I read an article about three people, two American cell biologists and a German biochemist who won the 2013 prize for physiology or medicine. The Americans names were James Rothman and Randy Schekman and the German man’s name was  Thomas C. Südhof. James Rothman of Yale, Schekman of the University of California and Südhof of Standford.

The winning discovery of theirs was the discovery of vesicles. Vesicles are bubbles surrounding  membranes that transport  things from cell to cell. They carry out every day sort of processes like delivering chemicals throughout your brain when ever you think a thought. Vesicles also deliver hormones through your body. They didn’t discover this all at once they all worked towards this amazing discovery in different parts of the world.

Schekman discovered how the transportation system was organized. He did this by experimenting with the well-known genetics of yeast as a model. These experiments help lead to the discovery of three mutant genes that the cellular delivery system to break down.

Rothman discovered how the cell delivers to the correct place every time. This he was able to find by doing experiments with proteins and mammalian cells.

Südhof discovered how the cell delivers on time. He worked on experiments with nerve cell communication, his specialty. He observed that the trigger was calcium ions.

In my opinion it is surprising that even now people are discovering different parts of cells and entirely

 different cells. It gives you hope for future scientific discoveries of importance involving the human 

 body.

Jude Olson                   Revised Draft of Best Reading Response

 In order to teach a newborn child its first language, that language must be spoken around them all the time. The same principle works when teaching a baby chimpanzee sign language. In "Half Brother" by Kenneth Oppel   the Tomlin Family adopts a newborn chimpanzee named Zan to conduct a scientific study about raising a chimpanzee like a human and teaching him sign language. I think a theme of "Half Brother" is what it means to be a family.


     One example of the this theme is when Zan's Human Father decides to make Zan's learning sessions more productive by strapping him into a metal chair for hours. Normal parents wouldn't do that to a teenager, let alone a baby. The father isn't treating Zan like he's really part of his family.


     Another way this theme is expressed throughout the text is when Zan is having a fit and biting some of the volunteers (chimpanzees are dangerous and can seriously injure someone that they bite)  and his father bites him on the ear to make him behave. This must be really confusing for  poor Zan. Half the time they are rasing him like a chimp and half the time they are raising him like human. 

 SPOILER ALERT

     My final example has to do with his relationship with his older brother and mother and how they treat him more like a human. For example, he ends up in a sanctuary when he gets too strong for the family to take care of. They specified for him not to be given to a lab but they weren't able to get the agreement on paper. They end up stealing him from a sanctuary before he can be given away to a research facility. This act of courage shows their love for Zan that their father seems devoid of.



     In conclusion,  in "Half Brother" the Tomlin Family isn't exactly your average Canadian Family with their chimpanzee son and their father who treats everything like an experiment. To me, they still seem like a family though. Also according to the “google definition” of a family "A group consisting of parents and children living together in a household" they do  count as a family, up until Zan leaves them. But, in some ways I think they are still a family long after Zan leaves them.