Monday, August 8, 2011

Summer Biology

You may have heard the shout of rejoicing when I finished my biology final on Thursday evening. In many ways I simply endured these condensed summer courses. It wasn't that biology was that difficult or time consuming. It was just jammed into a short amount of time so that it couldn't really be enjoyed.

Some people seem disappointed when I tell them that we didn't do any dissecting in lab. That makes sense because we spent the semester talking primarily about things we can't see without a microscope. (I have a better chance of doing some dissecting in Anatomy lab this fall.)  Last semester I learned all about atoms in Chemistry. This semester we moved on to the cell which is significantly bigger than an atom but is measured in nanometers and can't be seen with the naked eye. As we talked about all that takes place in a cell so it can function properly, keep us alive and reproduce I couldn't help but be amazed at the wisdom of our Creator. 

We spent several chapters talking about genetics and how traits are passed on from one generation to another and why sometimes a trait skips generations. At the same time there is great variation between siblings. Because of the law of independant assortment one man's sperm has 8.4 million different genetic combinations. Combine that with the same number of possibilities from his wife and their children will be one of 70 trillion possible genetic combinations. No wonder each of one of us is completely unique! That adds a new perspective on Psalm 139:15.
My frame was not hidden from you, 
when I was being made in secret, 
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Saturday a friend and I celebrated the end of summer classes (she made it through Shakespeare) by getting out of the city and going to Taylors Falls on the St Croix River. (No one here seems to understand my French pronunciation of that river.) We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the bluffs overlooking the river and did some hiking managing to get back to the car about 5 minutes before it started pouring so hard we had to pull off the road.

No comments:

Post a Comment