NAME: Jack Parsons

CLASS: 1
DATE: 4/22/14
PLANARIA LAB REPORT

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

HYPOTHESIS: If trisected, then the middle piece will regenerate first.

THEORY: Planaria (also known as flatworms) are invertebrates that can either
reproduce sexually or asexually. One of the fundamental aspects of a planarians
sexual reproduction is that they are Hermaphrodites, which means that they
consist of both male and female gonads. In sexual reproduction, two planarian
meet, and exchange sperm through the genital pores. Then, the Planarian
separate, and each one fertilizes their eggs. In a few weeks, new Planaria will be
born with diverse genetic characteristics because of the genetic material
exchanged via the genital pores.

Along with sexual reproduction, planarian also can reproduce asexually,
meaning that a planarian is capable of reproducing without an exchange of
sperm. Asexual reproduction only needs one planarian, unlike sexual
reproduction, which needs two Planaria. There are two methods of asexual
reproduction, Tail dropping, and Fragmentation. In tail dropping, transverse
constriction just behind the pharynx occurs. Then, the transverse constriction
increases until the two parts separate from each other. In the other method,
Fragmentation, the Planarian will basically cut itself so that a body part will fall
off and regenerate by itself. Other organisms, like coral, sponges, and starfish all
use natural Fragmentation.

Neoblasts, which are undifferentiated or totipotent stem cells, help the
cells regenerate. When a laceration occurs in the planarians body, the neoblasts
receive a signal from the cells to migrate to the area. They then migrate to the
area that needs help. Eventually, the neoblasts clump (blastema occurring) to
form ghost tissue, or clear tissue. Then polarity, or the division of neoblasts
occurs, and the neoblasts increase in numbers and will eventually regenerate into
a new body. I hypothesized that the middle piece would regenerate first. I
thought that because the midsection contained all of the vital organs due to my
research and the posterior and the anterior dont.

Parsons, Jack Thursday, May 8, 2014 8:39:09 PM Pacic Daylight Time 70:56:81:af:c2:cf





Conclusion:
In this lab, we trisected (or cut into three sections) Planaria. I hypothesized that
the midsection would regenerate first out of the posterior and anterior. By day 2,
I had seen small clumping of the cells, and tiny bits of the ghost tissue. My data
shows that by day 4, the Neoblasts (undifferentiated cells) had clearly migrated
to the wounded area, and started to form a blastema. Although the tissue didnt
have dark pigmentation, signs of cell clumping were very obvious. On the
midsection, a clear or ghost tissue like head had formed, and little eyes were
visible, and the midsection was moving the most that day. The posterior had
grown and it was moving like an accordion. In the 1
st
period class, 54% of the
midsections had regenerated first, as opposed to 8% (Anterior) and 38%
(Posterior). This clearly shows that in 1
st
period, the majority is the midsection.
Now to compare 1
st
periods data to the whole grades- the results arent much
different. Only about 33% (2/3) of the grade had other parts regenerating. To be
more specific, 4
th
period was the anterior, and 7
th
period was the anterior as well.
In conclusion, when trisected, the planarian midsection will regenerate first.


Analysis:
Were your results valid? Why or why not? Explain. What was difficult to control
and what changes would make the results more reliable? Discuss some of your
observations that may have influenced the outcome of the test results. If the
results were not accurate, what do you think could account for this? Be specific.

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Parsons, Jack Thursday, May 8, 2014 8:39:09 PM Pacic Daylight Time 70:56:81:af:c2:cf
The results that we came up with were valid. I hypothesized that the Midsection
would regenerate first, and my hypothesis was correct. We took accurate
observations of the regenerating Planaria each day, and we could definitely see
changes in the Planaria. Many things in this lab were difficult to control. The
Planaria were sometimes in awkward positions due to the light. For example,
one day, we saw the Planaria swimming around the circumference of the petri
dish. By day 4, we had started to see Ghost Tissue forming on the ends of both
the midsection and the posterior. This had affected the outcome of our results
because these were signs of regeneration, or blastema occurring.
Despite the differences, Planaria being invertebrates and humans being
vertebrates, they both have stem cells. Both planarian and human stem cells are
undifferentiated cells. They are also both relying on a signal to identify what type
of cell they need to become. They also are both very different. In Planaria, the
stem cells are called neoblasts. The neoblasts come handy when the planaria are
wounded or injured. They migrate to the location of the wound and form a
Blastocyst, which is a clump of neoblasts that will form Ghost Tissue. Ghost
tissue is translucent (un-pigmented) matter that has formed from the blastocyst,
which will then develop into new body parts. In contrast, the Human stem cells
work much differently. Human stem cells arent used just for repairing wounds;
they are used throughout peoples lives. The earliest form of stem cells are found
when the human Zygote divides into many stem cells, forming a blastocyst.
These stem cells are Embryonic and they can give rise to any part in the body
(Pluripotent). For example, one cell can make up the embryos lungs, and another
can make up the eyes. After the zygote has fully developed and been given birth
to, then the person will then develop.
Stem cells are covered in mysteries, and scientists still are asking questions,
but unfortunately, embryonic stem cells are a little tricky to deal with. Embryonic
stem cells come from an embryo, and they are the very first stem cell present in a
human. In order to use and research an embryonic stem cell, an Embryo must be
deconstructed which means the embryo will die. There is a controversy going on
called the Stem Cell Debate. The debate has brought up many questions like,
Is a human embryo equivalent to a human child or, Does life begin at fertilization, in
the womb, or at birth? Nowadays, the controversy is becoming more irrelevant by
the day. Scientists have developed IPS (Induced pluripotent stem) and STAP
(Stimulus Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency) cells that can be an alternative
to HEs cells (Human Embryonic stem cells). Although they are not exactly the
same, they still are capable of performing important functions. Both IPS and
STAP cells dont involve any sort of contact with an embryo, and they have
greatly reduced the controversy.

Bibliography

Stem Cell Research:
Genetic Science Learning Center. "Stem Cells." Learn.Genetics 8 May 2014
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/stemcells/
Parsons, Jack Thursday, May 8, 2014 8:39:09 PM Pacic Daylight Time 70:56:81:af:c2:cf
"Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS)." Welcome to the Broad Stem Cell
Research Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2014

Planaria Research:
http://people.westminstercollege.edu/faculty/tharrison/emigration/planaria.h
tm (Bibliography wouldnt work)
"Planarian" 22 April 2008. HowStuffWorks.com.
<http://animals.howstuffworks.com/worms/planarian-info.htm> 08 May
2014.




Parsons, Jack Thursday, May 8, 2014 8:39:09 PM Pacic Daylight Time 70:56:81:af:c2:cf