Gattaca Questions

Questions about GATTACA!

Choose several of the following questions to discuss in a blog post reflection on the movie GATTACA. This reflection will become an artifact on your portfolio page 2 as part of your awareness of the effects of science upon society.

1. The following terms were used in the movie. How do they relate to the words we use: degenerate and invalid?
        De-gene-erate
        In-valid
        Borrowed Ladder

2. Why do you think Vincent left his family, tearing his picture out of the family photo, after winning the swimming race against his brother?
He wanted to prove a point to his family that he wasn’t a loser.

3. Describe the relationship between Vincent and Anton.
Vincent didn’t like Anton because Anton was a perfect child and Vincent had alot of problems

4. When Jerome Morrow said to Vincent/Jerome, “They’re not looking for you. When they look at you, they only see me,” what did he mean? Can you find any parallels to this type of situation in real life? Because he is using Jermones DNA so people think of him as Jerome not Vincent.
When you are watching a movie you don’t think of the actor as himself but as the person who he is characterizing

5. Choose your favorite character from the film. Explain why you choose that person. Would you want to be that person? Why? Why not? I enjoyed the real Jerome Marrow because he was funny in some parts. I would not enjoy being him though because he wasn’t able to walk.

6. At the end of the film, you are told that the Doctor knew about Vincent all along. Why did the Doctor go along with the fraud? What would you have done if you were the Doctor?
The Doctor knew that it was Vincents dream. I would have let Vincent follow his dream.

7. The technology to do what was done in the movie is definitely possible within the next fifty years. Do you think that Vincent’s world could eventually happen in America? Why?
I believe that people will probably be desperate enough to go that far.

8. What do you think is wrong with the society portrayed in "GATTACA"? What is right?
People judging people because of ways there going to die is ridiculous.   

9. What were the screenwriters trying to tell us through the episode of the 12-fingered pianist? Is anything wrong with engineering children to have 12 fingers if, as a result, they will be able to make extraordinarily beautiful music?
Its telling us that people who are different should be recognised.  
10. You and your spouse are having a child and are at the Genetic Clinic pictured in the movie. What characteristics would you want for your child and what would you ask to be excluded? Why would you make those choices?
 
11. Picture yourself as either Vincent, Jerome, or Anton. Would you have acted the same or done things differently if you were in the same world as them?

12. How does the society in GATTACA resemble the type of society America was during the height of the eugenics movement?

DNA Blog

Two weeks of analyzing DNA is interesting. First off what is DNA? This is what makes us as humans different, what makes animals different, what even makes flowers, trees, or any type of plant different from anything else. Every living thing in this world has a different set of DNA. What are some terms to learn when we are thinking about it?

Dioxyribose- Sugar in the side links of DNA.

Phosophate- Salt on the outside of the DNA.

Base Pair- When A and T combine by a hydrogen pair or when G and C combine by a hydrogen pair.

Graig and Olga Pedigree Project

Questions

1.Do autosomal dominant disorders skip generation? No because you have to get it form your parents genes. You can't passing it down unless you carry it.

2.Could Greg or his mother be carriers of the gene that causes myotonic dystrophy? Myotonic Dystrophy is a dominant gene so no.

3. Is there a possibility that Greg’s aunt or uncle is homozygous for the myotonic dystrophy (MD) gene? Both of them have it so no.

4.Symptoms of myotonic dystrophy sometimes don’t show up until after age fifty. What is the possibility that Greg’s cousin has inherited the MD gene? Graig's cousin has 50% chance of having it.

5.What is the possibility that Greg and Olga’s children could inherit the MD gene? The children can't get it becauseit is dominant. 

6.What are the hallmarks of an autosomal recessive trait? Skips generations and happens in both females and males.

7.What does consanguineous mean? Why is this concept especially important when discussing recessive genetic disorders? Consanguineous means you have relation with a past relative. Recessive skips generations and its important to know if you could have the trait or not.

8.What is it about the inheritance pattern of factor VIII deficiency seen in Greg and Olga’s pedigree that point toward it not being an autosomal recessive trait? It has only happened to 2 people in two different generations. The one before Greg and Greg’s brother in the next Generation.

Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer
 Ductal and Lobular carcinomas are the main two types of breast cancer. They are start very different but, typically end the same. Ductal is started in the place that moves milk to the edge of the nipple called a duct. Lobular is started in the place in the breast that produces milk. The causes of Breast Cancer are essentially Age, Gender, family history, physical strain, and/or genes. In age the risk of breast cancer is immensely increased because the ducts are starting to wear off which in turn typically causes the cancer. When people in your family have had breast cancer you are 20-30% at a greater risk of inheriting it. The defects of the genes that can usually hold the cancer are BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. If your parent has that gene you have a 80% chance that you will get the same gene. Woman have an increased risk of breast cancer if they have their period before age 12 or after the age of 55. Other risks include Alcoholism, childbirth, DES, hormone replacement therapy, and radiation. 85% of people with this cancer have at least one mutated gene. Two inherited genes that are sometimes mutated are BRCA1 and BRCA2 and if you have them you have an 80% chance of getting breast cancer. Ways you can prevent breast cancer or any cancer for that matter are limited alcohol, stay healthy, exercise more, and detect cancer in a early stage.



There are many symptoms of breast cancer which include...
Lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm that persists through the menstrual cycle.
A mass or lump, which may feel as small as a pea.
A change in the size, shape, or contour of the breast.
A blood-stained or clear fluid discharge from the nipple.
A change in the feel or appearance of the skin on the breast or nipple (dimpled, puckered, scaly, or inflamed).
Redness of the skin on the breast or nipple.
A change in shape or position of the nipple
An area that is distinctly different from any other area on either breast.
A marble-like hardened area under the skin.

Did you know...
-Men can get breast cancer.
-More women carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes then men.
-Typically more Hispanic women get it than any other race.
-Preventions are very helpful so use them to your advantage.

Eugenics Project

This is information on Eugenics and the links below is where I wrote everything. They are the same thong just in different forms.

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1SUasHRzp8lcHd15qIMKKaKO5J9Xk3UoLMtJMNiO8_rQ

https://docs.google.com/a/lajunta.k12.co.us/document/d/1SUasHRzp8lcHd15qIMKKaKO5J9Xk3UoLMtJMNiO8_rQ/edit

Stem Cell Webquest

What are stem cells and why are they important? Stem cells have a amazing rate of growing into a lot of different cell types during early life and growth. The are used as sort of a defensive/repair system in the body that they live in. They do not have a limit of helping the body while it is still alive. Every stem cell can create either two stem cells, two specialized cells, or one specialized and stem cell. By specialized cell I mean any cell that helps or destroys things in the body. Such as a lung cell or a liver cell that goes and helps the organs.

Webquest Key Terms

Cell-based therapies- Treatment in which stem cells are induced to differentiate into the specific cell type required to repair damaged or destroyed cells or tissues.

Differentiation- The process whereby an unspecialized embryonic cell acquires the features of a specialized cell such as a heart, liver, or muscle cell. Differentiation is controlled by the interaction of a cell's genes with the physical and chemical conditions outside the cell, usually through signaling pathways involving proteins embedded in the cell surface.

Embryonic stem cell line-Embryonic stem cells, which have been cultured under in vitro conditions that allow proliferation without differentiation for months to years.

Proliferation- Expansion of the number of cells by the continuous division of single cells into two identical daughter cells.

Plasticity- The capacity of organisms with the same genotype to vary in developmental pattern, in phenotype, or in behavior according to varying environmental conditions.

Pluripotent- Not fixed as to developmental potentialities, capable of differentiating into one of many cell types.

Did my questions on the link below

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1W7QyyyXwecn4TaEynD81k4OxoWiyCPjeeR0VGN7Wxvs

Meiosis

In Meiosis there are alot of certain things that are different than Mitosis. Mitosis is for cell reproduction and each cell is made exactly the same. In Meiosis genes and traits are the difference. No two things created by Meiosis are exactly the same and this is very interesting. It makes sure that nothing is the same. That makes flowers the way they are, people the way we are, and animals the way they are. There are also 5 main steps in Meiosis but you'll see the difference is my explanations and diagram below.

Prophase I
Nuclear division is about to occur in the first phase. A spindle forms as centrosomes move away from each other. The nucleolus disappears and so do the nuclear envelope fragments. Homologous chromosomes both have two sister chromatids and have to go through synapsis to make bivalents. The exchange of color may occur over the nonsister chromatids After this happens the sister chromotids are no longer identical.

Metaphase I
The bivalents held together by chiasmata have moved towards the equator of the spindle. This is determined by a fully formed spindle and alignment of the bivalents at the equator of the spindle.Protein complexes on the outside of the centromeres are called Kinetochores and should be seen by now. These are attached to spindle fibers. The bivalents align themselves at the equator of the spindle. Then the maternal and paternal homologues may be oriented on either pole. This means that all possible combinations can occur in the daughter cells.

Anaphase I
The homologues of each bivalent seperate and move to opposite poles. Each chromosome still has two chromatids.

Telophase I
Creates divisions so that each daughter cell has one chromosome from each homologous pair. Each parent has two pairs of homologous pairs of chromosomes. After telophase we get into Interkinesis. This is when mitotic division is similar to Interphase except DNA replication does not occur because chromosomes are already duplicated.

Mitosis

There are two main ways of cell reproduction which are very different from each other. Mitosis uses 5 different phases to make an exact copy of the cell. For example if you tear a muscle then your brains tells the cells to start reproducing so the tear will heal. I'm sure you don't want bone cells where the muscle needs fixed. Meiosis is a completely different thing with having 7 steps instead of 5. Meiosis can only be used in one thing and that is sexual reproduction. Anything living uses this to make more of it. In Meiosis no two things are exactly the same and that is the beauty of it. I will talk about Meiosis in my next blog.

Mitosis is made up of 5 different steps and here is more detail about them.

Interphase
This is the starting phase when the cell is doing its normal job. New DNA is split up so that each chromosome has equal amount of DNA. The two chromosomes are called duplicated or replicated chromosomes and attach in a structure called the centromere. After time the cell gets ready to start Mitosis by putting together much of the things needed to move chromosomes around. Although interphase really isn't a part of Mitosis it is something important to know about.
Prophase
This is the first step in Mitosis and involves the chromosome to become visible. This is done by paired centrioles (centrosomes) moving to opposite ends of the cell. To tell that its no longer interphase the nucleoli disappear and inside the nucleus is grainy like spaghetti. As the centrosomes move apart the mitotic spindle forms. Some of the fibers of the mitotic spindle attach to chromosomes pulling them towards the center of the cell.


Metaphase
In metaphase the centromeres are now in the center of the cell. Many nonattached spindle fibers are visible in metaphase. Some of these fibers reach beyond the metaphase plate and overlap.

Anaphase
Sister chromatids part and become daughter chromosomes that move toward the spindle poles. Each daughter cell has a centromere and a single chromatid that appear to move to opposite poles. Each pole receives the same number and kinds of chromosomes. This cell is called the parent cell.

Telophase 
During this phase daughter cells that have the same chromosomes as the parent cell form as nuclear envelopes and nucleoli reappear. Chromosome will become indistinct chromatin.

In this experiment I had to choose which phase each picture was in out of 36 pictures. The highest # of pictures was Interphase with 20 pictures. Going from highest to lowest the next # of pictures were Prophase with 10 pictures. Next down was Metaphase with 3 pictures. After Metaphase was Anaphase with 2 pictures. Finally with 1 picture was Telophase. I think it was funny that the phases went in order with the last phase as the lowest # of pictures and Interphase with the highest # of pictures.

The questions from the lab are in the link below

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1VkdM64evQlortXHTTNlCBvAcCc9M8rvkUzkyooWDe2E

Cell Structure

There are 3 basic types of cell which are the animal cell, the plant cell, and the bacteria cell and I will explain all of them.

An animal cell is made up of alot of different parts which are used for different functions. First thing I will talk to you about is the nucleolus which is one of the most essential things in the structure. This is the way you can tell one cell from the other because RNA and DNA are stored here.

Arsenic as a Poison

Arsenic is known best as a deadly poison, although in small doses it does have medical benefits. BBC News Online looks at the workings of the chemical infamous for its deadly effects. Arsenic is a semi-metallic naturally-occurring chemical. It is all around us in the environment and we are all exposed to small doses on a regular basis. It is difficult to detect as it is generally odourless and flavourless, meaning people have little idea when it is around.

I got this information on:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/physical_health/conditions/arsenic_poisoning.shtml

If consumed large amounts of Arsenic, humans can be killed quickly. If Arsenic is consumed with small amounts, but long time exposure humans die a much slower but painful death, or gain another illness. These illnesses include cancer, diabetes, thickening of the skin, liver disease, or problems with digestive system. Anyone who consumes large amounts of this poison by eating or drinking will most likely die. It causes a metallic taste in the mouth, excessive saliva production, and problems with swallowing. The next stage of the consummation is vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps, and access sweating. In the last stage consumers will have seizures and go into shocking dying soon after. Some ways to treat Arsenic poisoning are wash your hands with excessive amounts of water, remove any contaminated clothes, and washing out the stomach. Ways to prevent the consumption of Arsenic poison are to stay away from contaminated water and other things with mass amounts of Arsenic.

Enzyme Pressure Lab

This lab was intended to see how much pressure a yeast and H2O/H2O2 mixure could withstand in 3 minutes and was measured in kPa(kilo pascals). Madey Eckart, Sam Torres, and myself did this lab together...also with the help of Megan Roberson and Brett Copper.

In this part of the lab we measured how much yeast was put in a 3mL H2O/3mL H2O2 beaker and used different amounts of drops from a pipe-let throughout the experiment. In the first test we measure how much pressure a pipe-let with 10 drops of yeast could withstand. In the graph above it shows that the beaker could withstand 8.007kPa. In the second test we measured 15 drops instead of the 10 and it withstood 11.4 kPa. Our final test surprised us because in about half way through the pressure plug popped off from the beaker before the 3 min was over so the pressure it withstood was only 8.583kPa. So we all came to the conclusion that with more yeast the pressure builds up quicker but it can't withstand as much.

In this part of the lab we measured the the pressure in different temperatures. We kept a constant number of yeast drops (20) that were put into the beakers and still used 3mL H2O/ 3mL H2O2. In the first test we used a Room Temp. mixture and got a 8.587kPa result. The second test was a Cold temp. mixture and got a low pressure rate of 6.037kPa. In the third test we used a Warm Temp. mixture and got a pressure level of 8.569 kPa. In our fourth and final test we used a Hot Temp. mixture and got a pressure level of 7.427kPa. In this experiment the pressure seemed to jump around a little bit so we couldn't really find a pattern to it but I think if the water is too hot or cold the pressure will decrease.

This was the last experiment we did in this lab and was definitely different than the last two because instead of mixing the 3 mL H2O in with the 3mL H2O2 we replace the H2O with 3 mL different Ph leveled liquids but still used the 20 drops of yeast as in the second experiment. In the first test we did we used a pure acidic substance and in the result of it was 5.316kPa.In the second test we used a very neutral substance and the pressure level was 6.4 kPa. In the third and final test we used a pure basic substance which lasted to the pressure of 6.805kPa. So in the conclusion of this experiment as long as the substance is more basic it could withstand more pressure.

This experiment was fun in my opinion and hope we do more like this. Not only did I learn more about enzymes, but also how they effect certain things.

Membrane Structure

Membrane's are important because without them there would me no us. Biological membranes are sheetlike structures mostly made from lipids and proteins. Membrane-Lipids are in the bilayer and are 60 to100 Å(angstroms) thick. Protein membranes are spread all around the bilayer and perform the functions of the membrane. Both the lipids and proteins are constantly moving. Lipids are the primary determinants of the main structure, while the proteins carry out the membrane structure. Membranes are found everywhere and there are many different types. The plasma membrane surround cells and cells are what make up living things. The plasma membrane keeps the cells intact by holding all the cellular components inside. and it also protects it by keeping unwanted things outside of the cell. The membrane has may different functions that include signaling to other cells and transmitting the reaction into the cell itself, provides cell to cell contact that give direct communication. Membranes are actually permeable structures. 

The different parts of the membrane are obviously important towards it. The integral protein is a protein molecule that is permanently attached to the biological membrane and are hard to detach from the membrane. The peripheral protein is a protein that temporarily attaches to the membrane and it functions as sort of a communicator. The carbohydrates obviously are the sugars and other energy sources that help keep the membrane strong and functional. So not only did I learn about what the cell membrane does but I also learned about why it is used and a few terms and functions of it.

Cystic Fibrosis

CYSTIC FIBROSIS - A DISORDER OF MEMBRANE TRANSPORT

A great variety of proteins have roles in moving molecules and ions across cell membranes. Passive transport proteins permit certain substances to diffuse down concentration gradients by moving through the protein's interior. Active transport proteins use ATP energy to pump substances across the membrane against their concentration gradients. To investigate the importance of transport proteins, we will consider the effects of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder in which there is a defect in a transport protein..

Activity

Part 1.

In this part of the activity you will visit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s web site to learn about the causes and symptoms of cystic fibrosis.

Use your browser to go to http://www.cff.org/home/

Use the information provided in the “About cystic fibrosis” section to answer the following questions:

1. What are the signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis?
Salty tasting skin, persistent coughing; at times with phlegm, frequent lung infections, wheezing or shortness of breath, poor growth/weight gain in spite of good appetite, and frequent greasy, bulky stools or difficulty in bowel movements.

2. How common is this disorder?
30,000 people in the U.S. 70,000 people in the world

3. How is cystic fibrosis diagnosed?
Many tests such as the sweat test, newborn screening, and the genetic carrying test.

4. How is cystic fibrosis inherited? Does everyone who has a mutant gene for the protein have cystic fibrosis?
By getting the gene, 10 million people who live in the U.S. have a symptomless version on the defective gene.

Part 2.

In this part of the activity you will read an article to learn more about cystic fibrosis.

Use your browser to go to:

http://resources.schoolscience.co.uk/MRC/3/page3.html

Use the information in this article to answer the following questions:

1. Explain the normal function of the protein that is defective in cystic fibrosis.
Normally, the movements of ions brings water to the surface of the airway and keeps the mucus moist. The defective gene acts to block the channels, which causes the mucus to dry out. It is then difficult for a person to shift the mucus, which then becomes prone to infection by bacteria.


2. What happens to this protein in CF patients and what are the consequences for the health of these individuals?


Part 3.

In this part of the activity you will read about how cystic fibrosis is treated.

Use your browser to go to:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cystic-fibrosis/DS00287

Use the information in the different sections of the article to answer the following questions:

1. Explain at least 3 treatments for the symptoms of cystic fibrosis.
Antibiotics, Mucus-thinning drugs, Bronchodilators
2. Discuss at least 3 ways for parents to help their children who have cystic fibrosis.
Chest clapper, Inflatable vest, Breathing devices

Ph lab

This is based on the PH lab that we did. What the experiment was suppose to represent was how antacids react to stomach acid and what effects it has. In the experiment that we did we used vinegar to represent the stomach acid and mixed different antacids with the vinegar to see how they would react and also checking the PH level. It is ranked 1-14 where the higher number is more of a base and the lower number is more of an acid. The acids show of a red or orange color on the PH paper. Bases show green or blue on the PH paper. The antacid that was the closest to a base was the Rolaids with a PH level of 6. The Equate Regular was closest to an acid with a PH level of 4. Vinegar, Peppermint Antacid, and Extra Rolaids were all more of an acid than a base with the PH level of 5.

The Understanding of H2O

Yesterday and the day before we did experiments on water. A couple of experiments we did were seeing how many drops of water from a pipette we can hold on a penny. Another experiment we did was connecting a string to 2 beakers, one with water and one without, then trying to move the water from the full beaker to the empty one with a string. The group in our class that transferred the most water with the string used 16.9 ft of string.

Did you know that all living this are made up of 70% to 90% water? Water is a substance that has a high heat capacity. I learned a lot about how water is one of the only substances that expands when it freezes. This is because when the molecules of water, 2 hydrogen molecules and 1 oxygen molecule, freeze they are shaped weird so they have trouble sticking together. Water is a polar molecule. It lets hydrogen atoms collaborate within water atoms. This is how living things exist and can carry on cellular properties. Water is a very neutral molecule because it is made of an H+ atom and a OH- atom and a positive and a negative connect.

Starting to understand a little more.

People are different than plants in a lot of obvious ways like the fact that people have brains and you have to do different kinds of experiments to find different things. Plants however need different things that humans need to survive. Today we had to find out a little bit about different kinds of variables such as independent and dependent variables. We did a online experiment that I couldn't understand so I looked up the definitions of the following words.

So the independent variable is the one that stands alone and the dependent variable depends on the independent variable. The dependent variable responds to the independent and its creates the results in the experiment. These results can be recorded so you can compare or show the data you recorded. The experiment can have many different trials and thats when you can show what you observed.



Controlled experiment


I looked at a couple different web sites