Blog #12: Gregor Mendel and His Plant Experiments

In Gregor Mendel's Pea Plant experiments, the P1 look the same because they were created by combining two types of genes. F2 look different because they are a cross of F1 and F2 offspring.

Blog #11: Customizable Babies?

In the movie Gattaca, parents were able to pick the traits of their babies. I personally think that this should not be aloud. Mainly because it's just not right. But also there is also the possibility of a higher level of disappointment if the baby was to come out differently than the parents would have wanted.

Blog #10: Fermented Recipe

Lemon Pickle

Ingredients

• lemons - 12 small or 6 large (thin skins preferred)
• juice of 1 large or 2 small lemons
• ½ cup of salt
• ¼ cup of red chili powder
• ½ cup of sugar
• 3 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp fenugreek seed
• 1 tsp black mustard seed
• ¼ tsp asafoetida powder

Preparation

1. Wash the lemons and dry them well, leaving no water on the lemons. Trim off the stalk and any odd bits.
2. Cut the lemons in to small pieces about 2 cm / ¾ inch on each side, and place in a bowl.
3. Dry-roast the fenugreek, black mustard and asafoetida together in a pan on a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Don't burn them!
4. Grind the roasted spices in a grinder, or a mortar and pestle.
5. Add the ground spices, turmeric powder, salt, sugar and chili powder to the bowl and mix together well.
6. Pack the mixture into a 2 quart jar, or use a couple of smaller jars. Don't fill quite to the top - allow at least 1 cm space.

Fermentation

Sit the jar where it will get the heat of the sun. Bring the jar inside in the evening, and put it back out in the morning. Do this for at least a month in summer, two months in winter. The warmth of the sun will help the pickle to ferment.