Cellfie Life

I’m going to start this episode with a little story. When I decided I was going to be crazy and start this podcast, I was trying to think of a name for it, and I came up with the name Cellfie Life. I was running it by my best friend who is a social media manager.  She does social media for a living, and she wasn’t exactly a fan of the name because she thought it sounded like a prison podcast, which is not at all what I was going for, but I was excited and proceeded to tell her all about Robert Hooke….Download the full transcript!

Unveiling the Microscopic World: Bacteria, Archaea, Fungi, and More! This podcast delves into the fascinating realm of microscopic life. We’ll begin by cracking the code on the key difference between prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea) and eukaryotes (organisms with complex cells). We’ll explore how scientists classify these organisms using a ranking system, journeying from domain all the way down to species. Get ready to meet the extremophiles known as archaea, who thrive in unbelievably harsh environments. We’ll also encounter the diverse world of bacteria, some beneficial and some pathogenic. Buckle up as we explore how bacteria are classified and how they reproduce. The microscopic tour continues with a look at fungi, whose cell walls are made of a unique material called chitin. We’ll discover how fungi can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Finally, we’ll encounter the mysterious prions, misfolded proteins that can wreak havoc on cellular functions. This podcast promises a captivating journey into the microscopic world, packed with fun facts and insights!

Hey, it’s Michaela, and this is Selfie Life, where we talk about complex science principles by relating them to I Love Lucy episodes and Bunny ears. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, listen to the Earth early embryogenesis episode. It was the episode right before this one. Also, for those of you questioning my three haze, I heard someone say it in the library. When I was writing this episode. I thought I would try it on. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Anyway, I am Nikayla and welcome to the Selfie Life. This subject is a two parter because it was getting a little longer than I wanted and I want to keep these episodes around 30 ish minutes. So I decided to chop the embryogenesis review in half. But first, housekeeping. I have set up a Patreon page. If you are enjoying the show and want to share the love, you can head over to Patreon.com. With Patreon, you can pay a small amount of money each month to help me cover production costs. It will help me pay for hosting and pay my amazing editors that help me get these episodes out every week. You can support the podcast for as little as $0.25 an episode, which is only a dollar a month. Or if you’re just a broke student and you really need that money for ramen, I get it. I’ve been there. Share the love by telling your friends about this podcast and rating or reviewing. You can follow me on Instagram. I post review questions on my stories just about every day. And you can also check out the [email protected] where you can find the script.

This episode teaches about the formation and development of an embryo in the first eight weeks. Fertilization is explained, detailing how sperm meets egg and delivers its genetic material. We cover the stages of embryo development: zygote, morula, blastula, and blastocyst. Each stage is described along with its key features. Finally, the episode discusses how the blastocyst implants itself in the uterus and the beginning stages of placenta development.I have the script notes from all the episodes, so if you want to print out and use them to aid in your studying, the transcripts are available under the episodes. Download the full transcript!

Cracking the Code on Periods: Unravel the Mysteries of Ovulation and Your Cycle This episode dives deep into the fascinating world of female reproduction. We’ll crack the code on ovulation, transform you into a master of the menstrual cycle, and have you rocking the lingo like a pro: luteal phase, follicle phase, corpus luteum, progesterone – no sweat! Get ready to go beyond the basics and truly understand what’s happening inside you each month.

Welcome to the Cellfie Life. Thank you so much for listening!!! Seriously, My name is Nikaela and today we are going to be reviewing the cell cycle, Meiosis and Mitosis. If you have questions or comments or corrections. Please let me know- the best way to reach me is on insta handle: @thiscellfielife or the contact form on the contact page!I have the script notes from all the episodes, so if you want to print out and use them to aid in your studying, the transcripts are available under the episodes. Download the full transcript!

Welcome to the Cellfie Life. Thank you so much for listening!!! Seriously, My name is Nikaela and today we are going to be reviewing the cell cycle, Meiosis and Mitosis. If you have questions or comments or corrections. Please let me know- the best way to reach me is on insta handle: @thiscellfielife or the contact form on the contact page!I have the script notes from all the episodes, so if you want to print out and use them to aid in your studying, the transcripts are available under the episodes. Download the full transcript!

Once upon a time there was a girl that lived in the desert that decided to go back to school. And not just any school, but to medical school. But she had a job and bills and didn’t have an extra $3,000 lying around to take an MCAT prep course. So she searched high and low for a podcast that did a great job reviewing for the MCAT so she could listen while driving and doing the dishes and at the gym and at work, but to Noah Bell. So she drank some crazy and decided to make an MCAT prep podcast. Hello everyone. My name is Nikaelama and I am that crazy awesome person doing this MCAP podcast. Selfie Life. Sell fee life. You guys get it? A cell, like the thing that things are made of. Anyway, I think everybody gets the pun. When I was brainstorming names with my best friend who is a social media manager, like she does social media for her profession and she’s brilliant at it. She wasn’t a huge fan of the name Selfie Life. She thought it sounded like a prison podcast. This is not a prison podcast. This is an educational science podcast currently geared in creating a comprehensive review for the MCAT. When my friend said that the name reminded her of prison cells, I got a little excited and I went on this long explanation about how Robert Hook was looking at a cork under a microscope and saw the little areas of the desiccated plant cells and thought they looked like monk cells, like the places where the monks used to sleep. And after I went on this crazy little rant and was so excited, she still hated the name, but I liked it, so I went with it. So this is Selfie Life a little bit about me. My bachelor’s is in biology. I have a minor in chemistry, probably very similar to a lot of you listening. And I have a master’s degree in human physiology. For the past couple of years, I have been working and doing research in a really, really amazing lab that does microbiology biochemistry and molecular research. If you ask me about things that I love, I obviously have a very long list. But I have a special place in my soul for science. And you guys, I love getting good grades. There is just something so satisfying with conquering subject matter and like going in and just being like, yeah, I know this. And having that complete understanding and that love of good grades and really understanding how things work and having a thorough knowledge translates over into me really wanting a really amazing MCAT score. So I’m hoping that this podcast will help all of you as well. And I hope that you and I hope when I say you, I’m really hoping that there’s going to be a lot of people that will listen, that this podcast will help you towards your MCAT score goals and that financial restrictions or busy schedules won’t keep anyone from their medical school dreams. I mean, we need more doctors. We need more people who are passionate and willing to make the sacrifices to become doctors. So good job you guys. Good job. So please listen. Rate review, subscribe. I mean, you know the drill. But also, please tell your friends about this podcast. For me and my friends that are in the sciences and on this medical school journey, we share materials that we like all the time. Like we’re always shooting each other YouTube videos. Huge fan of YouTube University and books that were really good. And there’s really just a community, especially I feel like, around people taking the MCAT. So please share. Let everyone know. Let your friends know. Also, I’m getting a website up. Check out the website. It’s cellfielife.com. The transcripts from each episode will be posted there eventually. I want to put up study notes, but for now, I will have the transcripts. If you need like a quick review, you want to visually review it, it will be there for you. And what else do I need to tell you about? Oh, Instagram. I have an Instagram account where I actually post MCAT review questions almost every day on my Insta stories. So make sure to check out the Instastories. My handle is at this selfie life. So it’s thiscellfielife. The plan is to release a new episode every Tuesday. I know that MCAT season is always upon us, so if I can release them faster, I will. But plan on having a new episode every Tuesday for sure. Subscribe and then they will just automatically be downloaded for you. I have used a lot of resources donated by a lot of awesome friends that have already taken the MCAT and have used all these resources to help create this podcast. You guys. I have Kaplan books. Altius books. Khan Academy. Huge fan of Khan Academy. And YouTube videos. Exam crackers. Somebody gave me some CDs of Audio Osmosis and I need to find a CD player or something. I don’t have anything in my house that plays CDs. So once I figure out how to play CDs, I know how to play CDs. Once I figure out where I can play CDs, I really want to give those a listen because I’ve heard really good things about those as well. I also have some prints and review material. I have my own science books and my own classroom materials. And I really tried to scour the MCAP prep stuff and put together a comprehensive podcast review. Thanks for listening you guys. Let’s get really great scores on the MCAT. Hit me up on Insta. If you have any questions or comments or corrections. If you ever hear something and you’re like, no, that is incorrect, please let me know and I will put out a correction. Having correct information in my podcast is super important and I’ve been putting a lot of time and research into these podcasts so that I can teach and share it correctly. You all right? You guys study hard, friends.

**This episode contains sexual health material**   Are you guys ready for this? You all know that females have complicated reproductive systems and its cause we can grow new humans. New humans! That is just crazy to me. So take a deep breath and dive in.

**This episode contains sexual health material**   Let's talk about sex, baby! Let's talk about you and me…or let's talk about reproductive systems, and hormones, and the anterior pituitary, and the endometrium, and the epididymis.

**This episode contains sexual health material** Let's talk about sex, baby! Let's talk about you and me…or let's talk about reproductive systems, and hormones, and the anterior pituitary, and the endometrium, and the epididymis. Welcome to the Cellfie Life. Thank you so much for listening. If you have questions or comments, or corrections, please let me know. The best way to reach me is either the website CellfieLife.com or on Insta at @thiscellfielife. On the website, I have the script notes from all the episodes. So if you want to print out and use them to aid in your studying, the transcripts are available under the episodes. And follow me on Insta! I post MCAT prep questions on my story every morning, and I will let you know when a new episode drops, but if you subscribe, they will be automatically downloaded for your listening pleasure. And tell your friends about this podcast. As a non-traditional premed, I decided to make this podcast because I couldn't find an MCAT review podcast, and I really wanted one. So now that I am making it, I want other premed students that are out there hustling and busy—like you all are—to have this as an added resource for your test prep. This episode does have sexual health material—so this is your warning: We're gonna be talking about penises and vaginas. And one last note before we jump in: This episode is about biological sex, not necessarily gender expression or gender identity. Anyway, let's get down…to business, that is, and the reproductive system. You guys, I'm gonna try not to do a ton of sex puns, but as I was writing this episode, everything sounded like a sexual innuendo. Sorry, not sorry Okay! The reproductive system includes sex organs and parts of our brains. We are going to start with males because they are easy. In my opinion, male reproductive systems and hormones are pretty straightforward, so we are going to start with males and then graduate up to females. Along with what we usually think of as reproduction duties—creating sperm and eggs—the reproductive system is also responsible for producing hormones. Because these hormones come from our reproductive system, they are dubbed our "sex" hormones. Sex starts in the brain. The sex organs are controlled by the brain, specifically the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary. The hypothalamus is really important. I think of the hypothalamus as an air traffic controller. The air traffic controller sits up in the tower and watches everything that is going on. If a plane is taking a long time on the landing strip, the air traffic controller tells the incoming plane to hang on before it lands so that there is not a crash. The hypothalamus does the same thing. It sits up in the brain and monitors what is going on in the body and gives directions if it sees that something is straying too far from homeostasis. The hypothalamus regulates body temperature, appetite, physiological cycles, and sexual behavior, to name a few. We will talk more in detail about the hypothalamus later, but I wanted to introduce it because it has a really important role in homeostasis and, thus, health. But right now, we'll just talk about the hypothalamus's role in regards to the reproductive system. The hypothalamus is bossy, just like a good air traffic controller. You don't want an air traffic controller that waffles back and forth about whether a runway is clear for a plane to land.

Bio 1. Cell Cycle, Mitosis, and Meiosis

Cell-fie Life is an educational podcast reviewing the topics covered on the MCAT.