A biology blog for students
Photosynthesis is one of the most heavily discussed topics in biology courses. Probably a reason why they are regarded as such an important topic is because they have impacted Earth's atmosphere in the course of centuries if not thousands of years. Today we will take a look at how photosynthesis altered Earth's atmosphere for millions... Continue Reading →
Meselson and Stahl, although their names may not be heard so often, played a huge role in figuring out the replication of DNA in bacteria. Through their meticulously-designed experiments, they discovered that DNA replicates in a semi-conservative way. Diagram of Meselson and Stahl's Experiment (Khan Academy) There were three possible ways DNA replication could happen:... Continue Reading →
Previously on one of our posts, we have learned how proteins can be denatured or activated. Enzymes have similar functions, since they all enzymes are proteins. When temperature, pH, substrate concentration, and enzyme concentration are not within optimal limits, amino acids break and cause changes to the active site of an enzyme. Temperature When temperature... Continue Reading →
It has been previously discussed that genes control the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide. However we have not learned about the details. Today we will find more about how genes code for the sequence of amino acids linked by peptide bonds (formed through a condensation reaction) to form a polypeptide. There is a... Continue Reading →
Davson and Danielli were two scientists who proposed their model of the cell membrane in 1935, which were then revised in 1954. Earlier in 1925, Gorter and Grendal claimed that the ratio of total lipid surface area to total cell membrane surface area was 2:1, concluding that a layer of fatty molecules that is two... Continue Reading →
Last week, we learned about the limiting factors of photosynthesis. Today I want to expand on this topic and discuss two common types of photosynthesis: light-dependent reactions and light-independent reactions. As you can already tell from the names, light-dependent photosynthesis happens in the presence of sunlight, whereas light-independent photosynthesis occurs without photons. We will look... Continue Reading →
I believe you have all heard of photosynthesis at some point in your life because it is such a widely-known concept. Although it may seem very simple, the process of cellular photosynthesis is quite sophisticated. Today we will look at a small portion of photosynthesis - its limiting factors. A factor is limiting if it... Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago, we discussed cell respiration - the controlled release of energy to produce ATP. In order for both anaerobic and aerobic cell respiration to take place, the exchange of hydrogen molecules, electrons, and oxygen reactions are crucial. Today we will learn redox reactions, which is a combined word for reduction and... Continue Reading →
The behavior of cells is similar to that of humans in that it needs energy to survive. Cells acquire energy, or ATP, through cellular respiration in the mitochondria. With this energy, cells allow us to move our muscles, repair damaged cells, digest food, and carry out many more critical processes. Today we will learn the... Continue Reading →
DNA has a highly complex structure. In fact, it took numerous scientists along with countless experiments to figure out the accurate structure of DNA. Today I would like to share the structure of DNA that was deduced by scientists after a series of trials. Complementary Base Pairing Complementary Base Pairing The nitrogenous bases - a... Continue Reading →
The Science Herald 