Blog #4: "Monkey in the Mirror" (Bio News Article)

With the help of head implants, an experimental group of Rhesus monkeys were able to develop some form of self-awareness, where they were able to examine themselves and their hard-to-see body parts on a mirror. This is also proven to be effective on other animals, though it wouldn't work well with colored marks, only head implants. With colored marks, the monkeys weren't able to notice them and actually became aggressive with its own reflection, thinking it's another monkey. There is a conclusion that the monkeys probably are only able to develop their self-awareness by seeing and feeling the implant on their head. Further research found that the monkeys would touch and groom the area around the implant if a mirror is present at the cage, though will not attempt to do so when the mirror was covered.

A picture of one of the monkeys inspecting himself.

Blog #3: Are Non-Carbon Based Life Forms Possible?

Our planet revolves around the wonderful element of carbon, which is also what we are composed of, however, in theory, the idea of other lifeforms in other planets made of non-carbon elements is plausible. I don't support the idea that there is such thing, but having other organisms that have a different appearance while being composed of carbon is possible. First off, older stars naturally emit carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, making the building blocks of carbon-based organisms very abundant in the universe. In cooler areas away from the star/sun, these elements could form with available hydrogen to start the process of making life. A second reason why non-carbon life is a rare find is because carbon is much more "durable". The basis of organic compounds is made by a very unique carbon pattern of rings and chains allow them to have a better life expectancy in Earth-like environments.

Blog #2: Should the US Switch to the Metric System?

"Several years ago NASA rocket failed because scientists were not using the same system of measurement for all the parts."

The United States, though working with many parts of the world, does not share the same, common measurement system called the Metric System, which is already integrated into so many other countries for years; we instead mostly use inches, feet, yards, etc. that takes a while to convert back to the Metric System. I am into the idea of having the US switching into the Metric System, though it won't be an easy nor quick process. One reason is because if this does pass, our country can be more universally linked with other nations in terms of measuring calculations. Now, with large-scaled projects similar to rocket launches, it's much easier to contribute, organize, edit/fix everything. Another reason is because the metric system can help  settle a lot of confusion in other measuring-related jobs or tasks, such as mathematics and building items, or even when traveling to other parts of the country/world. Some people have lived off of the US's inch/feet/yard system for the majority of their lives, but when it comes to international areas, they will soon find out that they will need to take drastic measures to reconvert inches to centimeters, and they'll get easily confused and/or lost in the mess. Therefore, if we have this more unified measuring system with other parts of the world, we can finally lose the confusion that lurked in many measuring processes.

Blog #1: Class/School Year's Goal

Finally got biology this school year, meaning there should be a set goal so that I can find my way to success in the midst of the everyday struggle. Anyways, for overall class grades, I'm planning to get a better GPA's than last year (yeah, pretty much crashed and burned for being too lazy). Though the lowest I got was an average 3.0 last year, I have to bring myself together and concentrate more towards the class and not so much to the random stuff that happens around me. Secondly, my other goal is to get better scores on tests, which, of course, connects to my first reason so it's important to study to get better grades in the long run. Outside of grades and piles and piles of homework, I plan to meet great new people in this vast and crowded high school where it's great to be connected with one thing or another. Though this may not be the best set of goals, it's what's in my mind at the moment; of course, there are many other achievements waiting to be accomplished for this year.