Meagan F-L, March 16, Blog #2, 3/3

Today in class we:

• Reviewed the worksheet we recieved yesterday
• reviewed the questions on page 529 that were assigned (4, 5, 7, 8)
• reviewed the hormonal control inquiry lab on page 527 (a-k) and took it in for marks
• we finished up the hormonal control portion of our studies
• we worked on the hormonal control flowchart that he handed to us
• we created a HOTFF chart on the hormones involved in pregnancy in the female body
• REMINDER: Female reproductive quiz tomorrow! (the 17th)

About the material:

I think that it's really interesting that only a handful of hormones are responsible for the development and care of a baby, from embryo to fetus and finally to birth.  The order of development was very interesting, especially in how the face devlops.  Who knew that before we were born we had eyes on the side of our heads?  (its just good that they aren't anymore...otherwise your mom really could say that she has eyes on the back of her head, or elsewhere).  When learning about menstruation, a question rose up that questioning why women that are living in the same area will have their menstrual cycles line up (i'm sure that the guys who are stuck in a house full of women would like to know as well...haha).  I wanted to know if there was a real explanation for why this happens.

Above and Beyond:

According to http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2429/does-menstrual-synchrony-really-exist , women's menstrual synchrony is believe to be caused by pheromones in the air that cause a hormonal cue in another woman through the sense of smell.  Some scientists believe that this is not probable because every women's cycle can last for different periods of time.  However, they can't ignore the fact that when women live together in groups there is a tendency for their cycles to synchronize.  The latest argument is that they are caused by pheromones.

I believe that I am justified in recieving a 3/3 for this assignment because I did the required work for all three specified marking categories.