Unit 6 Reflection

In Unit 6, we learned about biotechnology and how there were many different uses of it in the world. There is industrial biotech which is like mass production of GMOs, like food or fermented substances. Another biotech field is medical biotech, which is the production medicine and antibiotics. There is diagnostic biotech that is more related to DNA and comparing organisms. And there is Agricultural biotech, which deals with breeding of plants and animals and makes transgeneic organisms.When there are such advances in the field of biotechnonlogy, there will come many questions of morals. Things like cloning and changing genes are debated in the world today. My weaknesses were understanding gel electrophoresis and my strengths were remembering the types of fields in biotechnology. But after the experiment, I grasped the idea of gel electrophoresis a lot better.  

In class, we did a candy gel electrophoresis experiment (http://rachelbsciblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/candy-electrophoresis-lab.html?m=1) and a pGLO lab ( http://rachelbsciblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/pglo-lab.html?m=1) with bacteria. I learned about what the experiments really looked like rather than justbreading about them and how long they take with the different steps. 

I want to learn more about the different bioethical topics because I found it interesting to see what could benefit mankind. With such new technologies being made, there should be a lot of changes in the future. I wonder about what will be made in the next 20 years that will change our lives. 

My New Years goals are coming along pretty well. I have began studying Sunday for the test on Wednesday and prepared the study outline for the week. Also my goal of watching less TV has been working but mainly because I've been so busy that I don't even have time. Hopefully I can keep up this habit for the rest of the semester and read more books. 

pGLO Lab

1.

Plate Number of Colonies Color of colonies under room light Color of colonies under   UV light - pGLO LB carpet beige beige - pGLO LB/amp 0 none none + pGLO LB/amp 4 beige beige + pGLO LB/amp/ara 24 beige green

2. The new transformed bacteria has resistance to antibiotics and has the trait for glowing under UV light. 3. I estimate around 20-30 bacterium were in the 100 mircoliters because the +pGLO LB/AMP has only 4 colonies that were started but +pGLO LB/AMP/ARA ended with 24 colonies. 4. Arabinose turns on the pGLO gene to glow under UV light. 5. GFP can be used to identify certain bacteria to see if it is present or not in a certain solution, it can be used to make animals glow in the dark maybe as an adaptation, and it can show if an inserted gene has been taken in by glowing in the making of GMOs. 6. Genetic engineering has also been used for making pesticide and herbicide resistant plants for farmers to have a greater crop and produce the most food possible.

Candy Electrophoresis Lab

1. Absent.
2. The green is similar to Blue 1 because their bonds look alike. The color green is very similar to blue because green is made up of blue so they should be a similar length.
3. Manufacturers put dyes in dog food because it makes it visually appealing and that results in more people buying it.
4. Artificial colors would be preferred because they catch more attention in the eye of the consumer.
5. Length and weight of dye.
6. Electrical force helped move the dyes to the positive.
7. DNA is negatively charged so the small pieces crawl easier through the gel to get to the positive.
8. The 600 would be the closest to the positive, then 1000 and 2000, and then 5000 should be the one closest to the negative side.

Recombinant DNA Lab

Our antibiotic resistance was to ampicillan and we found the restriction enzyme Asp II once in the plasmid and twice in the human cell gene, above and below the insulin gene. The bacteria fit in with the other DNA and made a longer strand.
1. I would use ampicillan because the bacteria will resist the antibiotic if the bacteria was taken in. I would not use tetracycline or kanamycine because the plasmid does not have resistance to either antibiotic so those antibiotics would not show if the bacteria is accepted or not.
2. Restriction enzymes are enzymes that are used to recombine DNA by finding a specific nucleotide sequence and cutting it out making a sticky end. We used Asp II because we found it on the plasmid once and the strand twice.
3.  If the plasmid was cute twice then the plasmid would have too many sticky ends and the two places on the end of the plasmid don't fit in with the DNA strand. Sticky ends can only connect if both ends are from the same restriction enzyme.
4. This process is used in the genetically altered food that we eat and buy from grocery stores. This kind of technology changes the way plants grow in different seasons for farmers and consumers.
5. Recombinant DNA is used in insect-resistant and herbicide-resistant plants for farming and gardening. It is also used in Hepatitis B vaccine and the diagnosis of HIV which is very important in the medical world for everyone.

New Years Goals

-I will make sure to study more over the course of a week before a test. I want to reduce cramming and stress caused by not being on top of the unit. To complete this I will, make diagrams after a new lesson has a been taught and make a study guide through out the unit to recap what was learned and so I can quiz myself. I want to make sure that I know the topics as I watch the vodcasts instead of freaking out at before the test because I never understood it.

-I will watch less TV. I want to do this because I want more sleep and to manage my time better. Sometimes I feel like there is not enough time in the day to do the things I want and TV is wasting time. To do this, I will not start new shows and try to read more instead of watching stuff.

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit was about what genes are made of and how they are used in our cells. We learned about genetic code and that nucleotides are made up of a nitrogen base of A, T, G or C, a phosphate group and a five carbon sugar called deoxyribose. DNA is copied in order for mitosis and meiosis to take place and it is copied inside of the nucleus. The enzyme helicase unzips the DNA strand into 2 separate strands then DNA polymaerase fills out the complementary strand with matching nucleotides. DNA is the master copy for making proteins and RNA is the disposable messenger copy. For protein synthesis, DNA is transcribed by RNA polymerase into a single strand of mRNA and where the Ts change to Us. Introns that do not code for the protein needed are cut out of the DNA strand so only the exons are left. Then the mRNA goes into the cytoplasm to attach to a ribosome and is read in groups of 3 called codons that code for specific amino acids.
 
 tRNA brings the proper amino acids as the codon is being read by the ribosome. Mutations are changes in DNA when it is copied. Insertions cause the least amount of change to the genetic code because it only messes up one base pair while frameshift mutations like deletion and insertions change the whole reading frame of DNA and every base pair that comes after the mutations. I think of how cells have all genes like a recipe book and cells that are specialized make certain dishes. 
My strengths in this unit were understanding protein synthesis and what enzymes were used. I understood the genetic code because it is similar to computer code. I also got confused when DNA goes to RNA and how the T switches to U.

 One of my weaknesses was understanding gene regulation and what the steps were. I have some problems visualizing it since it is on such a minuscule scale and it is hard to relate to everyday objects that I see and know.

The diagram shown in class is very helpful because I am scared that if I try to draw my own diagram I will get it wrong and study off of a wrong diagram. I want to learn more about how genes are regulated because I find it interesting how the presence of certain material can trigger the production of a specific enzyme.  The process of exons and introns is interesting and how DNA has so many process that happen in order to be used around the cell. I wonder about if DNA messes up when cutting out the introns and creates a big mutation. 

Protein Synthesis Lab Analysis

1. Protein synthesis starts off by the transcription of DNA into RNA in the nucleus. Then, the mRNA texts the nucleus and goes into the cytoplasm to attach to a ribosome. Once the RNA is attached, the code is read by a sequence of 3 bases that make up a codon. tRNA brings the proper amino acid to the codon that is needed. Then the ribosome puts all of the amino acids together to form a chain until the stop codon is read.

2. Insertions and deletions had the greatest effect because they are frameshift mutations and it changes the whole code for the following codons. Substitutions had the least effect because it only changed one base pair and no other bases were changed. It does matter where mutations occur because there are certain codons for start and start that are critical for the structure of proteins. If the change is early in the sequence, then it effects a lot more codons which will change the protein more. If the mutation is later then it doesn't change as many amino acids.

3. I chose 2 deletion because a single deletion had a big effect on making protein. Though it is similar to insertion, my mutation changed the length of the chain of amino acids because it didn't have a start or stop codon since there was a mutation in the first base. It matters a lot where the mutation occurs, and since I put mine at the very front it changed the start codon and the rest after that. 

4. Mutations can affect how our bodies work and look since we are made up of proteins. Mutations can change the original plan of our structure for better or for worse. A mutation like being able to fly would be very useful, and I could go work with the X-men. Some mutations can simply result in visible changes to the body while others change the entire functionality and effectiveness of all systems that help people survive. Progeria is a mutated disease that causes premature aging in children and a reduced life span. It is caused by a point mutations of substituting cytosine for thymine. There is about 1 person mutated for every  8 million births. Most have small, fragile bodies, like an elderly person's. Their face is wrinkled and the head is in larger proportion to their body. People born with progeria live to around mid-teens to early 20s.