NAME: Luke Elders

CLASS: Science 1
DATE: May 6, 2014
PLANARIA LAB REPORT

PROBLEM: If trisected, which piece of a planarian will regenerate first?

HYPOTHESIS: If trisected, then the Mid Section will regenerate first.

THEORY:

The Planarian reproductive systems are a wonder to us all. They regenerate
at a fast rate and they regenerate beyond comparison to any other organism. These
strange creatures regenerate because they are hermaphrodites. Hermaphrodites are
organs with both female and male sexual organs. These organs come together and
create a magnificent bond to create them and regenerate into a copy that is
genetically diverse from their parents. There are also other ways of reproduction for
a planarian. They can do what any other organisms do. They can use specific gonads
(Female and Male organs) to produce through internal fertilization. This means that
they can externally lay eggs.
Asexual reproduction is when the regenerate themselves. This usually
happens when a piece of them break or they split into two, or three, or more pieces.
This is called fragmentation. Also known as tail dropping. When this happens they
regenerate into another Planarian. They can basically live forever because they will
always be regenerating unless something was to kill the Planarian. It is only
necessary when the Planarian needs it and it is a wondrous evolutionary gift.
The Planarian regenerates because they are able to use neoblasts. When the
planarian split to regenerate, the neoblasts, which are the undifferentiated cells,
take action. They differentiate and then go to a specific job in the cell. The polarity is
in the planarian genes. It tells the planarian which specific part to regenerate. The
totipotent stem cells specify the neoblasts to let them become differentiated. These
totipotent stem cells are cells that can be anything. They can change and they can be
assigned any type of cell. For example they could be turned into skin cells or muscle
cells, but the point is that they can be turned into anything. Cell migration happens
when all the cells get specified and they become basically mature. They migrate into
specific places for the cell to normally grow. Cell differentiation is a process when
the undifferentiated cells get assigned a job and grow and function to become
whatever the cell needs it to become. If the planarian is trisected, then the mid
section will regenerate because the neoblasts will regenerate the quickest in the
biggest place on the body of the planarian.


Conclusion:
In this lab we trisected a Planaria because we were studying the regeneration
of the species, and we were trying to figure out which section would regenerate first.
I hypothesized that the Mid Section would regenerate first because it was the
biggest part of the body, and it would be the most logical for the Planaria mid
section to regenerate first. My data shows by day 9, the Planaria mid section grew
the most and the largest. The data also shows that the mid section had the most
ghost cells. When we trisected the Planaria, the Anterior was moving the most in the
course of the first couple days. As the days went on, the mid section was moving
more and growing more. By the last two days, the mid section had grown the most
with the most ghost cells and the fastest growing cells.

Analysis:
After looking at the Planaria research, I can definitely tell that our research
was very valid. For one, we used a microscope, a high tech machine that can magnify
anything. We used this microscope in order to look at the process of the Planaria
regeneration, and our results were very reliable. When trisecting the Planaria, it was
hard to control where we cut the Planaria because it was very fast and moving the
whole time. It was very fast because of the light factor. The Planaria were very
sensitive to the light and would basically hide from it, letting the microscope be
useless in our efforts to observe the Planaria. Each and every one of the trisected
Planaria was different in size and shape. I would make a specific one Planaria that
everyone was able to use, and everyones results would be the same. Some of my
observations like: how the head moved the most overall, but the mid-section grew
the most overall. Our groups results were very accurate because we paid close
attention to the Planaria, and tried our best to make the experiment as valid as we
could make it.
8%
54%
38%
37%
49%
14%
0%
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40%
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70%
80%
90%
100%
Anterior Mid Section Posterior
%

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2014 Regeneration Data
1 Period
7th Grade
Planaria and Humans are very different. Our lifestyle, appearance, and our
more complex cells are not the same whatsoever. But, there are some things that
make us the same. For example, the reason why we grow and the reason why our
cuts fix, and the reason why we heal is because of neoblasts. They are stem cells
referred to in humans. Neoblasts in other words, are stem cells. Stem Cells are
undifferentiated cells that are left in the body to fix any part of the body. Arent all
cells only specific to one part of the body? The answer is no. Stem Cells are can be
anything they want. Basically they have not been assigned a job yet. Planaria have
Stem Cells too. That is how Planaria regenerate. When we trisected the Planaria,
they didnt die, they basically waited until there were enough Stem Cells (Neoblasts)
in order to carry out the functions of the Planaria and help them grow. These
undifferentiated, unspecific cells, let the magic of Planaria really happen. There is a
specific process in which the Stem Cells become differentiated. When a sperm cell
mixes with an egg cell, they create a zygote. A zygote is a Stem Cell that can be
anything it wants. It is all up to the instructions. The instructions tell the cells in the
zygote where to go and what to become. They are totipotent, which again means,
undifferentiated, and have the ability to become any cell. When the process moves
forward, the Stem Cell (Zygote) divides many times and creates a clump of Stem
Cells, known as the Blastocyst. A Blastocyst is Pluripotent. Pluripotent means that
the Stem Cells are slowly becoming differentiated, and they can only become one
thing. There are still many things that the Stem Cells can become, but some of them
are already differentiated. They are multipotent. This is the last stage of new baby
egg has finally turned into something.
There seems to be controversy over the study and science of Stem Cell
research. People think that killing what had the potential to be a child, is wrong. I
agree also. But the thing is, it is for a good cause. People are using HES (Human
Embryonic Stem Cells) to study and find a cure for people in need. The only reason
why they are doing this is because they are using the stem cells from the
undifferentiated embryo and testing the transference on muscles that can help other
people. For example, if someone had heart disease, then they could get a treatment
related to Stem Cells in order to fix the damaged cell. The process in which this is
able to happen is stem cells get injected into muscles or other blood vessels etc.
These specific parts of the body are damaged and are in need for assistance. The
way the scientists do this is to use HES to create IPS. IPS is stem cells that have been
genetically modified from an adult differentiated cell. If scientists can figure out this
problem, than people who have diseases and have troubled cells, can survive, and
live a good life: a life they were meant to live. Finally, the problem will be solved
when the cells, divide and conquer, and save millions.