Post #3

ALBINISM

Albinism (meaning "white," also called achromia, achromasia, or achromatosis) is a disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes. The disorder occurs due to lack-of or malfunction of tyrosinase, an enzyme involved in the production of melanin. 

The symptoms of albinism related to the eyes include: 

• Rapid, involuntary back-and-forth movement of the eyes
• The inability to direct both eyes at the same point or to move in unison
• Extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness
• Sensitivity to light 

Albinism can occur in people as well as animals. The simptoms are most often white hair, and skin pigmentation ranging from white to brown. The lack of pigment in the irises make they eyes somewhat translucent, which means that the irises can't completely block light from entering the eye. This is why albinos with very light colored eyes may appear to have red eyes in some lighting. This is because you're seeing the light reflecting off the back of the eye and coming back out through the iris again - similar to the red-eye that occurs in flash photography.

Albinism is caused by a mutation in the melanocytes, the cell the produces melanin. In some types of the albinism, a person must inherit two copies of the mutated gene - one from each parent - to have the disorder. There is no cure for albinism, however surgery can be performed on the muscles of the eye to regain normal eye movements (surgery occurs very rarely).

Here are some images of animals affected with albinism:

Post #2

Squid

Squids have always fascinated me, and along with snakes they are my favorite animal. Since I know so little about the squid, I decided to research it more.

The squid is actually a mollusk, even though it is nothing like its relatives, the snail and the clam. The squid has a soft outer shell and inner shell, unlike most mollusks which have a hard outer shell. Squids, along with octopi and nautili, are Cephalopods meaning "head footed." Octopi have eight arms, making them octopods, while squid have ten, making them decopods.

The male squids have exciting colors that attract females during mating time, and the female chooses a male squid to mate with. The females have an ink sac hidden under a set of glands in the gills. When squids mate, the sperm is placed in the sac for her eggs to be fertilized.

Squids Will be Squids

My tentacles are twirling,

my tentacles are curling

and as for all the crew,

it's vomit they are hurling.

The ship goes up,

the ship goes down,

Up! ... Down! ... Up! ... Down!

and all the sailors start to drown.

I'm having so much fun!

And it's only just begun!

For next I'm going to eat them -

each and every one!

My tentacles are tightening,

my tentacles are whitening

and faces all are going blue

O! How my day is brightening!

Such fun, such fun on the ocean wave,

O wow, I'm having such a rave!

Ouch! Oohh! My mum, that monster squid,

has caught me out;  she yells 'BEHAVE!!!!!'

Her tentacles are flaring, tearing

and epithets she's wildly swearing.

'It's time,' she screeches 'for you to go to bed,

so stop your mayhem and your scaring!'

-Poem by Suecat 

( http://allpoetry.com/poem/9452293-Squids-Will-be-Squids-by-suecat )