Protein Synthesis Lab

          This process is call protein synthesis. A copy is made of one side of the DNA (called the mRNA) where the gene is located. This copy is transferred to the cytoplasm. Then mRNA then leaves the DNA and travels to the ribosome. The segment is fed through the ribosome. The mRNA bonds with a ribosome, which will make a protein. The ribosome reads the first three bases of the whole sequence where the ribosome translates the amino acid (it will repeat this action through). The mRNA bonds with a ribosome, which will make a protein.

          When a mutation occurs it can either be a mutation that makes a small difference or a big difference. A small problem occurs when a mutation effect the amino acid sequence but in total the mutation does not make the base a different one. A big difference is when a base is added or pulled out and the amino acid changes. There are two main topic kinds of mutation. Substitution which is when a nucleotide is substituted for another. The other, frameshift mutation - a frameshift mutation breaks into two separate parts. Those two parts are called insertion (when an extra base pair is put into the code) and deletion (when a base pair is left out of the code). If a T was inserted into the code at the end versus the beginning it would do less damage to the sequence. This is because the mistake acts like a chain effect. 

           In my own sequence on for the lab I chose to add in a frameshift mutation because I though this would make the biggest effect. I inserted an extra base in the very beginning, specifically the fourth base. This then effected the rest of sequence. It matters where the mutation occurs because it can either effect the whole rest of the sequence or only some of it.  

          Amino acids can really effect you life. For example there is one mutation that happened and its called Apert syndrome. Apert syndrome s a genetic disorder characterized by the premature fusion of certain skull bones and sometimes even fuses fingers and toes together. Almost all cases of Apert syndrome result from new mutations in the gene, and occur in people with no history of the disorder in their family. Although if one has Apert syndrome they may pass this on to there newborns.

Unit 5 Reflection 

This unit was about coping DNA, and translating it. It is called walking the dogma. We talked about the difference between DNA and RNA. RNA is single stranded and has ribose - not deoxyribose, and RNA contains unracil instead of thymine. Mutions was also brought up and we look at the different kinds of mutations, there were two main of mutations. One of which is called substitution, this is when one nucleotide is substituted for another. The second kind is called a frameshift mutation and in a frameshift mutation there are two kinds that branch off. Insertion (when an extra base pair is added to the code) and deletion (is when a base pair is left out of the code). I think my strength was based around mutations because I liked learning about how much a mutation could really effect you. Usually when I enjoy something I excel at it. We brushed over the topic as to why we should care about mutations. We said that it changes DNA - more specifically it changes proteins which are essential to life. Some diseases are caused by a change of a single base! Mutations in DNA can lead to cancer and they can create new genetic variation giving population new traits for natural selection to act on. We looked at gene expression and regulation. Gene expression is the process of a gene begin used to produce a gene project or phenotype. A gene regulation is a mechanism used by cells to increase or decrease the expression of a gene. This is where I ran into trouble as I feel it go a

lot harder trailing off into promoter, operons, and operaters. I learned that I am usually better at something that I enjoy and can ask a lot of questions, after I watch the vodcast I usually find myself pondering over questions i've asked myself. I think that I have grown as I biology student but I have also learned a lot more about myself and my learning style.

Human DNA Extraction Lab

        In this lab we asked the question: "How can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it?" In this lab we found that you can separate DNA from your cheek in order to study it. I found that in this experiment you can see DNA when you follow three basic steps: homogenization, lysis, and preciptiation. You can see the DNA when you add detergent, salt, enzyme and cold alcohol to create a gatorade solution. I observed that my DNA floated to the top once I had added the cold alcohol. I looked as though bubbles carried it to the top. This observation helped me strengthen my thinking and thoughts that came out of notes and vodcasts I watched. This data supports my claim because DNA extraction is the process of homogenizing (to combine two unlike things), lysis (a process of disintegration or dissolution (as of cells)), prectiptaion. When the protease (the enzyme) was added to the gatorade solution outcame a faint reaction and the DNA was in the making, but when the layer of alcohol was added the DNA was made visible in the test tube.
         While my hypothesis was supported by my data, there could have been errors due to me not scraping my cheek enough when I was swishing plain gatorate in my mouth. I know this was an issue because group member who had kept the gatorade in there mouth longer and scraped there cheeks more effectively had more DNA. In order to eliminate this error next time I would scrap my cheeks more to break off the cells. A second error that could have affected my experiment was adding too much gatorade to the solution and not enough alcohol. Adding to much gatorade also makes the DNA less concentrated and could have affected the over all process. To prevent this from happening again I would use less gatorade to balance out the amount of alcohol that was added. Due to these errors, in future experiments I would follow my recommendations in order to avoid anything affect your experiment.
         This lab was done to demonstrate that DNA could be separated from cheek cells in order to study and observe it. From this lab I learned and what an enzyme help create a reaction an eventually some DNA, this helps me understand how a enzyme works on a larger scale. Based on my experience from this lab, I could apply this knowledge to another situation if I were to maybe look at DNA on more of a molecular level, and needed to re-create someones DNA in that kind of form.