How scientists think and work:
    Emily's experiment on therapeutic touch...what does it tell you about the scientific process?

Think: what did Palevitz say about the way science works? How many/what things did he mention?

Evolution.
  Is it 'just a theory'? Yes, but in the scientific sense, not the popular meaning. A theory in science is an explanation
   backed by reams of data. The cell theory is another example, as is the germ theory of disease. Very few people fail to immunize their
    children against diseases because the germ theory is 'just a theory'. Evolution is every bit as good a theory as the cell theory and the
    germ theory. In fact, it subsumes the other two because it explains such things as the origin of cell structures and processes, and how
    new diseases,  like AIDS and bird flu, arise. Look up 'cell theory' in the index of any biology textbook, including yours (Stern, 10th
     ed.)

Right now, evolution is the only SCIENTIFIC explanation for how current life got here. That is, there is lots of material evidence drawn
   from the natural world to back it up.
And, it does not rely on a supernatural explanation, which science cannot deal with. By it's very definition, supernatural means it's beyond natural, which means we have no experimental means to detect it. If an explanation invokes a supernatural cause, science can't deal with it. It's out of bounds. That's not to say a supernatural explanation isn't true. It just means science can't rely on it because we can't assess or test it. That's why evolution is the only SCIENTIFIC explanation for life on earth. And yes, it's a theory, but in the scientific sense, not the popular sense. Like the cell theory or the germ theory of disease, only even stronger. 

--------------------------

Now, about those plants....and why we need to know about  them.

Without plants, we would not be here. Life on earth as we  know it wouldn’t exist.

Photosynthesis is the basis of most food webs. Plants are called primary producers, and they’re at the base of all ecosystems. Plants harvest energy from the sun, and begin its path through ecosystems.

Everything in ecosystems is recycled, except energy.
 In the process, plants create biomass.
  Cellulose is the most abundant macromolecule on earth.
  RUBP Carboxylase is the most abundant protein on earth.

The evolution of photosynthesis some time before 3.5 billion years ago had a profound impact on evolution of life, because it
    produced OXYGEN. It changed our atmosphere completely, affected earth’s geology, and changed the way life conducts itself. It
    made large organisms like US possible. It also changed the entire planet, geologically.

The BIG PICTURE:
 Photosynthesis, and thus THE SUN, drive ecosystems and evolution as surely as it drives the life of individual plants

THE ESSENCE OF PLANTNESS

PLANTS AND ANIMALS SHARE MANY CHARACTERISTICS.

1. Both are EUKARYOTES
2. Both do SELECTIVE EXCHANGE OF MATERIALS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT
3. Both require ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS TO SURVIVE
4. Both GROW
5. Both REPRODUCE
6. Both SENSE AND RESPOND TO THE ENVIRONMENT
7. Both DIE

 BUT, we tend not to hold plants in high regard. Why not????

1. Chauvanism, for one thing.
 E.g., plants are not directly linked to human disease.
  Yes, they’re important for food, but we don’t attach as deep a meaning to that as disease. We take it for granted.

2. But also more subtle, ‘philosophical’ reasons.
 Take any plant....
  What if I yank a leaf off?

  What if I did the same thing to somebody's arm?   HORRORS!!

        Why the difference in your response?

Animals, and especially humans, have emotions, feelings, thoughts etc.
We don’t see plants as sentient beings, and therefore as  ‘highly’ evolved as us.

It’s a matter of LIFE STYLE.
 Plants are PHOTOAUTOTROPHS.
  They can synthesize all the organic molecules needed for life, and extract energy to do so from...... WHERE?
 They are ‘self-feeders’, or collectors, concentators,  PRODUCERS.

What about animals? What are they called??? CHEMOHETEROTROPHS.  What does that mean?
 They are also called ‘scatterers’.

 Animals usually must pursue food -- they're mobile -- and this requirement is reflected in everything about them!
  Organ systems, physiology, behavior, reproduction.

Plants have a fundamentally different life style.
 Again, they’re photoautotrophs. AND, they're stationary, or sessile.
  They require LIGHT for energy.
 Their whole MORPHOLOGY is different.
  I.E, LEAVES, ROOTS, STEMS
 Consider other factors in a terrestrial  environment that impinge on what it means to be a plant vs. an animal
            gravity, water.
   Plants can fall over in the wind.
    Significance?
   Water supply not constant.
    Significance?

 Again, plants are anchored to the substratum.
  They don’t pursue prey, or water.
 They don’t LOCOMOTE. They don’t move, in the way animals move.

Plants exhibit INDETERMINATE GROWTH.
  Like the battery bunny, they keep going, and going, and going.....
   How does that differ from animals?

 Plants regenerate much better than animals.
  They’re TOTIPOTENT.
   What does that mean viz. anatomy, physiology, etc? What about ‘practical’ implications, e.g. for propagation?
Look up the word.

To be continued...