We spent the afternoon at the Gault Nature Reserve at Mont-Saint-Hilaire in search for mutated salamanders. Brandon gave us a wonderful tour and insightful lessons about the life forms emerging from the deep freeze of winter.
Photo: Kendra Besanger
Monthly Archive for March, 2010
For Manuel de Landa, species can be seen as the historical outcome of a sorting process. That sorting process is the result of accumulation of genetic materials under the influence of selection pressures, and a process of consolidation of the previous stage, through reproductive isolation.
My reflection is an “essai” in the style of Montaigne – a digression on what is serious and philosophical articulated through the medium of personal response.
Embryo (image taken from www.wellsphere.com)
Excerpt from image under Creative Commons Attribution license. Photographer: juvetson (http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson). Accessed 9 March 10.
What is life? According to Lynn Margulis and Dorian Sagan, it is bacteria (111), the first life on the planet, the developers of the metabolic processes that all life depends on to this day. Life is bacterial, or complex forms that evolved from it.
We were in the lab this week learning the protocol for bacterial transformation. Marta de Menezes was on hand to participate and coach students through the process. Notes from the events will be posted soon. For now, here are some photos. (Yes, it was fun)
Sok leads the lab and explains aspetic technique