The Next Step in Finches

Today I brought out my large summer purchase - the AC unit. I know that they aren't exactly environmentally friendly, but I (like the plants in the greenhouse) am heat-intolerant. I tend to wilt if it gets above 90 degrees, especially if I am not watered properly. I figure, if we can keep our plants airconditioned (which we do, when it gets wayyy to hot) - why can't I keep myself cool as well?

Today in lab, I finished measuring the roots from our first harvest on a finicky program called RootEdge. Rootedge is a simple freeware developed by two researchers at the University of Iowa to measure total root length - if you want to buy a program to do the same thing, it costs several thousand dollars. However, because it is free, RootEdge is a crazy program, prone to sudden, inexplicable mood changes. Tomorrow I will start work on the anatomical stuff, including getting trained to use a high tech microscope (only a glorified light microscope, but still!) I will also practice making slides, making thin leaf sections, and examining the sections for relevant anatomical details. I feel like it is the first thing I will start doing that is my own - even though it will be an important part of Lauren's masters thesis.

Today is definitely a day to catch the New York Times. The two top stories featured on their website are "Files on Illegal Spying Show CIA Skeletons from Cold War" and "Poll Shows Liberal Ideas Gaining With Young People." I think that the NY Times' own bias is showing here, but the articles are interesting. And, in my opinion, I am glad that some liberal ideas are popular with our generation. That's my own bias.

To be more relevant, I highly recommend the Science section of the New York Times for some light, but interesting reading. (For future reference, the Science section always comes on tuesdays, and is generally very good.) First, look at "From a Few Genes, Life's Myriad Shapes" by Carol Kaesuk Yoon. Ignoring the fact that "myriad" might be a bit to much in an article title - the article does a good job of pointing out that Eco-Devo (Evolution and Development) has long been ignored by mainstream science. For a long time, people believed that genes (not development) were all we needed to understand evolution and structural complexity. However, this viewpoint ignores the fact that genes control development - and that mutations which occur at the developmental level often have much wider effects than those which occur during maturity. Simple mutations in genes controlling development can completely rearrange organism body plans - like the famous fly featured below, with its antennae growing out of its head.



http://faculty.mc3.edu/charendz/antp-head-sm.GIF

The article is also interesting because it chooses to return to a well known research subject - the Galapagos Finch. The different beak sizes on the islands of the Galapagos is probably the most well known story in evolution - and the article returns to it by examining the genetics and development behind the structural beak differences. It is a different way of viewing evolution - from the inside rather from the outside. Anyways, check out that article at:


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/26/science/26devo.html

And if you are like me, spend a moment reading the editorial about chocolate - and how there is currently a petition to the FDA to allow non-chocolate substances to be labeled as chocolate in grocery stores.