almoeba – BioQuakes

Author: almoeba

Flight or fight mode? How about vibrating to escape your predator? In Rohini Subrahmanyam’s article, she explains how many species of small caterpillars, like warty birch caterpillars, use vibrations to mark their territory on the tips of leaves. These tiny vibrations aren’t just random movements, they’re part of a highly specialized defense mechanism. When another insect comes too close, the caterpillar rhythmically shakes its head and body against the leaf surface, producing pulses that act as a warning. To other insects, this signal is telling them that the leaf is taken.

These little caterpillars are extremely vulnerable after they hatch, so this form of “vibrational shouting” is crucial to their survival. If the intruder doesn’t back off, the caterpillar doesn’t hesitate to escalate. In a last-ditch effort to stay safe, it springs off the tip of the leaf like Spider-Man to escape danger.

To us, these vibrations are tiny, but for small insects, the scale of these movements is massive. For a caterpillar, generating such strong signals with their body is a big feat, showing how evolution has fine-tuned even the smallest creatures to communicate and defend themselves in surprisingly sophisticated ways.

In our AP Biology class, we have recently learned about evolution. Mutations that allow these caterpillars to perform this act have become more apparent in the species due to natural selection. Individuals with these genes are able to survive for longer and reproduce more, ultimately spreading the trait.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this fun survival technique! Are we underestimating the abilities of tiny organisms like the warty birch caterpillars? What other small organisms have you heard of that have similar survival tactics to these caterpillars that go unnoticed?

CRISPR: Bringing back the Woolly Mammoth

By almoeba

On April 7, 2025

In Student Post

You may have heard that the gene-editing tool CRISPR has provided hope for treating genetic diseases. Did you know that it is being used to bring back the woolly mammoth?

A company called Colossal Biosciences has been working to revive the species by using genetic modification. They started off by editing five genes in mice, with hopes of one day genetically modifying Asian elephants into woolly mammoths.

The results were cute, fluffy, mice with coats that resemble woolly mammoths. So what steps did they take to create the “mammoth” mice? They first identified mutations in mice that affect fur characteristics, such as curliness, color, and length. They found eight genes linked to these traits, one of which is also disabled in mammoths. Additionally, they identified a mutation in the mammoth genome related to hair pattern and another affecting fat metabolism. Using CRISPR, they disabled five of these genes in fertilized mouse eggs, resulting in 11 pups from 134 edited eggs.

However, much more progress needs to be made. Performing the work on Asian elephants will involve much more effort, and the results may differ significantly. With the size and slow reproduction rate of elephants the experiment will take more time and incur higher costs, but this doesn’t mean it is impossible.

In our AP biology class, we have recently learned about gene expression. Gene expression is accomplished through transcription and translation to create a protein so a trait or phenotype can be expressed. Transcription is the synthesis of RNA using information from DNA, and translation is the synthesis of a protein using information in mRNA. This flow of genetic information from DNA, to RNA, to a protein is known as “Central Dogma”. CRISPR relates to this because it can stop or alter how the gene is expressed, affecting the production of proteins.

It is so interesting to see the advances of CRISPR. I wonder, will it be used to potentially bring back other extinct species? In addition, what are the ethics behind this study? Is it necessary? What else do you think we will see in our future as CRISPR advances?

Occurrence of Natural Selection in Tibetan Women

By almoeba

On March 10, 2025

In Student Post

Scientists are finding that natural selection is occurring in women living in the mountains of Nepal. Ethnic Tibetan women have been able to adapt to the low-oxygen conditions, therefore allowing them to survive longer and bear more children.

Researchers looked at 400 women ranging in ages from 46 to 86 years old living in this area. The women here face harsh environmental conditions with high altitude, reducing the amount of oxygen they take in. Typically, low oxygen levels can lead to tissue and brain damage. These conditions are also troubling for pregnant women.

However, the women living here contain genes that help them survive these conditions, so the researchers wanted to explore the connection it has to their reproduction success. They found that the hemoglobin in the women’s blood who bore the most children was able to carry more oxygen than women who had fewer children. In addition to this, they had greater blood flow and wider left ventricles to pump oxygenated blood to the body.

In all, these women added an increase in the understanding of how natural selection still occurs in humans today!

In our AP Biology class, we have recently learned about lactase persistence. As infants, our bodies contain an enzyme called lactase to break down a sugar in milk, called lactose, so we can digest milk. As we grow older, our bodies tend to lose this capability. However, 1/3 of the adult population has lactase persistence, where they continue to produce the amount of the lactase enzyme needed to break down lactose. Just like the genes of the women ethnic Tibetan, back then people with lactase persistence were able to gain more nutrients from milk leading them to be stronger, live longer, and reproduce more. Natural selection is an interesting thing and has always occurred in many different ways!

How much do you think natural selection still impacts us today? What other genes have been prominent in natural selection?

Cholesterol Fighting Microbes: The true superheros

By almoeba

On January 20, 2025

In Student Post

Did you know that your gut microbiome correlates to many different aspects of your health? Your oral health, mental health, and cardiovascular health, all correlate with the microbes in your gut.

Sneha Khedkar explains how certain microbes in the gut help protect against heart disease and lower cholesterol.

An increase in diversity of gut microbes has shown to decrease the chance of cardiovascular disease. The reason why: these microbes are able to break down cholesterol, a main component to heart disease. Researchers found that the enzyme IsmA was responsible for this.

After exploring a variety of microbiomes, researchers found that people with the IsmA enzyme have less cholesterol in their blood than those who didn’t or lacked the enzyme. Additionally, their was an abundance of Oscillibacter bacteria in the stool samples of people with lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels. After growing the bacteria in the lab and exposing it to cholesterol, the researchers found that like the IsmA enzyme it broke the cholesterol down.

The researchers then used a machine-learning algorithm, a type of artificial intelligence, to find that genes producing proteins similar to IsmA are likely responsible for helping Oscillibacter break down cholesterol. Through this, they realized that there are still many gut microbes with functions that are unknown.

Khedkar’s articles represents that ones gut microbiome may be more important to their health then one may think. With more research, altering ones gut microbiome may be the key to managing cardiovascular diseases!

In our AP Biology class, we recently learned the functions of enzymes. This gives us a better understanding of how enzymes like IsmA work. Enzymes are globular proteins that break down substrates. The substrates bind to the enzyme’s active site, ultimately altering the enzyme shape. This creates an induced fit to better enable the enzyme to break or build a bond. If the substrate is broken down, like the cholesterol with the IsmA enzyme, then hydrolysis is used creating a catabolic reaction. To build a bond, the enzyme uses dehydration synthesis, creating an anabolic reaction.

Enzymes are very interesting to learn about and a main component to our gut microbiome and overall health. Now we can only wonder, what other aspects does our gut microbiome influence. What aspects of our lifestyles impact our gut microbiome, and how does that impact our overall health? Could health issues like cardiovascular disease be healed through altering our guts? With more research, I hope we can find out!

Covid-19: Could it’s immune cells fight cancer?

By almoeba

On December 16, 2024

In Student Post

Were you one of many who faced an extreme case of COVID-19? You may have lost your sense of smell, but now you may have tumor shrinking immune cells!

A recent study suggests that the immune cells produced during a severe case of COVID-19 may be more helpful than you think. In her article Julia Goldenberg explains how COVID-19 immune cells may shrink cancer tumors.

The study was done by a group of researchers. They realized that certain monocytes lose CCR2, ultimately becoming nonclassical monocytes with anticancer properties.

Monocytes are a type of white blood cell built to destroy pathogens. With an infection or injury, white blood cells work together and collude to heal the injured or infected area.

In our AP Biology class, we learned how the immune fighting cells are created. These monocytes will ingulf the virus and produce interleukin to activate T-Helper cells. The T-Helper Cells then trigger a humoral response so B cells can split and create B plasma cells which secrete antibodies, and B-memory cells too prevent reinfection. These cells are the immune fighting cells that fight against the tumors.

Goldenberg goes on to explain how the inflammatory conditions during COVID-19 allow this change to occur. When blood tests of patients were taken, they found that the monocytes that were produced from COVID-19 contained a specific receptor. This even occurred with mice! The researchers studied a variety of mice with different types of stage four cancers. When the monocytes were induced, the tumors shrank for all four types of cancer. This is because the monocytes activated natural killer cells.

The researchers are hoping that this can work in humans. However, this wouldn’t work with the current COVID-19 vaccines that are on the market since they their RNA sequence is differs from severe COVID-19. But with more work, hopefully an advanced vaccine can be developed.

Throughout the years we have focused on how negative COVID-19 has been. As it is dangerous and has caused extreme long lasting symptoms for many people, one can only wonder, are there any more benefits to this nasty virus?

A Taste for All: Taste Receptors Throughout the Body

By almoeba

On November 4, 2024

In Student Post

Your mouth isn’t the only part of your body enjoying the taste of your favorite dish from a restaurant or the chocolate chip cookie that just came out of the oven. Cells throughout your body are actually tasting it too; they just don’t send the signals to your brain like taste buds do.

A team of researchers at the University of Cincinnati further explored this concept further by breaking down the biology of a Mexican Cave Fish. As the blind fish reaches maturity, taste buds develop in multiple locations on its body, including under its chin and on its back. The developmental studies revealed that the fish develop external taste buds between 5 and 18 months post fertilization, coinciding with a change in diet, the switch from crustaceans to bat guano. The researchers in the study believe the developed taste buds act as a replacement for the fish’s sight: the evolution of smaller eyes on the fish was associated with greater number of external taste receptor cells, demonstrating a phenotypic trade-off in the fish. Ultimately, helping the fish detect its nutritious meal, bat guano, which is an essential source of nutrients in its limited environment.

In our AP Biology class, we have learned how organelles in our cells help carry out various functions. In animal cells, genetic information is stored in the nucleus. This genetic information instructs the fish to produce taste bud cells as they reach maturity. Additionally, we have learned how neurons transmit message impulses that communicate information from the environment and signal different parts of the body to respond to the information. As bat guano is detected by the dendrites of the taste receptor cells, the neuron fires, sending information to the brain that food is near, prompting the fish to eat what is in front of it. This is extremely helpful for these fish, as they cannot see the bat guano in such a dark environment.

A little different from the cave fish, humans may not be using taste receptors to find their next meal, but we too have taste receptors throughout the body, not just in our mouths. There are numerous diverse locations of the taste receptors, covering areas in our ears, urethra, trachea, heart muscle, and even testes. But why is this needed?

These taste receptors are located in areas to detect when harmful invaders enter our bodies. With their help, the body can identify and fight against outside particles to prevent a virus, or infection. For instance, in their article, Robert J. Lee and Noam A. Cohen describe how antimicrobial proteins called defensins are sent to the locations of invaders when detected by the taste receptors. This response is extremely efficient, as it can take a long time for the body to produce antibodies, but only takes minutes for the taste receptors to respond to invaders.

But a lingering question still stands: What do our taste buds in our mouths do other than remind us how delicious those cookies taste? Our taste buds work in a similar fashion as the taste receptors, for they too prevent us from ingesting harmful foods. Cohen and Lee identify our tongue’s six senses: bitter, sweet, sour, salty, and savory. When something tastes “bad” we automatically spit it out, ultimately protecting our body and digestive system from potential harm, such as rotten milk that could upset our stomach

It’s still a question as to why the fish’s taste receptors increase with the switch in their diet, but at least they’ve helped us understand a little more about our own body’s interesting system.

I’ve always been interested on how our bodies are impacted by the food we eat. Growing up with CSID I’ve learned how different foods cause reactions in my body, and detecting the foods I’m eating is important. For my body, eating foods high in sugar can negatively impact me, so when my taste buds detect a sweet food, I know not to eat too much of it. I wonder, do the reactions I get from certain foods like sucrose and gluten have a correlation with the taste receptors throughout my body?

BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: almoeba

Warty Birch Caterpillars: Using Vibration as a Survival Tactic

CRISPR: Bringing back the Woolly Mammoth

Occurrence of Natural Selection in Tibetan Women

Cholesterol Fighting Microbes: The true superheros

Covid-19: Could it’s immune cells fight cancer?

A Taste for All: Taste Receptors Throughout the Body

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