Do Now 1 How many singlecelled organisms does

Do Now 1. How many single-celled organisms does it take to cross the road? (Hint!!!) Take a moment to draw a pyramid with one single celled organism at the top, then two, then four….

Do Now Answer 1. How many single-celled organisms does it take to cross the road? Answer: At least one to start. Despite having no brains or feet, one amoeba can become two, the two can divide and become four and so-forth.

Agenda • • Diagramming an amoeba cell No Brains, No Feet, No Problem! Slime mold and academics, No way! Writing

Diagramming an amoeba

What is an Amoeba? • Amoeba: Unicellular animal with pseudopods that lives in fresh or saltwater • Psuedopod: False feet which extend from the amoeba. Used for movement

Types of amoebas • There are many kinds of amoebas (or amoebae), and they thrive in places where their food sources are abundant. • Often that means where there is vegetation, fungi, and yeast. • Slime mold, of which there are over 900 different species, will survive as a unicellular organism when food is plentiful, but will adapt and grow into a mass of amoebas when starving.

Slime Molds: No Brains, No Feet, No Problem http: //www. pbs. org/newshour/rundown/2012/04/thesublime-slime-mold. html

Slime Videos • Time lapse clips, so they don’t really travel that fast • However, this does represent how the slime mold moves in an organized way towards a goal. • Mold is very efficient in search for food.

What does this mean for science?

• Write a paragraph in class as if you were in one of the following careers: • Network engineer, trying to figure out how to get better coverage from cell phone towers in remote parts of North America • An oncologist, seeking new healthy cells on which to experiment with potential cures for cancer, in a way that does not harm people or animals. • A mathematician, seeking a formula or algorithm, replicating information repeatedly to problem-solve was to reach the broadest audiences. (Hint: Research the phrase, “Sum Ergo Computo, ” meaning, “I am, therefore I compute. ”) • An environmentalist hoping to study manage the impact different kinds of slime may have on a habitats of endangered animals, or animals that need to adapt to find new sources of food. • A geographer, tracking the migration patterns of wildlife based on food sources, using slime mold as a model.