Unit 6 Reflection

This unit was about the technologies in biology and their different applications in everyday life. Specifically, biotechnology is the study of how living things are changed to benefit mankind. The four applications of biotechnology are, industrial, environmental, agricultural, medical, and diagnostic research. Even though biotechnology benefits humans, many questions have been raised regarding this new version of biology breaking morals. We also learned about recombinant genes, and how they are used to mass produce and create bacteria with a desired protein extracted. This process involves extracting a gene using a restriction enzymes, inserting it into a plasmid, and mass producing the plasmid in order to create and extract the protein that is created from the gene. The three main technologies used in biotech are Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR), Gel Electrophoresis, and DNA Sequencing. The process of PCR is to denature strands of DNA with heat, add a primer to specific DNA sequences, and to use DNA polymerase to read the DNA and mass produce it, creating multiple copies for analysis. Gel electrophoresis is when DNA is placed into a gel and ran through with a an electrical current, which separates the DNA by size and allows for them to be more easily analyzed. DNA sequencing is used to determine the exact sequence of a gene and uses DNA polymerase and dyes to allow a computer to read it and analyze it. This was a information packed unit and I had a hard time understanding some of the concepts until we did the labs, which gave us hands on experience and allowed us to truly see how the technologies are used and their applications in real life, though in a smaller scale. 

We did many labs this unit that made the information stick in my mind and I have written lengthy lab write ups on them but now I will give a quick recap. The recombinant DNA lab modeled inserting the insulin gene into a plasmid that was resistant to tetracycline, and only the bacteria with the plasmid would survive. In the pGLO lab, we added a plasmid which contained GFP (Glowing Fluorescent Protein) to E.coli. We also did a candy electrophoresis lab in which we used electrophoresis to separate dyes from candy. 

I was really intrigued by GATTACA and the articles we read on biotech and I am interested to see if humans will take science that far and a little scared for it as well! As for my new year's goals, I have tried to keep with my vodcasts and assignments though I did slip up once with a virtual lab because I had to restart 3 times and I was so flustered by the site that I just gave up. But my personal goal is slowly getting there, I can dance for a long time without feeling tired and I am slowly gaining flexibility.