Harvest of Fear

1. What is a GM Crop.
GM crops are genetically altered crops to grow better or to produce larger crops.

2. List 2 arguments FOR the growing of GM crops
a)Hold an adequate source to feed the rapidly expanding population
b)Resistant crops

3. List 2 arguments AGAINST the growing of GM crops.
a)GM crops might pose health risks for certain people.
b)Harm the environment

4. Practice this simulation until you get the largest ears of corn. How many times did it take you?
It took me four turns to get the largest possible crop.

5. List two foods and describe how they are being modified.
a)Cheese: Scientists are now experimenting with making cheese out of rennet, and extract of purified milk.
b)Bananas: Scientists are testing with making bananas a vector for edible vaccines.

Epigenome

IDENTICAL TWINS: PINPOINTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE EPIGENOME
 
  1. Often, the physical characteristics of genetically identical twins become increasingly different as they age, even at the molecular level. Explain why this is so. (use the terms "environment" and "epigenome")
A: Even though identical twins are identical, their experiences in their epigenome are the same and their environment changes as they grow up.
  2. Name 3-4 environmental factors that influence the epigenome.
A: Diet, physical activity, exposure to toxins ,and stress.
  3. What is an imprinted gene?
 A: An epigenomic tag that was not cleared to a blank state.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR EPIGENOME
 
1. Discuss factors in your daily life (ie. Diet, exercise, stress etc.) that could be affecting your epigenome
A: Parents' diet, my diet, my physical activity habits, parents' physical activity habits, non-smoking parents, lightly drinking parents. 
 
LICK YOUR RATS
 
  1. Explain how a high-nurturing mother rat shapes her pup's epigenome, and what that pup's response to stress will be.
A: Licking the pup will activate it's GR gene which helps to lower stress.
  2. In rats, does licking by the mother activate, or deactivate her pup's GR gene?
A: Activate
  3. Explain how cortisol and the GR protein work together in the brain to relax a rat pup. You may draw a diagram.
A: Cortisol and GR protien work together because during the fight or flight situation cortisol is released and binds to the GR protien that then releases a calming signal.
  4. The rat nurturing example shows us how parental behavior can shape the behavior of their offspring on a biochemical level. Relate this to humans and think about the personal and social implications. Record your thoughts.
A: How much your mother shows that she is there for a child allows said child to become able to calm down faster and be able to talk to it's mother.
 
NUTRITION & THE EPIGENOME
 
  1. Explain how the food we eat affects gene expression.
A: Nutrients from our food are turned into methyl groups and these methyl groups can harm or help us.
  2. Can the diets of parents affect their offspring's
A: Certainly, if you take rats, one fat mother and one normal mother were fed differently, the fat mother got a healthy diet and the normal mother was fed fat rich diet and the fat mother's kid was fat and the skinny mother's kid was normal.
 
EPIGENETICS & THE HUMAN BRAIN
 
1. How does Dietary methyl influence gene expression?
A: Dietary methyl can influence gene expression because the brain would send signals to the body based on how healthy the food is for your body and the epigenome will add tags according to the signals that it receives from the brain and depending on how you eat a faster metabolism gene might be in your future.
2.  Why do Toxins  affect gene methylation?
A: Toxins can change gene expression because if a parent smokes, the child will keep the genetic experiences of smoking and it might change the appearance of the child or coil genes where they normally would be coiled, or relax a gene that would not normally be able to be relaxed or read.

DNA Fingerprinting

Introduction:

1. DNA is unique for everyone. The only exception is if a person has what?
Except if someone is an identical twin.

2. What are DNA fingerprints used for?
To determine who did what at a crime scene or a forensic site.

Part 1 “It Takes a Lickin”

3. What “crime” was committed?
Someone broke an entering into his room and licked his lollipop.

4. What bodily fluid was removed from the “crime scene” to get DNA?
Saliva was removed.

Part 2 “DNA Fingerprinting at the NOVA Lab”

5. What does a restriction enzyme do?
It cuts the long DNA molecule at certain places.

6. What is agarose gel?
A thick porous jello-like substance that acts like a strainer.

7. What is electrophoresis?
It is the process of moving molecules along an electric current.

8. Smaller fragments of DNA move more easily than longer strands.


9. Why do you need to place a nylon membrane over the gel?
The gel is hard to work with so you transfer the DNA to the nylon membrane.

10. Probes attach themselves to the nylon membrane.


11. Which chemical in your “virtual lab” is radioactive?
The probes which are radioactively labeled.

12. Sketch your DNA fingerprint.
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13. Based on your DNA fingerprint, who licked the lollipop?
Honey Sweet

Click on the Link “DNA Workshop” (if this link won't load, scroll down to the bottom where it says "try the non-java script version)
Once you’re there, go to the link “DNA Workshop Activity” and practice with DNA replication and protein synthesis.

Browse the DNA Workshop site.


14. What kinds of things could you do at the DNA workshop?

You can do activities and research about famous geneticists.

Mitosis

1. Which stage does the following occur
Chromatin condenses into chromosomes: prophase
Chromosomes align in center of cell: metaphase
Longest part of the cell cycle: interphase
Nuclear envelope breaks down: prometaphase
Cell is cleaved into two new daughter cells: cytokinesis
Daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles: telophase
2. The colored chromosomes represent chromatids. There are two of each color because one is an exact duplicate of the other.
--How many chromosomes are visible at the beginning of mitosis? 0
-- How many are in each daughter cell at the end of mitosis?4
--The little green T shaped things on the cell are: daughter chromosomes
-- What happens to the centrioles during mitosis? They divide
3 . Identify the stages of these cells:
a)metaphase
b)telophase
c)prophase
4. View the animation and describe the stages:
Prophase: Daughter chromosomes moving to either end of the splitting cell, and the chromosomes have begun to divide.
Metaphase: The daughter cells are pulling ht Roth chromosomes towards them to become their own cell.
Telophase: About to become their own cells, the daughter cells put up a barrier between them.

5. You will have 36 cells to classify. When you’re finished, record your data in the chart below.

	Interphase	Prophase	Metaphase	Anaphase	Telophase	Total
Number of cells	20	10	3	2	1	36
Percent of cells (calculate: number of cells divided by total cells x 100 )	55.55%	27.77%	8.33%	5.55%	2.77%	100 %

6. For each organism, identify the stage of mitosis.

	View 1	View 2	View 3	View 4	View 5 (Onion Only)
Whitefish	Cytokinesis	Interphase	Prophase	Anaphase
Onion	Anaphase	Metaphse	Interphase	Interphase	Telophase