DNA Sequencing Activity

Using DNA sequencing, it is possible to figure out which person is different from the normal, how much different, and if they have a disease because of these differences. 

ABBY - only had one difference from the normal. GAG to GTG 

This is a simple point mutation (single change in DNA)

This changes the protein in Abby to VAL (The normal is GLU)

*GLU is very positively charged, VAL is VERY hydrophobic. -- this change is caused in cystic fibrosis. 

 Therefore, the protein might not fold correctly.. or in other words she COULD have some issues with this change in her DNA.

BOB - only had one difference from the normal. AAG --> TAG

His protein went from LYS --> STOP.

(stop literarily means the end of the protein, it stops making it)

This would be called truncation mutation.  (the shortage of the protein itself)

His protein would be 3 amino acids short! :/  

This would probably cause him some problems!

CAROL - (very different from the normal, you can tell this by looking below at the graph!)

She had 14 differences, which caused a low percent similarity. 

The sequences are still there, she just had some sort of a deletion

NORMAL - ACT CCT GAG

CAROL -     ACC CTG AGG

This is called a reading frame --> frameshift mutation. 

This causes her proteins to be VERY different!!

*ALL OF THIS HAPPENS IN CELL DIVISION.

"99% of mutations have NO effect what so ever" - Mr. Ludwig

I believe the disease risk for Abby is pretty low but probably a little higher then Bob's. On the other hand, Carol will most likely have a disease risk because of how many changes she experienced!

P.S. This is probably my best post so far :D

I should work harder on this.

Keywords :D

http://quizlet.com/_2sqhf

Eugenics

My Family Pedigree (:

Just incase you cant read the above key:

Square - Male

Circle - Female

Line between - married

Line above - siblings 

Line down - children

All shaded regions - the male or female represented tasted the strip

All clear regions - the male or female represented did NOT taste the strip

Half colored regions - the male or female represented tasted a little

During class we did a gene test to see if any of us had a certain gene. The test was to taste a strip of paper to see if you experienced the taste. I ended up tasting the strip. (btw--it was terrible!!!) A couple days later, I tested my family. My father ended up tasting the strip like i did. My mother and sisters did not, but my niece also did. Therefore, I can infer that me & my father have the same gene and it was passed onto my niece. I can also infer my mom passed her gene onto my sisters because they had the same reaction. 

So what we are looking at here is basically: what is eugenics?  Wiki defines eugenics as an "applied science or the biosocial movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population" basically referring to human population. 

What were the social origins of eugenics?

       People started being curious about eugenics in the first three decades of the 20th century. American eugenics started during the reconstruction period after the American Revolution and the Civil War. As time went by eugenics seemed to be to the underlying cause of social problems, such as prostitution. Basically, they thought the sterilization of one "defective" adult could help prevent more of them. Since people had strong faith in science to fix things, they invested in eugenics. They believed the study of eugenics would solve all human flaws. 


What were the scientific origins of eugenics? 
         Eugenics came about in the 20th century by Francis Galton. He encouraged healthy people to have more kids. The first eugenic sterilization law in the United States occurred in 1907. By this time most scientists believed environments caused eugenic flaws. They believed "defectives" should be prevented from breeding!


What research methods did they use & what flaws occurred?
          Researchers attempted to trace flaws through pedigrees or family trees. They would gather medical history and other information in the pedigrees and define the dominate trait but, this presented a problem because they had to find families large enough and with enough history to research. Mendel brought the idea that each trait was governed by a pair of "factors" each inherited by the parents. They also had difficulties defining traits such as eye color, and blood group but they were more interested in mental behavior. They also had poor survey and statistical methods. False quantification was a problem because they assumed IQ tests were accurate. 


QUICK FACT: By 1924, 3000 people had been involuntarily sterilized in America!


How does this impact us today?
         Without these researchers, we would see in increase in baby deaths. Diseases wouldn't be solved and many people would still be effected. Eugenics brought tons of options to people that before had no options. So thank you eugenics! 




Information thanks to:
http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/

Meiosis vs Mitosis

We've been learning about the differences in Meiosis & Mitosis..
So, here's what happens...

Meiosis: 
Thanks to Oscar Hertwig, we know of Meiosis. This occurs in plants, animals, fungi, and humans. During Meiosis, there are four haploid daughter cells that are produced. This process will only create sex cells (male sperm cells, female egg cells).  If you want the definition... Meiosis is a type of cellular reproduction in which the number of chromosomes are reduced by half through the separation of homologous chromosomes in a diploid cell.  The process in Meiosis is a little longer than in Mitosis. Here's what happens....  Interphase, Prophase I, Metaphase I, Anaphase I, Telophase I, Prophase II, Metaphase II, Anaphase II and Telophase II. This is a sexual type of reproduction and the cells that are produced are genetically different. During this process crossing over does happen, and the number of chromosomes are reduced by half.


Mitosis:
Mitosis was discovered by Walther Flemming. This process occurs in ALL organisms and produces two diploid daughter cells. Unlike Meiosis, crossing over does not happen here. Basically this process makes everything Meiosis doesn't (sex cells). This is the process:  Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase and Cytokinesis. Mitosis is an asexual process and the cells that are produced are identical from the original cell. There is only one single division.

here's where i got my information from (: feel free to go for more info. http://www.diffen.com/difference/Meiosis_vs_Mitosis

Photosynthesis

What is photosynthesis? (other than a big word (; )
It is a process, in which, protistans (mainly plants) use energy from the sun to make sugar.. then cellular respiration converts it into ATP (or the fuel).

Here is the reaction...
6H2O + 6CO2 ---> C6H12O6_6O2
or in other words..
six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen!

Here's how it works:
When we breathe out Carbon Dioxide the plant takes it up in the leaves. Then when it rains the plant takes it up through the soil. These two mix together in the chloroplast where light is trapped. These to make the substance glucose.

The plants use the energy from the sun(which is converted into chlorophyll) to mix together the Carbon Dioxide, water, and light. This creates food for the plants.

From here on, the process restarts itself.

Just incase you wanted to know, the green pigment in chlorophyll is what makes the plant green! (:

CELLS!

So basically science isn't my best subject! But, the one thing I do enjoy learning about is cells. (thanks to Robert Hooke -- the man who discovered them!) (: Don't ask why, because i'm not sure! ha but here is some information that i gathered...

Bacteria is single celled.. but certain things like animals (us) are multicellular.. we have about 100 trillion cells!

Most cells are not visible to the unaided eye because, they are so tiny. In fact, one of the only visible cells to the unaided eye is the human egg.. BUT cells are pretty important in all living things. They are so small that even under a microscope they seem tiny. You may be able to see things like the nucleus with the help of a microscope. In other words, cells are pretttttty small! This is one place size doesn't matter, cells carry out a number of tasks.

There are two different types of cells: plants & animals. The main difference between the two is a cell wall, which a plant has and the animal doesn't. This shapes and supports the cell.

Here's what each cell does have:

Cell membrane: think of this as "skin" it let's things in and out.

Chlorophyll: (in plants) this traps light and is used to produce food.. yummy.

Chlororplasts: (again in plants) think of this as the kitchen! food is made here..

Chromosomes: think of this as the computer (: these contain codes that guide cell activites..

Cytoplasm: it's just a jellylike substance

Endoplasmic reticulum: surface for chemical activity

Golgi bodies: these little things store & release chemicals

Lyosome: think of this as the tummy! it's the digestive center

Mircotubule: hollow cylinder that supports and shapes cell

Mitochondria: the powerhouse!

Nuclear membrane: holds the nucleus together!

Necleolus: body inside the nucleus

Nucleus: where the chromosomes live!

Plastid: stores food. -fridge (:

Ribosomes: another kitchen! proteins are made.

Vacuole: this contains water & dissolved minerals

I know it's not easy to remember.. so here's a picture of an animal cell

and.. a plant cell:

Cells are the center of living things. Without them, we wouldn't exsist. There are plenty more details that I could explain about cells, so know these are just the basics. (:

Here's a YOUTUBE video on cells (:

PKU

PKU is a treatable disorder that is inherited. Children get it from both parents that have one of the mutated genes. If their PAH enzyme is off then the child is at risk for this disorder. It affects the body’s ability to break down an amino acid called Phenylalanine (Phe).  If it's not treated the child could suffer from mental retardation. It can also cause Hyperphenylalaninaemia which can damage brain tissue. In infants, if this happens it can trigger brain related issues throughout life if it's not treated. In adults, it's bad for this to happen because it causes slow reaction and decrease of intellegence. It also may cause anxiety. This also effects children greatly because they have to change their lifestyle because of it. They have to change their diet and the way they eat for as long as possible because it is a form of treatment. They can not eat things with high protein like meet, cheese, milk, and such. In order for doctors to catch this disorder they check newborns blood so they can see if they have elevated levels of certain things or, the protein BH4. This disorder is found mostly in white children (1 in 10,000) and the number get lower in other races. It's very rare in African Americans. This basically happens when you have both parents that have an enzyme that isn't working correctly and the child inherits it. The child gets a build up of a certain protein, which isn't good. The only good thing about this disorder is that it is treatable if it's caught early enough. In the past, doctors placed kids with PKU in a state of severe mental retardation but now it's understood that it is treatable which is great!