Science Research Question

How do the mother's actions affect the embro/fetus development? Positively or negatively.

Pregnancy is a time of changes in a woman's body and a time when the baby is developing to be born. The decisions that a woman makes when caring for her body affects a fetus when she is pregnant. Some substances that a pregnant woman uses can harm a fetus, causing a negative impact on development and possibly resulting permanent damage.
Drugs and alcohol use during pregnancy can affect the development of fetal organs and overall growth. The American Council for Drug Education states that when a pregnant mother drinks alcohol, its components are absorbed and cause damage to the cells of a fetus. Drinking alcohol might cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a condition characterized by facial deformities, heart complications and mental retardation.
Smoking. The use of tobacco by a pregnant mother increases her chances of having a baby that has a low birth weight. Tobacco use may also harm a fetus by reducing the amount of available oxygen in the bloodstream, which can cause neurological damage.
Food. Certain food that a pregnant woman eats may cause harm to her unborn baby. The mother might eat listeria. Which is a type of bacteria found in some vegetables, dairy products and uncooked meats.
Environmental. Many environmental situations may cause harm if a pregnant woman does not take proper care. Improper use of seat belts results in injury to a fetus as well as a mother if an accident occurs. Exposure to many household chemicals and various environmental substances can be toxic to an unborn baby, and mother should take precautions against putting their child at risk of exposure.

Cytokinesis and Mitosis Reflection

Introduction: Find out the difference between Cytokinesis and Mitosis.  How do they go together in order to complete the cell division process?  


I did two virtual labs about Cytokinesis and Mitosis. We were looking for the cell divisions and also nuclear divisions. From the first virtual lab that I did I found out that there was a cellular division cycle and it was interesting that there was so many of them. There were 5 parts in the process. First is the Interphase. The Interphase has the most cells. The Interphase is the cell engaged in metabolic activity and performing its duty as part of a tissue. The chromosomes are not clear in the nucleus, although a dark spot called the nucleolus may be visible. Then comes the prophase. The chromatin in the nucleus begins to condense and becomes visible in the light microscope as chromosome. In this step the chromosomes begin moving. After Prophase comes the Metaphase. This is when the spindle fibers align the chromosomes along the middle of the cell nucleus. The line is called the Metaphase plate.The last to parts in the cycle are Anaphase and lastly Telophase. The Anaphase is when the paired chromosomes separate at the kinetochores and move to opposite sides if the cell. The Telophase is the last step in the cycle and it is when new membranes from around the daughter nuclei while the chromosomes disperse and are no  longer visible under the light microscope. In this virtual lab I also noticed that when the cell is not dividing, the nucleus always stays black, possibly being in the Interphase. 

 

Online Onion Root Tips Activity

Congratulations! Here comes the quantitative part of this experiment. Scroll down this page and count up all of the cells in each category, and enter your findings in the top row of your table.Then, calculate the percentage of cells in each phase, and enter those values on the bottom row of the table.

INTERPHASE	PROPHASE	METAPHASE	ANAPHASE	TELOPHASE

	Interphase	Prophase	Metaphase	Anaphase	Telophase
number of cells	20	10	3	2	1	36

Make The Right Call! Lab

Problem (Guiding Question) : How can you predict the possible results of genetic crosses?

Hypothesis: I guess you can make an educated guess.

Data Table

Number: 1

Trial	Allele from bag 1 (female parent)	Allele from bag 2 (male parent)	Offspring’s Alleles (genotype)
1	B	b	Bb
2	B	b	Bb
3	B	b	Bb
4	B	b	Bb
5	B	b	Bb
6	B	b	Bb
7	B	b	Bb
8	B	b	Bb
9	B	b	Bb
10	B	b	Bb

Number: 2

Trial	Allele from bag 1 (female parent)	Allele from bag 2 (male parent)	Offspring’s Alleles (genotype)
1	B	b	Bb
2	B	b	Bb
3	B	B	BB
4	B	B	BB
5	B	B	BB
6	B	B	BB
7	B	b	Bb
8	B	b	Bb
9	B	b	Bb
10	B	B	BB

Number: 3

Trial	Allele from bag 1 (female parent)	Allele from bag 2 (male parent)	Offspring’s Alleles (genotype)
1	b	b	bb
2	B	b	Bb
3	b	b	bb
4	b	B	Bb
5	b	b	bb
6	b	b	bb
7	B	B	BB
8	B	b	Bb
9	B	B	BB
10	b	b	bb

Analyze & Conclude

1. Making Models 

	b	b
B	Bb	Bb
B	Bb	Bb

	B	b
B	BB	Bb
B	BB	Bb

	B	b
B	BB	Bb
b	Bb	bb

2. Interpreting Data

Only 1 offspring is possible. They are both purebred, There was two blue in bag 1 and two white in Bag 2. The results in the punnet square are correct because each square has the same.

3. Predicting

There are two different kinds which are BB and Bb. Both of them have a 50 % chance. Both are in two squares in the punnet square.

4. Making Models

There are three different kinds of offspring's in my Punnet Square. BB has a chance of 25 %, Bb has a chance of 50 % and bb has a chance of 25 % like BB. The model agrees with the punnet square because Bb has two squares and BB and bb has only one. 

5. Inferring

If I did 100 trials instead of 10 trials there wouldn't be a really accurate answer, but I think that the result would be closer to 50 % for each one. This would prove it much more than doing only 10 trials. This is because we would have more chance to equal it with more tries. 

6. Communicating

The two methods are quite similar in a sense that both of them can be used to predict the probability of the offspring inheriting certain traits from their parents. However, they do have a major difference. The Punnet Square is being used to predict the possible outcomes of a genotype, the marble model is a test for the Punnet Square. 

GATTACA

Discussion Questions: (chose 3)

4. Was Jerome mentally ill?
I don't think that Jerome was mentally ill in the movie because he did all these amazing stuff that someone that was mentally ill wouldn't have been able to do. If he was mentally ill he wouldn't work as much as he did. I guess that he was depressed instead of being mentally ill. Being depressed in a moment should have made him bad for himself and maybe he wanted to die, because he felt bad in a moment. After he was just sad about what had happened.

13. Soon, life insurance companies, health insurance companies, employers, and the government will have the tolls to predict our future health. Is this too much information for them to have? Is there any way to stop it?
The answer for this question would vary on people. No one would know if a person would want to learn if he has one disease and that disease might kill him or her. Some people would like to know maybe for what they would do the last moments but in case some people could get really depressed and would think that there is no reason for living like one week more. Some people would feel ill and wouldn't feel comfortable going into public in this way.


16. What limits should be placed on genetic engineering? Should it be allowed at all? Should it be limited to the elimination of disease and physical imperfections?
I think genetic engineering shouldn't be allowed at all because it is kind of copying someone and I think it is illegal. Many people have discussions with this and people still aren't sure to do this or not. 

Cracking The Code of Life Video Reflection

1.  Sequencing the human genome may bring to light a number of genes that are the basis for known genetic diseases or that predispose a person to a condition such as heart disease, cancer, or Alzheimer’s disease.  Yet finding a gene for an illness may not lead to an immediate cure.  Would you want to be tested to learn whether they had a genetic disease or predisposition if no cure was available?  Why or why not?  

 

I think that if someone in the family had a disease that was not curable it wouldn't be a good idea to learn it because it might make the person feel bad or think wrong about themselves. This could cause other illnesses. Knowing the disease would let you know if your child would have the same disease, but this could also make you feel uncomfortable in a way. 

2.  Consider a scenario in which a lab needs DNA samples for use in genetic testing studies.  Researchers are searching for a variant of a gene that provides resistance to specific bacterial diseases.  If the company finds this gene, it may be able to produce a drug to sell to people who have these diseases.  Would you agree to have your DNA be part of the study?  Why or why not?  Would you want royalties for your part in finding the gene?  What if during the testing, the company discovered you had a gene that might result in a health problem later in life?  Would you want to be informed?  Why or why not?  

If a lab needed some DNA samples to find a cure for a disease, and they asked for mine. I think that it wouldn't be a problem because if I had a child and if he or she had a disease they would have already have a cure for it by looking at my DNA. I wouldn't want anything back because it is for human health and to cure some new diseases that other people will have through life. 

3.  As more is learned about genes, there is a risk that the information will be used to define certain members of society by their genetic makeup.  Identify the meaning of the terms genetic discrimination and genetic privacy.  What are some ways to protect against this type of genetic discrimination?

I do believe that discrimination based on a person's genetic make up is really wrong and I don't understand the people that would judge you based on the type of chromosomes that you have in your DNA.

Current Events #1

Gamburtsev 'ghost mountains mystery solved' 

by Konathan Amos  

Source: BBC

Date of 17 November 2011

The Gamburstev mountains are the same size as the Alps and are buried beneath the Antarctic Sea. The Gamburstev was discovered in 1950s and was a great surprise. The researches tell that this range was formed over a billion years ago. The Gamburtsevs are really important because they are believed to be the location where the sheet we know today is Antarctica. " Surveying these mountains was an incredible challenge, but we succeeded and it's produced a fascinating story,: quoted.Dr Fausto Ferraccioli. Searching these mountains history is helping scientists understand not just past changes on Earth but they could possibly find scenarios that could happen in the future. 

Dr Fausto Ferraccioli was a principle investigator for Antarctica's Gamburtsev Province project.They were trying to find a hidden shape of a mountain system using ice-penetrating radar. The other instruments they used were the seismometers and they could record the local gravitational and magnetic fields on the ice sheet surface. The AGAP team believes all this data that they found could make a huge story for Gamburstev's creation and persistence through geological time. This was a story that started over a billion years ago. It was long before when complex life had formed in the world, after this happened they continents were sliding which ended up creating a giant landmass called Rodinia. This was kind of an explosion and it pushed up the mountains and also produced and underlying think, thick root on the crust. It's believed that about 250-100 million years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the planet, the crust started to pull apart in a series of rifting events close to the old root. To some extent , the AGAP's survey has actually depressed this quest. The radar data has indicated the base of the sheet has been severely disrupted by water that has been freshly frozen, layer upon layer, on to the bottom of the ice column.

I choose this article because it was really interesting for me because of what people can find about the past in cool ways, however it didn't relate to are unit at the moment, it was quite fun to read and write about.  I think this is reliable because they have so many evidence. For example graphs, charts and pictures and also the AGAP team is really professional. This relates to science because what people are trying this day are really different. The researches try to find the past and predict the future one day. 

Bibliography:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15749757