Community Outreach
For my community outreach i volunteered at the Adaptive sport association in Durango Colorado. Now what i did to helpl was teach others with physical handicapped to learn how to mono-ski.
Bacteria Anylasis
Bacterial analysis of urine to asses for U.T.I.'s
Introduction
The purpose of this lab is to explore the presence of e-coli and staphylococcus and streptococcus in both male and female urine samples. This lab also allows for the practice of culture techniques used in a diagnostic laboratory. A urinary tract infection is the inflammation of the bladder caused by a bacterial infection. The symptoms of a U.T.I. are a burning sensation when you pee or the need to go pee excessively but not much comes out each time. The reason why this is bad is it is an explosion or bacteria in the bladder that has overrun the bodes defenses.
The types of bacteria that are able to create these infections are strep, staph, and e-coli. strep is a natural bacteria found on the skin and the mucous membrane the same goes for staph. E-coli is a bacillur normally found in the human gastrointestinal tract its basically its your poop. Women are more likely to contract a bladder infection because the bacteria has to travel less to get to the bladder than the male because of their gentiles. The agar our class will be using is eosin methylene blue and phenylethanol agar. Now the eosin methylene blue will only show if E-coli is present in the urine samples cause it is a gram negative culture plate. The phenylethanol agar will show both strep and staph bacteria cause it is a gram negative culture plate. now the way we will be able to identify if it is strep is to put hydrogen peroxide on the sample and if it does not bubble then it is strep if it does bubble then its staph. now strep will bubble because of a enzyme called catalase what catalase does is it reacts to the hydrogen peroxide and breaks it down into water and oxygen. So if escherichia coli is present in the urine sample, then green bacteria will grow on the EMB culture plate. Also if staphylococcus epidermidis is present in the urine sample, then bacteria will grow on the phenylethanol culture plate that bubbles when hydrogen peroxide is applied. If steptococcus is present in the urine sample, then bacteria will grow on the phylenthanol culture plate that does not bubble in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. last is if females are more likely to contract a urinary tract infection,then bacteria will be present in more female urine samples than male urine samples.
Materials And Process
the next thing the class did was sterilize the place there your culture plate will go and where your pee sample will also go. After that you will pee in the bathroom and place the sample on your desk. after you will apply liberal amounts of pee to both sides but not on the side with the negative sign. When your finished you will but the culture plate in the incubator and leave it for two days.
Results
For the results our data concluded that in chart number 1 we found that the male causal tested for twelve staph infections. While the females only showed four. also that the presence of e-coli was mainly found in female culture plates which averaged at 6. Now graph number 2 shows that all AM Casual females ranged about the same for all U.T.I.'s. our last table shows that women contracted more UTI's than men.
Discussion
If females are more likely to contract a urinary tract infection, then bacteria will be present in more females urine samples than male urine samples. The hypothesis was accepted. The data that supports would be pie chart 1 because it show the girls ratio with UTI's against the male ratio. This means that women are more likely to get a UTI more than the average male. The question that still remains is that is this true for all settings.
The hypothesis is if e-coli is present in the urine sample then green bacteria will grow on the EMB culture plate. The hypothesis was rejected because there is no e-coli present in my urine sample. This means that my gram negative agar showed no e-coli present in my sample. Does after eating lunch affect the e-coli in urine sample.
The hypothesis is if staph is present in the urine sample, the bacteria will grow on the phenylethanol culture plate that bubbles when hydrogen is applied. This hypothesis was rejected because no white bacteria grew on my culture plate. Still does the time of day affect bacteria growth.
The hypothesis is if strep is present in the urine sample, then bacteria will grow on the phenolethanol culture plate that does not bubble in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. This hypothesis was rejected because no white bacteria green on my culture plate.
Introduction
The purpose of this lab is to explore the presence of e-coli and staphylococcus and streptococcus in both male and female urine samples. This lab also allows for the practice of culture techniques used in a diagnostic laboratory. A urinary tract infection is the inflammation of the bladder caused by a bacterial infection. The symptoms of a U.T.I. are a burning sensation when you pee or the need to go pee excessively but not much comes out each time. The reason why this is bad is it is an explosion or bacteria in the bladder that has overrun the bodes defenses.
The types of bacteria that are able to create these infections are strep, staph, and e-coli. strep is a natural bacteria found on the skin and the mucous membrane the same goes for staph. E-coli is a bacillur normally found in the human gastrointestinal tract its basically its your poop. Women are more likely to contract a bladder infection because the bacteria has to travel less to get to the bladder than the male because of their gentiles. The agar our class will be using is eosin methylene blue and phenylethanol agar. Now the eosin methylene blue will only show if E-coli is present in the urine samples cause it is a gram negative culture plate. The phenylethanol agar will show both strep and staph bacteria cause it is a gram negative culture plate. now the way we will be able to identify if it is strep is to put hydrogen peroxide on the sample and if it does not bubble then it is strep if it does bubble then its staph. now strep will bubble because of a enzyme called catalase what catalase does is it reacts to the hydrogen peroxide and breaks it down into water and oxygen. So if escherichia coli is present in the urine sample, then green bacteria will grow on the EMB culture plate. Also if staphylococcus epidermidis is present in the urine sample, then bacteria will grow on the phenylethanol culture plate that bubbles when hydrogen peroxide is applied. If steptococcus is present in the urine sample, then bacteria will grow on the phylenthanol culture plate that does not bubble in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. last is if females are more likely to contract a urinary tract infection,then bacteria will be present in more female urine samples than male urine samples.
Materials And Process
the next thing the class did was sterilize the place there your culture plate will go and where your pee sample will also go. After that you will pee in the bathroom and place the sample on your desk. after you will apply liberal amounts of pee to both sides but not on the side with the negative sign. When your finished you will but the culture plate in the incubator and leave it for two days.
Results
For the results our data concluded that in chart number 1 we found that the male causal tested for twelve staph infections. While the females only showed four. also that the presence of e-coli was mainly found in female culture plates which averaged at 6. Now graph number 2 shows that all AM Casual females ranged about the same for all U.T.I.'s. our last table shows that women contracted more UTI's than men.
Discussion
If females are more likely to contract a urinary tract infection, then bacteria will be present in more females urine samples than male urine samples. The hypothesis was accepted. The data that supports would be pie chart 1 because it show the girls ratio with UTI's against the male ratio. This means that women are more likely to get a UTI more than the average male. The question that still remains is that is this true for all settings.
The hypothesis is if e-coli is present in the urine sample then green bacteria will grow on the EMB culture plate. The hypothesis was rejected because there is no e-coli present in my urine sample. This means that my gram negative agar showed no e-coli present in my sample. Does after eating lunch affect the e-coli in urine sample.
The hypothesis is if staph is present in the urine sample, the bacteria will grow on the phenylethanol culture plate that bubbles when hydrogen is applied. This hypothesis was rejected because no white bacteria grew on my culture plate. Still does the time of day affect bacteria growth.
The hypothesis is if strep is present in the urine sample, then bacteria will grow on the phenolethanol culture plate that does not bubble in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. This hypothesis was rejected because no white bacteria green on my culture plate.
Drosophila Fly Genetics
Noah Hotchkiss
Biology Period 1
January 31, 2014
Genetics of Drosophila melanogaster Fruit Flys
By Noah Hotchkiss
Introduction:
In this lab, fruit flys were bred by mixing two wild type flys one with a recessive allele and one with a dominant allele, to determine the phenotypes of both F1 and F2 generations. Alleles are passed on from parents to offspring through the process of inheritance. But their can be both dominant and recessive genes. A dominant trait will always show up on the offspring. Recessive trait will only show up when in the offspring when two recessive alleles are present. Witch will make the offspring have a homozygous genotype. Now a sex linked gene is a gene that's located on a sex chromosome. An example is that a male only needs a single copy on the X chromosome for that trait to appear because no other allele is present. The reason why flys are used for genetic experiments is because flys only need 2 weeks to produce offspring and their genetic chromosome is easy to read.
Results:
Discussion:
The purpose of this lab was to determine the genetic codes if the fruit flys alleles are shuffled randomly. Our predicament for the f1 generation would show that 100 percent of fruit flys would show the dominant trait. The data gathered showed that original hypothesis was correct. After we took another mother and father to create the f2 generation. The hypothesis presented stated that 75% would have a brown body while 25% had the recessive white body. But the data concluded that 76% had brown bodies while 24% had white bodies witch is very close to the expected null hypothesis. The next data acquired was sex linked traits witch the data suggests that 50% males would have red eyes and 50% females would have red eyes. Our data concluded that 50 % males have red eyes and 50% females had red eyes. So the null hypothesis was correct.
Biology Period 1
January 31, 2014
Genetics of Drosophila melanogaster Fruit Flys
By Noah Hotchkiss
Introduction:
In this lab, fruit flys were bred by mixing two wild type flys one with a recessive allele and one with a dominant allele, to determine the phenotypes of both F1 and F2 generations. Alleles are passed on from parents to offspring through the process of inheritance. But their can be both dominant and recessive genes. A dominant trait will always show up on the offspring. Recessive trait will only show up when in the offspring when two recessive alleles are present. Witch will make the offspring have a homozygous genotype. Now a sex linked gene is a gene that's located on a sex chromosome. An example is that a male only needs a single copy on the X chromosome for that trait to appear because no other allele is present. The reason why flys are used for genetic experiments is because flys only need 2 weeks to produce offspring and their genetic chromosome is easy to read.
Results:
Discussion:
The purpose of this lab was to determine the genetic codes if the fruit flys alleles are shuffled randomly. Our predicament for the f1 generation would show that 100 percent of fruit flys would show the dominant trait. The data gathered showed that original hypothesis was correct. After we took another mother and father to create the f2 generation. The hypothesis presented stated that 75% would have a brown body while 25% had the recessive white body. But the data concluded that 76% had brown bodies while 24% had white bodies witch is very close to the expected null hypothesis. The next data acquired was sex linked traits witch the data suggests that 50% males would have red eyes and 50% females would have red eyes. Our data concluded that 50 % males have red eyes and 50% females had red eyes. So the null hypothesis was correct.
Durango Nature Studies Habitat Assessment
2013
Noah Hotchkiss
Executive Summary
Durango Nature Studies(DNS) has been a beacon of animal studies, wildlife, and habitat differences. It borders the Florida river which creates a natural habitat for aquatic wildlife and animal wildlife. This biome is home to the leopard frog (Rana Pipiens) but as history shows there will always be another. By that i mean the bull frog, (Rana Catesbeiana) this species of frog has been know to eat almost everything.
So the tenth grade from Animas High School has been making trips every year to conduct research on the bull frog and leopard frog population. While doing that some of the classmates separated to get some information on the water quality of the Florida river. Some students also collected insect fieldwork.
The DNS property is exactly 140 acres. It has a river that runs though the property and has a pond. It has a very diverse wildlife culture ranging from top predators to aquatic wildlife. It also is very special because it simultaneously has all four biomes located on their property and is used to conduct lots of research because of that.
The DNS budget is about $139,529$ which is their annual budget. About 57% of their revenue is earned through donations, the other 43% is made from earned revenue.
Species Overview
The Leopard species are a very small frog species averaging about 5.1 to 9.0 cm in size. They have three irregular rows of dots and the males have swollen thumbs. These frogs have been widely collected to be eaten as frog legs. Their original place of life was in the northern part of America except the pacific coast. But they often live near ponds and marshes and sometimes grassland hence the name meadow leopard frog came about. There have been leopard frogs spotted in Texas, Kentucky, New York, and Florida because they do not require excessive amounts of liquid. On the other hand the leopard frog will eat almost anything that it can fit into its mouth even smaller leopard frogs. They will also scavenge on other dead animals if cases get dire. They also have very strange winter conditions they do not move instead they go to the bottom of the ground and basically sleep, but unlike the turtle they will not dig a cave at the bottom of the pond and sleep there. I did find it strange that other fish come and eat the frogs that are laying on the bottom of the ground during the winter.
Moving on, the leopard frog will breed in the early summer and they have a very distinct call that sounds like a door creaking that turns into a croak of lust and love. They can lay up to 1,500 to 6,000 eggs and normally takes up to 9 days for the eggs to hatch. Then usually takes 9 to 13 months to turn into froglets. But unfortunately they are an endangered species and thats why the class has been going over to the DNS property to keep track of the leopard populations. Some scientists are being skeptical because of the frog legs that were being distributed during the 1900's but also they concluded that the water conditions could have a good effect on their populations. The biggest threats that face this species are habitat loss, introduced species, and disease. The reason why habitat loss is a problem is because of all the clear cutting and pollution of the rivers and streams. The second problem is because there always has to be a balance in life and each animal must have a predator of some sort. The last reason is because every species will have a virus that will spread and kill many.
The bullfrog is the largest frog species in the U.S. averaging from 3.5 to 9.0 inches in heigh. It has a distinct appearance which is a bowl around their eye. Its natural habitat falls between the eastern and central U.S. but has been widely ,introduced elsewhere. Although generally a wet creature they have been seen moving on land in wet weather or at night. The bullfrog is a generalist predator and will eat almost anything that will fit into their mouth. They will usually breed in the summer and can lay up to 15,000 to 20,000 eggs over the breeding period. They are not an endangered species except for wetland development.
Discussion & Management
The Shannon Wiener Indices indicate that the overall stability and diversity of wildlife is being threatened. The data collected about the phosphate levels have been recorded to be high and phosphate is really a way to measure the pollution levels in the ponds and the rivers. That is one of the main reasons why we did not see any stoneflies on the DNS property, because stoneflies are attracted to clean water sources. The Phosphate levels have impacted a lot of the overall diversity near the river. The main thing that gives high levels of phosphate away would be algae blooms occurring in both the pond and the river. Phosphate is created by waist or uneaten food but can also be caused by an all natural substances such as dead plants, fish poop, and dead fish. The high levels of phosphates in the water can be harmful to the wildlife. One example is it increases the growth of aquatic plants that can stop river currents and stop boating in bigger rivers. Another example is it can drain the oxygen levels of the pond which gives the fish no oxygen to breath. The first thing is that we should not let high levels of phosphates be there in the first place. There are some ways to decrease this high level of phosphates, one of which is to start fishing in the river or pond and bring the fish levels down so not as much organic waste is being produced. But a more suitable way is that there would be a buffer zone around the pond of trees that would help stop soil erosion decreasing the level of phosphate. Also rivers or ponds next to feedlots should not be on soil that would leach chemicals and waste into our water. The research that has been recorded for this paper can be some of the only ways to lower the phosphate levels in the DNS river and pond.
Last year the leopard frog population has been recorded to be 15 which is good because the leopard frog population has risen since. A better way to monitor their populations in the future would be to have an extra day of research to get better results. The reason this would be a solution is because I have been looking into pit traps and strait line drift fences. Now the mechanism is consisted of arrays consisted of drift fences, pit fall traps, and double-ended funnel traps. This mechanism is mainly used for catching live amphibians and would be very effective. This would be a plan to keep in mind if you do a combination of a visual encounter survey and mark all the frogs that you caught. Next would be to set up the traps and then leave them over night, then come back in the morning and see the frogs that the class of 2014 caught, but you would be able to tell the marked ones from the unmarked ones. This can also be usefull to catch bullfrogs in the future. Moving on to the how can we increase the populations of leopard frogs. The biggest subject to cover would be the water quality because if the water is to polluted then the leopard frog (larva) would not be able to survive. Amphibians are a good indicator to good water conditions in lakes, ponds, and rivers. Also chemical levels in the water can serve a big part in the growth of a species if too much chemicals are being dumped into a river or pond then the population of many aquatics and mammals will die. Lastly I think that the estimated population would be most reliable, because we did not catch all the frogs in the pond and so an estimate would be the closest guess to the real population of the pond.
2013
Noah Hotchkiss
Executive Summary
Durango Nature Studies(DNS) has been a beacon of animal studies, wildlife, and habitat differences. It borders the Florida river which creates a natural habitat for aquatic wildlife and animal wildlife. This biome is home to the leopard frog (Rana Pipiens) but as history shows there will always be another. By that i mean the bull frog, (Rana Catesbeiana) this species of frog has been know to eat almost everything.
So the tenth grade from Animas High School has been making trips every year to conduct research on the bull frog and leopard frog population. While doing that some of the classmates separated to get some information on the water quality of the Florida river. Some students also collected insect fieldwork.
The DNS property is exactly 140 acres. It has a river that runs though the property and has a pond. It has a very diverse wildlife culture ranging from top predators to aquatic wildlife. It also is very special because it simultaneously has all four biomes located on their property and is used to conduct lots of research because of that.
The DNS budget is about $139,529$ which is their annual budget. About 57% of their revenue is earned through donations, the other 43% is made from earned revenue.
Species Overview
The Leopard species are a very small frog species averaging about 5.1 to 9.0 cm in size. They have three irregular rows of dots and the males have swollen thumbs. These frogs have been widely collected to be eaten as frog legs. Their original place of life was in the northern part of America except the pacific coast. But they often live near ponds and marshes and sometimes grassland hence the name meadow leopard frog came about. There have been leopard frogs spotted in Texas, Kentucky, New York, and Florida because they do not require excessive amounts of liquid. On the other hand the leopard frog will eat almost anything that it can fit into its mouth even smaller leopard frogs. They will also scavenge on other dead animals if cases get dire. They also have very strange winter conditions they do not move instead they go to the bottom of the ground and basically sleep, but unlike the turtle they will not dig a cave at the bottom of the pond and sleep there. I did find it strange that other fish come and eat the frogs that are laying on the bottom of the ground during the winter.
Moving on, the leopard frog will breed in the early summer and they have a very distinct call that sounds like a door creaking that turns into a croak of lust and love. They can lay up to 1,500 to 6,000 eggs and normally takes up to 9 days for the eggs to hatch. Then usually takes 9 to 13 months to turn into froglets. But unfortunately they are an endangered species and thats why the class has been going over to the DNS property to keep track of the leopard populations. Some scientists are being skeptical because of the frog legs that were being distributed during the 1900's but also they concluded that the water conditions could have a good effect on their populations. The biggest threats that face this species are habitat loss, introduced species, and disease. The reason why habitat loss is a problem is because of all the clear cutting and pollution of the rivers and streams. The second problem is because there always has to be a balance in life and each animal must have a predator of some sort. The last reason is because every species will have a virus that will spread and kill many.
The bullfrog is the largest frog species in the U.S. averaging from 3.5 to 9.0 inches in heigh. It has a distinct appearance which is a bowl around their eye. Its natural habitat falls between the eastern and central U.S. but has been widely ,introduced elsewhere. Although generally a wet creature they have been seen moving on land in wet weather or at night. The bullfrog is a generalist predator and will eat almost anything that will fit into their mouth. They will usually breed in the summer and can lay up to 15,000 to 20,000 eggs over the breeding period. They are not an endangered species except for wetland development.
Discussion & Management
The Shannon Wiener Indices indicate that the overall stability and diversity of wildlife is being threatened. The data collected about the phosphate levels have been recorded to be high and phosphate is really a way to measure the pollution levels in the ponds and the rivers. That is one of the main reasons why we did not see any stoneflies on the DNS property, because stoneflies are attracted to clean water sources. The Phosphate levels have impacted a lot of the overall diversity near the river. The main thing that gives high levels of phosphate away would be algae blooms occurring in both the pond and the river. Phosphate is created by waist or uneaten food but can also be caused by an all natural substances such as dead plants, fish poop, and dead fish. The high levels of phosphates in the water can be harmful to the wildlife. One example is it increases the growth of aquatic plants that can stop river currents and stop boating in bigger rivers. Another example is it can drain the oxygen levels of the pond which gives the fish no oxygen to breath. The first thing is that we should not let high levels of phosphates be there in the first place. There are some ways to decrease this high level of phosphates, one of which is to start fishing in the river or pond and bring the fish levels down so not as much organic waste is being produced. But a more suitable way is that there would be a buffer zone around the pond of trees that would help stop soil erosion decreasing the level of phosphate. Also rivers or ponds next to feedlots should not be on soil that would leach chemicals and waste into our water. The research that has been recorded for this paper can be some of the only ways to lower the phosphate levels in the DNS river and pond.
Last year the leopard frog population has been recorded to be 15 which is good because the leopard frog population has risen since. A better way to monitor their populations in the future would be to have an extra day of research to get better results. The reason this would be a solution is because I have been looking into pit traps and strait line drift fences. Now the mechanism is consisted of arrays consisted of drift fences, pit fall traps, and double-ended funnel traps. This mechanism is mainly used for catching live amphibians and would be very effective. This would be a plan to keep in mind if you do a combination of a visual encounter survey and mark all the frogs that you caught. Next would be to set up the traps and then leave them over night, then come back in the morning and see the frogs that the class of 2014 caught, but you would be able to tell the marked ones from the unmarked ones. This can also be usefull to catch bullfrogs in the future. Moving on to the how can we increase the populations of leopard frogs. The biggest subject to cover would be the water quality because if the water is to polluted then the leopard frog (larva) would not be able to survive. Amphibians are a good indicator to good water conditions in lakes, ponds, and rivers. Also chemical levels in the water can serve a big part in the growth of a species if too much chemicals are being dumped into a river or pond then the population of many aquatics and mammals will die. Lastly I think that the estimated population would be most reliable, because we did not catch all the frogs in the pond and so an estimate would be the closest guess to the real population of the pond.
“Oh oh ah ah" Translation Monkey Recipe
Sweet tuna mixup
Created by: Noah Hotchkiss
Category: Chimps
Total Carbs: 265
Total Fats: 43
Total Sugars: 127
Makes: 103 oz/ 13 cups
Serve in: Cups
Prep Time: About 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups of vanilla yogurt
1 cup Mexican rice
1 7/8 cup chopped lettuce
5 cups of drained and chopped tuna
1 cup of shredded multigrain bread
Directions:
Put the rice into the rice cooker and cook until done
Then open the cans of tuna and drain out the liquid
Break into smaller pieces then set aside
Grab the lettuce and cut on a cutting board until finely chopped
Then take the bread and pull it into smaller pieces
Then take the rice yogurt and chopped up salad and mix together
Place mixture in cups and top with bread
Created by: Noah Hotchkiss
Category: Chimps
Total Carbs: 265
Total Fats: 43
Total Sugars: 127
Makes: 103 oz/ 13 cups
Serve in: Cups
Prep Time: About 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups of vanilla yogurt
1 cup Mexican rice
1 7/8 cup chopped lettuce
5 cups of drained and chopped tuna
1 cup of shredded multigrain bread
Directions:
Put the rice into the rice cooker and cook until done
Then open the cans of tuna and drain out the liquid
Break into smaller pieces then set aside
Grab the lettuce and cut on a cutting board until finely chopped
Then take the bread and pull it into smaller pieces
Then take the rice yogurt and chopped up salad and mix together
Place mixture in cups and top with bread
dns project reflection
For this project we started by looking at different frogs and being able to identify them. After that we were given a test to see how well we knew our frogs. After that we went over the the DNS property to conduct research on the leopard frog populations. Also we conducted some side experiments by collecting water and insect information. After that we put all of our data onto excell which we used in our paper. After all that was finished we did a technical paper. The first part was the executive summary where we explained what we did. The second was the species overview with we dove deeper into the two frogs that we were sent to monitor. After that was the review where we put all of the data collected into one paragraph. Last was the discussion which we showed new ways to conduct an experiment and other monitoring methods. I would say that I am satisfied with this project.
CSI
The Forencic project in biology was about getting a certain crime cone and using forensic enomology ot convicet a certain person. We started by learning about multiple thing that have convicted people in the past also to get clues about our suspect. Some of the tea uniques we learned were trajectory of a bullet and DNA processing. All this to bring us to the killer.