Ask A Scientist Answered!

I take back what I said in my previous post. Ask a scientist answered my questions! So with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside I gladly post their answer to my question.

Ana, thank you for submitting the following question to the
Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Ask a Scientist website:


How does the cell membrane differentiate between possible harmful agents to other agents that are allowed to pass the cell wall? Could this information be used to end viral infections in the future?

Here is a response provided by one of our volunteer scientists:


The cell cannot detect noxious substances that readily cross the cell membrane, that is why ethanol is a good antibacterial agent. Evolution has been at play for many millennium and cells are able to block chemicals that may be toxic and that are frequently found in the environment are the rule. The evidence suggests that viruses have been in existence for as long as cells have so they have co-evolved. The successful viruses are ones that can reproduce and spread without killing the host cell. The common cold is a great example. The newer viruses can be high risk to the host - like SARS, Ebola, and new influenza strains. Historically, Ebola may kill more than 90% of people it infects, wiping out whole villages. The virus too is wiped out since there are no more hosts left to infect.

It is unlikely we can manipulate the complicated cell membrane to act as an anti-viral. But we can do other things to protect ourselves, like using good hand washing technique before we eat or prepare food, and after using the bathroom or handling animals.


We welcome feedback from you about this answer to your question and
appreciate your interest in Ask a Scientist.


Ask a Scientist Coordinator



Disclaimer:

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Ask a Scientist website provides a forum for teachers, students, and others to discuss biomedical topics with scientists. Participating scientists answer questions to the best of their knowledge. The information they provide is intended for educational purposes only. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute assumes no responsibility for the scientific accuracy of Ask a Scientist responses or for the content of references and Web links that may be provided in responses. Views expressed in Ask a Scientist responses are not necessarily those of HHMI.

Ask A Scientist

Last week we were assigned the task of going to the ask a scientist website and we were to post a question. Well, I dutifully asked, and I did not get an answer. Which is fine, because, as Dr. Lyman, our instructor had warned, we might not get a response from said scientist. Unfortunately for me, I still had to find the answer to my question.

I mean not to speak badly of ask a scientist. Maybe the scientist was busy last week. I was not the only one posting questions. There are many people in the class, and I am assuming that I am not the only one who was assigned this assignment. If I am, I will be very upset. Or maybe the scientist is off on vacation. After all, it is summer, and unlike yours truly who is tirelessly working on course work, the scientist is done with hers (I know, "or his", I have to support the girls in male dominated fields, you know!).

As I stated before, I was on my own to answer my question. Unfortunately, I had forgotten my question. Gasp! I know, but hey, it's summer and I live in the desert. It's hot over here. My brain cells are burning up, faster than you can say "ask a scientist".

Luckily I found my question. Thank goodness for saving my work on my flash drive! How do cells differentiate between what can pass through the cell wall and what stays out? How is this helping with treatment of diseases? So I proceeded to ask Google. Good old Google has never disappointed. Google would answer my question!

Google had no idea.

I did not find the answer to my questions. I did, however, find some really nice websites on cell walls. I have attached the links for your perusal.

New World Encyclopedia
Cell Wall

Biology 4 Kids
Cell Wall

Presentation Tools

I looked through various sites that helped with presentations. These are the three that I though would most work for our presentation later in the course.

PreZentit works very similarly to PowerPoint. It isn’t as fancy as PowePoint. For example I could not add sounds to the slides. The transitions were cute. One thing I do love about PreZentit that I can add my own background image from my photo library. Overall I think PreZentit is great for those who are a little scared of too many bells and whistles in their presentations.

http://prezentit.com/

Animoto is the coolest thing ever! It enables you to upload music onto your presentation. It also enables you to upload photos and videos. The backgrounds work similarly to what you see in professional videos and commercials. If you have ever created a podcast using a Mac, then this is very similar, except maybe a little bit easier to use. It guides you through it. Animoto is not free, unfortunately. It costs five dollars per month. However, if you are really into the whole fancy presentation thing that will truly capture your students’ attention, this one is it. I am considering using this one for my presentation. I love it!

http://animoto.com/

Another site that I really liked, especially because it is interactive, was VoiceThread. This presentation allows others to comment through audio or text. It becomes extremely interactive. It is not the most user friendly presentation site, however, it is very interactive. Others can even doodle on the actual presentation. This is a great tool for those of us who have websites for our classrooms and would like to extend the learning home. Although I am wondering how good this will be for the project in our class, I am thinking of using it in my own classroom.

http://voicethread.com/