“Who ordered the insects?”

Eating insects sounds disgusting – at least it used to for me.  When I learned about all the health benefits to consuming insects and tried some food with crickets in it earlier in the year, I realized that eating food with insects wasn’t so bad! Check out my tweet from last semester here!

Many people find the mere idea of eating insects disgusting, but I think that, over time, if we start gradually integrating insects into everyday diet, it will become more “acceptable” in people’s minds.  I believe that a diet focused more on insects would prove to be much more efficient, beneficial, and  cost-effective.  I know that it would be hard to accept for many people; I find it a bit hard myself, but by being more educated about the benefits and by trying out some food, my perspective has already changed!

Check out Chapul on Twitter – they create flour from crickets and make delicious, healthy bars from the insects!  https://twitter.com/chapul

Also feel free to take a look at this video explaining how Chapul Cricket bars are made!

LiMPETS Reflection Blog Post

I absolutely loved going on this field trip!  I learned so many different facts including how mussels produce one of the strongest adhesives in the world. The adhesive allows them  to remain stuck to rocks in the tidal zone which is a very important adaptation, especially considering that they are constantly being pounded upon by strong waves. In addition, I learned that sea anemones tend to be found in large populations together since they can reproduce asexually through the process of budding. Lastly, I learned that vertical lines extending across the tidal regions (until the ocean is reached) are used to measure biodiversity. The same vertical line areas are used every time to maintain consistency in the biodiversity findings and data. A couple of connections that I noticed between what we learned in class and what we encountered in the field includes how processes in sea anemones (that have the ability to reproduce asexually through budding) related to the processes of all cnidarians that we learned in class. In addition, in class, we discussed how organisms evolved to be adapted to live in certain environments; this was seen in the field when different organisms were found in each tidal zone. I absolutely loved being able to view and interact with different organisms in the tide pools! I’ll definitely remember touching and scoping out all the anemones, and seeing purple urchins in real life. In addition, it felt good to know that we were also helping to collect data that would be helpful to scientists as we were checking out all the cool sea critters. The only thing I would change is to have more time to explore and interact with all the different creatures! All the field trips this year were beyond worthwhile; I learned so much from each of them, and they were all extremely fun to participate in!  I learned how fun citizen science can be, and I am planning on going back to the Fitzgerald Reserve to see the organisms in the tide pools again.    

#DoNowSneeze Meme

Check out my meme for #DoNowSneeze! Cover the sneeze or mask it up.. or find other ways to be sanitary.

 

 

#DoNowVaccinate

Dis-nē-land:  the lower region of California where thousands of Homo sapiens have migrated to and fro for years to have loads of fun, make their dreams come true, and transfer billions of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens.

Vaccinations have been the center of attention since the outbreak of measles at Disneyland.  In fact, the outbreak has made people more aware of the dangers of not being vaccinated, and has consequently made us raise the question, “Should we require vaccinations?”

I personally believe that vaccinations are amazing – but would requiring vaccinations go against our nation’s advocacy of freedom in all things?  Although vaccinations act in the favor of a majority of people, it wouldn’t be fair to others who have different opinions on the effectiveness and benefits of vaccines. Even though I don’t believe that making vaccinations a requirement is the best option, I think we should take other steps to educate people about the benefits of vaccines.

#DoNowBabies KQED Blogpost

“Should we modify DNA in human embryos?”

I almost peed my pants when I read that question. The first thoughts that ran through my mind were, “Are they really asking this question?” and, “Vincent Freeman was cool, but Gattaca coming to life isn’t what I need right now”.

When I read on, I understood their points about preventing mitochondrial diseases in newborns, but I was still skeptical about it. The process has great medical potential – if we start modifying DNA for mitochondrial diseases in embryos, the idea could easily be projected to eliminating other diseases from our genetic material. But after we do this, what’s to stop us from going further? It could start out in the form of innocent experiments and alterations, and expand to be a society-altering phenomenon.

“Eh, it won’t hurt to give my baby brown hair.”

“Eh, why not green eyes too? My kid’s a special one.”

“Eh. How about high cheekbones, long eyelashes, dimples, and exactly 14 cute little freckles on her face.”

See my point? I’m still very conflicted – this is a convoluted bioethics debate. My normal philosophy is, if it improves or saves lives, then Amen – praise it, my friend. Testify.

But with the possibility of everyone in the future being another “Valid” from Gattaca, are we willing to risk it? Such a change wouldn’t just alter our society – it would essentially take away our humanity with all our imperfections and flaws that we say we hate, but we need. All of this might sound like a long tangent from the original question, but we need to think of the consequences our actions may have in the future. Everything depends on how responsible we are when we have the infinite power of technology at our fingertips.

Do you think we should start modifying DNA in human embryos? Feel free to comment below about it!

If you would like to read more about the KQED question, click the following link:

http://blogs.kqed.org/education/2015/02/17/should-we-modify-dna-in-human-embryos/

Never Give Up

My dream is to pursue biology and volleyball at a college where I could have the opportunity to collaborate with the most incredibly brilliant people from all around the world. It’s a long shot, and now that the reality of the situation is surfacing, I realize that I don’t have much time to “never give up”. I wonder to myself, what is the point when I give up? When does that time come? What is the difference between giving up and accepting fate?

Sometimes there are deadlines for our dreams – boundaries and restrictions loom before us, and if we can’t surpass them by the time the deadline comes, then we’re done. We can’t go back and pathetically attempt to fix everything by slapping a metaphorical Scooby Doo Band-Aid on the problem. I’ve tried to do it several times before, and trust me – it never works.

In the video, everyone had assumed that youth was Diana Nyad’s deadline; they believed that she had passed her prime, and therefore passed the time limit that she was supposed to complete her goal by. After being stung by jellyfish, hallucinating, and swimming for 53 hours, Diana Nyad successfully finished her swim from Cuba to Florida at age 64.

Despite all the odds being against her, she miraculously made it through because she didn’t give up.

Diana also made sure to clarify that it wasn’t just her that succeeded – it was her team that helped her get there. The group of people who rode in a boat beside Diana for 53 hours, gave her food, water, and motivated

Optimism has been a huge factor of my life; when hopeless situations arise, I’ve always tried to unearth a positive attitude from within myself, no matter how long it takes to find it. Videos like this one remind me why I love optimism so much – it always brings enthusiasm for the future, and any bit of enthusiasm helps. The fact that Diana Nyad harnessed her enthusiasm to achieve her life goal inspires me.

I guess what I’m trying to say can be summarized in one sentence:

Diana Nyad said to “find a way”, and you can bet that I’m going to do everything in my power to find it.