Unit 7 Reflection

Unit seven was called the ´Study of House´. It focused on ecology and environmental issues, such as the use of plastic. We discussed about how we can help the world by consuming less unnecessary items and focusing on what is important. The movie, Bag It!, directed by Susan Beraza, really showed us how we have affected the world and how we can help make it better.
For the Conservation Biologist project, each group had to choose a certain ecosystem to focus on and list the threats and such in a video. My group researched Antarctica and we found out that ice melting is not the only problem it has. Many of the Antarctic's issues are due to humans though, for example overfishing. This upsets the food webs in the ecosystem.
                                              
                                                

Candy Electrophoresis Lab

        We completed a gel electrophoresis lab using dyes in candy and dyes given to us by the teacher. We prepared the dyes then set them to move through a certain gel to see which ones move faster and which ones move slower. The faster ones were the ones with smaller molecules, and our fastest was yellow 5. The slower ones were the dyes with larger molecules, and our slowest was the candy dye from blue m&m's.
        I believe citrus red 2 would move like yellow 5 because they are both small and thin, betanin would move like yellow 6 because it is long and narrow, carminic acid would move like blue candy dye from m&m's because it is wide and large, and fast green would move like purple skittles dye because it is very wide.
        I believe there are artificial food colors in dog food too to make the food appear more edible and the color could attract the dog.

Recombinant DNA Lab

On January 13th, 2016, we did a recombinant DNA lab since we recently learned about recombinant DNA. My partner and I chose to use the kanamycin restriction enzyme for our project. Restriction enzymes are enzymes that cut DNA when they read a specific sequence. The enzyme had to cut near the insulin gene. If we had used an enzyme that cut the plasmid in two places, part of the plasmid sequence would be lost and it would not work. This process is important to everyday life because everyday new antibiotics are created and this process helps. This process could also be used to make mutant animals. Imagine seeing a monkey-elephant walking down the street. That would be awesome. Very awesome. Or seeing a tiny, bacteria sized dog. That would be cute.

                                                

New Year´s Goals

        In the year of 2016, I will get a higher grade than a B- in my biology class. I will do this by turning in my homework on time and studying the topics that I have trouble fully understanding. I will study for at least an hour for all of the quizzes and tests, and I will manage time better. I will work hard and earn higher grades.

        In 2016, I will also become more flexible. I will be able to do the splits both ways by summer and I will be able to touch my nose to my knees. I will stretch every day possible for at least fifteen minutes and I will be able to do split leaps and jumps for winter guard. 

Coin Sex Lab

As weird as it sounds, we completed a coin sex lab this past week in biology. We modeled how genes and alleles randomly mix by using coins. The coins were flipped and whichever side they landed on determined what alleles were used. The coins being flipped represented the process of meiosis and writing the results down represented the process of reproduction. We expected to have one of each monohybrid or dihybrid cross because that was the most logical, but instead we usually got the genotype and phenotype of the most probable result. During meiosis, chromosomes can recombine, which is when chromosomes may exchange information. Homozygous alleles are alleles that are both either dominant or recessive, whereas heterozygous alleles are a pair of one dominant allele and one recessive. Probability and prediction are what helped us ´predict´ our results, though not all of them were right. We learned that autosomal inheritance is related to all of the chromosomes, whereas x-linked inheritance is only linked to the sex chromosome X which is why x-linked inheritances are mostly common in males. They only need one recessive allele to have the inheritance whereas females need two.

Unit 5 Reflection

        Unit five included discussions on the topics of DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis. We learned how DNA is structured and that it is anti-parallel. DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, and is structured as a double helix. It also coils around proteins called histones. RNA is a temporary copy of DNA that is used to build proteins from amino acids. RNA copies one side of the DNA and leaves the nucleus to go to a ribosome, which then translates the code into flesh and blood. We learned all of this new information through vodcasts and labs, such as the protein synthesis lab and DNA extraction lab.
        I would say that say that my strength in this unit is understanding the genetic code and how it works because I do not have much trouble transcripting and translating DNA. However, my weakness would be protein synthesis, which a very complicated algorithm and uses complicated processes. I was very successful in this unit´s labs but my setbacks was the vodcast homework.

DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

        In this lab we asked the question, how can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it. We have found that following quite simple steps, DNA can be easily chemically separated from cheek cells. As seen in the picture included in this post, the yellow bubbly blob in the middle is my DNA. It is yellow from the gatorade used in the procedure. Our procedure to separate DNA from cheek cells worked and this supports our claim, which is if DNA can be separated from cheek cells, then DNA will be visible at the last step, because after our simple procedure, the DNA was visible in the alcohol which we put it in.
        While our hypothesis was supported by our data, there could have been possible errors due to the fact that we had to construct the procedure ourselves. One little error could have messed up the experiment and given false results. In future experiments, I suggest you have a solid procedure for DNA extraction that has been verified by a professional.
        This lab was done to demonstrate how DNA can be easily separated and studied. From this lab I learned that even if some procedures may seem hard, they are quite easy, and that DNA is stringy and tiny, which helps me understand how it fits into cells. Based on my experience from this lab, I can now separate DNA from cells and study the traits and genes of a person.