A Discussion on Biology

Paper Summary:

A discussion between family members that gives a lesson in biology and defines several aspects of biology such as vegetarianism, protein, vitamin B12, cladistics, tetrapods, and antisense technology. Because this colloquial paper is written in the style of a story being told to the lay person, the reader is able to easily understand the biological concepts.

From the Paper:

""I'm being more efficient," Sadie said. "The 10% rule of ecology says that only 10% of the available energy stored in a food can be used by the next level of the ecosystem. So plants can use only 10% of the energy sent by the sun, and we can use only 10% of the energy stored by plants when we eat them, or 1% of what comes from the sun. Eating meat cuts the percentage to one-tenth of 1%. Too inefficient. That's why I eat only plants" ("Vegetarianism"). Sadie nodded her head wisely.
"She's right, you know." David was a graduate student in molecular biology. He knew that sort of stuff backward and forward. Uncle Eldridge looked a little startled.
"I learned that in class, too," I added.
"But what about protein? How do you get enough protein?" Aunt Sally looked worried.
"There are a lot of sources of protein besides meat. The need for protein is based on getting both essential and non-essential amino acids from your food," Sadie explained. "It can be from complete protein foods, like meat or fish or chicken, that include all the amino acids. But non-complete protein foods are just called that because they don't include every amino acid. So you just have to combine them to get all the amino acids you need."
"Will you be able to get all your amino acids today without the turkey?" Mom asked.
"Probably," Sadie said. "The beans, the potatoes, the walnuts, and the corn in the cornbread probably include all the essential amino acids between them." ("Protein")."

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