Bioloogy 30/ blog
By: Kyle Jensen
Date of blog: Nov. 22
self assesment 3/3

Provide a review of the class:
- Case study p479
-pedigree worksheet
-practice
-chromosomal theory

Offers thoughts/opinions of material covered, identifies area of difficulty/concern, or poses additional questions stemming from discussion:
-after going though the work sheet and practiced some questions on pedigree they are starting to become way easyer.
- we learned about the 3 genotypes in females and the 2 genotypes in males
- we also learned that with certain traites unexpected things can happen with the off spring.

Provide additonal insight on topic(s) discussed:
-we found out thought the case study that tom was the murder because there was on sign of 0- blood.


-

November 26, 2007. Janelle Eslinger. 3/3.

What went down in class today:

1. What are barr bodies?


2. Marked the test from Friday on Mandelian Genetics.


3. Gene mapping in the note handout. Complete the questions at the end of the handout and reffer to pages 450 & 503 in the textbook.


4. Corrections for the Mandelian Genetics test are due on Monday, December 3. You have the opportunity to gain 1/3 of the marks you missed!


5. We also have a Quiz on Chapter 21 & 22 on Thursday, November 29.

Important terms and a summary of the material covered:

Linked Genes - are located on the same chormisome. Genes located on the same chromosome tend ot be transmitted together.

This helps explain the difference that occured when Morgan was breeing fruit flies. Crossing over, (a term learned in meiosis chapter) provides new combinations.

For example, imagine a man who has one chromosome with brown-eye and brown-hair genes, and another chromosome with blue-eye and blonde-hair genes in his cells. Usually, his sperm cells will have either brown-eye and brown-hair genes, or blue-eye and blonde-hair genes. But if crossing over occurs, the man will produce one sperm cell with brown-eye and blonde-hair genes, and another with blue-eye and brown-hair genes.

The crossover frequency is another important term to consider. A crossover value of 1% indicates that the genes are close to each other. A crossover value of 12% indicates that the genes are much farther apart. The greather the crossover frequency of crossover, the greater the map distance. (Map Distance - refers to the distance between two genes along the same chromisome).

What are the maps like that are being made now?

The genome's cartographers are now making maps that combine features of both genetic-linkage and physical maps. As mapping techniques advance, scientists try to create maps with more landmarks that are more closely, evenly, and accurately spaced. But in contrast to DNA sequencing, which has become increasingly automated, genome mapping still can only be accomplished by experienced scientists.

This website was really helpful for understanding gene mapping. http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/resources/whats_a_genome/Chp3_1.shtml#chp3#1

Jordan's Best Biology Blogging Blog

What we learned in Biology 30 today (3/3)

We discussed are homework, this included>

Case Study on page 479:

In this activity you had to solve a murder mystery using genetics. A suspect witnesses that the murderer had freckled skin. They also found a letter opener which had blood on it, even though there was no cuts or abrasions on the victim. You are given the blood types of the suspects and if they are dominant or recessive to freckles.

You must find who did it using punnett squares and pedigree's

This is a great idea because you can what we learn in biology in a close to real life situation

Next we talked about the Pedigree studies work sheet we were assigned for homework...

Not much to say about that. Its just about all common sense, just remember the rules. (Which by the way are all on are biology data sheets)


We began notes on Chromosomal Theory----Most of it went right over my head because most of the focus was put on are upcoming test tomorrow.

For tomorrow genetic test it was mentioned to know this,

Know punnet squares
Know pedigrees
Know types of inheritance
Know how to do a test cross

Not really to excited about that.....

Andrea Grenier: Nov. 19th (3/3)

What we did:
We went over question #9 on P.483
We finished nothes on the law of independent assortment and probability calculations
We did an activity on dihybrid crosses by tossing pennies

Thoughts/Opinions about material:
During the activity, we labelled pennies and tossed them to show the probability of inheriting genetic traits. I liked this activity because it showed random patterns and it parallels to real life. In real life, the probability of inheriting certain genetic traits is random. What I didn't like about this activity is that you had to toss 4 pennies...96 times...twice!! And then write your result for each toss. Oh and I missed the last block of the friday before because I was getting a hepatitis A shot...So I had no clue about question 9, so I can't really relate to that...

Above and Beyond:

I like this Punnett Square because it shows really well the predicted genetic traits. I like the colors.

Max's Amazing Blog of Ultimate Destiny!!!!-November 20th, 2007- 3/3

What We Did Today- We discussed the horrors of (gasp!) of genotype sets that contain more than two alleles, using notes and our Mr. Challoner also went over the penny allele assignment a little bit. That's it really. Kinda short i know. BUt today seemed kinda short. In a short kind of way. Challypoo close your eyes: While we're on the subject, how bout I saw a sight: (no disrespect!) a fat black midget, the coolest thing ever. Not that I have a fetish or anything, it's one of those things that just catch your eye. Power to midgets! With all due respect, it made my week. Well thats all.



































































































































































































































Haha. Got ya, Challypoo!



Thoughts/Opinions On Material:

People were sorta finding this whole multiple allele thing tough. Take for example, the question on page 478, #5. It asks for the Genotypes of the mommy mouse and the daddy mouse. It tells you that they had a great night, and a month later 40 baby mice popped out. 4 of those did not get snuffed by the cat(stupid pussy!). Out of these 4(generalisation) 2 had full color genotypes(D1), 1 had dilute color(what is dilute?- faded, not as colorful as full color, etc.), and one picked up the "DEADLY" homozygous allele(OOOHH!). I find that the best way to solve this is to work backwards, which is faster than dumb old Punnet and his square squares. Both parents have two alleles(for those who really don't get it yet), which are D?D? and D?D?. The order of dominance, from most dominant, to downright recessive, is Full Color(D1) > Dilute Color(D2) > Dead mouse(D3). the dead one is the key to the whole problem. He's the most recessive. To get a homozygous recessive, both parents MUST have the recessive allele. So now the 'rents genotypes are D?D3 and D?D3. The next part is easy. If one baby mouse had Full color(D1) and the other had dilute colouring(D2), then one parent has D2, the other D1. So it looks like this: D1D3 and D2D3. Easy peasy!





Above and Beyond:


Genetics for some is no walk in the park, so here's a site with games that help you understand(hopefully)- http://nature.ca/genome/04/041/041_e.cfm

also a review for that abomination that is the genetics unit test lol: http://www.quia.com/pop/13027.html

Not too shabby, I guess.

Later you hos

Luke Helland Nov. 16 (3/3) Bio 30

Today was a double block and we basically kept on going with Genetics. We finished taking notes from the booklet he gave us. (fill in the blank). We learned about Medelian Genetics and how he experimented with pea plants. We also learned about Test crosses and Punnett Squares which are an easy way to follow the inheritance of a single trait. We did alot of practice on punnett squares in the handout he gave us.

The punnent squares are pretty easy to do. I still don't really get the difference between a test cross and punnett square. You just need to remember that the capitol letter is always dominant.
ex:

P p
p Pp pp
p Pp pp


I have given it some thought and I was thinking in the future if we could decide what traits we want or don't want for our offspring. If we could identify traits in offspring and manipulate them, we could have an choice what our kids look like and what they would be like. If this were possible people would be less susseptable to desieases and viruses and it could be a sort of modern day Natural Selection.

3/3 Jessica Leussink 14/11/07

What We Did Today!!!

- Looked at the Comparison of Miosis and Mitosis worksheet, Looked at and got answers for the practise quiz (Mitosis/Meiosis Quiz), Looked at Online Meiosis Practice and Karyotyping Exersice, Reviewed Karyotyping and Nondisjunction (Starts on page 455 of your text book), Started the actual Meiosis Quiz (NOTE: Two questions were OMITED, but I think we'll be finishing them later on after we learn the material that goes with it), Recieved a case study Cell Division and Life Cycles, Were assigned the last question on the practise quiz due for tomorrow

Thoughts

The quiz wasn't too hard so if you study it'll be easy. As for the case study, I suggested you use active reading because theres a lot on that page that you may find important or not. It talks about "the reproductive life cycle of plants and how reproductive diversity contributes to the evolution of complex organisms." If you don't understand it, I'm pretty sure he's going to go over it more in depth. Theres pictures of the cycles oo plants and humans on the back side of the page and i thought they were very helpful.

In Addition...

This Karyotyping idea sounds kind of hard, but if you understand the formulas that helps alot.

Audrey Milford Wensday nov.7

What we did: First of all we marked our mitosis quiz.
Then we recived Sexual Cell Reproduction-Meiosis notes.
We went over mostof it with the over head.
You can get the notes in the folder at the front right side of the classroom.
What I thought: I thought that we went over the notes a little to fast, but he said we will go over
meisosi again and again so that is a releif.
I think that mieosis is deffintly harder then mitosis.
Above and Beyond: If you misse this class then my advise would be to really know the stages of
mitosis because meiosis has the same stages, but it happens twice.
No pressure but we have to learn this inside and out, so really ask questions.

Ceanna Mariak: Friday, November 9 (3/3)

Review:

Today we needed to practice our understanding of meiosis and mitosis. So...... Mr.C gave us the task of creating a demo showing both of the processes using props like candy, marshmallows and toothpicks. The organism we modeled had a diploid number of 4. We were to represent the nucleus at all stages, indicate the key activities in each stage and products of each division. We took the class to prepare and present, so we ended up with homework. We were to finish the questions on the back of our assignment sheet, complete the chart handout and read abnormal meiosis on page 454-456 and amniocentesis on page 458.

Thoughts:

During oogenesis I know that four "daughter cells" are produced from the primary oocyte, the first meiotic division produces two cells each with 23 chromosomes, so why does it still undergo another division when only the mature oocyte survives and the other three die as polar bodies anyway? In spermatogenesis it makes sense because all four cells survive so there are larger amounts of sperm. Maybe in oogenesis the mature oocyte needs the nutrients provided by the polar bodies.

Additional:

I wanted to see what meiosis and mitosis looked like in a real cell, I've seen enough cartoons! Also some products of meiosis and mitosis.

Meiosis:

Mitosis

Max's Crazy Useful Blog for November 2nd, 2007- 3/3



What We Did:

We finished our tricky little Reproductive Unit Final Exam in class- only like twenty minutes so I didn't completely finish the written response(curse you Mr. Challoner!). We went over the five stages of Mitosis(think IPMAT people!). We also listened to one of the longest and most convuluted jokes ever, courtesy of good old Challypoo. For those of you who slept through class and need some of the main points about Mitosis(I'm looking at you, Jordan), here you go:

1.Interphase: DNA replication; metabolic activities
2.Prophase: Membrane of nucleus dissolves; chromatin combines through centromeres to become chromosomes; spindles developed at poles of cell
3. Metaphase: Chromosomes come together at cell equator (middle; between spindle fibers at poles);
4. Anaphase: Chromosomes separate(sister chromatids) and migrate to poles(now considered a full chromosome); spindle fibers grow and elongate the cell
5. Telophase: Nuclei begin to develop at each pole; chromatin fibers of chromosomes begin to unravel; cytokinesis(actual splitting of cells) take place

Your Welcome.

Thoughts/ Opinions On Material:

Thank god for that amazing anagram (IPMAT). I don't I ever would have remembered Mitosis without it. Looking at mitosis also gives you an insight into how cancer works. Everyone knows it makes cells mutate and replicate. Oh wait! Mitosis is replication. The more scientists and doctors know about mitosis and how cancer causes it to divide faster while compelling the new cells to have no use, the closer we can get to actually effectively preventing cancer. I also wonder: if we can figure out cancer, like what makes it tick, inside and out, we can possibly use it for good? Like how labs are now "growing" organs for transplant, we could implant "controlled cancer" into a patient whos suffering from heart disease, and allow the bengign cancer to replicate new working heart cells. If we can make cancer our b***h, it would pave a new way to stopping all disease period.

Above and Beyond:

For those of you who still don't get Mitosis(I'm looking at you now, Crabby Patty!) check out this snazzy game:http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/2001/cellcycle.html . I guarantee you'll be hooked. It uses a different system for the phases but still cool. You won't beat it. That's a challenge by the way. If you dig that "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" show, here's something that will appeal(It even gives you hints! Bonus!)http://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/tgamem.cgi/squizzes/biology/mitosis.tdf?0 . And finally, a study guide that lets you know Mitosis like the back of your hand: http://biology.about.com/od/mitosis/a/aa121704a.htm.

Later, you hos.

In today's biology class we...

• we went over yesterdays quiz and discussed the metabolic chemical reactions that take place during mitosis and the characteristics of the stages that occur during the interphase. We also talked about the differentiation between healthy cells and cancerous ones. (Cancerous cells multiply faster and cause problems because they don't perform their functions.)
• Mr. Challoner told me that I was similar to a canceous cell. He said that I am "contagious" to the other "cells" around me. When I talk, (or don't follow through with my duties) I cause other "cells" (classmates) to do the same.
• We went through the crossword puzzle and web with information about the process of mitosis and what happens in each stage.
• We did a quiz that was an overveiw of the mitosis section. It had questions about the different stages of mitosis and questions about cloning and how it is done.
• After the quiz we were asked to read pages 448-449 as an introduction to the next section on Miosis.

November 6th, 2007 Spencer Mousek 3/3 =) (p.s. Sorry for talking all the time)

Jessica Stermanns Blog November 1/07

Today we wrote our final exam on the reproductive system. I found that ¾ of the exam had to do with the female reproductive structures rather than the male. You really need to know your hormones for this test, as well as their functions and targets. In total there were 31 multiple choice questions and about 5 written response. The written response was very similar to what we can expect on our diplomas. There was lots of reading, so make sure you are doing active reading while taking your test. I used a highlighter to help me point out the important parts of the exam. The written response question was all about estrogen mimicking compounds. I researched the topic and I found an interesting article written by Belinda Martineu called Fathead Minnows.

The article is all about male fathead minnows, what happens to them in the presence of estrogen-mimicking compounds can be likened to a sex change. Scientists are checking whether a gene normally turned "on" only in female fathead minnows has, because of exposure to certain estrogen mimicking compounds is becoming unnaturally activated in male fish. The exposure of a male fathead to an estrogen-mimicking for only 24 hours can activate an egg-yolk gene that under normal conditions would never become activated in the wild. Given enough of an estrogenic, a male fathead can become "feminized," exhibiting the easily distinguishable physical and behavioral characteristics of the female of its species. More than a hundred synthetic chemical compounds such as estrogen are known to be capable of interfering with the normal processes of the endocrine systems in fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals.
This phenomenon caused me to think about how this might affect our own species, and me personally. I found my info at http://www.coastandocean.org/coast_spring2006/articles/fathead_minnows_1.htm

Oct.29 // Svenja's Blog // 3/3

What we did today

• finished of the reproductive system
• started Cells, C'somes, and DNA (Unit Learning Objectives)
• made a list of what we know about cells, c'somes and Dna, what we don't know and what we want to know

Thoughts on Material

• I'm glad we finished the reproductive system. I thought it was a really interesting unit but it kind of dragged on and on. I'm interested in learning about cellls, c'somes and DNA because its part of what i plan to do in the future.

Above and Beyond

• Are there any cells in our body that don't contain DNA?

According to Wikipedia there are no cells that don't contain DNA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA)