OSF: Quote Master Chapter 8-10

"The question wasn't what makes cells multiply; it's what makes them stop. The complex organisms that appeared later in the history of life cannot survive unless their cells maintain a certain disciple. If these cells start multiplying continuously in the way bacteria do, the organism will rapidly turn into little more than one big disorganized tumor. For Soto and Sonnenschien, the goal was to find an inhibitor." (123)

This quote shows me that cells multiplying wasn't the big idea, but rather what made them stop. Thus, this question made Soto and Sonnenschien set out to find the answer

"This had to be it. The orange-capped Corning tubes. Something must be leaching from the tubes into the blood serum they used in their experiments, something that acted like estrogen. The plastic, which they had always regarded as benign, inert substance must contain chemicals that can cause significant, worrisome changes in human cells. Far from inert, the plastic appeared biologically active." (127)

This quote is important because it shows me that plastic contained an estrogen-like substance in which caused many disruptions in not only labs but also human cells.

"Through further investigation, Soto and Sonnenschien learned that p-nonylphenol is one of a family of synthetic chemicals known as alkylphenols. Manufacturers add nonylphenols to polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride, known commonly as PVC, as an antioxidant to make these plastics more stable and less breakable. The plastic centrifuge tubes in which they stored blood serum had been of polystyrene-a plastic that, depending on the manufacturer, may or may not include nonylphenols." (128)

This quote is significant because it shows that the plastics back then contained PVC, which made the plastic more stable and less breakable. However, due to these additional chemicals, they possibly disrupted many hormones of people who used these plastics.

"The amounts of potentially harmful chemical compounds produced each year are truly staggering-thousands upon thousands of chemicals and billions of pounds. Five billion pounds of pesticides alone are spread far and wide not only on agricultural fields but in parks, schools, restaurants, supermarkets, homes, and gardens." (139)

This quote is vital because it emphasizes the effect as well as the spread of these harmful chemical compounds produced each year. The pesticides ,in fact, are spread not only on the agricultural fields but even areas near us.

"In light of the growing evidence that many synthetic chemicals disrupt hormones, impair reproduction, interfere with development, and undermine the immune system, we must now ask to what degree contaminants are responsible for dwindling animal population." (147)

This quote is significant because it emphasizes the numerous of  harmful effects that synthetic chemicals may cause to wildlife.

Shoebox Landform Data

Land Form Data (click on picture for a bigger view)

As a result of the data, the land form displayed above required a satellite view as well as false colors. The satellite signals show what the land form would look like at a 2- dimensional view. In this case, the skewers acted as the satellite. The false colors then give us the 3-dimensional effect. The different colors in the graph demonstrates the protrusion and elevation of the land forms based on a x-y-z graph. For instance, the graph on the right shows the elevation of the land forms within the shoe box. In this shoe box, we were able to identify a few mountains on the left and some hills in the middle and on the right.

OSF: Word Master Chapter 7

1) litany (page 111)- a tedious recital or repetitive series

2) chlordane (page 111)- an organochlorine compound used as a pesticide; a white solid used as an insecticide for crops

3) dioxin (page 112)- a diverse range of chemical compounds which are known to exhibit "dioxin-like" toxicity; in chemistry, a dioxin is a heterocyclic 6-membered ring

4) carcinogen (page 113)- a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue

5) sarcoma (page 114)- a cancer that arises from transformed cells of mesenchymal origin

6) lymphoma (page 114)- a group of blood cell tumors that develop from lymphocytes; symptoms include: enlarged lymph nodes, fevers, sweats, itchiness, weight loss, and feeling tired among others

7) lordosis (page 119)- a normal inward curvature of the lumbar and cervical regions of the spine

8) methoxychlor (page 120)- a synthetic organochlorine used as an insecticide; intended to be a replacement for DDT but has been banned based on its acute toxicity, bioaccumulation, and endocrine disruption activity

9) vinclozolin (page 120)- a common dicarbonximide fungicide used to control diseases, rots, and molds; shown to be an endocrine disruptor with antiandrogenic effects

10) aryl (page 120)- any functional group or substituent derived from an aromatic ring

Potato Mountain Topography

Original Potato

Cutting the Potato

Half of the Potato that is Sliced in Pieces

Cardboard Model Glued Together

Side-view of Cardboard Model

Top-view of the Cardboard Model

Notebook Figure of the Top-view of Potato

Contour Lines are used to describe the elevation of a land form on a topographical map. For instance, in this project, the potato contour lines inside contour lines. This means that the potato was shaped like a hill. The more contour lines means the higher in elevation the land form is. In addition, depending on how far the contour lines are spaced out from each other on a topographical map, we can identify what kind of slope the land form has.

OSF: Word Master Chapter 5-6

1) promiscuous (page 70)- characterized by or involving indiscriminate mingling or association, especially having sexual relations with a number of people on a casual basis

2) onyx (page 70)- a variety of chalcedony having straight parallel bands of alternating colors; black, especially jet black

3) formononetin (page 76)- a natural compound, which escapes breakdown in the stomach and, like DES and DDT, mimic the biological effects of estrogen

4) silphium (page 78)- a now extinct fennel that prevent pregnancies and precipitate abortions

5) kepone (page 80)- also know as chlordecone, is a organochlorine compound and is a colorless solid that is a controversial insecticide related to Mirex and DDT

6) ubiquitous (page 81)- existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time, omnipresent

7) hermaphrodite (page 83)- an organism, as an earthworm or plant, having normally both male and female organs of generation

8) archipelago (page 87)- a large group or chain of islands

9) biphenyl (page 91)- an organic compound that forms colorless crystals and has a distinctively pleasant aroma; an aromatic hydrocarbon

10) predilection (page 95)- a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference; biased

OSF: Sketch Master Chapter 3-4

This is basically a drawing of the human body (female and male) which lists some important body parts that can be effected by or effect hormones.

Orange Map Distortions

Originally, the orange globe had the continents close together and the North and South Poles were a small portion. However, after flattening the orange, I noticed that the continents spread out and the North and South Poles were deformed and expanded for they were all over the place in bits. Thus, we can tell that mercator maps are not as accurate since they have to be rearranged a little.

EcoFootprint

According to the footprint and survey, I currently use the energy source equivalent to 2.2 planets. Although, I use less than the average North American, I still use more than the energy source of one planet. In order to reduce the amount of energy I use, I should turn on the AC in my home less often. This way, less electricity is wasted. In addition, I shouldn't waste paper or other supplies. Thus, I will use my supplies all the way through then recycle them. Although this isn't much, I hope that by doing this, I will be able to reduce some of my energy usage.