Questions Anonymous

“Ms. Tucker, what happens when type A and type O blood are mixed together in a test tube at the same time? Since you’re not putting A into O or O into A, will the blood still clot?“

I knew that patients receiving blood transfusions could only accept specific blood types, but I was fascinated by what the outcomes would be in a lab environment. However, my 7th-grade science teacher – Ms. Tucker – thought that antibodies were too advanced a topic for the class and dismissed my question. I was left to ponder this inquiry until I reached freshman biology.

Freshman biology felt like a revelation. I finally began to have real, concrete answers for a whole series of burning questions I had stored up inside of me. I felt relieved, as though my biology class had the potential to provide the missing links that would make everything logical. But as I received answers to some of my questions, such as why cats had different fur colors in different spots and how snakes could produce venom but not be affected by it, I accumulated even more convoluted questions. Seeking more answers, I decided to take AP biology the following year. Ironically, the more I learned, the more questions I still had.

My AP biology class touched upon the topic of stem...