Sunflower Seed

                                                              What Could Have Been
                                       

"Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence (flowering head). The sunflower is named after its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image are often used to depict the sun. It has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads of flowers. The heads consist of many individual flowers which mature into seeds, often in the hundreds, on a receptacle base. From the Americas, sunflower seeds were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where, along with sunflower oil, they became a widespread cooking ingredient. Leaves of the sunflower can be used as cattle feed, while the stems contain a fiber which may be used in paper production."

Initially I had great hopes for the plant and watered it daily or as needed. The plant began to sprout and made it to about 4 inches long. Then thanksgiving break happened and I left Sunny untended and it soon passed away. I opened my window and spread its remains into the environment.

This is the simulated progression of my plant if I had been a better parent.

1

2

3.

4.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower

Important Figure From Macon Cemetery

                                                      Rodney Maxwell Davis

Davis was born on April 7, 1942, in Macon, Georgia to Gordon N. Davis and Ruth A. Davis. He attended elementary school and high school there and graduated from Peter G. Appling High School, May 29, 1961.Shortly after graduation, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in his hometown, August 31, 1961; then reported for recruit training with the First Recruit Training Battalion Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. Upon completion of recruit training in December 1961, he was transferred to the Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and underwent Individual Combat Training with the Second Battalion, First Infantry Training Regiment, graduating the following February. Ordered to the Republic of Vietnam in August 1967, he was assigned duty as a Platoon Guide with Company B, First Battalion, Fifth Marines, First Marine Division. On September 6, 1967, he was operating with his unit in the Quang Nam Province on a search and clear mission during Operation Swift, when they were attacked by a large North Vietnamese force. Elements of the platoon were pinned down in a trench line by mortars, heavy automatic and small arms fire. He went from man to man encouraging them on and also returning fire at the same time. An enemy hand grenade fell in the trenches his men were fighting from and without hesitation he threw himself upon the grenade. He saved his fellow Marines in this selfless act and thus earned the nation's highest military decoration: the Medal of Honor.

Rodney Davis currently has a U.S. naval ship with his name on it. The USS Rodney M. Davis



Davis now has a monument that is Dedicated to his service and his title as only Macon born resident to be awarded the medal of honor.


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney_M._Davis
http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/ffg60/Pages/default.aspx#.UMeU6YNWyuI
http://www.macon.com/2012/11/06/2239888/rodney-davis-memorial-to-be-unveiled.html
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/04/16/vietnam-veteran-marine-medal-of-honor-recipient-needs-your-help-and-your-support-can-you-give/davis-memorial/

                                 Mitochondrial Eve

                                                

In the field of human genetics, Mitochondrial Eve refers to the most common recent ancestor (MRCA) of modern humans. In other words, she was the most recent woman from whom all living humans today descend, on their mother's side, and through the mothers of those mothers and so on, back until all lines converge on one person. Because all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is generally passed from mother to offspring without recombination, all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in every living person is directly descended from hers by definition.

                                                                                   Tribes of Man

              

The theory is that all humans originated from north eastern Africa and from there spread across the world. Along the way each of the different groups began to develop traits, or mutations in their DNA. These mutations in their DNA was due in part to environmental changes Peoples that moved to colder climates needed less energy to be devoted to melanin production, and instead used it to build up fats in the body.

                                                         Human Genome Project

Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health. During the early years of the HGP, the Welcome Trust (U.K.) became a major partner; additional contributions came from Japan, France, Germany, China, and others. See our history page for more information.

Project goals were to

identify all the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA,

determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA,

store this information in databases,

improve tools for data analysis,

transfer related technologies to the private sector, and

address the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI) that may arise from the project.

Though the HGP is finished, analyses of the data will continue for many years. Follow this ongoing research on our Milestones page. An important feature of the HGP project was the federal government's long-standing dedication to the transfer of technology to the private sector. By licensing technologies to private companies and awarding grants for innovative research, the project catalyzed the multibillion-dollar U.S. biotechnology industry and fostered the development of new medical applications.

                                                        Individuals with Unique attributes.

Sources

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_Eve

http://www.raceandhistory.com/cgi-bin/forum/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/662

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml

Ocmulgee National Monument Blog

History of the Ocmulgee:

The Ocmulgee River is a tributary of the Atamaha River which runs to the coast of Georgia and then into the Ocean. The region was once home to the Mississippian culture of Native Americans that was famous for building large mounds. This is an artist's rendition of  of what the Macon area looked like at the peak of the Indian civilization there. 

 

 Much of the Native American society was discovered from remnants of pottery and mounds in a series of excavations that occurred in the 1930's under to Roosevelt administration. The archeologists found there to be evidence of human habitation for the past 17,000 years. Historians also believe that Spanish Explorer Hernando de Soto traveled through the region and made contact with the Indians in the region in the mid 1500's.

Now the area has become preserved for future generation and is a popular tourist attraction in the region

Sources:http://www.perdidobaytribe.org/education/ancient-treasures

http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2835

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocmulgee_River

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocmulgee_National_Monument

Mineral and Rock Blog

Minerals
Halite:
 Description: http://www.thecrystalcache.com/product-cards/halite-description

Quartz:
 Description: http://www.thecrystalcache.com/product-cards/quartz-description

Feldspar:
 Description: http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photofelds.html

Rocks
                                            3 Types of Rocks
1. Sedimentary: http://geology.com/rocks/sedimentary-rocks.shtml

2. Igneous: http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/igrockindex/

3. Metamorphic: http://geology.about.com/od/rocks/ig/metrockindex/

Granite: http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photogranite.html

Sandstone:
 Description: http://www.thecrystalcache.com/product-cards/sandstone-description

Limestone:
 Description: http://geology.com/rocks/limestone.shtml

World Biome Chart:

One of the most common types of Soils in Georgia is Ultisols

Post 3 Plant Lab

Trees
1. Pecan Tree (Carya illinoensis)
     Description: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/carya/illinoesis.htm



2. Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
     Description: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/acer/rubrum.htm


3. Willow Oak   (Quercus oak)
     Description: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/quercus/phellos.htm

Bushes
1. Itea  (Itea virginica L).
     Description: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itea_(plant)



2. Lorapetalum (Loropetalum c. rubrum)
     Description:http://www.signaturelandscapes.com/plants/plant_images/shrubs_large/loropetalum.htm


3. Vinca Vine (Vinca major)
     Desctiption: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1144/#b



Flowers:
1. Day Lily (Hemerocallis)
   Description: http://www.bloomindesigns.com/category/daylily/

2. Snap Dragon (Antirrhinum majus)

     Desctiption:http://www.bhg.com/gardening/plant-dictionary/annual/snapdragon/

3. Marigold (Calendula officinalis)
    Description: http://www.pyroenergen.com/articles/marigolds-medicinal.htm

Env Blog 2. River Lab post

Ocmulgee River Lab

Google Map Image with Captions

Flow Rate: Flow rate= Distance / Time
 For example, If the distance was 100ft and the time it took the bottle to float the distance was 1 min, then the flow rate would be 100ft/min.


Elevation of River bottom:
 Elevation was found by using two poles with 6 inch distance marks on each pole. Then a string was attached to the poles. To find the distance the poles were place away from each other at the length of the string. Then the string was adjusted to find the elevation inclines or declines along the river bottom.

Clam collection data:
  In order to get clams, we shoveled river bottom into the sequentially smaller nets. The bigger objects, like the clams were filtered out and we were able to observe them.