Viruses remain somewhat of an enigma to scientists. They are still debating whether or not viruses should even be considered living or not with good arguments on both sides. What are viruses anyway? To put it simply, they are a collection of DNA or RNA enclosed in a protein coat. They are very simple geneticallyContinue reading “What are Viruses? A Basic Overview”
Tag Archives: biol4095
How Climate Change Leads to an Increase of Zoonotic Viruses like COVID-19
Over the years people have discovered links between climate change, urbanization, and the spread of zoonotic viruses like COVID-19. I’ve done a podcast for a previous course (BIOL2050) on this very topic and my group members and I found interesting correlations between the three which I will try to summarize here. To begin, for zoonoticContinue reading “How Climate Change Leads to an Increase of Zoonotic Viruses like COVID-19”
Experience is a Teacher (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia is an online data source. It is where most people can edit and provide information on any topic and most of it all, it is free for all to use and add information. Many times I and other scholars have been told that Wikipedia is an unreliable source for credible information, especially when thisContinue reading “Experience is a Teacher (Wikipedia)”
A Visionary : Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai is the founder of the Green Belt Movement, and a woman in STEM of many ‘firsts’. Maathai was the first African woman to receive a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, for her work and contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace. She was the first female doctorate scholar – in Biology, from centralContinue reading “A Visionary : Wangari Maathai”
Ecological Footprint (The Revelation)
A few weeks ago, as a class, we received a guest lecture about ecological footprint given by Chaya Kapoor. This sparked my interest on the topic and I decided to conduct further research myself. I came across a journal by Wackernagel and Rees. It explains what ecological footprints for beginners e.g. non-scientists, describes as aContinue reading “Ecological Footprint (The Revelation)”
A Mass Extinction Might be Closer than we Imagined
After watching the documentary titled ” Call of Life: Facing the Mass Extinction” I discovered how much humans are impacting the loss of biodiversity in certain plant and animal species. The documentary mentions that half of Earth’s population and diversity of plants and animals are rapidly declining. Species are becoming extinct as the rate ofContinue reading “A Mass Extinction Might be Closer than we Imagined”
The Effect of Plant Development on Arthropod Communities and the Impacts of Species Removal
Trees can develop to maturation and senescence. Maturation of trees is irreversible while senescence is reversible whether through asexual reproduction or other growth factors. Insects can respond to these developmental changes of plants, which can affect their community structure. For example, in the article by Whitman and Waltz, it was said that cotton woods canContinue reading “The Effect of Plant Development on Arthropod Communities and the Impacts of Species Removal”
Applied Plant Ecology Winter 2020 