Unit 5 Reflection

Unit five In the "Your Genetic Code" vodcast Deoxyribonucleic acid, also referred to as DNA. DNA was discovered by Francis Watson and James Crick. DNA consists of a double helix, two strands twisted around each other like a ladder. A DNA strand is made of nucleotides, and each nucleotide is made up of three parts: a nitrogen base, a phosphate group, and a sugar. Phosphate and sugar make up the sides of the ladder and nitrogen bases make up the steps. Additionally, I learned about the central dogma of biology. The Central Dogma of Biology is the principle that information flows from DNA, to RNA, to proteins.

RNA is single stranded, has ribose, and contains Uracil instead of Thymine. Dna is the master copy and RNA is the temporary copy of DNA. RNA serves as a temporary copy of a gene, then delivers the copy to the ribosomes. The Ribosomes use this copy to make proteins. The proteins are then transcribed and read by the RNA polymerase, then copied into DNA code for a protein as an mRNA copy. The DNA then unzips, and the RNA polymerase matches spare nucleotides to make an RNA strand. mRNA is then produced and leaves the nucleus for cytoplasm. The mRNA is read by the ribosome 3 bases at a time, then translated from DNA language into protein language. I also learned that a codon is 3 bases in a sequence. Acquiring effects that range from being nonexistent to fatal, Mutations are a change in the DNA code. Since mutations change DNA, it changes proteins. My strength in this unit was learning how to transcribe DNA into protein language. I was able to easily catch onto how the specific code can change if mutations effect it. My weakness was fully grasping all of the information regarding exactly all of the things DNA does. I want to learn more the Ribosome and how it exactly copies DNA code to make an mRNA copy. I wonder how scientists/biologists/ came to discover where and how these processes occur.
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I am a better student today because I am trying my best to apply myself to all of my classes and not just do the assigned work to get it over with, but to really try to understand it. Additionally, I used to constantly use my phone while doing homework or studying, sending snapchats, texting, or just looking through Instagram. Now I only touch my phone every 30 minutes to change the playlist I'm listening to. Comparing my study habits to freshman year, I have improved greatly and grown as a student. By narrowing down my social life, I have been able to find more time to study, which lead me to having better grades than last year. I hope next semester my grades will be even better, and I am pleased that I am gradually improving as a student.

Protein Synthesis Lab

 Information flows from DNA, to RNA, to proteins. The RNA serves as a temporary copy(blueprint) of a gene, then delivers the copy to the ribosomes. The ribosome uses this (copy) RNA to make proteins. The RNA Polymerase then reads and copies the DNA code for a protein as an RNA copy. The DNA unzips then the RNA polymerase matches spare nucleotides to make the RNA strand. Next, the messenger RNA is produced and leaves the nucleus for the cytoplasm. The mRNA arrives at the ribosome, where it is read 3 bases at a time and translated DNA language into protein (amino acid) language.

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The most effective mutation was deletion. By deleting the T, all of the codons following that deletion got scrambled up, causing the protein to end early. Substitution was the least effective type of mutation because it did not change the strand. The mutation is most effective if it is near the beginning of the strand.

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I chose deletion because it is the most effective mutation. This mutation caused the strand to end after 4 codons, while the insertion and substitution strands were much longer. It matters where the mutation occurs because the location of the mutation in the strand determines the sequence of codons and the length of the strand.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Deletion_vectorized.svg/657px-Deletion_vectorized.svg.png

A mutation called Central Heterochromia causes affected people to have two different colors in his or her irises. If I had this mutation, it  would affect how people treat me in everyday life. I probably wouldn’t be able to go a day without someone commenting on the abnormality of my eye color.

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DNA Extraction Lab

In this lab we asked the question, "How can DNA be separated from cheek cells in order to study it?" I found that DNA can be separated from cheek cells by scraping the cells from the cheek, then having the cells soak in gatorade (for coloring) and rubbing alcohol. Once the DNA was separated from the cheek cells, it slowly floated into the upper half of the test tube, where it was visible in the clear rubbing alcohol due to its pink-colored bits. The "Your Genetic Code Vodcast" states that nucleotides are made up of nitrogen, phosphate, and sugar. This data supports our claim because the make-up of the DNA allows it to float through the gatorade and into the rubbing alcohol.

Our data contradicts the unexpected results because we forgot to add the orange juice into our DNA mixtures. Another factor that contributed to our unexpected results was the fact that we had to figure out the steps of the procedure ourselves. Due to these errors, in future experiments I would recommend givings students 3 main steps in the correct order (steps that tell when to add the DNA, orange juice, and rubbing alcohol), then having the students try to place the rest of the steps in the correct order. I also recommend students to use a tube plug instead of their thumb. All of my group members and I used our thumbs to stop the liquid while we turned our tubes upside down, which caused some spilling of unpleasant DNA onto the table.

This lab was done to demonstrate the separation of DNA from cheek cells. From this lab I learned more bout the process of lysis, which is the dissolution or destruction of cells by lysins. This helps me understand the concept of DNA and the processes it goes through. Based on my experience from this lab, I can apply my knowledge to future labs about DNA.