LAST BLOG OF THE SEMESTER!

My favorite activity this year was definently the karoke project. It was fun being able to express our creativity as well as the review. It forced us to use our brains and really review what was learned.

My least favorite was probably not being given notice of the benchmark. Unfortunently, I was unprepared and was one point away from bombing it.

If I could change one thing, it would be to have more karoke projects. :D

Blog 13 How has DNA profiling changed the way we investigate crimes? What are the two main tests?

DNA profiling has helped change the way we investigate crimes by helping to narrow down the options exponentially.  DNA profiling has created a new form of looking at crimes. All the evidence can be DNA tested and therefore breakdown the possible victims. The two main types of DNA profiling are:

PCR Analysis

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to make millions of exact copies of DNA from a biological sample. DNA amplification with PCR allows DNA analysis on biological samples as small as a few skin cells. With RFLP, DNA samples would have to be about the size of a quarter. The ability of PCR to amplify such tiny quantities of DNA enables even highly degraded samples to be analyzed. Great care, however, must be taken to prevent contamination with other biological materials during the identifying, collecting, and preserving of a sample.

STR Analysis

Short tandem repeat (STR) technology is used to evaluate specific regions (loci) within nuclear DNA. Variability in STR regions can be used to distinguish one DNA profile from another. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses a standard set of 13 specific STR regions for CODIS. CODIS is a software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. The odds that two individuals will have the same 13-loci DNA profile is about one in a billion..

Blog #12 PEA PLANTS MENDELS EXPERIMENT!

Mendel’s Pea Experiment
In one experiment, Mendel cross-pollinated smooth yellow pea plants with wrinkly green peas. (The organisms that are used as the original mating in an experiment are called the parental generation and are marked by P in science textbooks). Every single pea in the first generation crop (marked as f1) was as yellow and as round as was the yellow, round parent. Somehow, yellow completely dominated green and round dominated wrinkly.

Mendel learned from this that there are two kinds of traits - dominant and recessive. In this case, the dominant traits are the yellow color and the round shape since they show up at the expense of the green color and the wrinkly shape. He also learned that the inheritance of each trait is determined by "units" or "factors" - now called genes.

Now he went on with his experiment and planted seeds from the all-yellow, all-round crop, achieved from the parent generation, and self-pollinated the grown up plants. The results led to some surprises. Most of the second generation (marked as f2) of peas were yellow and smooth, but some were green or wrinkly. Mendel repeated his experiment many times and the f2 generation consistently had a 3:1 ratio of yellow to green and round to wrinkly. How did Mendel explain his results?
As mentioned above, Mendel postulated that there are dominant and recessive traits in heredity.
In his experiment Mendel marked with capital letters dominant traits and with small letters recessive traits.

Y = dominant yellow color g = recessive green color R = dominant round shape w = recessive wrinkly shape

When the f1 plants breed, each has an equal chance of passing on either Y or g units to each offspring (f2 generation), and the same is with R and w.

In the pollination process the offsprings get one trait unit (gene) from every parent; in the case of color the possible combinations are gY Yg YY gg. Three combinations from the four - gY Yg YY - will give yellow offsprings since all of them possess at least one Y dominant unit. Only one combination from the four - gg - will give green offsprings since it has two recessive units.

Because, in order to show-up, a dominant trait needs only one trait unit from one of the parents, and the recessive one needs two, from both parents, in order to prevail, that is the reason why the ratio between occurrences of dominant traits and recessive traits is 3:1. The same explanation applies to the shape traits.

Mendel came to three important conclusions from these experimental results:

• That the inheritance of each trait is determined by "units" or "factors" (now called genes) that are passed on to descendents unchanged
  
  
• That an individual inherits one such unit from each parent for each trait
  
  
• That a trait may not show up in an individual but can still be passed on to the next generation.
• 

Blog #8: Entering a Hotzone

When entering a hot zone, one must wear a bio hazard suit. One must check his/her suit for any leaks or holes that may cause them to get infected. Also, he/she should wear three layers of clothing to minimize chances of infection. Also, going under blacklights to kill any germs will also help. Decon showers are your best friend when leaving a hotzone.

Blog #11 In the movie Gattaca parents were allowed to pick the traits of their babies, should we be able to do this? Why or why not?

In answer to the question, no we should not be able to to that. It robs us of the many ways we are different. Since we're supposed to have "perfect" genetics, when we find a flaw we may kill ourselves as seen in the movie.   We will no longer be able to adapt to certain aspects in life.

Blog #10 WHO WANTS TO MAKE PICKELS?!

Recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 (32 ounce) jars dill pickles
• 4 cups white sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon pickling spice

Directions

1. Drain pickles and slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Place in a medium bowl with 2 cups sugar. Stir, cover and allow to stand at room temperature 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.
2. In a medium saucepan, mix together the remaining sugar, vinegar, water and pickling spice. Bring to a boil. Pour over the pickles. Allow the mixture to stand at room temperature 6 to 8 hours, or overnight.
3. Transfer the pickles to sterile jars and store in the refrigerator. Serve chilled.

Fermentation helps make the food by  creating a interesting flavor that is very appealing. 

blog 9 How far should the government go in isolating people with an infectios diseases? Should the army be involved?

The government should isolate the infected community AND test each person to see if they are positive with said disease. If they are, they must remain. If not they should be given the option of leaving. The military should be involved BUT for security purposes only. The military could take samples of the disease for research of biological weapons. The role of the United States government is to protect there citizens so by quarantining the area they are preventing the disease from spreading. In the movie "Outbreak", military units should use force to stop the people. Also, it showed that ultraviolet light were used to kill the virus. Ultraviolet light should be installed and everyone in the area should wear air filters or full body bio suits.