Caution Failed Attempt

Figure 1. The duck tape around the rubber line.

Figure 2. "Caution: The floor is wet!"

Figure 3. The papers are all wet.

I have worked on the gene gun this week and had no success. But I only fall to get back up again and try. I was missing some threaded tape to seal the threads between the metal for a more pressurized seal. I was trying to reach a goal of 80psi but only got to 60psi before the rubber line ruptured and leaked the air. I have modified the gene gun with some duck tape because of my lack of finances in my project. I have also posted a pic of a joke below the modified gene gun. Can anybody tell me if they get the joke.

Dung Cannon

Figure 1. This fungus is a close up of this 2-4cm tall stem with somewhat a black top hat full of spores. The vesical below fills with fluid creating a pressure to shootoff the black ball spore like object above.

What would most of my fellow inters think was the fastest accelerating object on earth? A land animal like a cheetah, a hemi 357 engine with aftermarket add-ons for better performance, a jet in the sky, or a fungus. The answer is a fungus known as Pilobolus crystallinus. A fecal microorganism that cycles thru the animal grazer intestinal system back out into fecal matter (feces) is part of their life cycle. The question is how does this fungus get back to the mouth or entryway of the digestion system? This 2-4 cm tall fungus shoots its spores about 6feet away from its home of feces to a clearance where grazers eat. This 45mph shot in one millimeter is the fastest accelerating object on earth. I have included a video and a picture of the fungus below and above.

Species Education

Figure 1, 2, & 3. The pictures from the Wildlife World Zoo flamingo, aquarium with sea turtle (absent), and vulture. (from left to right, respectively.)

The trip to the Wildlife World Zoo was a lot of fun from touching the stingray to their awesome aquarium. The view of the animals was better than the Phoenix Zoo in my opinion. Although Amanda, Josh, and me observed a vulture watching something move in the cluster of leaves and shrub below its feet outside of its cage, we believed the mice were diverting the attention away while another grab some its fruit inside the cage. Moreover, I wished we had more time to experience the nursery they had. I look forward to the next fieldtrip to the brewery. I have uploaded a video of a snake devouring a crocodile. The video is graphic in some sense.