Crash Course Biology - 7 Things I Learned

Crash Course Biology - 7 Things I LearnedThis is the eighth post in a series on how to crash course Biology. I've learned a lot in the last few weeks and I want to share some of those things with you. Let's begin...I went to an assembly recently at the local high school. It was about evolution, and I was asked to write an essay in support of it. I was a little uncomfortable because I've always been pretty anti-evolution but after reading this stuff on evolution I decided to go with the guys who were leaning towards it. The one that made a fairly strong argument was a scientist named Dr. Brian Enos.If you haven't heard of him, he's a professor at the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville. In addition to his degree in microbiology and his work in genetics, he also does a lot of research on different organisms, including bacteria. For those of you who are not familiar with microbiology, it's basically all of the research that happens in the world of the living organisms. It's a really c ool subject and definitely worth investigating.The other great notes that I took from the lecture were the pictures of various things in the lecture. I'm sure everyone has seen insects, some of which were quite amazing. Of course, it wasn't anything like looking at a flower for example. But the human eye can't focus on all those beautiful things without some sort of distortion.While looking at those beautiful things, I also thought of something that's worth mentioning. Every organism, no matter how ugly, should be viewed as a baby. When it was just a tiny speck of dirt, it was a petri dish for experimentation, but now that it's been given the ability to grow, it's the whole organism.This brings up an interesting point. In the article, 'How to Crash Course Biology', there was mention of how humans evolved into what they are today. And while it's true that some people claim that Darwin's theory is complete rubbish, I don't know if it should be accepted as fact or not.This concept is a lot easier to understand when you see it from the inside out rather than the outside in. That's how I think of it, anyway, so maybe you'd like to consider it too.

Senate Approves Teacher Bill

Senate Approves Teacher Bill The U.S. Senate recently passed a $10 billion bill to preserve teachers jobs throughout the nation, according to an article in District Administration. The bill will also send $16 billion for Medicaid purposes. Naturally, the $10 billion will not eliminate all teacher layoffs. However, it is expected to save 140,000 American teachers jobs. This bill is being passed in response to consistent reports that tens of thousands of teachers lost their jobs in April. Also, at that time, more layoffs were expected. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said she would call House members back from their August recess for the House vote, which is scheduled for Tuesday, August 10th. The House is expected to approve the bill, which would send it to President Barack Obama for consideration. The $10 billion bill will be sent to schools across the nation that are struggling financially, in hopes of alleviating further teacher layoffs. Republicans tried to counter this bill with a filibuster. The bill then needed a supermajority of at least 60 votes in the Senate to pass. The bill passed 61-39. The foundations for this bill have been debated in Congress for several weeks now. The bill received the necessary additional push when two Republicans from Maine, Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins contrasted their party. The $10B for education will be channeled through the states to local education agencies. How much money a school will receive will be based either on a state's formula for distributing state aid or the Title I formula. Congress is hoping this bill will enhance the learning environment in many public schools. This bill will preserve many teachers jobs, creating smaller classrooms and more effective, lower student-to-teacher-ratios. This will give students more one-on-one time with teachers, and teachers will be able to better respond to individual students needs.