DNA Technology and Genomics

Hello all,  I hope you are doing well and keeping positive during the current situation.  This will be the last assignment. There are just three short videos for you to view. I will respond via this blog after hearing the update from the district.  

Next week is the official Spring Break.

The application of the material you studied during the unit of genetic is important.  You have seen an example like the Sixty minutes video on sickle cell shown in class how the technology is changing lives.

It is important to finish the unit by showing you some real life application. These examples are taken from the topics in Chapter 12 of the textbook.

Viewing the video links provided will help with the understanding of the tremendous application of the DNA technology.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) : is a technique by which a specific segment of a DNA molecule can be targeted and amplified ( copied in quantity) in a lab.

 Modern DNA technology methods have rapidly transformed the field of forensics, the scientific analysis of evidence for crime scene investigation and other legal proceedings.

DNA Profiling, the analysis of DNA samples to determine whether they came from the same individuals. 

Click to view the video:Gel Electrophoresis


Recombinant DNA Technology
Click on the link Recombinant DNA

Genomics Video.
Click the link to view: Genomics

This lesson will replace the Genetic Research Presentations.
Write a few sentences to explain the topic of each video.

Remember, attitude makes the difference between an adventure and an ordeal.  Stay positive and think creatively during this period. Have a good Spring Break.

Finish reading and annotating Chapter 11.  Pay particular attention to Section 11.8 and 11.15 - 11,18.

The section on cloning was should have been done prior to school being closed.

Questions:
Answer questions 1- 11 on page 233.

Assignment

Answer the following questions after reading the article and reviewing the terminology on the previous posts

Questions:
1) Explain the need for the blood samples of the patients who have recovered from the coronavirus.

2) Using you own words, recreate the process shown in the article for creating and using the vaccine.

3) Explain step 3 of the process in more details than shown in the article. Of course you will use pictures and words.
Pages 208 and 209 of the photcopy of chapter 10 might be helpful.

Don't procrastinate.  Start working on the assignments.

The next assignment will be posted on Monday, March 23, 2020.  It will involve reading and annotating the rest of chapter 11

Read the Article, Lack of Blood Samples Stalls Virus-Drug Work

Major terminology explained. Assignment on the next post.
Antibody is a protein dissolved in blood plasma that attaches to a specific kind of antigen and helps counter it's; secreted by plasma cells.

Plasma is the liquid portion of the blood in which the blood cells are suspended.

Antigen is a foreign, (non-self ) molecule that elicits an adaptive response. Antigens can be viruses, bacteria, mold sores, pollen, or house dust.

Adaptive response: highly specific response to pathogens- disease causing organisms.

Explanation: whenever something foreign,  known as an antigen, not recognized as a part of the body of an individual, the foreign molecule will be attacked by increased number of cells or produce antibodies.  The body creates antibodies of a specific shape to destroy the invader.

The response to an antigen is usually specific to that antigen and are ineffective to other antigens. Adaptive immunity has a memory and can identify antigens it encountered before, and reacts quicker and more effectivley if the same antigen is encountered.

Adaptive immunity can be obtained by natural exposure, for instance to an antigen like the coronavirus, or it can be achieved by vaccination, known as immunization.

Vaccine composed of harmless variant, (form) of a disease causing mircrobe such as the coronavirus. The vaccine will cause the immune system to mount a defense against the harmless vaccine,  defense that will be effective if the actual disease organism is encountered because the vaccine will be similar to actual pathogen.

Creating a Vaccine

Article Taken from the Wall Street Journal, dated, March 18, 2020.

Click on the Image to Enlarge

Continue Reading Chapter 11

Remember that although I am posting reading in sections you can read ahead and annote based on your own schedule.  However, check each post for details.

1) Read and annotate section 11.1.
There is a video link listed immediately below to help you to understand the passage.:

Video Link: Control of Gene Expression

2) Read and annotate Sections 11.3, 11.4, 11.5, and 11.6
Section 11.6 introduces you to noncoding RNAs:
microRNA (miRNA)
small interfering RNA (siRNA) and
RNA interference.

Explain the functions of these RNAs and explain how scientists can use them in research.

The Current Reality

I hope you are all doing well and realizing that this too shall pass.

 It is an unusual and strange experience and it took awhile for me to grasp and wrap my head around the decisions that have been made.
In 2009 we experienced the swine flu.  It started in Mexico and then spread to California.  Some of the first cases were here in San Diego,  America was the first to experience the swine flu and made decisions that did not cripple whole states and probably the whole country.

Were we coerced into following suit, even if the conditions here did not quite fit?

Assignment
Read and annotate pages 208 and 209 of Chapter 10 Printed chapter.
The information on those two pages are important in understanding how bacteria can be used to transfer genes or work as "pharm" for creating proteins such as insulin.

In addition you will learn why some bacteria are resistant to antibiotics.

Chapter 11
Section 11.2  Will introduce you to the term differentiation; how from the fertilized egg the cells become specialized in structure and function.  The section will also explain how the DNA, being thousands of times longer than the diameter of the nucleus, is able to fit.

The sections also explains how gene expression can be regulated by the addition of a methyl group or how the addition of a acetyl can open up the chromatin and allows for transcription to occur.

Finally the section explains the inactivation of one of the X-chromosome in the cells of female mammals.  Remember from chapter 9 that females mammals have 2 X chromosomes.  This explains the orange and black pattern of the calico cat.

Stay tuned.  You can read ahead without me, however, check the blog in a few days. 

How Genes are Expressed

Friday the 13th.   

           School will be closed until April 6th.  Check back on 
                                                                  Monday, March 16, 2020 for an up day.

Chapter 11 Project

Two person project.

Introduction to cloning:


    

2019 Cloning Primates

Chapter 10 Multiple Choice Test

Chapter 10 Packet is Due

Chapter 10 Packet will be graded

Viruses - Nucleic Acids Wrapped in Protein.

Friday, 6, 2020
The chapter ended with a notes and discussion on viruses.The lytic and lysogenic cycles were discussed.  The topic covered included the DNA viruses, and RNA viruses.  We also discussed some of the major recent viral epidemics.
Prions, improper folded proteins and the ramification- mad cows disease was also discussed.

The next two chapters will examine how knowledge gained from the study of viruses is being used in gene editing.

The Behavior of HIV Nucleic Acid in a Host Cell

Gene Editing Used to Treat Blindness

Gene Editing used to treat blindness.
It was just reported in the news that they have used Crispr the gene editing tool inside somebody's body for the first time, in an efforts to operate on the DNA.

The procedure was done at the Casey Eye Institute at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland.

The condition is Leber Congenital amaurosis, a gene mutation that keeps the body from making a protein needed to convert light into signal to the brain.

It will take a month before it is known if the editing worked to restore vision.  If the treatment proved to be safe, and effective, doctors plan to test it on 18 children and adults.

Notes from the PowerPoint

The PowerPoint will be used to show pictures and to fill in the gaps not as yet explained. 

Translating the mRNA

You will learn how the mRNA is translated into amino acids and ultimately protein by the body.

Video Link : How Translation Works

The Genetic Code Chart

      

Copy the DNA and Transcribing the mRNA

We will continue the lesson on Copying the DNA.
Then will transcribe the mRNA.

Video Link: Copying the DNA

Copying the DNA




Below: Transcribing the mRNA

Missing pages for Chapter 10

My apologies to those of you reading through the chapter 10 packet. Don’t read beyond page 197.
I just became aware that there are three pages missing.
Those pages will be copied and given to you on Monday.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.