Unit Reflection

During this unit I learned many things as expected. But what I will remember for the rest of my life is the fact that people can tamper with the human body. Yes, this can be very useful, like when people are born with the short end of the stick and have to live with difficulties for the rest of their lives. Down syndrome is one of the many genetic and inherited diseases that cause problems. Thanks to people actually tampering with the human genome, we can now create karyotype that show what chromosomes create different problems.  There will always be pros and cons, but the cons shocked me. People can change the way Mother Nature works. For example; designer babies. These children are grown in a Petri dishes and their DNA strands are tampered with. They take the DNA strands and switch on and off the different traits that the parents choose. It is a very pathetic pursuit to perfection. Then again, they are reducing the “imperfections” people have. Many people are not confident with their looks but it is part of life and you have to love yourself just the way you are. The only reason that I think designer babies are some-what fine is the fact that they have reduced chances of getting sick, cancer, diseases and probably live longer. The human genome and genetics will never be fully understood, but one thing is for sure, we are living miracles. From the point where I watched the most disturbing child birth video, to the point where I learned how to make a punnett square and explore what probabilities there are for traits, I have to say that this unit of sexual education and genetics has been the most interesting and most educational. During the test I felt quite confident. When you understand a topic, you will exceed and I felt like I did. Genetics is full of rules and has a lot of common sense. You just have to know what they are and if you do, you can ace the test. I found the last part of the test quite interesting. The miracle of birth is fascinating because it goes by the rules of Mendel, but there is always that chance. The last part of the test was a cross breed between hybrids and purebreds. Two cats were cross bred, one with short hair which is dominant and one with long which is recessive.  You had to determine what the offspring’s genotype would be and if they and their parents were hybrids and purebreds. Hybrids are organisms with traits that are different like dominant and recessive and purebred is a trait that has two of the same alleles that make the trait. That means that they are pure in the trait for example, colours. Some colours are created by mixing different colours and some are just naturally there and don’t need to be mixed. If people were to be labeled hybrids and purebreds, I think it would be very racist. Nature makes us all unique and no one can label us. I think that genetics are a very important thing in our lives and that it has effected the world drastically. We would all probably think we are created by magic. The limitations of genetics are how we can control chance. We can always predict if we will inherit something, but there is chance to stop us. Also we can’t go into the human just yet and heal ourselves with our own cells and traits. The stem cells in our body show some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, but we have not discovered that just yet. The last thing would be cloning. Clones can help us by giving us blood and different organs but it has never been tried on humans. It is also ethically not approved because we are once again tampering with Mother Nature and we can probably cause chaos such as creating hypnotized minions for some evil organizations and just imagine having the world full of the same people. Scary right? We would all be exactly and totally the same. Since I do not know the question for my reflection and since I am in an airplane, I will improvise and write down my feelings for the units we studied. Let’s move on to sex ed. Sexual education was by far the most educational topic. I learned how to keep myself safe and also to always be aware that showing your sexuality is not something bad. You always have to be aware of the things out there in the big world and keeping yourself safe is always the best option. I also learned that you have to be truthful and be smart and pick the right partners. Human ingenuity keeps on improving and with all this technology we can make our life longer, easier and much more advanced. Concluding this everlasting blog post, I learned that the world is incredible and that science is amazing. Genetics will always be about discovering the miracles of life and sexual education will always have to be taught so that the world is uneducated and think that it is taboo. I’m glad I studied these topics and I will use this information for my life in the future.

What I learned from my classmates:

Annie:

Brain cells are specialized cells and unspecialized cells can be any cell in the body and divide faster. Stem cells repair tissues and memories. Adults cells are harder to extract, slower and they glow when they work.

Ana:

Alzheimer’s kills brain cells and ends up making you forget everything. It is genetically passed and is the 6^th leading cause of deaths.

David:

The Chinese dynasty was to use first forensic cases. There are forensic anthropology, geology, psychology. Forensics is always correct  and any type of organism can be identified by their DNA.

Rea:

Genetically modified foods are genetically changed to enhance different traits for lasting longer, taste etc. Also fish DNA was put into tomatoes to make them last longer.

Simeon:

There are two 2 types reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Reproductive is when you have a surrogate mother and therapeutic is grown in dishes.  Not successful 1-4% success and clones age faster.

Sara:

When someone has an extra copy of chromosome 21. The brain and body looses normal development and it causes infertility and there is no cure.

Alon:

Manipulation of an organisms’ genome. Herbert Boyer Stanley Cohen 1973 founded it. You extract DNA  all at once and make a thousand copies to put into other cells.

Svetlana:

O positive is the most common blood type and AB negative is least common.  Blood types depend on your proteins and they are found on the surface of your blood cells. The blood plasma contains antibodies and if not the compatible blood type leads to death. 

 

Make the Right Call- Marble Lab

Analyze and Conclude:
1. The Punnett squares I drew.

2. According to my results in my first table, there is only one  type of offspring when you cross BB and bb because B is always going to be dominant over b since it is dominant trait. The only types is Bb. The Punnett square shows only one kind of offspring which is Bb and the offspring would all be 100% carriers. The table shows that they will be 100% homozygous. 


3. According to my results from my second table the percentage of offspring that are likely to be homozygous parent (BB) is 50% and 50% with a parent that is heterozygous (Bb). The Punnet square shows that 50 % will be homozygous and 50% heterozygous. 


4. According to my results from my third table, the kinds of offspring that are possible when BbxBb is crossed are three types. BB,bb and Bb. BB and bb are both homozygous so they are 60% in my results and 40% heterozygous. The Punnett square shows that there will be 50% homozygous 50% heterozygous and the same for dominant and carriers.


5. It does not matter how many times you do trials, an offspring and trial all depends on faith. The Punnet square is the mathematical variation apposed to faith, it is only used to have a mathematical probability, but it does not mean your children will be exactly like that because mother nature and faith have their own way.


6. The marble model and the Punnet square are similar because it shows the kinds of offspring from two parents. The Punnet square is however the mathematical version and the marble model is based on faith and mother nature. 

Where will you be in 2031?

Today, during science class, our whole class was asked what they will be in 2031. Here is my response and what I think I will end up like.

Dear past me,

You are currently thirty-four years old, living in that twenty-four story apartment building in New York, over-looking a huge park. Your job is a plastic surgeon working in a private clinic and you have worked with many superstars but also with victims of terrible accidents and you have what you like to call "fixed" them. You have a daughter and a son which you have adopted since you want to help the world and you haven't found the perfect man since you are stubborn and a perfectionist. You drive a 4x4 car and bought those Louboutin shoes that you have always wanted. Your closet is full and you have finished thirteen years of medical school along with university and apprenticeship. Your goals are currently to start a doctor 90210 show and to get your thirteen year old kids into a great school and tell them what you were interested when you were young. Your family lives in Canada with your other relatives and your best friend Leda lives in Manhattan and Cristina lives a few blocks away from you.  You studied at Yale, of course plastic surgery, and you are finishing up your doctorate. I hope your enjoying your time as a kid because it's going to get tough to get where you are right now in 2031. Remember to always follow your career and be the one providing!

Much love,

future you. 

Youtube Meiosos

Today I had the task to find a few Youtube videos to help my understanding of Meiosis. Here are a few:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35ncSrJOwME&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK3eHNu9zsA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCL6d0OwKt8

These videos were fun, interesting and educational. They taught me the following. Firstly, what the differences are between mitosis and meiosis. Meiosis is exactly the same as mitosis, but it has an extra step and there are less chromosomes in the cells. After an asexual cell is reproduced, it makes two daughter cells. Mitosis makes two daughter cells, which then splits up again making sex cells. Secondly, I learned what a haploids and diploids are. A haploid is an organism with one set of chromosomes, where as a diploid is an organism with the normal amount of chromosomes as every other cell in that organism. Thirdly, I learned that when a mother and a father's genes come together, they split exactly half of their chromosomes. When the cycle is done, a bit of the mother and father's genes are in each of the four cells. Fourthly, I learned the process through an exciting way. Mitosis and meiosis are crucial to keep us alive and I'm glad that I was educated about this because now I know how people reproduce and what the differences are between mitosis and meiosis. 

Cancer Warrior Essay

Cancer Warrior, Drugs and Life

 Cancer Warrior was on the movies that get you thinking about the possibilities and struggles of having cancer as a part of your life. I learned what angiogenesis which is the growth of new blood vessels which feeds tumors to make them grow and kill. Scientists came upon this by putting a tumor in a rabbit cornea, where no blood vessels are. They then noticed that the tumor brought the vessels by making an unknown molecule which has been the topic of many questions for years. I also learned that they used flutamide which made the blood vessels grow around it which would help cancer patients by making the blood vessels grow around the tumor. A scientist realized that the body makes an inhibitor which quiets down the blood cells. The cancer then reduces the inhibitor causing chaos and it causes the vessels to emerge to feed the tumor. A lot of tests were done, until a scientist experimented with mice which had tumors and used their urine to find the molecule to stop angiogenesis. They found it and tried the experiment with ten treated mice and with ten mice that were not treated. The treated mice had no signs of angiogenesis and the other ten mice had lung cancer. It showed that the experiment and molecule helped. They made drug named angiostatin. “Angio” means blood vessels and “statin” means stop. Essentially, I learned how cancer spreads, grows and how the road to stopping it was made. While watching the film I realized dangerous and alien cancer is. It made so many people die and many people think about the meaning of life. It also put scientists to the test to see whether they can make innovative ways to cure cancer. I’m glad I have been educated with this video because it showed how the road to recovery and innovation was started, but not yet finished.

 The benefits of pharmaceutical drugs in society are that people can have hope to be cured, possibly be cured, ease pain and make the approach of finding the perfect drug to cure a disease easy. The benefits of thoroughly testing a drug before it’s used are making sure it is actually valid and useable and the risk of people getting side-effect, dying or getting more sick from the drug are low.

 The problem of determining when a very ill person should be allowed to use an experimental drug is that there is a 50-50 chance that person does not react well to that drug or they get cured. People aren’t like lab rats that can be made quickly and have their life in stake of science. The people who volunteer for trying these drugs don’t know if they will survive or die. Also, the drug might work for every person. If an ill person uses the experimental drug and gets cured, another ill person may not have the same effect. This could lead to death or more serious illnesses.

 The pros of releasing the drug early are scientists can find out much quicker if the drug works, maybe save some lives, examine what kind of people do react and don’t react to the drug, giving hope to patients,  earn profit for the drug and lessen the chance of death and illnesses if the drug is not curable. For example, if the drug was to be tested on one sick patient but at an early stage of it being experimental, then scientists could examine whether or not that drug is good enough for it to be sold. But, if the drug was tested along time and used on many patients, but had a bad effect; more people would die or get injured than using it one person as a “guinea pig”. That person could volunteer to get better so it makes it equal. The cons of releasing the drug early are people dying or getting more ill, maybe the drug is not up to its required standards, giving false hope to people and wasting time and energy for something that has not been tested to its standards. For example, scientists can release a drug and make millions of bottles with the drug inside, only to find that it does not work. A lot of money, time and energy were put into making that drug, but it didn’t help anyone. The risks when patients take the drug are they have to expect the worst. This is not their way out and no miracle can help them, but pure science can.

 In conclusion, I personally think that drugs should be released early if patients volunteer to be test subjects. I think so because maybe they can be cured and the results if the drug is good are not is much faster and more effective than testing it for many years. The only protection against all these troubles is to exercise, live a balanced life, have a healthy diet, don’t take any drugs and have a positive perspective on life!

Response: Cracking the Code of Life

Cracking the Code of Life

 Genomic science has improved so much in the past decade. From knowing what a nucleus is to finding out which DNA strand can unlock how to prevent illness. The question is would we want our genome to be exposed to the world? After watching Cracking the Code of Life I have thought of ways (and used scientists ways) of negative and positive aspects to revealing our genome to the world. From the movie I learned that illnesses happen when a letter pair is either not in the DNA strand or it is placed. Nowadays researches have searched the human genome in order to find the strands that lead to illnesses and they are now looking for a cure. It has been a race for the scientists to complete it first. In the both private and public organizations came a tie. I also learned that people can be carriers or be effected by illnesses. For example, in the movie when two parents were carriers of a illness which swells up the brain and the infected dies. The child was effected and later on died. The brother of the parent and his wife were also carriers and had one normal child and another which had the same illness. This shows that there is a 20% chance of not having a normal child. In addition to that I learned that I can be tested in order to prevent my children from having those illnesses. Along with those things, I learned many different things about DNA itself. Such as it being our blue print and key to cloning, effects on people and families, how technology advanced in the human genome and what pairs make what illness.

 From the movie I can summarize how the race of finishing the human genome was perused and when it was done people could go get tested for illnesses and the possibility of getting deformed children began to subside. Also the movie talked about how DNA works and which pairs are put together to make up normal people. In addition to that the movie talked about chances and probability of getting an ill child. The movie itself didn’t have a lot of things to summarize but information that made me think about my future and genes. Scientists in Norway have made a data base in which people can see their ancestors through genes. This is public on the internet and people can see if you have a problem in your blood line which you might have inherited. This public genes sharing leads me to my conclusion.

 In conclusion, finishing the human genome was the best thing humanity has ever done. We can now reduce the chances of having ill children or giving diseases and most importantly keeping ourselves healthy. Though, I am not so sure I want my genes and blood line to be put on the internet for everyone to see. I wouldn’t want to lose the chance of getting a good job because I may be sick and people will think I am incapable of doing that specific job. I would love to be tested to see if I had a genetic disease of predisposition because I want to make sure I’m healthy and if I was to die or have no cure, I would live my life to the fullest and make sure I don’t infect anyone. If a company was looking for DNA samples for the use in genetic studies to make a cure for specific bacterial genes and I had that gene, I wouldn’t mind having my DNA in the study because I would be benefiting science and humanity. I am only one person and if I can make a difference then that is what I am willing to do or undergo. I would want royalties due to being the owner of the genes, but it depends how much money or what I will get. I don’t want to greedy, but I would like to be given something because of my “disability”. If I was informed that I might have a health problem later in life I would like to be informed because as I mentioned I want to live life to the fullest and not make anyone sick. I could also contribute to finding a cure. The meaning genetic discrimination means when people are treated differently by their employer or insurance company because they have a gene mutation that causes or increases the risk of an inherited disorder. Genetic privacy means when you can hide your past blood line’s illnesses and no one knows if you have a genetic problem or not. Same ways to protect this type of genetic discrimination is to not publish our genes, but our doctors and trusted people may know about them along with our selves. Also that employers along with schools are fair when giving jobs and don’t look at your genetic make-up. 

Cabbage Lab Reflection

During this lab I learned three main things. Firstly, how cabbage juice reacts with acids and bases. When an acid is added it turns pink and depending on how much you add, it will grow darker. When a base is added the solution turns yellow and depending on how much you add, it will first turn green and then yellow. Secondly, I learned that the acid results dropped as shown on my graph and the base results grew. This shows that the more acid added dropped and then stayed constant. The base results grew drastically then stayed constant and then changed drastically again. Thirdly, I learned that  what acids, bases and pH levels are. Acids are the levels below 5 and has acidic properties. Bases are the levels above 6 to 14 and have base properties. pH levels are the levels showing whether a solution is acidic, base or neutral. If I could change anything in this lab, I would change include the further inquiry because I forgot it. In the end, I enjoyed this lab very much because it was interesting, got me involved and was a hands on project which needed concentration and precision.