Personal Profile
Sophia Kapchinsky
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Hi, my name is Sophia Kapchinsky and I am a fourth year student at York University. I am currently studying Kinesiology and Health Sciences as a major, Psychology as a minor, and am taking part in the Fitness Assessment and Exercise Counseling Certificate Stream. During the summer I worked in a health research lab led by Dr Hood, where I looked at the affects of exercise and denervation on mitochondria in young and aged animals. I am excited about the opportunity to work with Dr Hawke and his team to examine the molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptive capacity of Weddell Seals. I am also looking forward to answering your questions and providing you with some exciting new data during my tenure in the lab! |
Sophia_kapchinsky's Recent Blog Entries
week 9 Report from the Lab Team
Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Thu Dec 7 08:22:56 2006
Hello Polar Scientists!
The final weeks of Polar Science are now upon us. This means that the Lab Team is facing its busiest season yet, while the Ice Team is slowing down and getting ready to come back home. Nevertheless, this is the perfect time for the Lab Team to complete the bulk of our research. We have now received all the seal muscle biopsies and are preparing muscle sections for staining.
Go to the Expedition News focus area to read the complete report or Read More (1.0 kB) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Sun Dec 3 19:06:01 2006 It is clear that the Weddell seal undergoes physiological changes as it matures from a pup to a juvenile to an adult. Many of these changes have been discussed throughout the past few weeks.
Difficulty level 1: Do you think these changes are caused by the aging of the seal or by their change in swimming ability?
The numerous physiological adaptations that we see in the Weddell seal are caused by an increase in physical activity as the seal grows. As the seal ventures out into the water..... Read More (1.7 kB) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Thu Nov 23 17:37:29 2006 Hi everyone,
I’ve made another activity for you to try!
For the past three months we’ve all had Weddell Seals on our minds. Here’s your challenge: how many words can you make out of the letters that make up WEDDELL SEAL? So far I found over 50 words and I am certain there are more.
Let me know how many words you and your team were able to find and what they are.
Have fun!
Sophia Kapchinsky
Dr. Hawke Lab Team
York University Read More (458 bytes) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Sun Nov 19 17:08:34 2006 Hi everyone,
Have you had a chance to try the Lab Team's Word Search Puzzle?
If you have, here's the solution.
How did you do?
Sophia @ York University Read More (343 bytes) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Fri Nov 10 18:45:12 2006 Hi everyone,
Here are the answers to Challenge Questions #7 and #8 from the Lab Team.
Challenge Question #7
Myoglobin molecules from which muscle groups will donate oxygen molecules to mitochondria when you are:
* Running
The main muscle groups used during running are found in your legs. This means that a large portion of oxyhemoglobin will travel to your legs and give up their oxygen molecules to the myoglobin in those working muscles. To be more specific, the quadriceps,..... Read More (2.3 kB) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Tue Nov 7 17:10:44 2006 Hi everyone,
Here are the answers to Challenge Questions #7 and #8 from the Lab Team.
Challenge Question #7
Myoglobin molecules from which muscle groups will donate oxygen molecules to mitochondria when you are:
* Running
The main muscle groups used during running are found in your legs. This means that a large portion of oxyhemoglobin will travel to your legs and give up their oxygen molecules to the myoglobin in those working muscles. To be more specific, the quadriceps,..... Read More (2.3 kB) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Tue Oct 31 15:06:53 2006 Hi everyone,
I’m glad you’re having fun working on the word search. I have to confess, that I put a lot of effort into making sure to I spelled everyone else’s names and all the scientific terms correctly that I forgot to double-check my own name. Good eye the Hhomelearners, who spotted that I misspelled my own name (how silly), if you can spot a small mistake like that, I’m certain that you can find the hidden message in the puzzle. The letters in the message are scattered, but..... Read More (721 bytes) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Mon Oct 30 04:57:23 2006 Here's the wordsearch puzzle link again.
Investigations and Research Wordsearch Puzzle
Sophia Read More (188 bytes) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Mon Oct 30 04:53:05 2006
Here's a new activity for you - a Wordsearch Puzzle! Go to the Investigations and Research focus area, or just
this link directly to access the puzzle.
After finding all the words from the word bank, look for a hidden message in the center of the puzzle. Once you've solved the puzzle, go to the Messages area and send your answer to Dr...... Read More (659 bytes) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Thu Oct 26 14:40:12 2006 Hi everyone,
Myoglobin molecules from which muscle groups will donate oxygen molecules to mitochondria when you are:
* Running
* Playing basketball
* Eating
Read More (865 bytes) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Thu Oct 26 08:08:44 2006 Hi everyone,
My name is Sophia and it is now my turn to update you on the adventures of the Lab Team. Our adventures are somewhat different from those of the Ice Team, but just as exciting none-the-less.
As you may already know, each member of Dr Hawke’s Lab team is investigating a different aspect of Weddell seal muscle tissue. Peter is examining muscle stem cells, Jesse is determining fibre type and intramuscular lipid content and I will be investigating myoglobin, vasculature and..... Read More (1.4 kB) Posted By Sophia_Kapchinsky, Dr. Hawke on Mon Oct 9 16:53:22 2006 Hi everyone,
We’ve been receiving some great questions from students all over the world and we wanted to share a few of them with you.
----------------
Josh Rose writes:
Dr. Hawke,
Thank you so much for replying to me. That is awesome
there is no day and night. I have 3 questions to ask you if you dont mind? #1- What is an Estuary and what kind of wildlife live in or near them. #2- Could you send me some pictures of you in Antartica and some animals you see? #3-What kind of..... Read More (5.1 kB)Answer To Challenge Question #11
A New Activity
Answer to Lab Team Word Search Puzzle
Answers to Challenge Questions
Answers to Challenge Questions
Word Search Blooper
Wordsearch puzzle link
New wordsearch activity
Week 3 Challenge Questions from the Lab Team
We've got two new questions to challenge you this week! Read this week's report in the Expedition News focus area and see how you do with these.
Challenge Question #7
Week 3 Report from the Lab Team
Answers to Your Questions