Big Idea 2: Energy

Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. Two of the podcasts that I was listening two connected with this idea quite strongly, they were Primitive Streak and Funky Hand Jive. In the primitive streak podcast, we learn that scientists recently learned how to grow embryo outside of the body, specifically the human body. The people studying the embryo were actually able to govern the environment for a perfect space for the embryo to grow, and reach the 14 day rule limit. These people were governing the environment in order to maintain energy input for the embryo to live and grow positively to study embryo growth during a period where it previously had never been able to be seen. The energy needed during their primitive streak need to be perfect or else the embryo will die and the process would be over. This is shown in the big idea of energy where we see that organisms respond to changes in their external environments, also timing and coordination of specific events are necessary for the normal development of an organism, and these events are regulated by a variety of mechanisms. This is why when the embryo is growing in a lab and in a human body, it is important that the mock environment is mirroring the original environment for the embryo. In Funky Hand Jive, there are specific environments put into place for an experiment to occur which is about swapping bacteria and microbes between humans and seeing what amount of bacteria stays on each person over time. The experiment included a handshake between the two men with pre handshake bacteria in possession, post handshake bacteria, and post handshake bacteria over a period of time. This relates to energy as ecosystems are effected by complex biotic and abiotic interactions involving exchange of matter and free energy. The experiment clearly provided an example of this process where one person had their own plus the bacteria of the other person but the other person only had their own bacteria.