Animal Form and Function: Animal Behavior https://youtu.be/T5ZHDEn6QRA

In this video I go over animal behavior, which is central to how animals interact with other animals and their environment such as through foraging, mating, and migration. Some actions are genetically determined and occur without learning, such as kelp gull (and other seagull) chicks pecking at the red dot on their mother's beak when they want food. Dutch scientist Niko Tinbergen won a Nobel Prize in part for his discovery that this seagull peaking was instinctive from birth and not learned. 

#science #biology #animalbehavior #animals #nature

Animal Form and Function: Immune System https://youtu.be/xEffS5ZV47M

In this video I go over the mainstream theory of the immune system, which is a network of biological processes that detects and responds pathogens entering an organism. Nearly all organisms have some sort of immune system, while jawed vertebrates (including humans) have sophisticated defense mechanisms and the ability to adapt to recognize previously encountered pathogens. The innate immune system is a rapid and broad defense mechanism, which includes phagocytosis to engulf large foreign particles. The adaptive immune system involves specialized white blood cells (killer cells and T / B lymphocytes) which can recognize unique molecules on pathogens (called antigens) via Y-shaped proteins called antibodies. This immunological memory is the basis of vaccination.

#science #biology #ImmuneSystem #animals #vaccine

Animal Form and Function: Development https://youtu.be/uKx4DDLLSEU

In this video I go over a quick overview of animal development, which starts from the formation of the zygote through the fusion of a sperm and egg cell during fertilization. The zygote then rapidly divides and forms a ball of similar cells called a blastula. Follows next is gastrulation, in which the blastula gets converted into the three germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. These three germ layers then form the internal organs.

#science #biology #development #animals #GermLayers

Animal Form and Function: Reproduction https://youtu.be/IEmz_pTA7PI

In this video I go over a quick review of animal reproduction, which can be done in two ways: asexual or sexual. Nearly all animals engage in some form of sexual reproduction, where haploid gametes (motile spermatozoa and stationary ova) merge to create diploid zygotes, which then develop into a hollow sphere called a blastula. 

Some animals undergo asexual reproduction, which don't involve the fusion of gametes or the change in the number of chromosomes, often times resulting in a genetic clone. An example is the incredible Hydra which reproduces via fragmentation by budding out into a new Hydra. The Hydra do not appear to die of old age, or age at all, and can regenerate even if chopped up into pieces! 🤯

#science #biology #reproduction #animals #hydra

Animal Form and Function: Hormonal Control https://youtu.be/Ieh-GvUUgpE

In this video I go over hormones, which are signalling molecules that are secreted by internal glands and transported through the blood to regulate distant organs.

 #science #biology #hormones #animals #pinealgland

Animal Form and Function: Nervous System https://youtu.be/plfhF3Se07M

In this video I go over the nervous system, which is a complex network of neurons (and glial cells for structural and metabolic support) that process sensory information and generate behaviors.

#science #biology #nervoussystem  #animals #education