. Shubin explains how light travels through cornear that covers our lens. Much of the process of the images happens inside the brain, the eye merely catches light. The amount of light that can enter is controlled by the iris then allowing the light to pass through tiny muscles that contract and change the lens's shape to focus. Monkey's have a very detailed kind of color vision that allows them to view different kinds of lights, however, other mammals have only a specific kind of light that their eyes are tuned to see in. I was in awe to learn that Polychaets have two kinds of sensing organs. The amazing recipe of construction of the eye helps us understand commonalities and differences in comparing species as well as gentic facts.

Chapter 10: To me learning aobut ears was not as interesting as learning about eyes, however, Shubin managed to keep me engaged throughout the chapter. I was intrigued by learning aobut mammals and their three ear bones, when Shubin explained that having this feature they are able to hear at a higher-frequency sounds where as other animals that only have one ear bone, can only hear so much. Shubin also explained that the staples is a second arch bone along with hyomandibula. There are tiny hairlike projections and specialized nerve cells inside our ear that help us perceive sound. The image of a snow globe was extermely helpful in being able to visualize the accelaration that occurs in our ears and also helps us balance. This concept was interesting to me because the whole system is connected to our eye muscles. Of course, Shubin will connect our ear to the ear of a fish, in the sense that Pax 2 is active in the head and the neuromasts.

Chapter 11: I could connect to Shubin and the fact that everything had parents. Meaning that everything derieved from somthing else and I enjoyed reading the example, that you are standing in a room filled with unknown people, how would you determine their relation. Also if you were to walk through a zoo you would find that you are in some way connected or resemble each animal there. It was extermely eye opening to learn that talking is not cheap. In the sense that human larynx is made up of mostly gill arch cartilages adn therefore our throats are very complex features in our body. I was shocked to learn that a men are more likely to get a hernia rather than women because in a female's body wallg through pregnancy and childbirth. Also the fact that diseases are bacteria was really something different to me, but it made sense through the exsistence of mitrochondria in our cells. This book has truely been very educational and interesting to learn from. At first, I was uncertain how Shubin will be able to connect our human body to a fish, but as I read the book I was able to learn.

chapter 8,9,10,and 11

Chapter 8

In this chapter, Shubin mostly talks about scents and how it can affect us. I never knew that odors can impulse our brains to change how we perceive the world and how it change help us survive! It is amazing how we can distinguish between 10,000 scents and that our brain can distribute each smell to a different feeling or memory. As always, the diagram helps me understand what the author is talking about more easily. I also learned that our fish ancestors also had eternal and internal nostrils. Its amazing how our noses are witnesses to our past.

Chapter 9

Chapter 9 was all about vision and how the structure of our eyes work. I never knew that the processing of images we see were actually happening in our brains; all the eyes do are just capturing light. Every creature with a skull have common eyes, from fish to mammal. The connections he made through different species eyes was incredible.

Chapter 10

This chapter explains to the readers about the structure of our ears. I was able to learn the three different parts, the external, middle, and internal. Its amazing how the ear receives sound waves and what we hear are words. It was amusing when Shubin described to imagine stuff flying around in your head at a concert. I never knew about the three ear bone and how it can relate us, human, to reptiles and amphibians. The diagrams, again, helped me clearly see what Shubin was talking about. It was also interesting how our ears are connected to our balance and so it affects our sound position or acceleration. When we bend our head, the gel inside swishes!This all reflects to ho we connect to primitive creatures like the stinging box jellyfish.

Chapter 11

Ah, finally, the last chapter. It kind of felt like a summary of everything that Shubin talked about throughout the book. However, i still learned new information. I learned that were all modified versions of our past parents.What we previous learned was all touched upon again and helped us understand a bigger idea of evolution. Lastly, he talked about the history of what makes us sick. And the "thrifty genotype" hypothesis came out. It was amazing to read this book and learn what evolution is and how we can see it more clearly through better explanations. Your inner fish really boosted my knowledge about our past and how our body works.

Chapters 8-11

In chapter 8, Shubin talks about human and animal's scent and how it is like a baffle. For example, every chemical we scent has an exclusive shape and synthetic attributes. In our smelling organ, we have this enzyme in the cells of our nose that matches the chemical completely. However, what I found interesting as I was reading through this chapter was the behavior of the animals. Fish can only sense the proteins in the water, mammals can sense the proteins in air, while amphibians can sense the proteins underwater or in air. This was quite interesting to me because I never knew that in the inner part of our nose can recognize approximately 10,000 extraordinary fragrance. Overall, this chapter was quite inspirational.

In chapter 9, Shubin talks about the vision and how we can see. The brain interprets and annotates the pattern of nerve authorizations into what we think of as a representation. One part that caught my attention were the fruit flies and how they were born with eyes on their legs which allows them to act in response to light and that they're not linked to the nervous system. As I read about fruit flies and about their special effects, it was pretty amazing.

In chapter 10, Shubin talks about ears. I really like the fact how Shubin provides examples of hearing regarding of talking about sharks. For example, when you spot a shark eating another type of fish smaller than them, the shark probably heard and sensed the water flowing as the little fish swam by. Therefore, a shark can sense the fish like as if an individual can sense the changes and alterations around the surroundings.

In chapter 11, like what the title says, this chapter basically covers up all of the significance and the importance from the rest of the book. I learned more about the particular aspects of evolution. Because I already knew some basic evolution belief or theory, learning about how us, as an individual human being and how we are specifically related to a certain animal quite amazes me and helped me get a better understanding of the evolution theory. Indeed, I really enjoyed reading this scientific, adventurous book which was very inspirational and educational, yet entertaining.

Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11

Chapter 8:

In this chapter, Shubin explained how by extracting DNA from any tissue of a living thing, many details about that particular specie's history is revealed, including the sense of smell. It fascinated me how in the beginning of the chapter, he explained how anyone can extract DNA in his or her's own kitchen with little effort and time, and be amazed. For a minute, I thought about going in my kitchen and actually trying out that, but decided to get a group of friends and try it - to see if it really does work. Shubin, also compares the analogy of smell to a chord, and how, like a chord, receptors and molecules work together to create an odor. Lastly, what fascinated me in this chapter was how many genes in human bodies are present, but remain silent and can be no longer used by a body.

Chapter 9:

Shubin talked about how essential vision is for every living organism. It was easy for me to understand this chapter because he broke it down into three sections: light-gathering molecules, tissues, and genes. One detail that struck me was how he compared the molecule in vertebrate eyes, opsin, to bacteria and ultimately stated that "modified bits of ancient bacteria lie inside our retina, helping us see" (153). Shubin also explained how there are invertebrates that are a living bridge between invertebrate eyes and vertebrate eyes because they consist of both kind of eyes - such as the Polychaetes that have our kind of eyes in a primitive form.

Chapter 10:

Chapter ten started off with talking about the external ear, then talking about he middle ear, and finally ending with the inner ear. The external ear, Shubin explained, is a recently new addition and is only found in mammals. Though some amphibians and reptiles have ears that can be seen, they lack pinna (the projecting of an ear lying on the outside). Shubin then talked about the middle ear and the three bones: malleus, incus, and stapes. While explaining the three bones, Shubin remarks that the jaw of a reptile is transformed to two ear bones (malleus and incus). This happened when the jaws of reptiles slowly started becoming smaller and eventually mammals evolved and the gill arches of the reptiles (in their jaws) became the gill arches of mammals (in their ears). Lastly, Shubin talked about the inner ear, which has many functions, including allowing us to hear, telling us which way our head is tilted, and recording how quickly our head is moving or tilting. The inner ear is fascinating as it reveals so much about the similarity between human ears and eyes.

Chapter ten started off with talking about the external ear, then talking about the middle ear, and finally ending with the inner ear. The external ear, Shubin explained, is a recently new addition and is only found in mammals. Though some amphibians and reptiles have ears that can be seen, they have no pinna (the projecting part of an ear lying outside). Shubin then talks about the middle ear and the three bones: malleus, incus, and stapes. While explaining the three bones, Shubin remarks that the jaw of a reptile transformed to two ear bones (malleus and incus). This happened when the jaws of reptiles slowly started becoming smaller and eventually mammals evolved and the gill arches of the reptiles (in their jaws) became the gill arches of mammals ( in their ears). Lastly, Shubin talked about the inner ear, which has many functions, including allowing us to hear, telling us which was our head is tilted, and lastly in recording how quickly our head is moving or tilting. The inner ear is fascinating as it reveals so much about how human ears and eyes are extremely similar, connected, and work together.

Chapter 11:

Lastly, in chapter eleven, Shubin summed up his points and revealed why he believes that there is an "inner fish" lying within all of us. It was interesting to see how Shubin actually connected all of his chapters in this chapter and showed that mammals are all descendants with modifications. The bozo family tree, personally, helped me see how each descendant is modified from the past and is somehow better. Also, the humans-polar bears- turtles- fish connection revealed that they are a deciphering family tree and have a pattern of relativity. Shubin compares groupings based on "hundreds of genetic, embryological, and anatomical features" (183) to peeling an onion, exposing layer after layer of history - starting with the basic features of fishes and ending with microbial bacteria. Shubin also stated that humans constantly get sick (heart diseases, strokes, obesity, etc.) because our ancestors weren't built to be able to sit for countless hours on a couch, run and walk for tremendous periods of time, or talk, think, and grasp. For this reason, humans and other organisms are to be flawed one way or another.

All in all, this book proved to be quite interesting and delighting in many chapters, but also dull and repetitive in some. It definitely renewed my interest and questioned my beliefs on evolution.

Sorry this seems as it is late, but I was trying to post this from 11:30 but it wouldn't show my chapter 9 and 10 postings, only chapters 8 and 11, as you can see below.