Evolution Essay!!!

Evolution Essay!!

DNA Fingerprinting

DNA Fingerprinting is so extremely interesting to me. Each and every person has their own set of fingerprints, and none are ever the same. Even identical twins have different fingerprints even if they are semi-similar. Both are hands and fingers have different shapes and lines of the indentions of each person which is what makes us all so different from one another. With the advancements of today's technology scientists are able to identify almost anyone with just the slightest part of a fingerprint or handprint. Fingerprinting has come a long way and is used to identify fugitives everyday. Fingerprints are now the greatest lead to identifying and prosecuting someone who has committed a crime. It is even recommend that once your child has reached an age where they can walk on their own it is important to get a home kit to take your child's fingerprints and other information just in case something bad happens to them. These little things can make and break a case in whether the police can identify your child or not. In crime shows and in real life dusting for fingerprints is one of the first things done to a crime scene. This is the initial lead to all cases.
The identification of fingerprints is known as dactyloscopy. Dactyloscopy is a process of comparing two instances of skin impressions. Human fingers, the palms of your hand, even your toes can determine if the impression came from the same person. Friction ridge is the form in which prints are left, and not even the same person's fingerprints, handprints, or even footprints are exactly the same every time. The smallest of details change with each touch and movement. Just as i am typing right now. Each key I have used has my finger print on it, but each print is different in some minute way. Fingerprint identification is also referred to as individualization. A computer system had been built and edited and revised constantly in order to accurately be able to identify specific fingerprints of the persons in the data base. These computers are operated under a threshold scoring, which is the process of determining whether or not two impressions are from the same person or not. Intentional recording of fingerprinting is typically taken using black ink on a white paper, to show the contrast. The finger is pressed down then rolled to be sure that the entire print is taken. A live scan is done on fingerprints that are invisible to the naked eye, but can be seen with chemical methods and powders. These types of prints are called "latent prints."
So overall fingerprints vary in many ways whether its from size, shape, or the clearness of the impression. So always remember if you plan to commit a crime you can and will be identified with just the slightest of impression left behind. ;)
Link

Electrophoresis!!!

Hey look its Sidney and I using the rather large pipets used in creating this gel electrophoresis lab! Freeze! Nobody move!!

This little contraption to your right is the gel rig where the gel slab sits during the experiment.

Here is a picture of a gel slab in the making!!!

In this Gel Electrophoresis lab I learned many new lab techniques throughout this rather intersting process. The overall point of this lab was to insert different colored dyes into the gel slab and then rn electrical currents through them to see how and what type of change the dyes would go through. The first step in this lab was to make one of the get slabs that had to set and rest for around twenty minutes. To create the gel slab you needed to make a mold using the intersecter things to create the rectangular shapes where the dyes would be placed. Then you filled the tray up with melted gel liquid being sure it is as even as possible all the way across. After the gel has set we placed it in a holder for lack of a better word. From there Mr. Ludwig taught us how to use the pipets and the dyes that we would be injecting into the gel slab. With each new dye the pipet nozzle had to be changed to avoid contamination. Our groups then began this process of adding dyes to each tiny individual slot. This part was a little challenging because of how small the squares were. After the slots had all been filled we added the electrical current to the experiment and let it sit. By the time we came back to school the next day all the negative dyes had moved in the direction of the positive dyes, whereas the single positive dye moved towards the negative side. Each of the different dyes seemed to travel different distances across the gel slab, depending on how the dye was changed. Overall this process was very fun and intriguing and contributed to my understanding of Gel Electrophoresis and how it is used in DNA sequencing.

Bacterial Transformation

Bacterial Transformation and its Process

Step #1: You need to label one of the closed test tubes +pGLO and another -pGLO, then place it in the foam tube holder.
Step #2: Open the tubes and use a pipet to transfer 250ul of the CaCl2. Place this tube on ice.
Step #3: Use the sterile loop to pick up a single form of bacteria from the starter plate. Get the +pGLO tube ready, then immerse the loop into the transformation solution at the bottom of the tube. Spin the loop until the entire colony is dispersed. Place the tube back in the ice bucket. Repeat with -pGLO with a new sterile loop.
Step #4: Examine the plasmid DNA with the UV light. Immerse the new plasmid into the DNA stocktube. Withdraw another loop of bacteria. In this step there should be a film of plasmid across the ring. Mix the loopful into the cell suspension of the +pGLO tube. Once again put it back on the ice. DO NOT add plasmid DNA to the -pGLO tube.
Step #5: Incubate the tubes that are on ice for at the most 10 minutes. The bottoms of the tubes should be in contact with the ice.
Step #6: Next label four agar plates as follows: LB/amp plate label +pGLO; LB/amp/ara plate label -pGLO; LB/amp label -pGLO; and the LB plate -pGLO.
Step #7: After that step transfer both tubes into the water bath that's set at 42 degrees Celsius for exactly 50 seconds.
Step #8: Place the tubes in ice for two minutes then take them off the ice and open the tube. Use a new pipet to add 250 ul of LB nutrient broth to the tube and reclose it. Repeat with a new pipet to the other tube. Incubate the tubes at room temp for 10 minutes.
Step #9: Mix the tubes softly. Use a new sterile pipet for each tube, pipet 100ul of the transformation control suspensions to appropriate plates.
Step #10: Spread the suspensions evenly with a sterile loop.
Step #11: Stack the plates and tape them together, upside down. Place it in the Biology incubator overnight which is set around 37 degrees Celsius.

Observations:

+pGLO; LB/amp: has the gene but it isn't "turned on". It has a medium to heavy population which is white and yellow. Our estimated count was 130. Transformation plates

+pGLO; LB/amp/ara: has the protein that is turned on, which makes it glow. It has a medium to heavy population that's yellow then a light white. Our estimated count is 149. Transformation plates

-pGLO; LB/amp: has no population and no bacteria!! Control Plates

-pGLO; LB: has a HEAVY bacterial lawn!!! Control Plates

Overall Analysis:

Plasmid seemingly does not make a difference to the health of the illness the bacteria may cause.

The amp kills the bacteria unless a gene from the plasmid is LB/amp +/-.

GATTACA!

GATTACA Movie!!! =)
I wasn't here for most of this movie, therefore I kinda had to wing it, while using my other resources. But I tried! =)

Questions Regarding GATTACA!
1. The following terms were used in the movie. How do they relate to the words we use: degenerate and invalid?
         De-gene-erate: What a god child is called
         In-valid: The type of person that wasn’t made
         Borrowed Ladder: A person that you disguise yourself as

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?
I think he finally left the family so he could start his life over in a sense and prove his point to his brother that he could do whatever he set his mind too even though he was different. However after he finished that he seemed to have the strength to move on with his life, and finish things he thrived to do.

3. Describe the relationship between Vincent and Anton.
Vincent and Anton, were brothers in this movie. They were extremely competitive with one another. Both of the two were always trying to be better than the other at multiple things. Anton just happened to be the detective in Vincent's case which added to this sibling rivalry.

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?
 What he meant by this situation was that technically speaking Vincent no longer existed now that Jerome had become what Vincent once was. Therefor no one realized that Jerome was around because the connection between the two was never made. Also this conversation could have meant that being accused of things would no longer happen to Vincent because his record show him as another person. I would say that the parallel in this situation is when Jerome hears something about his old self. He would more than likely become nervous because he is still the same person overall.

5. Choose your favorite character from the film. Explain why you choose that person. Would you want to be that person? Why? Why not?
My favorite character in GATTACA would have to have been Vincent. In my opinion he was the most prominant character with an idea and a mission, which added to the excitement of his character. Also he was very determined to accomplish certain activities and that drive was a great characteristic to me. However I did feel bad for him since he had to change his identity. 

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?
            I would have to say that the doctor went along with the deception the whole time because he was on Vincent's side and he wanted him to accomplish what he set out to do. Personally I would probably have went along with it as well because I wouldn't want to rat someone out that had worked so hard to be an achiever.

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 don't think this would necessarily happen in America because we have rights within the government. I'm sure throughout the years this process could happen, especially with how fast our technology changes, so I wouldn't doubt it occurring, but I don't believe it will be that popular in America.

8. What do you think is wrong with the society portrayed in "GATTACA"? What is right?
 I don't believe anything was necessarily right in this movie. The whole point of the parents choosing how the baby would be was in my opinion wrong. You should love the baby you conceive without changing it. The discrimination that was presented against the "invalid" ones, was ridiculous to me. After all nothing is perfect. To me it seemed like if you weren't perfect than you weren't good enough and I really disliked that situation.

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?
 I believe the screenwriters were trying to say that people would start trying to engineer children to be good at certain things and succeed in them, which is obviously wrong because its what the  parents want not the children.

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?
Normally I woul say that there is no way I would go to a clinic sugh as this because of the ways they discriminate against babies that are yet to even be born. But if I had to choose I would want them to be very athletic, tall and smart. However I would take out my families "mole" gene from the sequence.

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?
 I probably would've acted the same as they all had. Each of them handled each situation in the best way that they could and I don't think anyone should doubt them about their actions. However I would not have committed suicide like Jerome did.


12. How does the society in GATTACA resemble the type of society America was during the height of the eugenics movement?
People were extremely anxious and excited about being able to create their own baby and help make them "better" in their eyes which is just like in GATTACA. However in GATTACA the clinic babies were the only ones who were accepted for the eugenics experiment.

Overall I enjoyed the parts and pieces I seen to the GATTACA movie. It was a very different movie, but it taught me a lot about eugenics. However I hope America never turns into a country where we create our children instead of just conceiving them naturally.

PCR!!! Yay!

Online Bacterial Lab

Doing this online Bacterial ID Lab was very helpful, it provided a procedure of identifying bacterial samples that were given.

The Polymerase Chain Reaction Machine, better known as The PCR Machine is an expensive machine that is worth thousands of dollars. The PCR Machine provides information about DNA sequencing and is very important to this process. The work that a PCR machine conducts is altering the temperature of DNA. This type of machine takes a strand of DNA, and adds heat to the situation to in a sense "Melt" the DNA. It separates the DNA into two single strands from its double helix view. From there the machine cools the separated strands and each strand is primed. After the DNA strands have been stabilized to room temperature the primer copies a segment of DNA that is specified before hand.
 So overall the PCR Machine is a really important and helpful attribute to DNA sequencing, it helps in variations of defect detecting and even DNA TESTING!!

Now for The LAB!
-In this ID Lab you had to prepare DNA samples that were going to be used in the experiment. This step involved placing the bacterial colony in a microcentrifuge tube and inserting the digestive buffer. After that you have to heat the inactive digestive enzymes, which will denature and inactivate the enzymes. From there you add a counterbalance and add cell debris for removal of the sample. After these steps are completed the DNA becomes supernatant. Transfer the supernatant to the PCR tube and your prepping is done.

-The next step is to use PCR to make copies of these DNA sequences. In order for this to  happen you have to add a PCR Master Mix solution for all of the tubes. To set up a positive control reaction, you must add controlled DNA to one of the tubes. However, for negative reactions you must combine de-ionized water to one of the tubes as well. After that you must insert both the tubes into the PCR Machine. The short strands that are extracted are the DNA strands that were to become of the solution from the PCR thermal cycling process.

-Continuing on from there you must purify the PCR solution. In order to do this step you have to set up the microconcentrator column and add a buffer solution to the column, then add the PCR solution to the column. The positive and negative controls will be placed in ice until they will be needed again. Then add counterbalance to the tube and put it in the centrifuge. After time has passed the DNA will have become stuck into the column and you must loosen it and put it into another tube separate from the others. Place the column into the new tube and add a buffer. From there you must add a centrifuge to be able to collect the DNA.

-The next step in this process is the PCR sequencing. First you must dilute the PCR product to increase its overall volume. Add distilled water to the new PCR Product in order to purify it. The blue and green strip tubes contain PCR reactant mixtures. Now you need to add the purified PCR solution to the mixtures. They are now ready for the PCR Amplification Process. Place the tubes into the PCR Machine. This step is now finished as well.

-Next you must load the auto sequencer and insert the tubes into it. In my first testing in this ID Lab my DNA sequence read tacggtagcgtaatgcc. Overall that completes the DNA sequencing.

DNA Sequencing

 

In this experiment we used the Sanger Method of sequencing DNA. Or in other words the older version of sequencing DNA, considering that since this time we have advanced in technology and sequencing DNA has become easier and faster to be done. In the Sanger Method the letters are written down in threes in the order that they occur in the sequence. The groups of threes are placed and separated, then the selection of the protein begins that corresponds with the groups pattern. Abby was the first patient and she had only one letter difference, thus meaning she had a point mutation or a single base change. Bob was the next patient, he also had one difference in his DNA sequence. However with the type of protein sequence he acquired his sequence stopped short which lead to him having a truncation mutation. The last patient was Carol she had the most DNA sequencing differences from the normal sequence. Carol  had a frameshift mutation. A frameshift mutation is where there is a gain or loss of a letter that throws the rest of the sequence off from its normal pattern. So although we all have DNA and it has its own sequencing pattern there are plenty of mutations that can occur and cause the sequence to mess up or end overall.







  That is how you read a sequence and the three things that can go wron

Eugenics! The History of it ALL!!!

EUGENICS! THE HISTORY OF IT ALL!

    Eugenics, who really knows what it is exactly? Well according to dictionary.com, it is the study of or belief in the possibility of improving the qualities of the human species or a human population, especially by such means as discouraging reproduction by persons having genetic defects or presumed to have inheritable undesirable traits or encouraging reproduction by persons presumed to have inheritable desirable traits. However in my own words I would have to say that eugenics to me is basically having good and bad traits. The traits could possible vary from a disease to having a prominent facial feature. Eugenics is the way in which this all is analyzed and processed to better the human species.
    So throughout this 3rd quarter we have been working around the idea of eugenics. Although now in the twenty first century we have all learned to except each other for the most part. It's weird to think back to the times where people were sterilized because of a certain defect they could possibly obtain from either parent's chromosome. In my own opinion this seems a little obsessive and I'm sure there could have been better ways of taking care of genetic disorders. After all you must consider that there is always the possibility that the gene may not be passed on, depending on there inheritance pattern. This is the point in which autosomal recessive and dominant patterns along with sex linked patterns come into play. Each of these patterns contain their own characteristics. (For more Details, please visit my Inheritance Patterns Blog)
     Back in the twentieth century eugenicists even believed that traits such as alcoholism or even thievery could be passed down genetically. Their initial thought was that if a parent was an alcoholic, then their child stood a good chance of inheriting this trait. Although many children take after their parents it is not through genetics that these social traits can be passed down. Sure, there is a chance that the child could be an alcoholic as well, but I would believe that if they were raised in that environment than they would think it was right unless taught and shown differently. It has even been said that eugenicists thought if by two alcoholics not having kids that this problem would be solved so they would not bare an alcoholic child. But hey, i guess that plays into the whole Nature vs. Nurture aspect. The aspect being that nature is genetic material as nurture is what they were taught.
    I suppose, the past is the past and no one can change the unfairness that so many people were faced with, but I have to agree that it is definitely a good thing that are scientific discoveries have advanced as much as they have in the last century. Now there is no more segregation of defects or diseases, It's strange to think now that at one point in time eugenicists tried to separate their ideas of the good and bad genes of eugenics. I mean taking out the bad to let the good thrive, we're a civilized country and all these aspects should be recognized. Eugenics cannot determine who is good and bad, it just determines the possibilities and analyzes them to the best of its abilities.
     Moving on, here is some more historical information about eugenics. Just after the Civil War, immigrants began coming to America, during the reconstruction period. At this time there was an unknown reason for a decline in birth rates of higher ranked families, where as lower ranked families birth rates began to increase drastically. Along with that social Darwinism began to rise. Social Darwinism is basically the method of "survival of the fittest." And of course the more well of people were believed to be the fittest during this time period. This is the point in time where it was believed that sterilization was a necessity. It was believed that the sterilization of the poor would better the survival of our race. But little did they know, the elites were not much different from the poor. Most of eugenicists work was done from IQ tests and behavioral tests that included criminal activity and social standings. With this research came the testing off 700 degenerates, done by Richard Dugdale. Dugdale assumed that this degeneration was due to the fact that environments were poor, however when these lower class families were mixed with the upper class, the genes were still passed on. Although this experiment suggested that lower class families were not the inhabitants of this disorder, it was completely ignored as restrictions on marriage increased to keep the rankings or people separate. Many families were poorly labeled and stuck into homes for the mentally disabled and other things of the sort. Although many of the children at this time, made it through these struggles they proved eugenicists wrong about so many ideas. Take Carrie Buck for instance, she was separated from her family and put into a home for the "feeble minded." She as many others knew that she didn't belong there and she was far from feeble minded. She grew up and later showed much progress that put the eugenicists to shame as did others.
     However, it was later decided that eugenicists did not have enough information to validate these accusations they were making. Which thankfully saved many from being killed off as others before them were. The justification of this has ever since been very valuable, after all, passing judgement on someone with a defect is far from humane, and definitely not a believable cause for someone to die over. So there you have it! My overall aspect of the history of eugenics! All I can say is, I'm so glad science has matured so much in the last century. Who knows, it could have saved both yours, and my life! =)

Link #1 Link #2 Link #3

Inheritance Patterns

Ingeritance of diseases can be passed in three major ways:

1.) Autosomal Dominant

2.) Autosomal Recessive

3.) Sex-Linked

Autosomal Dominant Inheritence Pattern

     Autosomal dominant is one of the ways that traits and or disorders can be passed down through generations in families. When a disease is autosomal dominant it means that the abnormal gene can be passed from only one parent for you to be able to inherit the disease. Usually, only one of the parents has the disease. A single abnormal gene on one of the first 22 non-sex chromosomes from either parent can cause an autosomal disorder. Dominant inheritance means that one parent is able of causing the disease, even if the matching gene from the other parent is normal. The abnormal gene dominates the pair causing the gene to be apparent. There is only a 50% chance of inheriting the disorder if only one parent has a dominant gene defect. This type of disease is dominant in each generation, meaning each generation possesses the disorder and it becomes likely that they too will pass it on to their children. Autosomal Dominant diseases occur in both sexes.
Examples
-Huntington's Disease
-Neurofibromatosis Type 1
-Marfan Syndrome
-Heredity Nonpolyposis Colorectal Cancer
-Hereditary Multiple Exostoses
-Otosclerosis
-MODY Diabetes

Autosomal Recessive Inheritance Pattern
     Autosomal Recessive is another way in which disorders may be passed through generations in a family. However in recessive cases the disease or disorder tends to skip generations. Therefor many of the female attributes could possibly be carriers of the disease. Autosomal Recessive diseases occur when two copies of an abnormal disease occur. If both parents are heterozygous, their child has a 25% chance of obtaining the disease. In most cases it is rare that the child gets both of these genes. The risk of getting an autosomal recessive disease isn't a high risk unless a child is reproduced within a single family.
Examples:
-Alport syndrome,
-Canavan disease
-Congenital neutropenia
-Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
-Ellis-van Creveld syndrome
-Familial Mediterranean fever
-Fanconi anemia,
-Gaucher disease
-Mucopolysaccharidosis
-Osteogenesis imperfecta
-Cystic Fibrosis

Sex linked inherrited patterns are also know as X-Linked patterns.
     In the diagram up above it is most likely that the diseased gene was passed from the grandpa to the mother and then from their to the mother's son.
Sex Linked
     In the picture up above it is apparent that the pattern is X linked. The chromosomes of a male are XY whereas a female is XX, this leads to the fact that males have the ability to inherit a disease from their mothers. Most females do not inherit an X linked disease, it is most likely for a male to obtain the disease instead. The disease occupies the X chromosome and in all cases the mother provides their son with an X chromosome therefor giving their son the disease as for the fact that they only have X chromosomes to give.
Examples:
-Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome

-Duchene Muscular Dystrophy
-Hunter’s Disease
-Menkes Disease
-Hemophilia A and B
-Fabry’s Disease
-Color Blindness
-Complete Androgen Insensitivity
Link #1 Link #2 Link #3

DNA Extraction!!!!

Words to KNOW! =)

Flash CARDS!!! =)

In Sickness & In Health

In Sickness & In Health
Greg's Family Pedigree
In Greg's family pedigree each generation has one of the two diseases. And in some cases more then one person in that generation has the disease. Myotonic Dystrophy is more dominant in Greg's family then Hemophilia. Although hemophilia is a more dominant gene over the recessive myotonic dystrophy.

Olga's Family Pedigree
However, in Olga's family pedigree myotonic dystrophy never occurs, but hemophilia is very dominant throughout the generations in her family. Which could possibly result in Greg and her's children being positive for Hemophilia.

Greg and Olga, are a couple that went to a genetic counselor. The couple wanted to conceive children, but were afraid to because they had the Factor VIII deficiency, or Hemophillia in there heritage. Both Greg and Olga were terrified that their children could possibly be born with a genetic disease. Both sides of their families carried the disease and it seemed obvious to the couple that no matter what, their children could inhabit this disease.

Dominant Diseases
Although we had been studying genetic deficiencies, this post thanks to the website as well, taugh me alot about genetic diseases. I learned that autosomal recessive diseases skip generations, while autosomal dominant disease don't skip generations. Autosomal recessive diseases are when one mutated allele and one normal gene come together and form. There's a 50% chance of the disease being transmitted. Even if the disease isn't dominant, every child infected will be carriers. In all cases its either the father or the mother who is carrying the disease that has been transmitted.  


Recessive Diseases
Recessive diseases are never inherited directly because recessive diseases are only inherited by the y chromosome. Sex linked genes, can be displayed in men, but not in women, they can only be carriers for the disease. In Greg and Olga's case they both could be a carrier  of the disease, due to the fact that multiple people in their families have the disease. Greg has a higher rate of being a carrier, which can result in him passing this gene onto his sons. However his possible daughters would only become carriers. His daughters could become carriers and easily pass it on to their possible children in the next generation. Genetics is constantly changing, from the smallest ideas to the big picture, but one thing is for certain the advancements made in the future will be those worth remembering!

My Family Pedigree!!! =)

Fun Facts About Chromosomes! =)

Fun Facts! =)

Fact #1:  

     It takes about 8 hours for one of your cells to completely copy its DNA.

Fact #2: 

     If you were to stretch out the 46 chromosomes in one cell and lay them end to end, they will be over 2 yards in length.

Fact #3: 

     If the total DNA in one person were laid in a straight line, it would stretch to the sun and back over 30 times! -93 million mile from here to the sun-

Fact #4: 

     The human DNA code is made up of about three thousand million A,T, C, and G's on each end of a DNA strand.

Fact #5: 

     One thousand nuclei would fit across the period at the end of this sentence.

Fact #6: 

      If the human genome was a book, it would be equivalent to 800 dictionaries.

Fact #7: 

     Humans are 99.8% genetically identical, only 0.2% of our genetic make up differs.

Fact #8: 

     One million threads of DNA could fit across the period at the end of this sentence.

Fact #9: 

      It would take a person typing 60 words per minute, 8 hours a day, for around 50 years to type the human genome.

Fact #10: The nucleus within a cell is so tiny it could easily fit on the head of a sewing pin!

Meiosis V.S. Mitosis

NOVA Online

!!Gametes and Genotype Questions!!

Gametes and Genotypes

Create-A-Baby Key Terms!!!

Choose a Study ModeScatterLearnFlashcards

Study these flash cards

Cloning Mimi the Mouse!!!

Materials Needed:
     - Microscope
     - Petri Dishes
     - Sharp Pipette
     - Blunt Pipette
     - Chemical to Stimulate Cell Division
     - Mice!!!

          To clone Mimi the Mouse the items listed up above are required. Cloning is based on the genetic structure of both parents to create another set of genes in another organism. The organism will therefor be similar in many ways of the parent that provided the egg cell. The first step to this process is to isolate donor cells from Mimi and her mate Megdo. After collecting donor cells you must discard the nucleus from the egg cell. Next, you transfer the somatic cell nucleus into the enucleated egg cell, this stimulates cell division. Finally implantation of the embryo occurs and can be placed in a sergeant mother. And within time the fetus will be born into a new world all due to the process of cloning and reproduction!!!

      My new Mimi and Her Babies!!!!

Onion Root Mitosis Lab!!!!! =)

So when we first began this onion root lab I was very hesitant on understanding the different phases of mitosis. I wasn't exactly sure how to identify each one, but now i believe after looking through that ity bity microscope lens i finally understand!!! So to start off we first started with a microscope and an onion slide. To be able to see the onion root properly we focused the microscope to the best visualizing way that we could. And if we needed help we could always call over Mr. Ludwig!!! =) However from there we tried to count the number or diameter of the cells across the slide that we could see and placed that number into the formula of a circle. Thus would give us the approximate number of cells present. Following that we continued looking for the different stages of mitosis, and graphed them on Create-A-Graph. Hence the Graph up above....

When it came to the part of identifying the different stages of mitosis I was very unsure of myself and I essentially thought I would not be able to properly identify them. I doubted myself on whether or not I could compare cells and identify them with the correct stage. But that fear soon faded as the steps became easier and easier to tell the difference in each one whether it was Metaphase, Anaphase, Interphase, Prophase, or Telophase. This lab made it very apparent that all cells vary in there own ways or forms. Even onion root cells differ and have their own minute details and processes. I observed that
Interphase is a cell that looks kinda smashed and from there Prophase begins and although it is still squished together the nucleus is more visible. Then Metaphase comes next in this cell cycle and can be determined by the way it begins to separate apart. Anaphase comes next where there is an obvious division in the cell. The last stage is Telophase which you can easily identify the cell by its division into two separate parts and in almost looks like two halves. Learning about the process of mitosis was not an easy thing to do or concentrate on, but hey I'm pretty sure I will remember it when it's needed!