Unit 7 Reflection

In this unit we learned about ecology.We learned about food chains and food webs. Autotrophs provide energy for other organisms in an ecosystem. Heterotrophs are organisms that get their energy by eating other living things. Food chains and food webs model the flow of energy in an ecosystem. A food chain shows how each organisms get its energy. Tropic levels are levels in a food chain based on what something eats. From the bottom ts primary producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and the lastly, Quaternary consumer. Biomass is the method of measuring energy. Biodiversity is threatened due to habitat loss, introduced species, overexploitation, and change in climate. We also watched a movie called bag it. We learned how much plastic we use and why we should stop using so much plastic. We also took a questionnaire and I learned that I am passive. I should try to be more assertive.

Candy Electrophoresis Lab

In this lab we used gel electrophoresis to see the dyes from candy. We did get dyes that were a different color than the reference bands. There weren't green ones in the reference bands. Our dyes did move in the wrong direction but that was only because we plugged in the power supply wrong. I think citrus red 2 would migrate like the dyes in our lab because it's very simple and short. Dog food manufacturers probably put artificial food colors in dog food to make it look more appealing to the owner. While the dog may not care, if the food is a pleasing color, it will catch some pet owners' eyes. The length of the strands and the power affect the distance the dye solutions migrate. The electric field helps move the dyes through the gel. The pores of the gel are what separates the molecules by size. The smaller ones move faster because they can get through easier. I would expect molecular weights of 600 daltons to move the furthest distnace, 1000 daltons in the far middle, 2000 closer middle , and 5000 daltons to not move much.

Recombinant DNA lab

The process for producing recombinant DNA is first to find a restriction enzyme that will cut the plasmid at one site and this same enzyme should be able to cut the cell DNA at two sites. Then we splice our insulin gene into the plasmid. Next we would add the enzyme ligase to glue the sticky ends together. We have now created a recombinant plasmdThere are different types of antibiotic resistances. Tetracycline, kanamycin, and ampiciliin are antibiotics which some plasmids provide resistance to it. I could use tetracycline and kanamycin to see if bacteria have taken in my plasmid because our plasmid doesn't have a resistance to those antibioics. I wouldn't use ampicillin because that is the antibiotic the plasmid is resistance to. Restriction enzymes are bacterial enzynes which are major tools of recombinant DNA techonology .We used Eco RI because it was the one closest to insulin and it cut the DNA twice. If I used an enzyme that cut the plasmid in two places, it wouldn't keep it's circular shape. This process is important in our everyday lives because it is essential to genetic engineering. It helps with diabetes by inserting the gene for insulin into a bacterial plasmid. This process can also be used to produce genetically modified food such as delaying fruit ripening and resistance to insects and plant viruses.

New Year's Goals

My goal for this year is to not procrastinate anymore with my homework. To achieve this I will try to do all the work I can on the first day rather than waiting till the last day. This will get me better quality work rather than rushed work that I put together on the last day. Another goal I have for this year is to sleep earlier and wake up earlier that way I won't get tardies.

Unit 5 Reflection

      In this unit we learned about genes and mutations. DNA is the code of life. It is made with a double helix which is two strands twisted around each other. It is made up of nucleotides which is made of a nitrogen base, phosphate group, and a sugar. The nitrogen bases wither come in double rings called purines such as adenine and guanine or single rings called pyrimidines such as thymine and cytosine. Semi-conservative replication is the process of creating two identical strands of DNA from one strand. the two strands end up with half of the original strand. The first step is unzipping, where the enzyme unzips DNA by breaking hydrogen bonds that hold nitrogen bases together. Then DNA polymerase adds matching nucleotides to each strand. The central dogma of biology is DNA to RNA which is transcription, then RNA to proten which is translation, and finally, protein to organism which is the phenotype. Transcription is the process where RNA polymerase reads and copies the DNA code for a protein as mRNA copy. The three steps of transcription are first DNA unzips, then RNA polymerase matches spare nucleotides to make an RNA strand, and finally, messenger RNA is produced and leaves the nucleus for the cytoplasm. Then in translation, mRNA arrives at the ribosome which reads the mRNA three bases at a time and translates DNA language to protein language.Each base sequence is known as a codon and each codon codes for one amino acid. The result is a long chain of amino acids which twists, folds, and combines with other chains and becomes a protein.
      We also learned about mutations, which is a change in the DNA code. Point mutations are a change in one or two base pairs of DNA. This is very small and common. The two main types are substitution and frameshift mutation.
     The most difficult part of this unit was about gene expression and regulation. Gene expression is the process of a gene ceing used to produce a gene product or phenotype. Gene regulation is mechanism used by cells to increase or decrease the expression of a gene. Every cell in our body has the same DNA but not all cells look the same. Cells look different because each type of cell expresses genes specific to those cells. Cells don't want to waste energy so thy have a variety of steps to control gene expression. There is a promoter, location on DNA where RNA polymerase attaches. The operon is a series of genes used to control the expression of a single gene.  The operator is a switch or segment of DNA at the start of a gene that prevents of allows RNA polymerase from attaching and reading the gene. An example would be the lac operon, where bacteria uses lactase to break down lactose.

Protein Synthesis Lab

     To produce protein, first is transcription. RNA polymerase matches reads and copies the DNA code for a protein as a messenger RNA copy. Then in translation, the messenger arrives at the ribosome. Then, the ribosome reads the mRNa three bases at a time and translates DNA language into protein language. The result is a protein! 

      Substitution seemed to have the least effect on the proteins since the protein ended up not changing at all. Deletion seemed to have the greatest effect. The protein became a lot shorter than it was originally, which meant a lot of information was left out. It does matter where the mutation occurs. If it was at the end, the results might have been different and only a small portion would've been left out. 

      I chose to do deletion again but in a different position because it seemed to change the protein the most. I took out one part from the very beginning, and it didn't change much from the first deletion. I feel like if I deleted a portion from the end instead, the results would have been different.

     Mutations affect our life since it could happen to any one of us. Mutations are the reasons for why cancer and other diseases happen. One disease that is caused my mutations is phenylketonuria. Without treatment it causes intellectual disabilities. 

DNA extraction lab

The question was How can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it. In this lab we had a procedure and tried to group them according to the three basic steps: homogenization, lysis, and precipitation. We swished Gatorade around in our mouth and spit it back out. The Gatorade homogenized it. The Gatorade and saliva mixture didn't mix and the DNA precipitated because the Gatorade was polar and the alcohol was non polar. One possible error we made was when we put the alcohol in. If we didn't carefully add in the alcohol, then the two solution could have mixed and we wouldn't have been able to see the DNA. To improve this I would recommend people to carefully pour in the alcohol. Another possible error was that we didn't swish around the Gatorade in our mouth enough. This wouldn't have gotten enough DNA in the solution which would've affected how it formed later.