Comparison Study: Why Addie Get So Sick

This semester while we worked through this unit, we were trying to figure out why Addie got so sick and how we could look at the juncos as a comparison study. We learned about the relationship that antibiotics and bacteria have by looking at our NetLogo Simulation and Petri Dish Lab. Also, we learned about various CDC recommendations for using antibiotics and preventing bacterial illnesses. When we looked at the juncos, we were able to learn how common ancestry works within any species. Throughout both models, we were able to discover the mechanisms of evolution and how those mechanisms related to Addie getting so sick.
In Addie’s case, she was taking several antibiotics to fight off her bacterial infection. When we looked at the NetLogo Simulation,
First of all, one of the “5 C’s” is don’t pick, touch, or leave the open compromised skin. Addie fell on the playground and scraped up her knee. She was a young child and of course, picked her scab which was not a good idea. This was the ample place for bacteria to enter her body and make her sick. Throughout her stay at the hospital, she starts to show signs of MRSA. They discovered her bacterial infection was called community-associated MRSA which later transformed into Stenotrophomonas. The various antibiotics and medical equipment she was put on only made her sicker. Learning about these CDC recommendations helps us to understand how she got infected in the first
All of the mechanisms of evolution were present in both simulations. Natural selection was present due to the fact that the environment was selecting for specific traits. In Addie’s case, the resistant bacteria was being selected for by Addie’s body. In the Mt. Laguna and UCSD birds, the boldness behavior was being selected for in the city. Migration leads to isolation in both simulations as well. In Addie, the resistance spread throughout her body. The infection first started on her knee, but then due to lack of competition the resistance spread. This then leads to isolation of the bacteria in various locations of the body. In juncos, they migrated from Mt. Laguna and those with the boldness trait stayed and those without went back to the mountains. This lead to the reproductive isolation of the bold juncos only breeding with the bold juncos and isolating themselves from the juncos with the unwanted traits. Lastly, the sexual reproduction of both bacteria and juncos lead to mutations within the species. The bacteria mutated as they continued to reproduce. The mutations allowed for us to be able to determine who the common ancestor was. The same process occurred within the juncos. The juncos sexually selected their mates with the same traits. This allowed for researchers to track mutations. They mutate at a constant rate which allows us to track a common ancestor due to a number of mutations. In summary,