BioIT S1 08-09: Assignment for 30 July 2008

The following groups will demonstrate the following projects on Aug 6, 2008.

All of them involve research, checking out Internet sites and biology books.

They also involve some trial and error, practice, and planning. You will be making mistakes. I therefore suggest you start immediately.

I am available the whole week to provide assistance.

I. Group 6
4 Gatorade bottles containing the following:
1. Fruitflies, all female.
2. Fruitflies, all male.
3. Fruitfly larvae only
4. Fruitfly pupae only

Discuss how you went about your project.
Describe the life cycle and anatomy of the fruitfly.
Briefly present a simple research article on fruitflies that demonstrates their usefulness to man.
Note: Your main problem is that it takes up to 10 days to get larvae and pupae; so start immediately.

II. Group 2
Construct an ant farm.
Describe how you went about your project.
Describe the life cycle, anatomy, and social structure and behavior of ants.
Briefly present a simple research article on ants that demonstrates their usefulness to man.
Note: the farm itself is easy to construct. The trick is finding the ants.

III. Group 3
Construct a Warburg apparatus and demonstrate that it works for insects.
Describe how you went about your project, from construction to calculation.
Briefly present a simple research article that used a Warburg apparatus or something similar.
Note: Any insect will do, but larger ones give better readings. The difficult part is the construction of the apparatus itself. Though most components are simple materials, the capillary tubes are very fragile, and it is a challenge to seal the connections without breaking them. The apparatus is also very sensitive--even the temperature from your fingers will cause you problems. You'll get the hang of it, though.

IV. Group 1
Determine the wavelengths of light to which Euglena are most phototaxically attracted.
Describe how you went about your project.
Describe Euglena and phototaxis in Euglena.
Briefly present a simple research article that involves Euglena and/or phototaxis.
Note: The challenge here is to construct two mini dark rooms that allows you to split light and expose parts of the culture to only one color of light. The first dark room will use multi-colored cellophane; a second darkroom will use a prism. Differences in results are expected.

V. Group 4
(Warning: Some amoeba are potentially deadly, and their cysts or eggs can remain undetected in the water sample. Thus, the project entails some risk, particulary when isolating pure amoeba. Do not touch any part of your face when working with amoeba. Wear gloves and always wash your hands before and after working.)

Isolate amoeba using agar plates and pond water.
Describe amoeba and their anatomy.
Briefly present a simple research article on amoeba, demonstrating their importance to man.
Note: Although amoeba are very common in the wild, it is not guaranteed that you will be able to isolate them. Knowing where to look and how to collect ups your chances. And since they are transparent, they will not be easy to detect. That's what the agar is for: we will detect them because they eat the agar and will form visible canals.

VI. Group 5
Produce zebrafish embryos, and present a slide show of photographs you took in the course of observing their development.
Describe how you went about the project.
Describe zebrafish, their anatomy and life cycle, and their embryonic development.
Briefly present a simple research article on zebrafish, demonstrating their importance to man.
Note: The big challenge here is how to separate the females from the males. Getting the embryos is easy after that.