Specialized Blood Cells

        Blood cells are all cells that circulate in the bloodstream and make up blood, and are considered connective tissue because the bloodstream connects the body systems and has a wide range of functions for them (ex: transportation, removal of harmful substances, etc). They range from white blood cells to plasma to, the most commonly known, red blood cells. This post is specifically going to explain the characteristics and functions of the red blood cell. The red blood cell is circular in shape and has concave indents on both sides, so it looks like a pancake with a compressed inner area. The reason it seems red (and gives blood its red color) is due to the protein hemoglobin, which binds to oxygen and allows that oxygen to be transported throughout the body. One specific specialized trait of the red blood cell is that it doesn't contain a nucleus nor a any organelles. This allows the red blood cell to contain a large amount of hemoglobin, which then translates to an increased capability to hold and transfer oxygen. The red blood cell is, simply put, expendable. A single red blood has an average lifespan of 120 days, not including the loss of blood through cuts or other open wounds.

Sweetness Lab

August 25
Day of the Sweetness Lab

We examined the structures of carbohydrates at a molecular level, then hypothesized the possible sweetness "level" for each one, concluding the lab with a taste test.

It seems that monosaccharides are sweetest, with the exception of sucrose (a disaccharide consisting of glucose and fructose monomers is still very sweet)

Sucrose and fructose are common in our everyday life. Sucrose is table sugar and used as a sweetener for any food, while fructose occurs in all fruits and vegetables.

Ex Creds: The tongue tastes sweetness through interaction between the glucose or fructose monosaccharides and the protein TAS1R3 (taste receptor type 1, member 3) inside our mouths. The hydrogen atoms bonded on the ends of the saccharides align on the protein receptor, and this results in a stimulus applied to the cell. This interaction then causes the cell to send a signal through the nervous system and to the brain, which then manifests in a taste of sweetness. Depending on where we placed the sugar on our mouths, the taste of sweetness could be amplified or minimized. There are different regions for the sweetness receptor cells on our tongues, and thus there would be data discrepancy between the members of the group.

There is one source of error possible for this lab, being that the sweetness of each saccharide could be influenced by the taste of the one- or many- that came before it, causing a fluctuation in the recorded sweetness level. We were able to minimize this by going back and tasting the control sweetener (sucrose) before each sample, but there would still be slight effects.