Citizen Science!

Citizen science is extremely important to biologists to do their work well! This year in AP Bio, we did a variety of citizen science work. Check out my video about citizen science! https://youtu.be/YsoRmPWFnDo

The Mesmerizing Story of Henrietta Lacks

This semester in AP Biology, we read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This book is about the woman and the family behind the famous HeLa cells that were the first human cells that could survive in a culture. HeLa cells have been used in research that led to amazing discoveries such as the …

AP Exam Reflection

Yesterday, we took the long anticipated AP Biology exam! This three hour test assessed all of the information and skills that we learned in biology class this year, which is a LOT of information! Despite the stress and panic that is commonly associated with this test, that shouldn't be the case. This test is a …

Field Trip to the Cadaver Lab

This past Thursday, our AP Bio class took a short field trip to the College of San Mateo to visit their cadaver lab! At the lab, we were split into smaller groups, and each group stayed at a station to learn various things. The first station had a real human brain. We learned about the …

Save the Bay!

Earlier this week, we went on a field trip to Byxbee Park in Palo Alto, CA. The park is a wetland with a huge range of biodiversity, including several endemic and endangered species. Save the Bay is an organization based in Oakland that is focused on restoring the sections of the bay area that were harmed …

Botany of Desire Reflection

Over spring break, I watched the movie Botany of Desire, which is a documentary based on the book by Michael Pollan. This documentary talks about humans' relationships to four plants: apples, tulips, cannabis, and potatoes. Pollan focuses on the evolutionary histories of the plants that were impacted by humans' actions. Apple trees were grafted to grow …

LiMPETS Exploration

Yesterday, our AP Bio class went on a field trip to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in Moss Beach, California. We explored the tide pools and recorded data about the numbers of species and organisms of each species. I learned about the different tidal zones and the conditions that species living there have to adapt to …

Kingdom Protista Survey

This past week in AP Biology class, we spent time researching and studying organisms in the Protista kingdom. Kingdom Protista is the kingdom in which scientists classify organisms that don't fit in any other kingdom. Protists often have animal or plant-like characteristics. We researched the different types of seaweed and looked at protozoans underneath our microscopes. …

Virus Infographic: Non-Polio Enterovirus

This past week in AP Biology, we have been studying viruses! Each student picked a virus to research and create an infographic to present the information in an engaging way. I created my infographic on the non-polio enterovirus, which is commonly known to cause viral meningitis. Click here for the full size of the infographic! …

Lac Operon Demonstration

These past few weeks in class, we have been learning about gene expression and how molecules work together to ensure that each cell expresses only the right genes. In bacteria, DNA contains a group of molecules called the operon that works to express genes only when necessary so that the cell can conserve energy. The …