New Years Goals

New Years Goals

          A biology goal I have for this semester is to really make sure I understand the vodcasts. I noticed last semester that while I would watch and complete the vodcasts and CFUs, I wouldn't fully grasp the concept or purpose of it. This year, I am going to make sure that after every vodcast I am going to reread and look in my biology textbook if there is something there that I feel I don't understand. Completing every CFU directly after completing the assigned vodcast will also help me achieve this goal, as well as getting really involved with the in-class DO NOW's and looking over them later.

          My second goal for this year is to put my own well being before anything else. I believe that my mental state can affect my work, and I want to make sure that my work is never affected negatively by this. I can achieve this by finishing homework early so I can take the rest of the day off to relax. I will be able to reach this goal because I will be motivated by the fact that once I finish my homework, I won't have anything left to stress over for the rest of the day. This goal isn't just about affecting my work, either. I believe it's important for people my age to take care of themselves in general, since so many seem to just toss that thought aside. I won't allow myself to be one of those people. 

Unit 5 Reflection

Unit 5 Reflection

          In this unit, we learned about the different types and factors of mutations. Since mutations are something that really fascinate and intrigue me, I was able to keep up with this unit very well. The themes and essential understandings were mainly about the causes and effects of mutations and why the appropriate characteristics develop only in the appropriate organs at the appropriate time. Some of the causes of mutations can be by environmental factors such as UV rays from the sun, and most mutations either have a very small effect or no noticeable effect at all. Because of gene regulation, we have a control and or balance of characteristics where we need them. Understanding mutations and their effects were a part of my strengths during this unit and trying to understand gene regulation and the lac operon were my weaknesses. 

          I grew as a student during this unit by learning how not all mutations are deadly and cause diseases, but also understanding that most of the time that is the case. I also found it very interesting that gene regulation is the reason why we don't have four ears or six eyes. Overall, this unit, to me, was incredibly fascinating. Mutations are something I find grasping. 

Protein Synthesis Lab

Protein Synthesis Lab

           1.  There are 8 required steps when making a protein. During transcription, the first step occurs when a section of DNA, known as a gene, is copied by an enzyme. The copy that is produced is called messenger RNA or mRNA for short. RNA is different from DNA because uracil replaces thymine, and RNA is single stranded. The mRNA then leaves the nucleus and travels to the cytoplasm. The next step begins translation, where the mRNA bonds with a ribosome, which will make a protein. The ribosome reads the first three bases called a codon, and determines which amino acid corresponds with that sequence. Each amino acid that is added is determined by the codon read by the ribosome. Amino acids are bonded together, and when the mRNA is done being translated the amino acid chain folds up to become a protein. 

         

          2.  Throughout the several different types of mutations I tested, I concluded that deletion had the greatest effect on proteins and substitution had the least effect on proteins. No, it doesn't matter where the mutation occurs, since the amount of effect will still remain the same. The only way this would be different if the T was near the end is that it would change an amino acid.

"Types of Mutations." Types of Mutations. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.

          3.  I chose deletion because it has the greatest effect on proteins. This mutation had a greater effect because it deleted a letter in the sequence without replacing it with anything, therefore completely altering the amino acids in the sequence. It doesn't matter where the mutation occurs, since it will effect the protein greatly without needing a specific location. 

          4.  An example of a mutation that could affect your life is sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia causes red blood cells to become deformed and form a sickle shape, which then clogs blood vessels, can slow or block blood flow throughout your body.

DNA Extraction Lab

DNA Extraction Lab

          In this lab, we asked the question, "Can DNA be extracted from cheek cells, and if so, at what point do you predict you will be able to see the DNA?" To answer this, I said yes, DNA can be extracted from cheek cells because our skin cells have our DNA in them. We found that we would be able to see the DNA after adding the detergent, salt, and pineapple juice to the gatorade mixture and after carefully placing alcohol on top of it. The DNA fell out of the solution as the alcohol was added because the alcohol is nonpolar and the DNA is polar. My hypothesis was "If DNA is in our skin cells, then we will be able to separate DNA from our cheek cells." 

        One of the errors we encountered in this lab was an issue with the lids falling inside of the test tube, rather than closing the test tube. Because of this, we weren't able to effectively shake the mixture we had created with the gatorade, salt, detergent, and pineapple juice. One recommendation I have for anyone conducting this experiment is to be sure to use a cap that fits the right test tube, otherwise, the experiment will most likely turn out wrong for that person. 

       The DNA extraction protocol involved three steps: homogenization, lysis, and precipitation. We used the gatorade to homogenize the cell tissue in our cheeks. We then added soap to lyse the cell membranes and to emulsify the lipids and proteins of the cell. This disrupts the polar interactions that hold the cell membrane together. We then added pineapple juice as a catabolic protease to further break down any proteins called histones that the DNA molecule wraps itself around. 95% isopropanol alcohol was then layered on top of the mixture. Since the alcohol is nonpolar and the DNA is polar, the DNA falls out of the solution as a precipitate right at the interface of the two solutions. The DNA can then be pulled up from the alcohol layer and then collected with a transfer pipette. This lab was important in understanding biological concepts by demonstrating what it means to homogenize a mixture, and what lysis and precipitation mean. 

        

       

Infographic

Egg Diffusion Lab

Egg Diffusion Lab

            The mass and circumference of the egg when the salt concentration increased got a lot smaller, with an average percentage change in mass of -46.0925% and an average percentage change in circumference of -22.11%. A hypertonic solution caused the change because there was more solvent in the egg that left to dilute the corn syrup, causing the shrinkage. The solute moves from areas of high concentration to low until they reach equilibrium.

        A cell's internal environment changes as it's external environment changes by using diffusion to adapt to different external environments in order to survive. When the egg was placed in vinegar, it got bigger because since vinegar is part water, it was able to diffuse the water into it to adapt to the new conditions of the vinegar. When placed in water, the egg returned to it's normal size because of an isotonic reaction with the water inside the egg and the water outside the egg. When the egg was placed in sugar, it shrunk because of the solute leaving the egg.

       This lab demonstrates hypotonic, hypertonic, and isotonic reactions within a cell. Since we are learning about diffusion and these reactions in class, this lab was important for our proper understanding of the subject.

        Fresh vegetables are sprinkled with water at markets so they can stay in a diffused state and remain healthy and fresh. Salting the vegetables would dehydrate them because of a hypertonic solution that would cause the water to diffuse and be replaced with salt water, causing the vegetables to dehydrate and shrivel.

       Based on this experiment, I would want to know why snails bubble when they get into contact with salt. I'd want to find a snail-friendly way of testing this though, of course. I think it happens because of a hypertonic reaction with the moisture on the snail's skin conflicting with the salt. 

Egg Cell Macromolecules Lab

                                                              Egg Macromolecules Lab

            In this lab we asked the question, "Can macromolecules be identified in an egg cell?" We found that proteins, monosaccharides, polysaccharides, and lipids were all found in the egg whites, while the other parts of the egg only had a few. Our hypothesis for the egg white was that if the cell walls include monosacchardies and polysaccharides, then these will also be found when testing the egg whites. There were about 5 of each macromolecule in the egg whites, and the colors observed were purple (monosaccharides), yellow-orange (polysaccharides), purple (proteins), and white-orange (lipids). Our hypothesis for the egg yolk was that if the egg yolk is a giant cell, then all of these macromolecules will be found in it. Every macromolecule was found in the egg yolk except for lipids. The quantitative and qualitative amount of macromolecules found were dark purple, 8 (monosaccharides), golden, 7 (polysaccharides), brown/purple, 8 (proteins). Our hypothesis for the egg membrane was that if the cell membrane is made up of lipids and proteins, then when testing the egg membrane, lipids and proteins will be found. Proteins and lipids were present in the egg membrane, with qualitative and quantitative observations of purple, 3 (proteins), pink/red, 2 (lipids). This data supports our claims that

         Our data contradicts the expected results because while we expected every macromolecule to be present in the egg yolk, it was missing one of them. There weren't any lipids present at all in the egg yolk and because of this, our hypothesis of "If the egg yolk is a giant cell, then all of these macromolecules will be found in it," was false. One error we came across is that for the polysaccharides test, the person testing accidentally put too much iodine in the egg white. Although we only had one error, another possible one could've been cross-contamination of the chemicals. Due to these errors, in future experiments, I would recommend carefully watching how much you put in each test tube and cleaning each dropper everytime you use it.

         This lab could have been improved by maybe keeping better track of our observations and communicating with each other more for more accurate results. This lab was important in understanding biological concepts because the egg is a very good representation of a cell, since it literally is just one giant cell. By interacting with an actual cell, we were able to grasp a better understanding.