Biology+accelerated+7-8A

Article Discussion Read the Article below (click on the Link). Then post and RRJ- be light on the summary, Heavy on the questions and opion. You will be graded on the quality of your post. Feel free to comment on other students post, JUST BE RESPECTFUL.

[|Wonders of Microbes] Link to Mrs. Wolfe's ME site

Reproductions Unit Question
Hi All- I've read what you all wrote and it seems like you liked the article and wrote some pretty reflective things- Nice work. We will talk about the nanometer later- just remind me in class and I can't answer the questions about Isreal, seems like there may be more than one contributing factor. Good job on the assignment. Oh and Jason, what is a rock marathon? Is that an MTV thing or are you practicing for something? I'm glad you are enjoying reading each others posts and commenting in this format- it is much more fun for me to read as well. For the next unit we will try something else with Blogs, if you have any suggestions I'm all ears- or eyes I guess if you write it here. Mrs. Wolfe

Personally I thought the articles were good you would never think microbes could end up saving thousands of lives and forming countries. The first article was about a microbe Proteus 0X19 and how it helped save thousands of lives during World War 2. The second article was about Streptococcus mitis and how it got into a camera and was taken into space. 3 years after it was left they found it still living in the camera and brought it back to Earth. The third article was about Clostridium acetobutylicum and how it helped form Israel. This microbe helped to make weapons fire which let Britian take over israel. The last article was about various sizes of microbes they have found. Questions: Couldn't the Nazis have done more tests to see that there wasn't a Typhus epidemic? What happened to the people injected with Proteus? Were there any side effects? How did S.mitis get energy and food for 3 years in space? Were the S.mitis put in the camera on purpose or was there an actual contamination? Do countries still use C.acetobutylicum as a gunpowder type substance to fire weapons? Are the blobs on Martian rocks really microbes? I thought all the articles were good but the last 2 didn't really keep my interest. I also didn't understand how the microbe helped to form a country, it was still used to make weapons effective. Doesn't that make it responsible for more people dieing. I thought the last article was cool because they know of microbes that you can see without a microscope, those things must be huge. Also the small microbe that are less then 1 billionth of an inch. It makes me wonder how scientists even find these microbes in the first place.**
 * Matt-

Pawel- This article talks about two Polish physicians that discovered that Proteus 0X19, a bacteria found in soil, has similar antibodies that mirror those of the deadly disease Typhus. This way the Nazis were tricked and were scared to get close to the village, and the whole village was saved. I found this article very interesting. I never knew that a disease that is so deadly and something found in soil have similar symptoms. It also shows how dumb and ignorant the Nazis were. They pretended to be tough, but they truly were real sissies. I was also wondering how the physicians knew that the Proteus 0X19 would be safe to inject. Also, how long did it take for the bacteria to take effect? Can this still be done today? Overall this article was very interesting. It also hit home as I live close to that town in Poland. //__** How A Microbe Helped Found Israel **__// This article talks about how Chaim Weizmann helped to find a new method to produce acetone for the British military. With doing so he was awarded, and later became the Prime Minister of Israel, and Israel was ultimately created. I found this article very ironic. What are the chances that a person will discover something, and that it will cause a new nation to form? I also wonder if he found the “acetone” was found out of luck, or if he knew what he was doing? It shows how a “small discovery” can forever change the world. //__** Microbes Marooned On Moon- And Survive! **__// This article talks about how Streptococcus mitis survived going to the moon and back and surviving for 3 years! This article shows us how well adapted bacteria is to its environment. It can truly survive anywhere and for any amount of time. I never knew that bacteria was so “strong” and “smart.” It shows us the great power that bacteria have, and that we should definitely not underestimate them. I also had a couple of questions. How much longer could the bacteria have survived? Was this the first time that bacteria was found on a spaceship? What did they do with the bacteria. This article really should perspective on how “tough” bacteria are. //__** Bacterial Giants And Dwarfs **__// This article talks about the biggest and the smallest bacteria. The biggest is Thiomargarita namibiensis, and the smallest is Mycoplasma. I never knew that there are bacteria that can be seen by the naked eye. It is very strong and has its own food supply. I find it very interesting in the great variety in size that they come in. It seems like bacteria are very advanced as they can invade another organism and sometimes even destroy it. They can come in different sizes so sometimes it may be hard to spot them. I was wondering if the bigger the bacteria the more dangerous? Also how big would be 20 to 50 nanometers? Are any experiments being done the bacteria to see how it reacts? This article surprised me, as it taught me about a bacterium that can be seen by the naked eye, and also a bacterium that is microscopic.
 * //__Microbe__// //__Saves Village__// //__From Nazis__// **

The article “Wonders about Microbes” was really an educational experience because I learned a couple of new things that I had never known before like about the microbes (S. mitis) that survived the vacuum of space. It’s amazing how these miniscule creatures survived in the most extreme conditions like continual radiation exposure, no water, food, or any alternative energy sources, and temperatures 20 degrees above absolute zero. I believe that these tiny creatures are the bravest and strongest things to ever live. I would so praise the bacterium Proteus 0X19 for typhus and tricking those horrible Nazis. This tiny little bacterium was able to save so many lives and that’s very impressive. It’s a shame though more people couldn’t be saved. As the Nazis believed that the citizens of Rozvadow, a village southwest of Warsaw, was infected with Typhus, so many lives were left alone and these residents didn’t have to deal with the cruelty of the Nazis and their forced labor. It was a bit confusing to me how a Microbe helped form Israel. But I think that Chaim Weizmann was a trustworthy and an unselfish guy who was only looking out for the Jewish people. He had no interest in it for himself but for helping others. He should have been awarded more for his work. Is it true? Did scientists really discover a bacterium that can be seen without a microscope? That’s incredible. Usually when you think of bacteria, you’d visualize really tiny, tiny. tiny microscopic creatures that are crawling everywhere around you. You’d usually believe bacteria are only bad and cause harmful diseases but through this article, I learned that bacteria can be resourceful too and that some live in our intestines and help our immune systems defend our bodies against harmful viruses and other bacteria. It’s so cool. Overall, this article has given me a sense of how bacteria can come in all sizes, shapes and they don’t always have to dangerous and bad for us. In fact, if we didn’t have some of the beneficial bacteria around us, we may not survive normal everyday illnesses like colds. This article has also helped me realize that the most tiny creatures can turn out the strongest (bacteria that survived space with extreme conditions).
 * Ami**-

Eliza - That is a really good article. I like to find out that bacteria helps people too. The //Proteus 0X19// was like a little super hero. I’m glad it scared the Nazis away. Too bad they didn’t do these injections in other cities too. How did the doctors discover the bacteria’s power? Was it an absolutely safe process or were there side effects? I cannot believe that the //Streptococcus// //mitis// survived on the moon without any life preserving material. Were they anaerobes? I wonder whether the amount of bacteria grew, declined, or stayed the same in space. If they reproduced than maybe people should put some back up there and check up on them once in a while. We could probably learn a lot from them. It is hard to imagine all the affects that bacteria have on our lives. They do, however, do a lot. They decide whether we can or can’t go to school on certain days or in some cases, they make people famous. //Clostridium// //acetobutylicum// gave Chaim Weizmann a great opportunity. It allowed him to become Israel’s first president. This, I think, is amazing. If he hadn’t been able to use the bacteria, history would be absolutely different. How did he figure out that these particular bacteria make what he needed? I think that Weizmann was a great person too, because he did not make his discovery for an award, but rather to try to make a difference. The __Bacterial Giants__ and __Bacterial Dwarfs__ articles did not interest me as much. I guess I don’t really understand how small the bacterial world is. The only part that excited me was that there is still hope for life on Mars. If our bacteria is so small, than maybe the Mars bacteria is smaller and even more primitive. It’s like viruses and prions. Prions are smaller and viruses are more developed. The prions relate to the Mars bacteria and the viruses are like our bacteria. I thought that this was an interesting article to read. It opened my eyes to the many roles, both good and bad, that bacteria play in our lives.

So the Polish scientists found a microbe that was a bacteria called proteus 0X19. The Nazis thought that the Polish people had the disease and they didn’t want it so they left the polish people alone. This probably saved thousands of lives because they didn’t want to have anything to do with the disease and they stopped killing them. It is funny how science can save so many lives in such a peculiar way. I also agree with Ahmad and Jesvin, how big is a nanometer? I also agree with Eliza because we always think that Bacteria is always harmful and can never help people because it is always harming our bodies and it is always making problems with our lives. But, in this case the Bacteria is helping thousands of lives because the Nazis backed off the Polish just so they stay harmless. // Note: Mrs. Wolfe, I think this is a great idea. //
 * Rushi- **

**Jason**  What energy source did //S. mitis// use in space without food? Was the //S. mitis// colony just a result of contamination? Are the British involved in today’s Middle Eastern conflict? Are the blobs on Martian meteorite fossils? 3. This was definitely one of the more interesting readings that we’ve been assigned. The articles showed not just biological facts but how the things we’re learning have had the power to change history. I must say that I was extremely surprised to find out that the modern nation of Israel was founded over bacteria (I’m guessing when Weizmann made that deal he wasn’t expecting to start Middle Eastern Wars). Also, seeing how bacterial antibodies had the power to turn Nazi soldiers back renews my faith that what we learn in class truly does have an important affect on our lives. I found the articles about bacteria sizes less interesting, though the idea that there might be life on Mars was intriguing.
 * 1) This sheet was comprised of 4 articles (now that’s exciting!). The first one discussed how doctor’s injected citizens of a Polish town with bacteria that produced the same antibodies as typhus, which caused Nazi Soldiers to not take over the village out of fear of typhus infection. The second part showed how //S. mitis// survived on a space probe through the harsh conditions of space. The last 2 articles showed how bacteria range from very small to very large.
 * 2) If the Nazis used lab research, how did they not find that the bacteria were not typhus? Were there any side effects to injecting the people with //Proteus OX19?//

//Note: I hope I get a good grade on this because I had to interrupt a 45 minute rock marathon to finish this…//

 =  Ahmad-  hopefully you will jason!!!  questoions i had: when were microbes first discovered? as jason said, is britain still in the middle eas conflict? how advanced is america in the microbe research?  These articles were pretty interesting. It was a little confusing to get the whole plot. I think it was talking about two scientists which injected an anti body into people of a town to cure a disease. Then it began to talk about some of the outcomes like the Nazis getting fooled which saved a bunch of lives. And Eliza is right it is like a hero. The next one is about how microbes can live on the moon. I personally think that that is awesome and that could be the first steps to space colonization. The article about the jewish chemist which helped out Britain was interesting. Because of microbes the british colonized the jewish state and put a chemist in charge. That is kind of like an exchange/bribe. But how come Britain think of the people already in that area. The last article was about the biggest and the smallest bacteria. I thought it was amazing that there is a bacteria you can see with your eye, I never knew that. Also I wanted to now how small is a nanometer or in this case 20 to 50 nanometers. Over all these articles were all related to our studies and fun. =

Jesvin- The articles were very interesting. I hadn’t known of all these microbe phenomenon’s before. The Polish used the Proteus 0X19 to save their lives from the Nazis. I think that was cool but how did the Nazis not figure out that the bacterium wasn’t the real disease if they were also doing research on it. How did the Polish researchers know that this was completely safe to inject people with? It would have been horrific if this new microbe had caused more problems than the original disease would have caused. It’s hard to believe that bacteria could have survived for that long without having the luxuries that they have on Earth. I wonder if they adapted to space or if they were just able to withstand all types of different environments. I think that scientists should send bacteria out to space and see which kinds can survive and which ones can’t. I really don’t understand how a microbe created Israel. He was really just helping the British military out. How did he find out that this certain bacteria created the acetone that was needed for the British army? He became pretty well known and the first president of Israel. I think its cool that we would be able to see bacteria with the naked eye. I have never seen one but I might make it my goal in life to find one. I really don’t understand why finding small bacteria can change a lot of ideas and views. As Ahmad was saying how small is a nanometer? They said one billionth of an inch but that doesn’t really tell me how small it is cause I don’t know how big one billionth of an inch is.

Sheil - This article (Wonders of microbes) was quite the attention grabber. The first paragraph got the job done. The article describes different cases in which microbes were used to help people and new microbe that were discovered. 1) __ Microbes Saves village from Nazis __ - This was a cool microbe! The two polish physicians injected the villagers with the microbe that made it look like they had a Typhus disease. This scared off the Nazis because they didn’t bother to observe the villagers more closely. Not a smart move on their part. I would never though you could use microbes in such a way. 2) __ Microbes marooned on the moon…and survive __ - These microbes are invincible! These microbes survived radiation, low temperatures, the airless vaccum of space and most of all, the lack of food, water, and energy, for 3 years! Most of the common bacteria can barely survive simple chemicals. These guys went 3 years in an environment that is almost impossible to live even if there was oxygen. What I would like to know is how these extremophiles adapt to the harsh conditions. 3) __ How a microbe helped create Israel __ - the microbe in this article helped create a whole country, but I don’t think its role was that big. The chemist simply used the microbe to help the British military. The was prime minister so grateful, he helped make Israel and Weizmen became the president of Israel. I think that the microbe was important for the war, but not in making Israel. 4) __ Bacterial Giants and dwarves __ - Usually, when we think of bacteria, we thinks of invisible things that are hiding everywhere. This idea is sometime displayed in commercials. But now we’ve found bacteria that anyone can see. This is huge discovery, but most likely these giants are uncommon. The microscopic bacteria are what interested me the most. If there are even smaller bacteria than the smallest on record, we will need to update our technology to find them.

**__Justyna__** In this article “The Wonders of Microbes,” the author talks about bacteria in a positive way. The article mentions how bacteria can be useful, how they can survive harsh environments, and adds some interesting facts about bacteria. The article is actually composed of four different tales about microbes. The first article claims that a bacterium called //Proteus// 0X19 which makes antibodies against typhus saved a Jewish town in Poland, Rozvadow, from the Nazis. When people in this town were tested for typhus their results came back positive; therefore the Nazis avoided this town due to fear of an epidemic. I can relate to this article personally, because Rozvadow is right by the town I was born in. I think it was made into a district of my town after World War II. I’ve been to this place and I know that it was famous for once having a large Jewish population. I never knew that this bacterium saved them. My question is: where did this bacterium come from? The article was very brief on that matter, and I am also curious if it is only found in this town. Didn’t anybody else know about this antibody? How did the scientists find out about it? I would also think that during these times Polish scientists would be required to share their work and research with the Germans, so it wouldn’t have been a shock to the Germans. I also find this as an exaggeration. I asked my grandma about this town, and she said that the Jewish people would hide in surrounding fields during Nazi inspections. It was a scary place. The town today still has a gloomy atmosphere and has become a kind of a ghost town. It is worn and nobody has reconstructed it. It currently does not have a big Jewish population and is now most famous for its big Jewish cemetery, containing the graves of many Holocaust victims from the town. The next article talks about bacteria that was able to survive a round trip to the moon. It was left in space from a mission in 1967 and then found again on equipment brought back from a mission in 1969. I found it odd that the bacteria could survive in space for that long, but then I think of Archaebacteria. Archaebacteria can live in very extreme conditions like hot springs. This article makes me think that this bacterium could have been life from another planet, like Mars, since it survived on the moon. Maybe this bacterium is just so well adapted to harsh environments because it possibly came from a different planet. I’ll also fast-forward to the last article which also talks about the wonders of bacteria. In this one, very small and very large bacteria are discussed. Some bacteria can be as big to be seen by the naked eye while others can be 200 nanometers. Are nanometers the smallest units possible? I’m really curious to how scientists can even measure something so small and what equipment they use for measuring. There is also an article about how bacteria formed Israel. Yes, I was shocked too. A chemist by the name of Chaim Weizmann solved Britain ’s problem of an acetone shortage during WWI using the bacterium //C. acetobutylicum//. When the Munitions Minister David Lloyd George became Prime Minister, he helped Weizmann with his goal of the repatriation of Jewish people in the world. Weizmann became the first president of Israel. I’m curious to how Weizmann knew that bacteria could make acetone and where to find it. I’m still in disbelief that without this bacterium, it’s possible that the State of Israel might not exist. Is the bacteria still used today? I feel inspired by Weizmann, how he overcame the prejudice in his country and reached his goal. This was definitely one of the more interesting articles that we’ve read. Sorry for writing so much, but I really got into writing this!

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <span style="FONT-SIZE: 90%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Georgia, serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black', Gadget, sans-serif"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif">I thought that these were very interesting articles. One of the best that we have read so far in class. The first article was about a bacterium called proteus 0X19. This microbe made the Nazis believe that there was a typhus epidemic in that town, so they stayed away from that place. That is pretty cool to learn that such a small thing could help save so many lives. I think that the German doctors were careless and they should have examined the people more carefully. But I'm glad that they didn't because it helped the people of that small town. First of all, where did those microbes come from? Were they only found there? I thought that the two polish scientists should have been careful with their experiments. What if the bacteria caused some other fatal disease? It could have caused those people to die. Were there side effects? They couldn't have been completely safe. Overall, I thought that this was a good article. The second article was about a kind of bacteria that survived on the moon. The bacteria was left in space on some equipment in 1967. When researchers went back to the moon in 1969, the bacteria was still there. I thought that this really interesting. I know that bacteria can live in extreme conditions but I thought that it was crazy how it survived on the moon. What was its energy source? How could something live without food for so long? Two and half years is a really long time to go without any food or water. It's not completely unbelievable because bacteria has been found in places that no one can imagine, so it could be possible for it live on the moon. Could this bacteria live on other planets also? Maybe this bacteria is already living in other planets. How about other types of bacteria? Can they survive on the moon also? The next article was about a bacteria called "Clostridium acetobutylicum" (i wonder how people caome up with these names) This bacteria helped create Isreal. I thought that this was a bit over exaggerating. How could bacteria create a whole new nation? I don't agree with this article because I don't think that bacteria is the reason the a whole nation was created. It may be one of the reasons but it can't be the only reason that Isreal was formed. The last article was about a bacteria that can be seen with the naked eye. Normally, when I think of bacteria, I think of small microscopic creatures. Before reading this article, I thought that bacteria could only be seen with microscopes but I guess not. Where is this bacteria found? I wonder how bacteria would look like without using other equipment to see it. Where is Namibia? I have never heard of that place before. There is also Mycoplasma, the smallest known known bacteria. They are one billionth of an inch. How small is that? And the article says that even smaller bacteria has been found? How small would that be? How do scientists discover bacteria that is so tiny? These were very informational articles and they were fun to read. I hope you give us more articles like these Mrs. Wolfe.
 * Angela: **

Cynthia: This was a really interesting article from the start i got really into it because i didnt know about these kinds of things that happened around the world. MICROBE SAVES VILLAGE FROM NAZIS: a small polish village had a soil bacterium://Proteus// 0X19. This mirrored another disease: typhus. The nazis believed that these people had a typhus epidemic. They got scared and decided not to do anything with the village and they satyed away. This is an example of good bacteria or a way that shows how bacteria good be very helpful. But what symptons did the 0X19 have?or was it not harmful? Im guessing it wasnt because the article is MICROBE SAVES VILLAGE FROM NAZIS and it prob didnt harm them. MICROBES MARRONED ON MOON-AND STILL SURVIVED!: scientists went a bacteria to the moon when theyh launched the Surveyor 3 probe and camera. 3 years later the camera came back to earth and there was still living bacteria of the same kind that they first sent on it. It was interesting to know the level of extreme conditions some organisms can live and survive in. It seems so impossible that i kinda agree with some beliefs that the camera could have been contaminated as it came back to earth. Maybe in the future scientists can figure out a way to get this certain DNA that these bacteria have into the human DNA so that we will be able to survive and live in these extreme conditions and we can freely be in outer space : ) HOW A MICROBE HELPED CREATE ISREAL: *dont be fooled by the title* this article really didnt connect and it confused me on how it could have helped to create Isreal. This was basically just about how a college student, Chaim Weizmann, discovered a more effiecient way of making acetone so that the British could make some bombs and weapons for the War (I) and how somehow Isreal was created and he became the first president?? idk i didnt understand or enjoy this article...can we go over it in class?? BACTERIAL GIANTS: this just taled about the discovery big bacgteria and how scientists found a really big one in a fishs organ but it doesnt sound big maybe its because its single celled. BACTERIAL DWARFS: this artile was about small bacteria and how many are found in Australia. these things are nanometers omg thats tiny its crazy how things can be that tinny and can do so much. THE MAJORITY OF THESE ARTICLES WERE INTERESTING THANKS MS WOLFE THIS WAS A FUN ASSIGNMENT