This is where you want to post your "Scientific Literacy" Bonus Report, or read the reports of your classmates.
There are great resources out there to learn about concepts and new discoveries related to modern genetics and biotechnology. Search the websites! Find podcasts!
Some places you might explore are:
http://www.hhmi.org/
www.pbs.org/wnet/dna/
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/
http://www.dnai.org/
www.sciam.com/podcast/
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/
Here is where you want to post your reports. You can "cut and paste" or compose your report here. Be sure to title your report with the topic you have chosen. Just select "Comments."
Mrs. Sutera
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
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5 comments:
http://www.hhmi.org/news/eichler20090212.html - Link to website
This article is about gene deplication. It states that millions of genes are duplicated but each one makes a huge differences in the species. The article mostly talks about the similarties with humans and chimps. Anotehr thing that i learned was that how we duplicate now and how our bodies did in the earlier ages is much differnet. Millions of years ago our bodies worked way different then they do now. I found it interesting that some species have the same ansestors as another one. Also that some science can determine how many species share a gene duplication. One thing i learned was about the duplications such as these duplications have created regions of our genomes that are especially prone to large-scale reorganizations. “That architecture predisposes to recurrent deletions and duplications that are associated with autism and schizophrenia and with a whole host of other diseases,” says Eichler.
This article helped me understand the topic of duplication because it related it not only to humans but two another species as well. That helped me no that not only humans can duplicate but animals can to. I would rate this article a 8-9 because it gave me alot of information that I never knew before. This article also ingaged me so that I wanted to learn more.
Irena P.
Concerning causes of Parkinson's:
http://www.hhmi.org/news/lindquist20090222.html
Parkinson's is a neurodegenerative disease, but the paths within nerve cells that are affected by and cause the disorder are highly complicated and have not been very well understood by scientists. Now however, findings of studies done on yeast cells could possibly be applied to humans. The protein alpha-synuclein is what eventually builds up to toxic levels in brain cells. This was new information to me; I didn't know what Parkinson's was caused by in the brain. I also learned how mathematically complicated and confusing test results are of experiments trying to figure out cells' pathing in relation to their environment. However, the article explains that scientists are now developing mathematical algorithms to delve into what cell paths, when combined with toxic protein, cause disorders such as Parkinson's. I found it interesting that math was so directly useful in biology, and is helping to make strides in medical matters.
Irena,
If I understand correctly, we can have multiple copies of the same genes. And yes, comparing our DNA pattern to other species is an indication of evolutionary relationship as we will learn in our next unit.
Nice job.
Mrs. S
Geoff,
You chose a very high level article. And yes, cellular pathways are very complicated. What was interesting is that they genetically engineered the yeast in order to study the pathways of Parkinsons.
What was your rating of this article, given the difficulty of reading?
Mrs. S
The article I read was about stem cell research, which is the search for a cure for now incurable diseases. Douglas Melton, one of the leading scientists in the search for these cures. His motivation for starting stem cell research came from his son who, at the age of 6 months old, was diagnosed with type I diabetes. He is trying to find a way to make insulin-producing cells by using stem cells. Melton believes discoveries in stem cell science will make cures for diabetes, Parkinson's and heart disease. Stem cell research has evolved greatly from just a couple of years ago. In fact, research has expanded into regenerative medicine. The newest type of stem cells don't rely on embryos at all. Melton surprised many people because he generated new populations of cells by reprogramming one type of cell so it became another cell. Although there has been some success in the search for a cure for seemingly incurable diseases, there has been much controversy over how much money should be put towards stem cell research. Also, the morality of using embryos in experiments has also been questioned. Stem cell research has spread to countries other than the U.S., such as Korea. Stem cell research has progressed somewhat, but there is not yet a cure for any of the diseases. I would rate this article with a 9 because it was very informative and has increased my knowledge on the subject of stem cell research.
Holly L.
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