PART 1

Click on Week 2 Discussion, title above, then click Create Thread in the upper left, to post your initial response.

The Discussions are not simply statements of opinion. They are intended to allow you to expand upon and apply the principles discussed in your textbook, the lectures, and/or other research you conduct. Each week a question will be posed for your consideration. Before answering, you should review the chapters covered during this week and the lectures.

It is strongly encouraged that your initial post be posted by 11:59 PM ET on Thursday. It should be at least 250 words. This MUST be in your own words. Do NOT copy and paste from the Internet. You MAY use quotes from a source, but those quotes will NOT count towards your 250 word count requirement. Please do not plagiarize. If you use a quote, you MUST put quotation marks around it AND you MUST cite the source at the end of your post. It is NOT simply enough to put a source at the end. You should also include at least one reference in your post cited per APA. Do NOT use Wikipedia or Yahoo! Answers as a source.

You should then make at least two additional posts to other students. These posts should be at least 100 words and be substantive in nature. While pleasantries such as “I agree” or “great job” are nice, they will not count as one of your required posts. Your posts should be on at least 3 separate days with all being completed by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.

Organisms can be beneficial or harmful to humans. For this assignment, you will research the Internet and choose an organism from the Animal Kingdom that is beneficial or harmful to humans. You may NOT choose the same organism that someone else has already chosen.  Therefore, it is to your advantage to choose your topic early in the week.  In your initial post, describe the organism that you chose and why or how they are beneficial or harmful to humans.

Remember that participation is required on a minimum of three days through 11:59 PM ET Sunday.  The initial response strongly encouraged to be posted by 11:59 PM ET Thursday; two other posts due on separate days and on a different day than the initial post and by 11:59 PM ET Sunday.

PART 2

Week 2 Assignment: Diversity of Plants Blog

Part 1: Initial Blog Post on Diversity of Plants

There are more than 300,000 species of plants that have been identified thus far in the world today; many new species are being discovered each year. In addition to providing most of the oxygen for land animals, plants do many other things for us. For Week 2, after you have completed the readings (Chapters 18-21) you will research the Internet and use reliable and credible scientific websites to investigate a specific plant species and choose a way (other than providing oxygen) that plants are useful to humans. 

*[NOTE: Hot topic plants like Marijuana and Opium are off limits and cannot be discussed.]

Please select a specific plant species which has not been blogged about by another student. This will diversify our Week 2 Blog with information on different species of plants. Controversial topic plants like Marijuana and Poppy (source of Opium) are off limits and cannot be discussed in the Week 2 Diversity of Plants Blog.
 

*[NOTE: Duplicate topic initial blog posts will have a 10 point deduction for not discussing a specific plant species that has not been discussed].

*[NOTE: Neither open resources nor open blogs can be used as sources of information; see ‘Researching Information’ within the class for more information on appropriate credible/reliable sources of information].

This is not an opinion assignment; therefore information presented about the Diversity of Plants must be supported by reliable academic/scientific resources (facts supported by research). [Not citing a specific reliable academic/scientific resource is an automatic 10 point deduction].

Writing a full paragraph (a 150-words minimum) for your initial blog post discussing a specific species of plant and the benefits of this plant species. Be sure to describe what type of plant it is. Where is it found? How does it impact humans or other species? What role does it play in the ecosystem, etc.? Also required within the initial blog post is sharing the website (specific URL) and what you have learned from this resource and/or have found particularly helpful when reviewing the website. Do not copy and paste directly from the website.

Reply:

PART 1

RESPOND TO Madeleine Arriaga Rivera

Week 2 Discussion

Chicken are of great benefit to humans. They are a source of food consumed by humans. Chicken can be kept as pets, for breeding, egg laying and a food product. Chicken as food has great nutritional value. It is a great source of protein and a better food alternative to red meat. Additionally, it helps the economy. Americans consume more chicken than any other meat product. According to USDA, the average consumption of eggs is 234 to 244 eggs per person. The large consumption of chicken and eggs means individuals and organizations rely on chicken for economic reasons.

They are great food recyclers. They will often eat any human waste, meaning less will go into the landfill. Also, their waste makes nutrient-dense fertilizer for gardens, but it is high in nitrogen and can burn the plants if applied too much. Not only will they help with your garden, but they are also a natural insect control. They will eat all kinds of bugs such as spiders grasshoppers, mosquitos, and roaches, among others.

Chickens can be great companions to have as pets, specially for children. It can help kids learn mor about responsibility and how to care for an animal. Kids learn to enjoy caring for another being, and it is a great way to keep them off electronic, which is an important thing today. Chickens have great personalities, even as great as dogs and cats. Many chicken keepers love their flock. They can form a real bond with their caretakers, so much so that they rush to greet them in the morning and follow them around. The benefits are endless.

Reference

The environmental benefits of Backyard Chickens. Chicago. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2022, from https://www.chicagobotanic.org/blog/urban_agriculture/environmental_benefits_backyard_chickens

RESPOND TO Samantha McAdams

Week 2 Discussion – Pigs

Week 2 Discussion –

Organisms can be beneficial or harmful to humans. For this assignment, you will research the Internet and choose an organism from the Animal Kingdom that is beneficial or harmful to humans. You may NOT choose the same organism that someone else has already chosen. Therefore, it is to your advantage to choose your topic early in the week. In your initial post, describe the organism that you chose and why or how they are beneficial or harmful to humans.

Pigs

While the meat of pigs is a main protein eaten by people all over the world, pigs, or swine, are more than a cattle animal that has been breed for thousands of years for food. Pigs are a remarkable animal that have incredible benefits to mankind. Pigs belong to the Kingdom “Animalia”, the Phylum “Chordata”, Class “Mammalia”, the Order “Artiodactyla” (meaning cloven-hoofed, even-toed ungulates), the Family “Suidae”, and the Genus “Sus” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2022). The Species “Sus scrota Linnaeus” refers specifically to the pig and wild boar, both feral and domesticated, and their sixteen subspecies. Wild pigs have a large round disk of cartilage connected to extra muscles at the end of their snout, giving it extra strength and flexibility that allow them to root in the ground (One Kind Planet, 2016). This rooting plays a critical role in creating and maintaining biodiversity and in the management of ecosystems. Through rooting the soil is disturbed, thus create areas for new plants to colonize. Pigs are extremely intelligent animals, with exceptional memories (World Society for the Protection of Animals, 2020). They are ranked as the fifth most intelligent animal in the world, with the intelligence of at least a three-year-old toddler, making them more intelligent and trainable than any breed of dog. Pigs learn their names in just two weeks and are capable of playing video games better than some primate species. Swine are crucial to understanding the human condition, making valuable contributions to nearly every field of human medicine (National Swine Resource and Research Center, 2022). They are the optimal species for studying a significant number of human diseases. Their anatomy makes them ideal for biomedical research, specifically the use of pig organs for xenotransplantation. The National Swine Resource and Research Center (NSRRC) was established in 2003 as a central resource for information, training and creation of genetically modified swine to further the advancement of medicine. They also include all key research resources about pigs in the course of scientific research and store the citation on their website, as well as a list of participating peer-reviewed journals. Pigs have gained acceptance, previously, in the medical community for surgical training of medical students, studies in organ transportation and the development of medical devices (Walters & Prather, 2013). More recently, they’ve gained the attention of scientist and researchers in the biomedical community due to their anatomy and physiology being more similar and their genome three times closer, than the mouse. The failure of multiple rodent models to reproduce the physiology of a specific disease, is a severe hindrance to uncured diseases and disease research. Cystic fibrosis is one significant example.

References

National Swine Resource and Research Center. (2022). National Swine Resource and Research Center at the University of Missouri: https://nsrrc.missouri.edu/

One Kind Planet. (2016). Amazing Facts About the Pig. https://onekindplanet.org/animal/pig/

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (2022). Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). doi:https://doi.org/10.5066/F7KH0KBK

Walters, E., & Prather, R. (2013, May-June). Advancing Swine Models for Human Health and Diseases. Missouri Medicine, 110(3), 212-215.

World Society for the Protection of Animals. (2020). 10 Facts About Pigs. World Animal Protection: https://www.worldanimalprotection.us/blogs/10-fact…

PART 2

SPIDER PLANTS NEW

RESPOND TO Trisha Floyd

This week I chose the Spider Plant to discuss. Spider plants are plants that some people have in their homes. Spider plants of course are pretty to look at and great for decoration, but they also have other uses that benefit humans and their homes. I like to consider Spider Plants therapeutic plants. When I was growing up my mama had one in almost every room in our home. I could not ever figure out why she did this. She would always say that they helped my brother because he had asthma. The Spider Plant was able to help his breathing because they help clean the air of irritants, She said that they worked like a purifier. Not only do Spider plants help clear the air, but they also have other purposes. Spider plants increase humidity in rooms that they are in as well. Due to them increases humidity they also help keep rooms cool on a hot summer day. This is pretty cool. Did you know that Spider plants are full of nutrients, therefore, they are edible. You can use them in salads or even a prepared side dish (Worley 2021). Last but definitely not least, Spider Plants absorb ozone. Ozone is a colorless gas that can be dangerous to humans if inhaled in a big enough quantity. Thankfully the Spider Plant is able to absorb the ozone and break it down so that it is no longer harmful to humans.

References

Worley, Alex. K. (June 14, 2021). 7 Spider Plant Benefits-What are they Good For? https://gardenine.com/spider-plant-benefits/#:~:text=Spider%20plants%20are%20therapeutic%20because,toxins%20including%20formaldehyde%20and%20xylene.