Unit 6 Reflection

In this unit we learned about Biotechnology, which is the study of manipulation of living things in order to benefit us, mankind. Going deeper into this unit, we learned about the different fields in Biotechnology which is the understanding of DNA(genomes), proteins(proteomics), and lastly inheritance(which is basically genetics). We also learned about the 4 main applications in Biotechnology, which are Industrial and Environmental(biodegradable plastics, biofuels etc.), Medical(medicines from organisms, vaccines etc.), Agriculture(breeding) and lastly Diagnostic Research(DNA identification). Bioethics is the study of decision - making as it applies to moral decisions that have to be made because of advances in biology. This is important because scientists are always making bioethical questions about different aspects of life that relate to biology. After that, we learned about recombinant DNA and how it can be used to add traits from one organism into another. Recombinant DNA is the process of putting one organism's DNA into another organism. In the last part of this unit, we learned about the Polymerase Chain Reaction, Gel Electrophoresis, and Sequencing. PCR is a procedure to amplify a specific DNA region and is used for paternity testing, to detect diseases and for cloning. Gel Electrophoresis is basically a way to separate DNA fragments. The way that they do this is that they run electricity through a gel, in order to make the dye run so that they can see the distance that the dye travels on the gel. In the process of the dyes running, they separate. Sequencing is the process of determining the exact order of a given DNA sequence. Another thing that we studied was pGLO and how it is used.

We did a lab on pGLO and what we did was we tried to create bacteria that was resistant to ampicillin and also that could glow in UV light due to the arabinose that we added. In this lab I understood the concept of how bacteria can transform. The other labs that we did in this unit were the DNA Recombinant Lab and the Candy Electrophoresis Lab. The DNA Recombinant Lab helped me understand the role of the restriction enzyme and also what a plasmid was. The Candy Electrophoresis Lab helped me understand the whole process in a more detailed way.

http://patwardhanblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/pglo-lab-questions.html
http://patwardhanblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/recombinant-dna-lab-analysis.html
http://patwardhanblog.blogspot.com/2016/01/candy-electrophoresis-lab-questions.html

Something that I would like to learn more about in the Biotechnology unit is about the fields in Biotechnology because we barely scratched the surface of the four fields and I would like to learn more about it.

I have been keeping up to speed with my New Year's Goals because my main goal was to get the understanding of the concepts as we go along in the unit and not just passively go through each unit. I think that I have done a good job so far and as for my second goal, I feel that I am doing alright in that area. My second goal is time management and I am doing well with it, but I think that I can do a much better job.

pGLO Lab Questions

pGLO Observations , Data Recording & Analysis

1.

Obtain your team plates.  Observe your set of  “+pGLO” plates under room light and with UV light.  Record numbers of colonies and color of colonies. Fill in the table below. Plate Number of Colonies Color of colonies under room light Color of colonies under   UV light - pGLO LB 0 tan tan - pGLO LB/amp carpet tan tan + pGLO LB/amp 130 tan tan + pGLO LB/amp/ara 150 tan green Comments: The -pGLO LB and the -pGLO LB/amp plates were switched when labeled.

2.	What two new traits do your transformed bacteria have?
	The resistance to the ampicillin and the bacteria could glow under UV light.
3.	Estimate how many bacteria were in the 100 uL of bacteria that you spread on each plate. Explain your logic.
	If you use the carpet for reference, I think that there are about a thousand to ten thousand bacteria. The reason that I think this is because the carpet is very spread out along the plate, so there will be a lot of bacteria.
4.	What is the role of arabinose in the plates?
	The arabinose, which is a sugar, had the effect of making the bacteria glow under the UV light. That is why, when you look at the plate with the arabinose with the ampicillin, LB and the pGLO and compare it to the exact same plate without the arabinose, you see that the one with arabinose will glow.
5.	List and briefly explain three current uses for GFP (green fluorescent protein) in research or applied science.
	The GFP is used because of its ability to generate a glowing color. GFP is used as a active indicator for protease action because then the scientists would know that it is working. Another reason why GFP is used is because it can glow inside an organism so the scientists could see what goes on inside the organisms cell. The third use is GFP is used for Biosensors, which allows you to analyze different conditions, like pH levels.
6.	Give an example of another application of genetic engineering.

In medicine, genetic engineering has been used to mass produce human growth hormones, insulin, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and many more.

Candy Electrophoresis Lab Questions

When we did the green dye, there was an interesting discovery that we found. We discovered that when the green dye migrated, it separated into a blue and yellowish dye, in the same band.

The citrus red 2 dye is similar to the dyes in the lab because the structure of the citrus red 2 dye is similar to the structure of the red 40 dye that we used in the lab. Since the structure and the size of the two dyes are similar, then that means that the distance that it moves would be about the same.

The reason that some dog food manufacturers is because that the different colors could attract the dogs to eat the food. Another reason for this is that the food coloring in the dog food could make the food look more appetizing for the dog.

The reason that the people might use artificial colors over food colors because they can become brighter or more colorful without the use of a lot of the dye. The artificial color is cost effective and that is why manufacturers use artificial.

The two things that control the distance that the dye travels is size of the pieces along with the structure of the dye. These two control the distance because if the piece is smaller, then it travels farther.

The force that helps the dye move through the gel is the electricity that is running through the gel. (Negative and Positive charges)

The holes in the gel allow the molecules to separated by size. The way that this works is the smaller the molecule, the faster it can navigate through the dye and the farther they go.

The DNA molecules with those weights will separate through the holes, but some will just take longer to migrate.

Recombinant DNA Lab Analysis

In this lab, we simulated the process of producing recombinant DNA and how the enzymes were used to cut the plasmid and the DNA. There were many enzymes that we had to look through to see if the enzyme cut once in the plasmid and twice in the actual DNA. The way that we determined the plasmid was cutting out 4 strips and discarding two. The plasmid that we ended up with was resistant to tetracycline. We used this because the bacteria could survive and be produced. The other antibiotics that the plasmid were not resistant to, kanamycin and ampicillin, were not used to mass produce the bacteria. Restriction enzymes basically cut the DNA when it reads a specific sequence. We used the enzyme Hpa 2 because that enzyme could cut the DNA in two places, one above and the other below the insulin, and also the plasmid. If the plasmid was cut into two places, then the ligase could not reattach the base pairs because there are two so it could get confused. This is important because we could use this technology to make medicines or other things that could help humans in different aspects. This process is used to create fruits with delayed ripening so that it could have a longer life on the shelf of a store.

New Year's Goals

One of my SMART goals is that I will actually try and understand everything that is being taught this semester instead of just passively learning about it and then stressing out about the test the day before. That is my goal for this semester in biology. The way that I will be doing this is whenever there is a new assignment that is not due the next class, I will be working on it proactively so that I do not do it all the night before. My other goal that is not related to biology is that I will become more organized in my time management. The way that I will do this is by making a calendar of everything that I have to do so that I can look at what I have to do on the same paper.