So we made DNA in class. This was...pretty difficult to say the least, as it involved a lot of cutting.
Here's the gist of it though, it involves 5 pretty cool enzymes that all read 3'-5'.
HELICASE: starts at the origin of replication and unzips the DNA.
RNA PRIMASE: lays down a few RNA nucleotides at the origin of replication.
DNA POLYMERASE III: lays down DNA nucleotides and creates a lagging and leading strand.
DNA POLYMERASE I: replaces the RNA nucleotides with DNA nucleotides
LIGASE: connects all the Okazaki fragments and finishes the process!
Now imagine this: we did all these steps with paper, cutting and taping and failing. I would say we now have a much deeper appreciation for DNA though, and we definitely know what all the enzymes do!
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Survival of the Sickest Chapter 6 Summary
Hey guys, here's a little rundown of the main points of this chapter!
-junk DNA, which makes up 97% of our DNA, isn't so junk after all as we msy need to mutate it in the future, also it's largely made of jumping genes, some of which are derived from viruses, who inject DNA into individual cells
-if viruses can adapt to their environments to prolong their survival, then maybe humans evolved according to their environment too, instead of just random mutations like Darwin thought
-evolutionary pressure caused jumping genes, or transposons, that add themselves to genomes without changing location
-retroviruses are made of RNA and can transcribe themselves from RNA to DNA, and they're super dangerous, like HIV
-also the story about Lamarck coming up with the theory of acquired traits was totally wrong, and was all just gossip spread about him
I know this is kinda short, but it's just what I thought were the main points of the chapter! It's pretty informational and full of a lotta good stuff, so you may want to check it out yourself!
-junk DNA, which makes up 97% of our DNA, isn't so junk after all as we msy need to mutate it in the future, also it's largely made of jumping genes, some of which are derived from viruses, who inject DNA into individual cells
-if viruses can adapt to their environments to prolong their survival, then maybe humans evolved according to their environment too, instead of just random mutations like Darwin thought
-evolutionary pressure caused jumping genes, or transposons, that add themselves to genomes without changing location
-retroviruses are made of RNA and can transcribe themselves from RNA to DNA, and they're super dangerous, like HIV
-also the story about Lamarck coming up with the theory of acquired traits was totally wrong, and was all just gossip spread about him
I know this is kinda short, but it's just what I thought were the main points of the chapter! It's pretty informational and full of a lotta good stuff, so you may want to check it out yourself!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
"From Atoms to Traits" Questions!
Bonjour!
I come to you after a 10 hour tech rehearsal to bring you the answers to these really exciting questions about the article "From Atoms to Traits" (you might even get an original drawing by me! ha not so exciting). Alrighty, I've decided to put my extraneous comments in purple, just to distinguish them from my totally serious answers.
1. Explain the significance of Mendel.
Mendel was an Austrian monk who true-bred pea plants with very obvious differences. After several generations, one trait could be passed down undiluted, meaning that it would be the same in every parent and child. This disproved Darwin's theory that traits of parents blended together to form the traits of their offspring. Mendel's discoveries prompted future genetic work and helped clarify the basis of evolution. (If I remember right, there were also a lot of Punnett Squares involved, but that may have just been my 7th grade biology class).
2. Draw the structure of DNA and who discovered this structure.
Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, a double-helix with a backbone made of sugar and phosphate chains and held together by adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine. (Can we establish that Rosalind Franklin also deserves much credit for this discovery because she did a lot of the research but then died of cancer and Watson and Crick stole it all and got the Nobel Prize. I feel so bad for her!
Also I really apologize for how bad this drawing is)
3. Explain each of the 5 examples of variations that occur to DNA and give an example of each.
-A single base pair change, or point mutation, can determine whether or not whippet dogs are slender or stocky.
-An insertion of new letters into the sequence can determine whether pea plants are wrinkled or smooth.
-A duplication of genes is responsible for some of the enhanced digestive abilities of humans compared to chimpanzees.
-An error when duplicating a base pair can determine whether pigs have spots or not.
-A change in DNA that controls where and when genes are activated created the difference between the bushy teosinte and the modern cornstalk.
4. What is evo-devo?
Evo-devo is the study of the effects of changes in important developmental genes and how they affect evolution.
5. Make a connection between human migration and the mutation of lactose intolerance.
Normally, the lactase gene stops being effective in adulthood, when it is no longer needed. However, descendants of populations who relied on dairy producing animals have a mutated lactase gene that functions for the entirety of their lives. Europeans generally have this gene, while it is absent in many Asian and African populations. This is because dairy-farming was most important in Europe. (So I'll probably never be lactose intolerant! Cool!)
Well, I know you enjoyed this enthralling look at evolution! Come back next time for some cool human-y stuff!
I come to you after a 10 hour tech rehearsal to bring you the answers to these really exciting questions about the article "From Atoms to Traits" (you might even get an original drawing by me! ha not so exciting). Alrighty, I've decided to put my extraneous comments in purple, just to distinguish them from my totally serious answers.
1. Explain the significance of Mendel.
Mendel was an Austrian monk who true-bred pea plants with very obvious differences. After several generations, one trait could be passed down undiluted, meaning that it would be the same in every parent and child. This disproved Darwin's theory that traits of parents blended together to form the traits of their offspring. Mendel's discoveries prompted future genetic work and helped clarify the basis of evolution. (If I remember right, there were also a lot of Punnett Squares involved, but that may have just been my 7th grade biology class).
2. Draw the structure of DNA and who discovered this structure.
Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA, a double-helix with a backbone made of sugar and phosphate chains and held together by adenine, cytosine, thymine, and guanine. (Can we establish that Rosalind Franklin also deserves much credit for this discovery because she did a lot of the research but then died of cancer and Watson and Crick stole it all and got the Nobel Prize. I feel so bad for her!
Also I really apologize for how bad this drawing is)
3. Explain each of the 5 examples of variations that occur to DNA and give an example of each.
-A single base pair change, or point mutation, can determine whether or not whippet dogs are slender or stocky.
-An insertion of new letters into the sequence can determine whether pea plants are wrinkled or smooth.
-A duplication of genes is responsible for some of the enhanced digestive abilities of humans compared to chimpanzees.
-An error when duplicating a base pair can determine whether pigs have spots or not.
-A change in DNA that controls where and when genes are activated created the difference between the bushy teosinte and the modern cornstalk.
4. What is evo-devo?
Evo-devo is the study of the effects of changes in important developmental genes and how they affect evolution.
5. Make a connection between human migration and the mutation of lactose intolerance.
Normally, the lactase gene stops being effective in adulthood, when it is no longer needed. However, descendants of populations who relied on dairy producing animals have a mutated lactase gene that functions for the entirety of their lives. Europeans generally have this gene, while it is absent in many Asian and African populations. This is because dairy-farming was most important in Europe. (So I'll probably never be lactose intolerant! Cool!)
Well, I know you enjoyed this enthralling look at evolution! Come back next time for some cool human-y stuff!
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
"Founder Mutations" One Page Response
According
to everything from Survival of the
Sickest by Sharon Maolem to “Founder Mutations” by Dennis Drayna, evolution
always knows what it’s doing. Although
some mutations may seem fatal or disadvantageous, they often safeguard against
other deadly diseases. In particular,
founder mutations are passed on identically down a genetic line, and while
having both genes for them can kill, just having one protects its recipient
from a certain disease. Although this
seems troublesome, as some people will get the fatal disease from this
mutation, a greater number of people will receive the benefits and be able to
survive. Mutations like these are the
checks and balances of evolution; although they can be counterproductive in
some cases, they have the power to protect humans from a host of problems.
What makes these founder mutations
so special is the way they are passed on from parent to offspring. Instead of a single small mutation existing
on similar random parts of DNA, founder mutations are long strings of DNA that
are damaged in the middle, or haplotypes.
Exact haplotype are passed on, getting a little shorter every
generation. According to Drayna, the
length of haplotypes enables scientists to deduce the “origins of founder mutations
and to track human populations.” Younger
mutations should be more similar to the original full chromosome with the
mutation, while older ones would have many more differences, as more time has
passed and allowed them to “shuffle.”
From the age of the mutation and the populations where it’s found, the
origins of the mutation can be gleaned, including where they originated, how
that population spread, and what populations they mixed with. The movement of humans is essential to
understanding the present, as seen in The
Journey of Man, and that film would do well to reference founder mutations,
which could provide significant support for their findings. Founder mutations are key parts of human
history and present medicine, so it is important that they are studied now in
order to find cures for the diseases they cause and prevent, and learn more
about human ancestors.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Journey of Man!
This video is literally all we've done the past two classes.
And while the main guy is pretty easy to make fun of, he also makes some pretty strong points about where we came from.
So we started in Africa, and maybe the oldest living example is the San Bushmen.
Next we crossed land to Australia, birthing the Aborigines, who are pretty bitter about this fact.
On that trip, we stopped in India, and started a small population there.
Next it was up from Africa through the Middle east and into central Asia, then over to Europe.
From central Asia we went through Beringia to the Americas, creating Native Americans.
This was a pretty crazy trek for humans to make, and our genetics show it!
And while the main guy is pretty easy to make fun of, he also makes some pretty strong points about where we came from.
So we started in Africa, and maybe the oldest living example is the San Bushmen.
Next we crossed land to Australia, birthing the Aborigines, who are pretty bitter about this fact.
On that trip, we stopped in India, and started a small population there.
Next it was up from Africa through the Middle east and into central Asia, then over to Europe.
From central Asia we went through Beringia to the Americas, creating Native Americans.
This was a pretty crazy trek for humans to make, and our genetics show it!
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Day 15 Blog
I think...this cold may be drawing to a close.
And also, I take back everything I said about parents day and the awkward. Yep.
We had to MATE with our classmates. To baby making music might I add.
To see how evolution changes the traits of populations over time, we passed on characteristics by breeding with our peers. Mmhmm. It was a little funny, but oh man was it uncomfortable. (Sorry Quick, but we did TRY to mate with different people, despite our awkward.) We used our results from our procreation to learn about Hardy Weinberg problems, which basically just FOIL genetics. What?! That's a thing. Yeah. Cool right? The problems are a touch tricky, but I'll get the hang of them eventually.
Also, don't go with 19 friends to an island and start a new population. Someone will get cystic fibrosis. Yep.
Hopefully next week the vlogs will be back, as I miss doing them! They're so much more fun than this stuffy writing!
And also, I take back everything I said about parents day and the awkward. Yep.
We had to MATE with our classmates. To baby making music might I add.
To see how evolution changes the traits of populations over time, we passed on characteristics by breeding with our peers. Mmhmm. It was a little funny, but oh man was it uncomfortable. (Sorry Quick, but we did TRY to mate with different people, despite our awkward.) We used our results from our procreation to learn about Hardy Weinberg problems, which basically just FOIL genetics. What?! That's a thing. Yeah. Cool right? The problems are a touch tricky, but I'll get the hang of them eventually.
Also, don't go with 19 friends to an island and start a new population. Someone will get cystic fibrosis. Yep.
Hopefully next week the vlogs will be back, as I miss doing them! They're so much more fun than this stuffy writing!
Day 14 Blog
So, hairless tigers are a thing?
Apparently so, as genes can really screw them over. By the end of this lab though, we almost wanted the tigers to die so their recessive traits could stop being passed on. What were we doing? Pulling beads out of a paper bag randomly to represent the genes of tigers. Two red, hairless beads meant death. Two furry, green beads meant guaranteed survival for them and their children. One red, one green bead meant our frustration with the living tigers. Well, not really, because by our 8th generation all the red genes except one had disappeared, meaning all tigers will live forever! Okay no, but they should survive. Yay live tigers!
Tata for now!
Apparently so, as genes can really screw them over. By the end of this lab though, we almost wanted the tigers to die so their recessive traits could stop being passed on. What were we doing? Pulling beads out of a paper bag randomly to represent the genes of tigers. Two red, hairless beads meant death. Two furry, green beads meant guaranteed survival for them and their children. One red, one green bead meant our frustration with the living tigers. Well, not really, because by our 8th generation all the red genes except one had disappeared, meaning all tigers will live forever! Okay no, but they should survive. Yay live tigers!
Tata for now!
Parents' Day Blog
Okay, so you don't understand how awkward this was.
We had to choose how attractive we thought people are
WITH OUR PARENTS.
So, most of us picked the most feminine men and women, and here's why:
MEN:
The guys were pretty split 50-50 with masculine and feminine men, because they either felt intimidate by masculine men because they are competition and they need to challenge it, or they felt they could more trust the feminine men. Guys are weird.
Girls on the other hand liked feminine men because they see them as more trustworthy and as better fathers who would help them raise a child. Also, fun fact, girls with low self-esteem like more feminine men more because they associate masculine men with a wilder lifestyle and date "hotter" women.
WOMEN:
I think all of us chose women that looked more feminine and the reasoning is almost obvious. Of course there is the conventional media definition of beauty, but there is also the fact that more feminine women are more fertile and look more trustworthy.
So yeah. Now can we redefine "hot" as "nerdy"? Please and thank you.
Bye y'all!
We had to choose how attractive we thought people are
WITH OUR PARENTS.
So, most of us picked the most feminine men and women, and here's why:
MEN:
The guys were pretty split 50-50 with masculine and feminine men, because they either felt intimidate by masculine men because they are competition and they need to challenge it, or they felt they could more trust the feminine men. Guys are weird.
Girls on the other hand liked feminine men because they see them as more trustworthy and as better fathers who would help them raise a child. Also, fun fact, girls with low self-esteem like more feminine men more because they associate masculine men with a wilder lifestyle and date "hotter" women.
WOMEN:
I think all of us chose women that looked more feminine and the reasoning is almost obvious. Of course there is the conventional media definition of beauty, but there is also the fact that more feminine women are more fertile and look more trustworthy.
So yeah. Now can we redefine "hot" as "nerdy"? Please and thank you.
Bye y'all!
Day 13 Blog
I thought I was feeling better, then BOOM sore throat comes back stronger. UGH
So, like, over the course of this lab, I'm pretty sure we're responsible for the death of little shrimp. I feel kinda bad. If there is a God, is this what (s)he feels like? Okee, now we're getting a little too deep (I can't tell if I meant for that to be a pun about shrimp) for me, so let's get through this lab.
We filled petri dishes with water with a salinity of 0, .5, 1, 1.5, and 2%. Next, we added between twenty and 40 eggs and let them sit for 24 hours for them to hatch! Oh, the miracle of life. Well, not so much. In the 0%, there was not even one brine shrimp, while in the other ones there were 2 in the .5%, 5 in the 1%, 13 in the 1.5%, and 21 in the 2%! We rescued the little live shrimp and put them in a beaker with their friends to live out the rest of their (pitifully short) lives. On day 2 (with our parents, which I'll discuss later) there were even less alive ones, with 0 in the 0% and 1%, 2 in the 2%, and 3 in the .5% and 1.5%. I'm sure all these number don't mean that much to you, but basically they mean that brine shrimp have adapted to be more successful in different salinities of water, for us being the 2% after we calculated the viability of them. Evolution helped these baby shrimp survive in their environments to the best they could and procreate.
Yay for the fragility of life and death!
Stay tuned for the parents' day awkward!
So, like, over the course of this lab, I'm pretty sure we're responsible for the death of little shrimp. I feel kinda bad. If there is a God, is this what (s)he feels like? Okee, now we're getting a little too deep (I can't tell if I meant for that to be a pun about shrimp) for me, so let's get through this lab.
We filled petri dishes with water with a salinity of 0, .5, 1, 1.5, and 2%. Next, we added between twenty and 40 eggs and let them sit for 24 hours for them to hatch! Oh, the miracle of life. Well, not so much. In the 0%, there was not even one brine shrimp, while in the other ones there were 2 in the .5%, 5 in the 1%, 13 in the 1.5%, and 21 in the 2%! We rescued the little live shrimp and put them in a beaker with their friends to live out the rest of their (pitifully short) lives. On day 2 (with our parents, which I'll discuss later) there were even less alive ones, with 0 in the 0% and 1%, 2 in the 2%, and 3 in the .5% and 1.5%. I'm sure all these number don't mean that much to you, but basically they mean that brine shrimp have adapted to be more successful in different salinities of water, for us being the 2% after we calculated the viability of them. Evolution helped these baby shrimp survive in their environments to the best they could and procreate.
Yay for the fragility of life and death!
Stay tuned for the parents' day awkward!
Day 12 Blog
So, apparently, my cold is good because we're reading this book Survival of the Sickest, and I'm feeling pretty darn sick.
So like, what we learned in this book is that fava beans kill people. Well not all people, specifically those from around the Mediterranean. It's not like they have a personal vendetta against Mediterranean people, it's more like they want to help them live, because malaria is generally a thing that people don't like. Yeah, it kills you. But people from the Mediterranean who can be killed by fava beans will generally not be killed by malaria. Pourquoi? Because they lack G6PD, the bouncer of the biological world. Without this G6PD, the blood is not a very good environment for the malaria virus, who is actually quite wimpy, so it doesn't take in these people. However, they also can't eat fava beans, one of the primary crops of the area. #worthit
Evolution: killing you so you don't die since 2 billion years ago.
I bid you adieu!
So like, what we learned in this book is that fava beans kill people. Well not all people, specifically those from around the Mediterranean. It's not like they have a personal vendetta against Mediterranean people, it's more like they want to help them live, because malaria is generally a thing that people don't like. Yeah, it kills you. But people from the Mediterranean who can be killed by fava beans will generally not be killed by malaria. Pourquoi? Because they lack G6PD, the bouncer of the biological world. Without this G6PD, the blood is not a very good environment for the malaria virus, who is actually quite wimpy, so it doesn't take in these people. However, they also can't eat fava beans, one of the primary crops of the area. #worthit
Evolution: killing you so you don't die since 2 billion years ago.
I bid you adieu!
Day 11 Blog
Ugh I'm still sick...this stupid cold.
So for this class I got to embrace my inner daycare child and play with beads! We got to make bead versions of DNA to compare our relationship to gorillas, chimpanzees, and our common ancestors. Did you know that we share something like 98% of DNA with chimpanzees?! Yeah, me neither. Our comparison of our beads showed that the gorilla was really closely related to the common ancestor, and not so much to the chimpanzee, who was pretty close to us. DNA is a really interesting way to see what our evolutionary family is, in terms of who's that uncle we don't talk about and who's that third cousin twice removed that lives in the jungles and picks bugs off of his family (I'm talking to you gorillas!)
Anyways, this experiment was really cool and I really like DNA and beads (also snacktime, movies, and naps if we're going with the daycare thing)
Aloha! (it means hello AND goodbye! cool huh?)
So for this class I got to embrace my inner daycare child and play with beads! We got to make bead versions of DNA to compare our relationship to gorillas, chimpanzees, and our common ancestors. Did you know that we share something like 98% of DNA with chimpanzees?! Yeah, me neither. Our comparison of our beads showed that the gorilla was really closely related to the common ancestor, and not so much to the chimpanzee, who was pretty close to us. DNA is a really interesting way to see what our evolutionary family is, in terms of who's that uncle we don't talk about and who's that third cousin twice removed that lives in the jungles and picks bugs off of his family (I'm talking to you gorillas!)
Anyways, this experiment was really cool and I really like DNA and beads (also snacktime, movies, and naps if we're going with the daycare thing)
Aloha! (it means hello AND goodbye! cool huh?)
Day 10 Blog
Hello *cough cough cough ugh I'm dying sneeze cough grr*
I took a break from vlogs because I've been sick recently so I sound and look like a dying whale.
So basically for this class we got to go to the museum (mini-not-so-cool-but-still-exciting-field-trip!)
For homework the night before we read a few chapters of Survival of the Sickest and learned about the arm bone structure that connects us to the rest of the natural world. It's described as one bone-two bones-blobs-digits, and it can be found from everything from lizards to birds to us! It has a profound meaning in evolution and our relationships to the natural world (very transcendentalist!). We got to look at Tiktaalik, who is one of the earliest examples of this arm structure, as he was literally a fish with arms (and he was pretty cute too!). He had characteristics of fish in his eyes, ribs, tail, and fin-ish appendages, but he also had the characteristics of land-dwelling creatures in his arms (who are geared for push-ups), lungs, and neck. He was a cool fish and he is such an insight to evolution! He opened up our evolutionary unit and was a great piece of history to look at.
Alright! Bye guys, talk to you more about evolution next time!
I took a break from vlogs because I've been sick recently so I sound and look like a dying whale.
So basically for this class we got to go to the museum (mini-not-so-cool-but-still-exciting-field-trip!)
For homework the night before we read a few chapters of Survival of the Sickest and learned about the arm bone structure that connects us to the rest of the natural world. It's described as one bone-two bones-blobs-digits, and it can be found from everything from lizards to birds to us! It has a profound meaning in evolution and our relationships to the natural world (very transcendentalist!). We got to look at Tiktaalik, who is one of the earliest examples of this arm structure, as he was literally a fish with arms (and he was pretty cute too!). He had characteristics of fish in his eyes, ribs, tail, and fin-ish appendages, but he also had the characteristics of land-dwelling creatures in his arms (who are geared for push-ups), lungs, and neck. He was a cool fish and he is such an insight to evolution! He opened up our evolutionary unit and was a great piece of history to look at.
Alright! Bye guys, talk to you more about evolution next time!
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