Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Scorpionida
Family: Scorpionidae
Genus: Euscorpious
Species: Carpathicus
Habitat;
Euscorpious carpathicus lives above ground, but also occupies caves and intertidal zones.
Predators;
The main predators of scorpions are carnivorous marsupials, rodents, lizards, nocturnal birds, centipedes, and other scorpions.
Prey;
Scorpions prey mostly on arthropods such as beetles, cockroaches, spiders, slaters, centipedes, and millipedes.
Anatomy;
Scorpions have eight legs; each leg has tiny claws. Scorpions have a hard exoskeleton and not an internal skeleton. The stinger at the end of the tail injects a paralyzing poison into the prey. Unlike other arachnids, scorpions have large, pincer-like pedipalps, appendages used to grab and subdue prey. Most scorpions are from 0.5 to 8.5 inches long. They range in color from black to brown to tan to red. Tiny sensory hairs protrude from the exoskelton; they detect touch, temperature changes, and other information. Comb-like sensors on the bottom of the body also give the scorpion information about the environment.
In Pripyat, inside the tomb of the Chernobyl reactor, scientists discovered large amounts of live fungi. What was so amazing about this discovery was the fact that it was highly radioactive in the tomb, and the scientists didn't expect to find anything living in it. The fungi was living off of gamma radiation. These fungi grew even faster when they were exposed to 500 times the normal background radiation level. The fungi use melanin, which, when struck by a gamma ray is chemically altered. This discovery also leads to the question of whether humans get some of their energy from radiation, since we have melanin molecules in our skin cells. It also implies that there could be organisms living in space where ionizing radiation is plentiful.
Dr. Louise Mead from the National Center for Science Education came to Mr.Olson's sixth period class and told us about Evolution and Creationism. Evolution is the change in species over time. Creationism is the belief that God created the world and all living things. Personally, I do not believe in evolution, although it is very interesting. Evidence for evolution is found in biogeography, comparative anatomy, molecular biology, fossil record, and developmental biology. A fact that I found interesting was that humans have 46 chromosomes instead of 48 like monkeys and gorillas because some chromosomes fused together over time. This lecture was very riveting, and I gained a lot of knowledge.
Scientists at the University of Warwick in England have discovered a genetic switch that can cause tadpoles to grow an extra eye. Neuroscientist Nicholas Dale, biologist Elizabeth Jones, and some colleagues made this discovery while they were studying ectoenzyme molecules on the external surface of cells. They injected molecules into frog embryos, which contain eight cells. One of the ectoenzymes produced eye development. When it was added to the cells that would become the head, the tadpole grew three eyes instead of two. Injected into other developing body cells, the ectoenzyme also caused an eye to grow on that body part. This discovery is a major step toward growing eyeballs or eye parts.
