Introduction to Science

     Hi. . . everyone. I'm Alexis and this is my blog, which will detail my last sixty days of high school. (Hooray!) I will be spending these days at ASU, researching the diversification of Panamanian anoles. Sounds scientific, huh? Actually, if you think about Darwin's finches and how they all started as a single species, but slowly diversified in their specific niches, you'll find that the same thing happened to anoles (a type of lizard) in Panama. And because the anoles genes are already fully sequenced, a collaboration of labs in Arizona is currently attempting to determine how these genes have changed with this diversification. 

Okay, so I stole the comic idea from Savannah,
but you have to admit, it works. 

     You may be asking yourself why this matters, and the answer to that — information. Because genes and their functions are still unknown up to this point, many scientists are gathering information about genes in general, regardless of species, to determine what exactly the millions of nucleotide sequences are doing in the body — whether lizard or human. Lizards are particularly interesting because they have the ability to regenerate their limbs. The premise is: if the genes responsible for this can be located, we could replicate them in humans.


     I, unfortunately, do not have time to accomplish what I would like to. So within the scope of my project, I will be dissecting several different species of anoles as well as iguanas, and comparing the anatomy of their limbs to come up with some kind of relationship between their form and function. For more detail, you can read my proposal (over there -->) by clicking on the link labeled "Original Proposal." My project will, of course, culminate in a fabulous research presentation that will coincide with my last week of high school. Whoo hoo! So if you have an interest in lizard limbs, or are just looking for something to do, I would invite you to follow me on my journey of epic lizard discovery. 




Alexis :)