Reproductive Cloning: Good or Bad?

Reproductive cloning though does not give you the exact person will give you identical genetics. Its probably hard to get the exact person when they are reared in a different time and setting. I personally don't agree with reproductive cloning, I don't understand why you would want to clone someone genetically, it won't be the same person you are cloning.
There are a lot of people who don't see anything wrong with human cloning like Dr. Preston Estep who thinks it is ok to clone humans and that it may be able to stop aging. After all the reading I've done it seems this is the liberal view of things. They see it as a choice instead of a chance.
The people who don't agree with reproductive cloning are conservatives, they see this as unethical and wrong. When cloning animals approximately 30% of them are born with defects and die prematurely.
It is against the law to clone a human right now though it is done on animals and I hope that will always be against the law. I think that at times people tend to take all this technology for granted. I am all for DNA engineering to cure disease and help make medicines but when you start talking about cloning humans or embryo's I don't agree! If it won't give you exactly what you had then why even do it? And having a choice to change your baby, why not just be happy that you were given this baby in the first place?
Knowing that scientists still don't know all there is to know about human cloning and that they have difficulty cloning other mammals makes me feel like they have a long way to go and that maybe if it ever does happen I won't be around to see, though it may be interesting I see it as being morally worng!

Self & Unit Evaluation

I was nervous about taking this class because science has never been my favorite subject, in high school I did just what I needed to get by.. I feel like I did ok for this unit, I probably could have been more prepared and organized but I wasn't sure what to expect so I guess I was winging it at times. But now that I know what is expected I hope to be a lot better for the next units. Maybe I didn't believe just how much time is spent in this class with the work and studying, but I do know for sure now! :)

I enjoyed the online labs and building my cell the most, but also the reading material wasn't boring to me so that helped! My ethical issues essay and the quizzes could have been better I think.

I felt most engaged in this course when I was doing the online labs and I felt most distant when writing the ethical issues essay. The most surprising thing in this unit was that I actually enjoyed doing it, I've never been a big fan of science but this unit helped me see another side and I enjoyed that!

Dragons Genetics and Punnetts Square Lab

For the picture below I was able to have genotypes from one dragon and figure out how to change them to match another dragon. Before coming to the match I was able to see how certain genes being changed had an affect on the phenotype of the dragon.

Here I had 2 fruit flies that were homozygous LL and homozygous Ll and I had to figure out the probability of their offspring having long wings.

Genotype refers to the genes of an individual for a certain trait, in the fruit flies scenario it was the long wings LL or Ll.

Phenotype refers to the visible expression of the genotype, like changing the color of the dragons.

Allele refers to an alternative form of the gene and occur at the same locus on homologous chromosomes.

Cross refers to the trait crosses like the fruit flies with LL and Ll.

Dominant is the allele that has the upper case letter like LL or Ll, L is dominant for long winged fruit flies.

Recessive is the allele that is lower case.

Microscope Simulator Lab

The first microscope was made by a father and son known as Hans and Zacharias Janssen in 1595, the magnification ranged from 3X to 9X back then and looked like this





Robert Hooke and Anton van Leeuwenhoek contributed to the microscope. In 1665 Hooke was able to see the features of plant tissue that he discovered under the microscope. Leeuwenhoek made one lens microscope and though he was not the first person to build a microscope, the ones that he did build worked for this time period. The first person to describe bacteria and protozoans and helped prove the theory of blood circulation was Leeuwenhoek.

The steps for using a microscope are as follows..
Once the microscope has been powered on and while looking at the microscope, turn the microscope light on and raise the rheostat lever to “10”. Next choose your slide you want to view and place it on the stage making sure the stage clips are holding the slide in place. Next turn your ocular’s to select the objective lens, using the lowest objective to start.. By using the XY controls you need to move the slide around until it can be seen in the light circle. Make sure to close the iris and then raise the stage all the way up by turning the coarse knobs away from you. Now looking through the microscope you need to adjust the oculars to view the slide. Using the coarse focus knobs you can bring the slide into view. Now you want to use the fine focus knobs to bring the slide to a clearer view and use the XY controls to get it centered in the field of view before moving to a higher objective.

This is a picture of a cheek smear that I viewed through the microscope:
The stage is where you place the slide you are viewing and keep in place with the stage clips.

The focus knobs which are adjusted looking through the microscope help to bring the slide to a clearer view.

The iris is adjusted looking through the microscope and this allows the light in.

The oculars are nest adjusted looking through the microscope and these are the eye pieces you look through to view the slide.

The objectives are best adjusted looking at, these allow you to change the powers of which you are viewing the slide at.

I enjoyed doing this lab I wasn't expecting to get to look through the microscope like I did so that was pretty cool. I feel pretty familiar, right now, with the microscope and like I could use one properly if it was put in front of me. Microscopes have come a long way with all the technology our world has and have helped with many advances in all parts of our world.

DNA Structure and Replication

This is the structure for DNA which is a double helix. DNA is the genetic material that is found in chromosomes. And all genetic material has to be able to replicate so that it can be passed on to the next generation, store information and undergo mutations that provide genetic variability. For this DNA structure I used pipe cleaners.

This is a model of DNA replication. This means that each new double helix is made of an original strand and a new one. Each new cell gets an exact copy of DNA when cells divide. The original strand serves as a template.

Making My Human Cell

For my human cell supplies I shopped in the crafts section. I used pipe cleaners, styrofoam balls, plastic string (the kind you make friendship bracelets with), aleve tablets, paint, beans, gummy worms, smarties and feathers. This is a picture of my supplies:
This picture was taken while in the process of building my cell...

And another one... (Good thing I had photographers on hand! :) HA!)

This is the ending result, the picture in my head was a little different but I think it looks alright..

For the Nucleus- which controls the fuction of the cell- I used a styrofoam ball and painted it yellow.

Cell membrane- the huge styrofoam ball thats holding eveything together.
Endoplasmic Reticulum- Rough- I used pipe cleaners.
Endoplasmic Reticulum- Smooth- I used gummy worms- which synthesizes lipid molecules.

Golgi apparatus- which processes , packs and secretes modified cell products- I used pieces of plastic string.

Vesicle- membrane bounded sac that stores and transports substances- I used a aleve liquid gel cap cut in half.

Lysosome- vesicle that digests macromolecules and even cell parts- I used smarties.

Mitochondria- which is what carries out cellular respiration which produces ATP molecules- I used a pinto bean.

Cilia- which is hair like- I used feathers.

Building this human cell helped me to learn a lot about what makes up a human cell and how these parts help it to function. Reading about it and then building the cell really helped to get the information into my head rather than just reading it and moving on and therefore not remembering as much. I had fun building this, at first I was a little stressed out but in the end I had a good time.

Phases of Mitosis

Below are the phases of mitosis. For this I used materials I had left over from my cell.
Pipe cleaners for the chromosomes.
Pieces of plastic string for the spindle fibers.
And little styrofoam balls for the nucleus.



Here the chromatin is turning into chromosomes and centromeres have duplicated.


In prophase the nucleus disappears, duplicated chromosomes are visible and the spindle is in process of forming.

In metaphase centomeres of duplicated chromosome align at the center of the fully formed spindle.

In anaphase the sister chromatids part and become daughter chromosomes moving toward the spindle poles.

Compendium Review Unit 1 Topic 2: Genetics

Chapter 17- Development and Aging

17.1 Fertilization
Fertilization occurs when an egg and a sperm join together forming a zygote which is the first cell of a new individual.
The egg has to go through some changes to prevent any more sperm from entering.
17.2 Pre-Embryonic and Embryonic Development
The 4 main processes for development are cleavage, growth, morphogenesis and differentiation.
Pre-embryonic development occurs only during the first week.
Embryonic development starts at the second week and lasts until the end pf the second month.
The first organ system that is visually evident is the nervous system, this happens in the third week. And the heart starts developing during this week.
Sometime in the sixth to eighth weeks the embryo becomes easier to recognize as a human being.
17.3 Fetal Development
The blood of the fetus and the blood of the mother never mix because exchange occurs across the villi.
At three to four months in fetal development hair and fingernails are starting to appear and you can determine the sex of the baby.
At five to seven months you can feel the baby moving and its possible that if the baby had to be born now it could still survive.
Towards the end of development the baby is about 20.5 inches long weighing about 7.5 lbs. Also most of the time the baby will get turned around so that the head is facing towards the cervix.
17.4 Pregnancy and Birth
During pregnancy women go through so big changes with their bodies, for example gaining weight and physiological changes.
Actual birthing is said to begin when uterine contractions occur consistently for 15-20 minutes and last 40 seconds or longer. The 3 stages of birth are shown below
17.5 Development After Birth
The four stages of life consist of infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
With aging comes loose skin, women going through menopause and cardiovascular disorders along with other things.
Maintaining a healthy life style can make aging easier.

Chapter 18- Patterns of Chromosome Inheritance

18.1 Chromosomes and the Cell Cycle
We have a total of 46 chromosomes equaling 23 pairs, 22 of these pairs are automsomes and 1 pair is the sex chromosome.
Mitosis makes sure that all the cells have 46 chromosomes.
The cell cycle consists of 2 parts interphase and cell division.
The picture below shows the cell cycle
18.2 Mitosis
Mitosis is duplication division- the dividing cell and the new cell are genetically identical.
Duplication of the centrosome is an important part that occurs during mitosis.
There are 4 phases of mitosis; prophase, metaphase, anaphase and telophase.
Mitosis is important because it helps with growth and tissue repair.
18.3 Meiosis
Meiosis is known as the reduction division and consists of 2 divisions meiosis I and meiosis II.
In meiosis I the homologous chromosomes line up beside each other.
In meiosis II the sister chromatids separate, becoming daughter chromosomes.
Meiosis is the production of the egg and sperm.
18.4 Comparison of Meiosis and Mitosis
Mitosis takes place throughout growth and repair in all the cells whereas meiosis takes place only in the reproductive organs. Meiosis requires 2 nuclear divisions whereas mitosis only requires 1.
Males produce 400 million sperm a day and this starts after puberty.
In female 1 egg is produced a month.
18.5 Chromosome Inheritance
People can be born with too few or too many sex chromosomes or autosomes when this happens it is most likely due to nondisjunction.
Down syndrome is usually caused by chromosome 21 because the egg has 2 copies instead of 1.
Some chromosomal mutations are shown below:
Deletion- one end of a chromosome breaks off or 2 simultaneous breaks lead to loss of an internal segment.
Duplication- chromosomal segment occurs more than once.
Translocation- chromosome segment moving from one to another.

Chapter 19- Cancer

19.1 Cancer Cells
A cellular disease known as cancer share characteristics that separate them from normal cells.
Cancer cells can replicate over and over, they have an abnormal nuclei and don’t have differentiation.
Cancer is genetic.
Oncogenes become cancer causing genes when proto-oncogenes mutate.
The different types of cancer are leukemia which is cancer of the blood, sarcomas which is cancer in the muscle and connective tissue and carcinomas which is cancer in the epithelial tissues.
Cancer can be in any part of the body however some organs are more susceptible.
19.2 Causes and Prevention of Cancer
Radiation, organic chemicals and viruses can cause cancer and of course so can genetics.
19.3 Diagnosis of Cancer
An easy way to remember 7 warning signs for cancer are CAUTION: a Change in bladder or bowel habits, A sore that does not heal, Unusual bleeding or discharge, Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere, Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing, Obvious change in wart or mole, Nagging cough or hoarseness.
Women should perform self tests at home for breast cancer and males should check for testicular cancer, along with routine check ups with your doctor.
Other ways to detect cancer are genetics tests and tumor marker tests which are blood tests for antigens/antibodies.
19.4 Treatment of Cancer
Surgery, radiation and radiation therapy are all types of treatment for cancer.
There are some newer treatments for cancer like immunotherapy which is injecting immune cells that have been genetically engineered to fight the tumors antigens and p53 gene therapy which triggers cell death only in the affected cancer cells.

Chapter 20- Patterns of Genetic Inheritance

20.1 Genotype and Phenotype
The genes of a person are known as genotype and phenotype is the physical characteristics associated with these.
Alleles are another form of a gene and occur at the same locus on homologous chromosomes.
To help understand genotype and phenotype see the picture below:
20.2 One- and Two- Trait Inheritance
In one- trait crosses a person has 2 alleles for every trait and a gamete has one for every trait. By knowing the genotype and the gametes a parent could figure the chances of their child having a certain genotype and phenotype.
The Punnett Square can help you to determine the chances of your child having a certain phenotype and genotype by using sperm and egg, lining them up in a square and all the chances occurring inside the square. (eggs vertically and sperm horizontally or the other way around).
In two- trait crossing 4 gamete types are possible if the person is heterozygous for 2 traits.
Autosomal recessive disorder is when the child is affected but neither one of the parents are, the parents can be the carrier but not be affected. In autosomal dominant disorder the child can be unaffected while the parents are affected. The child can receive 2 recessive alleles and be unaffected.
Some autosomal recessive disorders are cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease and some autosomal dominant disorders are marfan syndrome and Huntington disease.
20.3 Beyond Simple Inheritance Patterns
Alleles are not just recessive or dominant in some parts of inheritance.
Polygenic traits are ruled by several sets of alleles and can be located on many different pairs of chromosomes.
Environmental influences can have more of an affect on multifactorial disorders.
A gene can exist in several allelic forms when a trait is controlled by multiple alleles.
20.4 Sex Linked Inheritance
Sex linked traits are traits controlled by genes on the sex chromosomes, an x-linked is allele on an x chromosome and a y-linked is an allele on a y chromosome.
Being color blind and having muscular dystrophy are both x-linked recessive disorders. Males tend to have these characteristics more than females.

Chapter 21- DNA Biology and Technology

21.1 DNA and RNA Structure and Function

DNA is the genetic material that is found in the nucleus of the chromosomes.
DNA is a double helix or 2 strands that spiral around each other.
DNA has to replicate to be passed on.
A picture of DNA replication is shown below: RNA consists of nucleotides that have the sugar ribose, the 4 nucleotides that make up RNA have adenine, uracil, cytosine and guanine for its bases.
RNA is only single stranded and helps DNA for protein synthesis to occur.
3 types of RNA are Ribosomal RNA where it joins with proteins made in the cytoplasm to make subunits of ribsomes, messenger RNA which carries genetic information to the ribosomes from the DNA and transfer RNA where it transfers amino acids to the ribosomes.
21.2 Gene Expression
Amino acids make up proteins and 20 different amino acids can be found in proteins.
2 steps in gene expression are transcription and translation. All 3 types of RNA are made by transcription.
Controlling of gene expression is transcriptional control which occurs in the nucleus, posttranscriptional control which also takes place in the nucleus, translational control and posttranslational control where both take place in the cytoplasm.
21.3 Genomics
The study of genomes is known as genomics. Genome size does not relate to the number of genes.
Comparing genomes has helped to find out how species have evolved.
The study of structure, function and interaction of cellular proteins is known as proteomics.
A persons genome can be changed by gene therapy. Gene therapy can be used to treat disorders and diseases.
21.4 DNA Technology
To produce genetically identical copies of DNA is cloning. Recombinant DNA contains DNA from 2 or more different sources.
Cloning a human gene is shown below:

The polymerase chain reaction can work if only small pieces of DNA are needed. It can create copies of a DNA.
DNA fingerprinting has led to being able to convict criminals and identify bodies.
Biotechnology products are made by genetically engineering plants, animals and bacteria. Plants have been able to make human hormones and antibodies. Animals have been able to make pharmaceuticals.

Compendium Review Unit 1 Topic 1: Cells

Chapter 1: Exploring Life and Science

1.1 Characteristics of Life
Humans are part of the natural world, the world of living things.
Living things are organized from atoms to the biosphere.
All living things acquire materials and energy, reproduce, grow and develop, maintain homeostasis, respond to stimuli and all living things have an evolutionary history.

1.2 Humans are Related to Other Animals
Humans are the vertebrates in the Animalia kingdom and of the vertebrates we are mammals.
Although humans are most closely related to apes we did not evolve from them, apes are our evolutionary cousins.
Humans are members of the biosphere and cultural heritage is damaging thebiosphere. Preservation of the biosphere will ensure the continuing existence of our species.

1.3 Science as a Process
Scientific theories are concepts that tell us how the natural world is organized.
Science is a way of learning about the natural world, the information is gathered by the scientific method.
These are the steps of the scientific method

1.4 Making Sense of a Scientific Study
Graphs are an easier way of showing results and summarizing data.
Statistical data shows how confident the results are, the higher the statistical significance the better the results are from experiment rather than chance.

1.5 Science and Social Responsibility
Science is the study of the natural world and technology is the application of scientific knowledge to the interests of humans.
Everyone should be involved in making decisions about the proper use of technology, scientists can teach us all but need not make the decisions alone, we all need our own opinions.

Chapter 2: Chemistry of Life

2.1 From Atoms to Molecules
Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass and can be a solid, liquid or a gas.
Atoms are the smallest unit of an element that retains chemical and physical properties of the element. The mass if an atom is its quantity of matter.
Molecules come from atoms bonding with one another forming the chemical unit called a molecule.

2.2 Water and Living Things
Water makes up about 60-70% of the total body weight.
Water molecules cling together because of the polarity and hydrogen bonding.
All living things are affected by waters acidic and basic solutions if they are too strong.
The pH scale below is used to indicate the acidity and basicity of a solution
2.3 Molecules of Life
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids are 4 categories of organic molecules and are all unique to cells.

2.4 Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates function for quick and short term energy storage.
Glucose is a simple sugar and is an immediate source of energy.
Complex carbohydrates consist of many glucose units.

2.5 Lipids
Lipids do not dissolve in water and contain 3 fatty acids and glycerol.
Phospholipids are in the cellular membrane.

2.6 Proteins
Proteins are the primary importance in the structure and function of cells.
Important for support, enzymes, hormones and motion.
Proteins cannot function unless they have their usual shape, if they lose their usual shape they no longer can perform their usual function.

2.7 Nucleic Acids
2 types of nucleic acids are DNA and RNA.
DNA stores genetic information in the cell, it replicates and transmits the information when a cell reproduces.
RNA is an intermediary that conveys DNA’s instructions.

Chapter 3: Cell Structure and Function

3.1 What is a Cell?
A cell is the basic unit of life and all living things are made up of cells.
Cells come from preexisting cells.
Cells are not visible to the naked eye, you have to use a microscope to view them.
3.2 How Cells Are Organized
The prokaryotic cell unlike the eukaryotic cell does not have a nucleus, however they both have a plasma membrane.
All types of cells do have a cytoplasm.
This is a picture of an animal (eukaryotic) cell:

3.3 The Plasma Membrane and How Substances Cross It
A plasma membrane surrounds the cell and is necessary for the life of the cell.
A plasma membrane lets certain molecules and ions into and out of the cell.
Protein carriers transport some solutes that cannot diffuse across the plasma membrane.

3.4 The Nucleus and the Production of Proteins
Genetic information is stored in the nucleus.
The endomembrane, nucleus and ribosomes are all involved in the making of protein.
Ribosomes are made up of proteins and rRNA.
3.5 The Cytoskeleton and Cell Movement
The cytoskeleton helps to keep a cells shape stable.
Cilia and Flagella are involved in movement, they are able to interact and bend therefore move about.
3.6 Mitochondria and Cellular Metabolism
The mitochondria turns energy of glucose into the energy of ATP.
Cellular respiration occurs when the energy is being turned into ATP.
Metabolism is all chemical reactions that occur in a cell.
Fermentation is a process that does not require oxygen but if it lasts for long time can result in death.

Chapter 4: Organization and Regulation of Body Systems

4.1 Types of Tissues
The body consists of 4 major types of tissue all of which are composed of specialized cells of the same type that perform the same task.
Connective tissue, Epithelial tissue, Nervous tissue and Muscular tissue.
4.2 Connective Tissue Connects and Supports
Connective tissue connects and supports body parts.
Fluid connective tissues consist of blood and lymph.
Bone and cartilage are a connective tissue.
4.3 Muscular Tissue Moves the Body
Smooth muscle is involuntary and is involved in moving substances in lumens of the body.
Cardiac muscle is involuntary and pumps the blood.
Skeletal muscle is voluntary and is involved in the movement of the body.
4.4 Nervous Tissue Communicates
Neurons and Neuroglia make up nervous tissue.
Nervous tissue is found in the spinal cord, brain and nerves.
Dendrites, cell body and an axon make up a neuron.
Neuroglia support and nourish the neurons.
4.5 Epithelial Tissue Protects
Epithelial tissue covers surfaces and lines body cavities and is made up of tightly packed cells.
Epithelial tissue can be simple, having a single layer of cells or stratified, layers of cells stacked one on top of the other.
Glands are a type of epithelial tissue.
4.6 Cell Junctions
Cells are connected in tissues when plasma membranes are joined by either tight junctions, adhesion junctions or gap junctions.
These junctions help tissues perform their duties.
4.7 Integumentary System
Accessory organs such as nails, hair and sweat glands are referred to as integumentary system.
Skin plays an important role in homeostasis.
4.8 Organ Systems
All organ systems work together to maintain homeostasis.
The ventral cavity and dorsal cavity are the body’s 2 main cavities.
Dorsal cavity holds the spinal cord and brain while the ventral cavity holds the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavity.
4.9 Homeostasis
The body’s ability to keep a stable constancy of internal environment by adjusting its physiological processes.
The picture below shows how the organ systems help homeostasis