Cellular Metabolism in Yeast essays

Cellular Metabolism in Yeast essays The yeast Saccromyces cerevisae was placed in two different sets of test tubes along with glucose and MgSO4 or NaF to test the effects of the MgSO4 and NaF on yeast cellular metabolism. A third set of test tubes was used as a control. The results show that there is not a significant difference between any of the three groups, but an experimental error may have caused these findings. Yeasts are unicellular members of the Kingdom Fungi that can ferment sugar and produce ethanol. This particular experiment deals with Saccharomyces cerevisttae, a type of yeast that reproduces asexually by budding (Stanford). Yeast survives on oxygen, so it is an aerobe. It also has the amazing ability of adapting to oxygen-less environments and surviving as an anaerobe (Cofalec). Metabolism is the biochemical assimilation and dissimilation of nutrients by a cell (Munich). Redox reactions form new cellular material and generate energy. The different reactions can be divided into anabolism and catabolism (Gamboa). Using the necessary equipment, yeast can be metabolized and studied in the laboratory. This experiment deals with the effects of MgSO4 and NaF on anaerobic respiration in Saccharomyces cerevisttae. We hypothesize that we will obtain statistically significant differences in our experimental groups when we compare them to the control. We obtained and carefully cleaned nine test tubes, placed them into a test tube rack, then poured 8 ml of 1.0 M glucose into each of them. In the three control test tubes, we added 8 ml deionized water. After that, we shook and added 8 ml of a yeast suspension into all test tubes. Using a fume hood, we added 8 ml 0.01M MgSO4 to three test tubes that did not have the deionized water in them. 8 ml of 0.1M NaF were added to the final three test tubes. We placed inverted vials over each test tube then inverted each system. Using a grease pencil, we marked the fluid's meniscus on each tube th ...

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland

The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Also known as the Central African Federation, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was created between August 1st and October 23, 1953, and lasted until December 31, 1963. The federation joined the British protectorate of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), the colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and the protectorate of Nyasaland (now Malawi). Origins of the Federation White European settlers in the region were perturbed about the increasing black African population but had been stopped during the first half of the twentieth century from introducing more draconian rules and laws by the British Colonial Office. The end of World War II led to increased white immigration, especially in Southern Rhodesia, and there was a worldwide need for copper which existed in quantity in Northern Rhodesia. White settler leaders and industrialists once again called for a union of the three colonies to increase their potential and harness the black workforce. The election of the National Party in South Africa in 1948 worried the British government, which began to see federation as a potential counter to the Apartheid policies being introduced in SA. It was also seen as a potential sop to black nationalists in the region who were starting to ask for independence. Black nationalists in Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia were worried that the white settlers of Southern Rhodesia would come to dominate any authority created for the new federation; this proved to be true, as the Federations first appointed prime minister was Godfrey Huggins, Viscount Malvern, who had already served as PM of Southern Rhodesia for 23 years. Operation of the Federation The British government planned for the Federation to eventually become a British dominion, and it was overseen from the start by a British assigned governor-general. The federation was an economic success, at least at the start, and there was an investment in a few expensive engineering projects, such as the Kariba hydro-electric dam on the Zambezi. In addition, in comparison to South Africa, the political landscape was more liberal. Black Africans worked as junior ministers and there was an income/property-owning basis to the franchise which allowed some black Africans to vote. There was still, however, an effective white minority rule to the government of the federation, and just as the rest of Africa was expressing a desire for majority rule, nationalist movements in the federation were growing. Break up of the Federation In 1959 Nyasaland nationalists called for action, and the resultant disturbances led to the authorities declaring a state of emergency. Nationalist leaders, including Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, were detained, many without a trial. After his release in 1960, Banda decamped to London, where with Kenneth Kaunda and Joshua Nkomo he continued to campaign for an end to the federation. The early sixties saw independence come to a number of French African colonies, and the British prime minister, Harold Macmillan, gave his famous wind of change speech in South Africa. The British had already decided in 1962 that Nyasaland should be allowed to secede from the federation. A conference held in early 63 at Victoria Falls was seen as a last-ditch attempt to maintain the federation. It failed. It was announced on February 1, 1963, that the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland would be broken up. Nyasaland achieved independence, within the Commonwealth, as Malawi on July 6, 1964. Northern Rhodesia became independent as Zambia on October 24th that year. White settlers in Southern Rhodesia announced a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) on November 11, 1965.