Lorraine Garofalo
Discrepant Events – SBI3U
Diversity of Living Things
How does a wasp survive in the caterpillar?
Some parasitic wasps lay eggs in caterpillars, where they mature into adult wasps. The wasp
eggs contain a virus, encoded in the wasp genome, which prevents the caterpillar from rejecting
the eggs.
http://www.virology.ws/2009/10/19/ten-cool-facts-about-viruses/
Evolution
A fundamental concept of the theory of evolution is that of gradual change from a "primitive,"
less complex organism into a highly structured organism over an imagined period of millions of
years. How valid is this idea? Can we really verify the evidence supporting this idea? There are
many animals existing today that totally defy evolution by their very existence. For example:
How does the Duckbill Platypus defy evolution?
The explorer who first saw a hide of the duckbill platypus thought that it was composed of the
hides of several different animals sewn together as a joke. Later, when a preserved specimen was
brought to him for dissection, he finally declared it outrageous, but genuine!
The more you study the duckbill platypus, the more problems you find for evolutionists. Here is
a list of some of its features: 1
 It is a furbearing mammal.
 It lays eggs, yet suckles its young.
 It has a ducklike bill, which has built within it a heat sensitive worm finding radar.
 Its tail is flat like a beaver's, yet furry.
 It has webbed feet in front, clawed feet in the rear.
 The reproductive systems are uniquely different from the rest of the animal world, but mostly
mammalian in nature.
 The only other known monotreme, or egg-laying mammal is echidna or spiny anteater. Except
for the fact that it lays eggs, it is about as different as you can get from the platypus.
http://www.rae.org/revev5.html
Genetic Processes
Are these people related?
They are twins! (How can they look so different?)
Fraternal twins make up approximately 75% of the twin population and can be boy/boy, girl/girl,
or boy/girl sets. Fraternal, or "dizygotic", twins happen when Mom releases two eggs (either at
the same or different times during her cycle), and different sperm fertilize each egg. Fraternal
twins share up to 50% of their genes, and are no more alike or different than any two siblings
would be. The similarity between fraternal twins can be close to identical - there are many
fraternal twins that look identical - even more identical than some identical twins!
Animals: Structure and Function
How long is the SMALL intestine?
Students may assume that the small intestines are small in length, given the name. Students will be
surprised to learn that it is about 6 to 7 meters (20 to 23 feet) when stretched out! The small intestine is
one of the longest organs of the digestive system. I am sure you must be wondering why is it called a
small intestine, when it is actually the longest organ. The reason is the anatomy of the small intestine,
that is, smaller in diameter than the large intestine. Now, let us answer the question how long is the
small intestine.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-long-is-the-small-intestine.html