Friends Have More DNA in Common Than Strangers People may unsuspectingly choose friends who have some DNA sequences in common with them, a new analysis finds. Researchers compared gene variations between nearly 2,000 people who were not biologically related, and found that friends had more gene variations in common than strangers. The study lends a possible scientific backing for the well-worn clichés, "We're just like family," or "Friends are the family you choose," the researchers said. NEWS: How The Sun Changes Your DNA "Humans are unique in that we create long-term connections with people of our species," said Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist at Yale University involved in the study. The researchers did the study because they wanted "to provide a deep evolutionary account of the origins and significance of friendship," Christakis said. The most common gene shared by friends was the "olfactory" gene, which is involved in a person's sense of smell. VIDEO: 98 Percent Of Your DNA Is Junk VIDEO: Imaginary Friends Make You Awesome
DNA- The ins and outs! Watson and Crick's Paper Watson and Crick published a paper that described the complementary structure of DNA. This paper rocked the science world and illuminated the structure of DNA! Check out their Paper below! Watson and Crick published a paper that described the complementary structure of DNA. Watson and Crick's Paper The Complementary Structure of DNA-The paper The Complementary Structure of DNA-The paper [ DNA Replication-Explanation and Video DNA Replication-Explanation and Video Chapter 16 Outline Below is an outline of Chapter 16. Chapter 16 Outline Below is an outline of Chapter 16. Chapter 16 Outline The Cell Craft Challenge Install and Play CellCraft until you complete the 5th level. Download Cell Craft from here As you play the game, keep track of your success by filling out the cell craft worksheet (attached below). Install and Play CellCraft until you complete the 5th level. Worksheets
Genetic pedigrees In these diagrams, people are represented by symbols, usually circles for female and squares for male, and the bottom line represents the children of the couple above. For simplicity, 4 offspring are shown in these examples. However, in practice the number, proportion and order of birth are likely to vary. Obviously, the same technique of family trees can be used to show the results of animal breeding. It is customary to use dark symbols to indicate someone affected with a genetic condition, and unfilled symbols for those who are unaffected. Dominant allele, e.g. Genetic explanation Since the condition is shown in some of the first generation offspring but not in some others, this is not a simple cross between 2 different homozygotes. Note also that in this case the appearance of the condition is independent of the sex of the individual. Genetic diagram Recessive allele, e.g Cystic fibrosis Genetic diagrams For the first section (parents giving rise to the first generation): Example 1 Example 2
10 talks on the future of stem cell medicine Will the next generation think about diseases like Alzheimer’s and diabetes the way we think about polio and the whooping cough? Susan Solomon, the co-founder of the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF), certainly hopes so. In this fascinating talk from TEDGlobal 2012, Solomon delves into the foundation’s work on research with stem cells, which she calls the “black boxes for diseases.” “[Stem cells] are our bodies’ own repair kits. While much of the fray is about embryonic stem cells — still the gold standard when it comes to cells — Solomon explains that another type of pluripotent stem cell (called iPS cells) can now be created by, essentially, reprogramming skin cells. Currently, developing a drug takes an average of 13 years, costs $4 billion, and has a 99% failure rate. “That’s a terrible business model, but also is a horrible social model,” she says. Two months after her talk, Solomon tells the TED Blog that interest in NYSCF work is growing. Daniel Kraft: Medicine’s future?
What are stem cells? - Craig A. Kohn Stem cells are a rapidly advancing field of biological research. Since Dr. James Thomson first cultivated human embryonic stem cells at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in the late 1990s, this field of researched has exploded with potential. The links below provide access to a curriculum developed under the supervision of Dr. PowerPoint: Notesheet: Quiz: Additional resources about stem cells can be found at: NOVA | Cracking the Code of Life Cracking the Code of Life PBS Airdate: April 17, 2001 ROBERT KRULWICH: When I look at this—and these are the three billion chemical letters, instructions for a human being—my eyes glaze over. But when scientist Eric Lander looks at this he sees stories. ERIC LANDER (Whitehead Institute/MIT): The genome is a storybook that's been edited for a couple billion years. ROBERT KRULWICH: This is the story of one of the greatest scientific adventures ever, and at the heart of it is a small, very powerful molecule, DNA. For the past ten years, scientists all over the world have been painstakingly trying to read the tiny instructions buried inside our DNA. J. FRANCIS COLLINS (National Human Genome Research Institute): This is the ultimate imaginable thing that one could do scientifically...is to go and look at our own instruction book and then try to figure out what it's telling us. ROBERT KRULWICH: And what it's telling us is so surprising and so strange and so unexpected. I'm Robert Krulwich. DR.
Blog - Ricki Lewis 3D Animations - DNA Molecule: How DNA is Packaged (Basic) :: DNA Learning Center DNA Molecule: How DNA is Packaged (Basic) DNA packaging. Each chromosome consists of one continuous thread-like molecule of DNA coiled tightly around proteins, and contains a portion of the 6,400,000,000 basepairs (DNA building blocks) that make up your DNA. Duration: 1 minutes, 30 seconds Transcript: In this animation we'll see the remarkable way our DNA is tightly packed up so that six feet of this long molecule fits into the microscopic nucleus of every cell. Choose a 3-D animation by name:
DNA Fingerprints | Science | Lesson Plan In this lesson, students learn how DNA fingerprinting has been used in criminal investigations. They do an interactive Web activity to learn about the process of DNA fingerprinting. In teams, they interpret different DNA fingerprints, then do a jigsaw activity to explore other uses of DNA forensics. Use these resources to create a simple assessment or video-based assignment with the Lesson Builder tool on PBS LearningMedia. 1. What does the DQA1 DNA test identify? 2. 3. What are VNTRs, and why are they valuable for DNA fingerprinting? 4. 5. Have students listen to the NPR "All Things Considered" audio program DNA Evidence. What issues and concerns about DNA testing are raised in this program? 6. DNA sections with repeating sequences are called VNTRs and are used in DNA fingerprinting. Fingerprinting can also be used to determine paternity and to identify victims of disasters or war.
Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology to High School or Middle School Students by Drs. Ingrid Waldron and Jennifer Doherty, University of Pennsylvania The expression "hands-on, minds-on" summarizes the philosophy we have incorporated in these activities - namely, that students will learn best if they are actively engaged and if their activities are closely linked to understanding important biological concepts. Many of our activities are explicitly aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, as indicated by (NGSS) in the descriptions below and the links to the right. To accommodate limited budgets, most of our activities can be carried out with minimum equipment and expense for supplies. Additional resources for teaching biology are available at More Minds on Activities for Teaching Biology. Read More Intro and Biological Molecules Is Yeast Alive? Students evaluate whether the little brown grains of yeast obtained from the grocery store are alive by testing for metabolism and growth. Enzymes Help Us Digest Food(revised, July, 2016) Who Took Jerell's iPod?
Fruit Fly Tutorial Index In this virtual lab we will cross various fruit flies to see what phenotypes are present in the F1 and F2 generation. Using the data from these crosses, we will make a hypothesis regarding the genotypes of the parental (P) generation and test the hypothesis using a chi square analysis. **Print out a copy of the Data Page **Review how to do a chi square analysis Background Information Drosophila melanogaster is a fruit fly, a little insect about 3mm long, of the kind that accumulates around spoiled fruit. It is also one of the most valuable of organisms in biological research, particularly in genetics and developmental biology. See mutant fruit flies You can order mutant fruit flies from any biological company and perform crosses in the lab that will generally take about two weeks. How to Raise Fruit Flies 1. Terminology Wild-type - flies that have the "normal" characteristics, red eyes, normal length wing and brown bodies. Mutant flies - any variation from the wild type. Genetic Notation 1.
Practice Exams for Genetics These practice exams were put here to help you monitor your progress in genetics. Do not study only these questions as new questions will be written for each test and old questions will be modified. It is important that you understand the question and why the correct answer is correct. Exam #1 Chapter 2 -- Chromosomes and Cellular Reproduction Chapter 3 -- Basic Principles of Heredity Chapters 4 and 6 -- Sex Determination, Sex-linked Traits, Pedigrees Chapter 3 -- Probability and Statistics Exam #2
Honors Genetics Use of our material: We have worked very hard on Powerpoints/games/worksheets, etc to make this a resource for our students. If you are using our materials, please give us credit for our efforts by listing us as a source with links to our site. High School Life Science Conceptual Understanding: Heredity is the passing of characteristics from one generation to the next via genes. Chromosomes are single long DNA molecules which carry the instructions for forming particular species characteristics. Genes are a segment on the DNA that code for a particular trait. An alternative form of a gene found at the same place on a chromosome is called an allele. HS-LS3-1 Ask questions to clarify relationships about the role of DNA and chromosomes in coding the instructions for characteristic traits passed from parents to offspring. High School Life Science Standards (Grades 9-12) Indicator 1: Understand the fundamental structures, functions, classifications, and mechanisms found in living things.
Genetics Genetics includes the study of heredity, or how traits are passed from parents to offspring. The topics of genetics vary and are constantly changing as we learn more about the genome and how we are influenced by our genes. Inheritance Mendel & Inheritance – powerpoint presentation covering basics of genetics Simple Genetics Practice – using mendelian genetics and punnett squares Genetic Crosses with two traits – basic crosses, uses Punnet squaresGenetic Crosses with two traits II – basic crossses, uses Punnett squaresDihybrid Crosses in Guinea Pigs (pdf) – step through on how to do a 4×4 punnett square Codominance & Incomplete Dominance – basic crosses involving codominance X-Linked Traits – practice crosses that involve sex-linkage, mainly in fruitflies The Genetics of Blood Disorders – a worksheet with genetics problems that relate to specific disorders: sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, and Von Willebrand disease. Human Genetics Presentation Chromosomes Modeling Chromosomal Inheritance
JRB: A humorous overview of DNA structure and replication which, although short, goes very very in-depth and covers a lot more in twelve minutes than we discussed in class about the same subject. Fascinating stuff and it gives a much clearer picture of the complexities of DNA and RNA structure as well as the work that went into figuring it all out. by sc215 Apr 20