We'd like YOU-EARTH ALLIES to come and join us! If you're someone who loves stories or if you are interested in biology concepts, come step into our world. Look up the underlined words or topics that you're not familiar with. If you're a teacher, feel free to use this to start a discussion in your classroom. If you feel like writing your own ending to the story, do it! Think outside the box. But most of all have fun! If you love it, like it and share it. If you have a comment, add it! We'd love to hear from you.
What are Bio BeaNs?
Bio BeaNs are beings from a different earthly dimension. Their main purpose is to find Earth Allies who will help them on their quest to save planet earth. We never know where the Bio BeaNs will travel to or who they will encounter. They come when the earth needs them to find Earth Allies who will help them repair the earth. Come into the magical space where fact and fiction mix together. Bio BeaNs want to take you on a magical journey!
Giant Amoebae
It was a dark night by the marsh, the kind of night when monsters lurk in the shadows. But Jesse or Kate never believed in monsters. Monsters were just a figment of one's imagination. Werewolves, vampires, and the Blob were merely horror movie fodder, not something that could ever happen here in the Florida swamp.
Jesse and Kate had been friends forever. They met in first grade and since then, they climbed trees, rode bikes and hiked through these tropical wetlands. They always liked to walk in the dark, trust walk they called it, holding each other's hand as they made it through this area on instinct, without a flashlight.
As they walked through the swamp, they heard a chomping sucking sound. It wasn't like anything they heard before. Jesse grabbed the flashlight from Kate's backpack. He never took out the flashlight but something instinctual took over him. Kate saw the light illuminate a giant translucent jelly-like creature. It looked just like the microscopic amoeba they looked at under the microscope in biology class. But this amoeba was larger than Jesse's 5'5" frame.
The two friends clamored through the overgrown brush and finally reached a tree when small bug-like organisms began pelting them. They were shocked to see they were small moving animated beans! "Climb the tree," these BeaNs yelled!
As they walked through the swamp, they heard a chomping sucking sound. It wasn't like anything they heard before. Jesse grabbed the flashlight from Kate's backpack. He never took out the flashlight but something instinctual took over him. Kate saw the light illuminate a giant translucent jelly-like creature. It looked just like the microscopic amoeba they looked at under the microscope in biology class. But this amoeba was larger than Jesse's 5'5" frame.
The two friends clamored through the overgrown brush and finally reached a tree when small bug-like organisms began pelting them. They were shocked to see they were small moving animated beans! "Climb the tree," these BeaNs yelled!
Jesse and Kate pulled themselves on the lowest branch. They then quickly ascended the tall tree with deliberate care. These branches were not so thick.
Up here on the wavering branches, one BeaN began to talk. "I'm Gene-BeaN", announced this small BeaN. "We're from a different dimension and we need your help. The laws of science are not following the correct patterns in either of our worlds. I think if you fix yours, ours will be fixed also," Gene-BeaN continued.
Jesse and Kate were shocked by the night's events; however, being that they were such resourceful, resilient kids, they agreed to help. Gene-BeaN said they needed to all connect together in the fray, which was the space between their two worlds. Only here could they quickly learn about amoebae and find out where the mutation was that created these monsters, single-celled giants. Only here could they fix this unbelievable problem. This wasn't supposed to happen because the surface area to volume ratio would be too small to feed or excrete wastes from this giant beast. But the beast was growing with deadly digestive enzymes in it's lysosome. And if it took in the kids or anyone else by phagocytosis (amoeba eating), they would end up in the amoeba's food vacuole and be done for. So they trusted the BeaNs and let them enter their ears and suddenly they were taken up in a vortex into a world of translucent mist and shimmering lights.
As they entered here, all the answers to the questions they had about adaptation and what could of caused these changes in the amoeba were in their heads. It was as if all the information on genetics was transported to their brains. The knowledge of the universe was there for their grasping. And now, the BeaNs and the kids knew where to locate the mutation, in the DNA. They pulled all the mutated amoebae from both worlds into the fray by telekinesis. The world worked differently in the fray. By using their mind, they could create whatever they thought. Here they used their knowledge to come up with a potion which would anesthetize the amoeba. They performed micro-mind-surgery on them and removed the mutation that caused their growth and produced the strong poisonous digestive enzymes. They also put stop codons (stop messages) on the DNA so it would stop going through replication, transcription and translation and would no longer make the bad proteins or reproduce. They then noticed the amoebae shrinking in size and their pseudopodia or false feet were disappearing. They both took a breath and relaxed. But what had caused this in the first place? This is what they would have to find out. Was it a chemical or was it nuclear radiation? Was it climate change? Was it genetically engineered? Was it luck? And were the amoebae really shrinking or were they forming cysts?
What do you think Earth Allies?
** Amoebae and amoebas are plural forms of amoeba
Questions & Problems to think about or research?
1. Do you think this could really happen? Why or why not.
2. How would it be to have all the knowledge you wanted instantly put into your head
when you needed it?
3. What happens to the surface to volume ratio as a single celled organism grows?
4. Explain how the fray works and how you transport there.
5. What kind of adaptations do amoebas have to help them survive harsh environments?
6. What would you need to perform surgery on a giant amoeba?
7. What is DNA? What is replication, transcription, and translation?
8. Do you think the amoebae are safe now or do you think Kate and Jesse will have
to come up with another plan?
9. Some animals regenerate or grow into multiple organisms when you chop them up.
If this happened with the amoebae, how would you kill it?
10. Some amoebae cause disease, like amoebic dysentery. Look it up and write about it.
BeaNspirations:
There are no right or wrong answers to our questions. It is not graded. You can do them if you like, or skip them and just enjoy our story. But if some topic or some idea intrigues you, go with it! Find out all you can and become a detective in search of your passion. Our earth needs scientists, mathematicians, writers, and educated citizens. Strive on Earth Allies!
Up here on the wavering branches, one BeaN began to talk. "I'm Gene-BeaN", announced this small BeaN. "We're from a different dimension and we need your help. The laws of science are not following the correct patterns in either of our worlds. I think if you fix yours, ours will be fixed also," Gene-BeaN continued.
Jesse and Kate were shocked by the night's events; however, being that they were such resourceful, resilient kids, they agreed to help. Gene-BeaN said they needed to all connect together in the fray, which was the space between their two worlds. Only here could they quickly learn about amoebae and find out where the mutation was that created these monsters, single-celled giants. Only here could they fix this unbelievable problem. This wasn't supposed to happen because the surface area to volume ratio would be too small to feed or excrete wastes from this giant beast. But the beast was growing with deadly digestive enzymes in it's lysosome. And if it took in the kids or anyone else by phagocytosis (amoeba eating), they would end up in the amoeba's food vacuole and be done for. So they trusted the BeaNs and let them enter their ears and suddenly they were taken up in a vortex into a world of translucent mist and shimmering lights.
As they entered here, all the answers to the questions they had about adaptation and what could of caused these changes in the amoeba were in their heads. It was as if all the information on genetics was transported to their brains. The knowledge of the universe was there for their grasping. And now, the BeaNs and the kids knew where to locate the mutation, in the DNA. They pulled all the mutated amoebae from both worlds into the fray by telekinesis. The world worked differently in the fray. By using their mind, they could create whatever they thought. Here they used their knowledge to come up with a potion which would anesthetize the amoeba. They performed micro-mind-surgery on them and removed the mutation that caused their growth and produced the strong poisonous digestive enzymes. They also put stop codons (stop messages) on the DNA so it would stop going through replication, transcription and translation and would no longer make the bad proteins or reproduce. They then noticed the amoebae shrinking in size and their pseudopodia or false feet were disappearing. They both took a breath and relaxed. But what had caused this in the first place? This is what they would have to find out. Was it a chemical or was it nuclear radiation? Was it climate change? Was it genetically engineered? Was it luck? And were the amoebae really shrinking or were they forming cysts?
What do you think Earth Allies?
** Amoebae and amoebas are plural forms of amoeba
Questions & Problems to think about or research?
1. Do you think this could really happen? Why or why not.
2. How would it be to have all the knowledge you wanted instantly put into your head
when you needed it?
3. What happens to the surface to volume ratio as a single celled organism grows?
4. Explain how the fray works and how you transport there.
5. What kind of adaptations do amoebas have to help them survive harsh environments?
6. What would you need to perform surgery on a giant amoeba?
7. What is DNA? What is replication, transcription, and translation?
8. Do you think the amoebae are safe now or do you think Kate and Jesse will have
to come up with another plan?
9. Some animals regenerate or grow into multiple organisms when you chop them up.
If this happened with the amoebae, how would you kill it?
10. Some amoebae cause disease, like amoebic dysentery. Look it up and write about it.
BeaNspirations:
There are no right or wrong answers to our questions. It is not graded. You can do them if you like, or skip them and just enjoy our story. But if some topic or some idea intrigues you, go with it! Find out all you can and become a detective in search of your passion. Our earth needs scientists, mathematicians, writers, and educated citizens. Strive on Earth Allies!
