Protein Synthesis Lab Conclusion

1. When we modeled the process of protein synthesis, we had learned that there were a few steps to make a protein. The first step was to make a copy of the original DNA, and use that as a template. The next part was to use that template to make a copy that would be translated into RNA. Third Step would to leave the Nucleus, enter the cytoplasm, and bind to a ribosome. The fourth step is to read the first three bases or codons, and build amino acids that correspond to that codon. The last step is to bound up the amino acids, finish translating, and build the protein with the amino acids.

2. The effects of changing bases are different depending on what they changed. For example, substitution only ended up doing silent mutations in the lab, while the others drastically changed the code. The ones that did the most damage were the ones that added or removed the bases, while the ones that substitute barely did any damage. The damage does more if the mutation were to occur earlier on the code, rather than near the end.

3. I chose the mutation that added to the code, and placed it near the start of the code. This mutation does large damage, since like removing, changes the code. Also, the placement is crucial, since placing it near the start of the code maximizes the damage done.

4. Mutations could cause malfunctions in the body, or in critical points where the body needs to live. It could either kill the person, cripple the person badly, or just deal no harm at all. An example of a beneficial mutation is the Somatic mutation, where the genes make copies of itself, till at one point, the body would have mostly the mutated genes. These genes are harmless near the beginning, but could cause major damage if left unchecked.

Unit 4 Reflection

After the long days of working on Unit 4, I have gotten an in-depth review of genetics and have learned quite a lot. From the beginnings of how Mendel had first discovered genetics, this study had not been attempted for a long time, until recently, when Scientists were able to prove Mendel was right. What I managed to excel at was understanding the process and the punnett square, but I never really got the concept of the complicated parts, such as terms or segregation, and the Mendel's Laws of segregation and others. Even though I had already reviewed these parts before in 8th Grade, I had learned some more interesting things than what I was taught before. I plan to think back on what I learned back in 8th grade and compare it to what I have learned now.

Unit 5 Reflection

This unit we began on talks about "walking the dogma" and is related to Chapter 12 in our textbook. It was about the DNA and its role in living organisms, which is to build the certain parts in certain places. The things to note where the steps which replicate DNA (Transcription) , and how they make proteins from reading off RNA (Translation) . The cells make copies of DNA by unzipping it using RNA polymerase, and then using nearby RNA/nucleotides, they make messenger RNA, which are temporary copies of the original DNA. When making proteins, the mRNA or messenger RNA, goes into the cytoplasm and binds itself to a ribosome. The ribosome reads the RNA in a 3-letter code, or codons, and has transfer RNA or tRNA, bring Amino Acids for each specific codon. I was excelling in reading the RNA and being able to figure out which amino acid goes where, with the help of a certain sheet of paper, though i still lack in my ability to remember certain parts of the things go where in a picture, and often forget, misspell them, or just put it in the wrong place.

I have learned much about the structure, roles and uses of DNA after reading the Chapter and watching all the vodcasts about the unit. After using the VARK questionaire, I had realized I was a aural learner, and that I learned more from talking, hearing and recalling things. I used this when I read the codes when translating them, to remember which part I was on, and quickly find the amino acid responsible for that certain codon.

Questions I have about this unit would be seeing an actual picture of DNA unraveled and in plain sight, which we could do if we had went further into the DNA lab. I want to know how long it really is, and the amazing sight of the long ladder which builds proteins.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/DNA_replication_split.svg/2000px-DNA_replication_split.svg.png

Human DNA Extraction Lab Conclusion

In the lab on Wednesday, we were testing how DNA can be separated from cheek cells. We found that it is possible with several steps and patience. First, we took tiny pieces of the cheek cells inside our mouth using gatorade. We added drops of detergent, a pinch of salt, and a few drops of pineapple juice. We then transferred it to a tube and inverted it around 6 times. After that, we added alcohol to the solution in order to get the DNA, which was unraveled and clumped up together in plain sight, and had it float up, due to the contact between the non-polar alcohol and the polar gatorade mixture. The reason why this process worked was the importance of the materials we used. Detergent can allow homogeneization inside the solution, removing most of the cell. The salt helps easily clump all the DNA together, while the soap can lyse the cell, which dissolves it and lets the loose DNA out. The pineapple juice lets us further unravel the DNA by removing the histones that hold it together in a double helix. Finally, when we added the alcohol, the polar DNA would float into the alcohol as precipitate in between the solution and alcohol.

Even the best can make mistakes during experiments! Some mistakes that I could have made would be mistaking the DNA for something else. When the precipitate came out, it was the same thing as the ones that were floating around in the solution before adding everything else. This shows that I may have thought that the big clump of red stuff in the picture below the post may have been just been my cheek cells. Another mistake that I could have done was the order of the procedure. Before we began, we were only given a mixed-up order of the procedure, and were asked to unscramble them and see if it was right. My group could have done one wrong step and never realized it, because we were never told after and during the experiment if we did it right or not. My only recommendation is that we could do a little more by having an example to refer to after the experiment, so that we could see if the results we got were the same as the reference.

The purpose of this lab is to explore the DNA and how to extract it. This lab is a hands-on test on what DNA is, and its shape, which demonstrates the big points in the Unit: Walking the Dogma.
This lab could be used in other ways, such as further exploration of the DNA or finding certain things in the subjects DNA that could seem interesting, or just a plain old picture, like the one below!