So, for this week's Weekly Science Article Report, please find an article that addresses this and report back to us about it.
As a reminder:
1) Cite your article
2) Write a brief (no more than 2 sentence) summary of the article.
3) Write a reflection on the article, sharing about what your learned, what surprised you, and what questions you had. You should also add how it connects to what we have been studying in class.
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24 comments:
Weekly Science Article Report #7
1. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/national/series/dnaage/index.html
2. The article was about DNA. It talked about how people can now with a little bit of $ find out about their DNA.
3. I thought the article was very good and it explained a lot about DNA. I learned more about genomes and some little variations in the genetic code. The thing that surprised me was that the article was informal and it seemed more like a personal reflection. But I liked the way it was set up. I thought that the article could have used a little more detail though but it was a very good article. The article relates to class because it talks about the importance of DNA and genetics.
Viruses Helped Shape Human Genetic Variability
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218203053.htm
The article is mainly about how studies have shown that over the course of evolution, viruses have actually helped humans achieve genetic variability. It also talks about the relationship (connection) between the two.
I thought this article was really well written and I liked the way the article was set-up but I found it. Some of the sentences were a little complex and “sciency” but over all, I understood most of it. The article gave me a lot of information about the bond between pathogen and human. What supprized me the most was the fact that viruses actually help humans in any way. When I talk about viruses I usually associate them with sickness and even death. But this article shined a new light on this topic, it taught me about the good side of pathogens. It related to class because we just finished the genetic diseases unit, and one of the topics in the article was about viruses and their association and interactions with proteins and genes. I liked the way the article was set-up but I found it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/17/us/17dna.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
"My Genome, Myself. Seeking Clues in DNA"
By Amy Harmon (November 17, 2007)
This article was about the introduction of the company, 23andMe, where you can learn more about your genetics. More specifically, it was about the author's adventures as being one of the first to learn more about herself, finding information tucked within her chromosomes she never knew before. 23andMe takes your spit, and your results on taste-tests and more, and narrows down your genetic code. Once the results are in, you can log into your account on their website (https://www.23andme.com/), and reading the graphs and reports to find out how likely you are to gain weight, get cancer, and spread certain genes unto your offspring.
I thought this was a fantastic article, explaining not only how the company works, but how much of an impact it can have on your life. It sounds like a marvelous thing to experience, and would love to try it out on myself. However, this article is slightly outdated, so I did some more research on their site, but not much has changed. There are now 2 options of results, either your health or ancestry (or both) heritage. The price changed as well, from $1,000 to $399, $429, or $499, depending on your package. (that was one of the questions I had, how much had changed since the article was written?). While on the site, I watched some of their videos, and discovered it was a great way to review what we had learned in class... and figure out what we may be learning next!
Weekly Science Article #7
Title: New View Reveals How DNA Fits Into Cell
Author: Laura Sanders
Source: www.sciencenews.org
The article that I read was about how scientists developed a process in which they could visualize the pattern of how DNA folds to become denser. The researchers discovered that DNA strands fold into globs, which fold into more globs, and so on, without getting tangled and disorganized.
I always wonder exactly how DNA folds to fit into the tiny nuclear membrane of a cell. This article gave me a brief description of how this is done, but it did not contain any details on exactly how the researchers found this out and exactly how the DNA is folded. I am surprised at how such a complex and important structure is so small and how it can fit inside one cell. I am also surprised at how much scientists all over the world still need to find out so much more about DNA. For instance, I ask: how does the DNA not tangle while being so close to other strands of DNA?
This article relates to what we are working on in class because we are learning about the structure of chromosomes that make up DNA. This article looks at the bigger picture of DNA as a whole and how it condenses to be able to fit inside the nucleus of a cell.
Weekly Science Article #7
Title: New View Reveals How DNA Fits Into Cell
Author: Laura Sanders
Source: www.sciencenews.org
The article that I read was about how scientists developed a process in which they could visualize the pattern of how DNA folds to become denser. The researchers discovered that DNA strands fold into globs, which fold into more globs, and so on, without getting tangled and disorganized.
I always wonder exactly how DNA folds to fit into the tiny nuclear membrane of a cell. This article gave me a brief description of how this is done, but it did not contain any details on exactly how the researchers found this out and exactly how the DNA is folded. I am surprised at how such a complex and important structure is so small and how it can fit inside one cell. I am also surprised at how much scientists all over the world still need to find out so much more about DNA. For instance, I ask: how does the DNA not tangle while being so close to other strands of DNA?
This article relates to what we are working on in class because we are learning about the structure of chromosomes that make up DNA. This article looks at the bigger picture of DNA as a whole and how it condenses to be able to fit inside the nucleus of a cell.
Tumor Tracking gets Personal
http://sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/56438/title/Tumor_tracking_gets_personal
My article is about a new way that has been discovered to track the genetic scrambling of cancer. This matters because this allows doctors to see how individual patients respond to treatment and is another tumor is coming up.
I learned that cancer is really just a genetic mutation but one that isn’t inherited through traits. Also, I learned that in breast and colorectal cancer the genetic changes are unique to each tumor. Something that surprised me in this was how much we actually know about the genome. In this they run hundreds of DNA sequences through computers and methods to see where the mutations are. I wasn’t left with any questions though I found it very thorough. Finally, this connects to what we’re doing in class because they are using genetics to make treatments more effective and to catch tumors before they grow.
New research unravels how proteins help repair DNA
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615171519.htm
This article describes how DNA is often damaged by chemical contaminants, and if it isn't properly repaired it can lead to cancer or other diseases. The proteins that discover the damage amplify the problem so that other proteins can cut out the damaged part of the DNA and them the cells use the healthy half of the DNA as a model to repair it.
I learned that the cell can repair DNA using the other half of it, which is very effective because it is a simple way to get rid of a big problem. If the cell didn't repair the DNA it could cause cancer or other diseases, because the cell would not know how to do certain functions/actions. It surprised me that the proteins could somehow amplify the problem, and I wonder how they do so. A question I have is how does the protein cut out the defective part of the DNA?
This relates to what we are learning in class because it is about the structure of DNA and how parts of DNA are repaired if damaged by certain chemicals.
The article I read was called Full-body Scanners Used on Airport Passengers May Damage Human DNA. I found it on Natural News and here is a link to read it if you would like. http://www.naturalnews.com/027913_full-body_scanners_DNA.html (you have to get a FREE subscription to read the whole thing)
The article was about how new technology used by the TSA to check for guns can unzip your DNA resulting in DNA replication problems. It was also about how lots of different technology using radiation can be harmful to your health.
From the article I learned that full-body scanners at the airport are harmful to your DNA. Luckily children under eighteen do not have to go through them because they show very detailed pictures of human bodies, and people are afraid of child pornography. Also, people think they could cause mutated babies if pregnant mothers go through them. Another flaw with them is that you wouldn't be able to see explosive powder with them, only guns.
It surprised me that they were allowed to use these devices. For one thing, they can show you a person nude; but for another thing, they were never approved by the FDA. The FDA can approve them because they have to do with the health of humans, and these affect human health based on the article I read. Something else that surprised me was that even though the FDA didn't approve or test them, the article didn't say anything about shutting them down. If they think these are harmful and the FDA hasn't approved them why doesn't the FDA have the right to shut them down; and if they do why haven't they yet.
There are a few questions I have. One: why do they use the machines if they don't even check for explosives just guns? Two: how are they even using them if the FDA hasn't approved them? Three: why does the government let them use them if there is a possibility of messing up peoples' DNA replication? Four: why does the government let them use them if there is a possibility of them exploiting people? Overall, how is this technology being used if there are all these flaws?
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100301165730.htm
Offspring of Two Psychiatric Patients Have Increased Risk of Developing Mental Disorders
This article explains the risks and statistics of offspring from parents who both have been admitted to mental health facilities for either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
Reading this article was very interesting because I didn’t know that mental disorders were genetic, I thought that they were the result of traumatic events or stress. Many people think this disease makes you think your seeing ghosts or things that no one else can see. This proves once and for all that people with schizophrenia aren’t actually seeing ghosts- or maybe it just proves that supernatural creatures like to attack people from the same family. It also talks about bipolar disorder, and the various percentages of offspring with mental illnesses matched with the combinations of the parent’s diseases (bipolar and bipolar, schizophrenia and schizophrenia, schizophrenia and bipolar).
What really surprised me was the statistics. Out of 196 couples of parents who each have schizophrenia, about 28% of their children were admitted to psychiatric facilities, compared to less than half of one percent of children who’s parents have never been admitted to a psychiatric facility. There were a lot more statistics which made the article a little dull, but the information was surprising so I kept reading.
This connects to what we are learning because these mental issues are passed down through genetics, so once you know the recessive and dominant traits you can put it in a punnett square. This is useful for genetic counselors, because they can predict the chance of the offspring having the same diseases as the parents, and what the risks are of having children.
I don’t have many questions, except for what causes schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and how these illnesses affect a family.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100218125156.htm
How Genes Interact With Their Environment to Cause Disease
My article was about how poor living conditions can lead to genetic mutations. For example,smoking can lead to high cholesterol, a genetic mutation, and when this happens it can make you a lot more prone to heart disease.
Taking new information out of this article may seem somewhat difficult considering how self explanatory this is, but it was actually filled with scientific knowledge that connected to our unit of genetics and DNA. In this article, I learned that the interaction of these two factors together create more than just a risk, they create a dangerous synergy (an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects) The reason that I found this interesting was because it doesn't make sense to me that two factors added up can result in something bigger than the sum of both of them. What I was surprised with was how we have never looked into something like this before. I was surprised because this is something that is so important to a world of people living in filthy living conditions. I can not even fathom to believe how big of a genetic break through this is. This relates to our genetics unit because we talk a lot about causes of genetic diseases, but have never said anything about acquiring them in this fashion. I only had one question; How could an environmental factor like smoke get so far into your system that it affects your DNA?
Title of Article: Law Proposed to Collect DNA from Shoplifters
Author: Robert Roy Britt
http://www.livescience.com/culture/090204-dna-crime.html
The article I read was about how DNA samples can be taken from criminals to be used as a new form of fingerprinting. Also, the article said the other side of the story about how some agencies and law enforcement authorities to collect DNA from suspects/criminals before they are convicted.
AS soon as I read this article, I was wondering how this related to science other than the word "DNA". After reading though the article again, and reexamining sections I was a little confused about. Then I came across a paragraph that said different things can damage DNA and that got me thinking.
I thought the article was interesting because I thought it was cool how our society is progressing into a more modern one. But just because some tactics are old, doesn't mean they aren't useful and accurate. The article said that yes, you can take DNA from people and test on it, that doesn't mean you will get results, and I thought that was interesting how some attempts are being made to modernize and refine tests to get more useful information.
Then, the article started giving a lot of information about how DNA has already helped law enforcement in select sexual assault cases, which made sense. Then the government proposed to take DNA samples from any arrested or convicted citizen to widen the database of criminals to try to make the forensic part of crime a little easier to track. Authorities are even taking DNA from juveniles.
Some questions I have are:
What damages DNA?
Is there any way to preserve DNA for a long time without damaging it?
Are there any other types of crimes than sexual assault where DNA can help find the culprit?
Evidence of Human Culture as Evolutionary Force
The New York Times Tuesday March 2, 2010
By Nicholas Wade
This article was really interesting, it was about how over time humans have evolved based around their culture and how culture affects certain mutations that people have that can be passed down from parent to offspring. The article talked about how in the past 10,000 years culture has really affected the way our genes are mutated, possibly because of the starting of agriculture, living in towns instead of being nomadic, diets, and natural selection.
In Native American, and some Asian cultures, there is a different variant of a gene called EDAR that is involved in the immune system and helps control hair growth, they are not sure whether this is due to the cold climates that they may live in (so it would help them survive) or natural selection (and mates find it more attractive to have thicker hair). A group of people in Kenya who herd cows, thus have more dairy products have a mutated form of the gene that would normally turn off the tolerance for lactose (which is found in milk) but since it is such a huge part of their diet, that after being weaned, it is now kept on; this is now found in most people due the nutritional benefits it is thought that adults who had milk were more likely to have nutritional advantage.
This article relates to what we are learning in class because it talks about mutations and they can affect one group of people or a whole nation of people. It talks about how the human genome can be looked at to see where people have the different mutations, and about how different versions of genes can totally alter some ones life. This article was written really well, and was not so hard to understand. It kept my interest and I found it really interesting how mutations get passed on, and how some culture can affect the human genome.
Common Genes Tied To Alcohol, Nicotine, Cocaine Addictions
www.sciencedaily.com
2) Scientists have discovered that addictions to alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, heroin, nicotine and opoids are on specific genomic locations on eleven chromosomes.
3) I learned that addictions to drugs and alcohol are caused that a mutation on eleven chromosomes. I didn't know that addictions are caused by genes! So this means that sometimes you can't help addiction, sometimes it's just part of you. It surprised me that there were traces of addiction on eleven chromosomes. Eleven out of twenty-three chromosomes, that's almost half of them! A question I had was, if you have addiction in your genes, does it mean that you will automatically have an addiction? And, is there a way to prevent/treat it? We have been studying disease that are caused by a mutation on one or more chromosomes, and this is one of them.
- BBC News: Vaccine firm secures £2m funding -
Date> 2/9/10
Source>
Summary>A Scottish life science firm recently recieved £2m(about $3m) funding to develop a vaccine for Hepatitis B, a genetic disease. Chief Executive and co-founder Dr John March and his team at the Roslin Biocentre use bacterial viruses to create the vaccines, but these viruses do not rely on a toned-down version of the disease - they provide the DNA to fix the problem. The plan is that the viruses "infect" cells with the good DNA, and eventually the entire body has normal genetic instructions, thus removing the disease.
Response>I found this article interesting. I always knew that vaccines used a toned down virus to combat the target infection, but never knew that they could make a virus with certain genetic information.
Questions>If this vaccine proves to be worth the 2 million quid, then could it be possible to apply this method to other genetic diseases?
I forgot the source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8506294.stm
Genetic Variant Offers Protection Against Tuberculosis and Leprosy
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100304121534.htm
This article was mainly about how genetic variation and the differences among individuals in levels of an immune enzyme, LTA4H (a pro-inflammatory fatty acid immune signaling molecule) can response differently when exposed to the mycobacterium which is responsible for tuberculosis. Because of this, some people might get it, while others might be resistant.
I thought that the article I read was very interesting, and it gave me new information. There was a lot of information that I learned from this article. The LTA4H enzyme is very important. I learned that it is a pro-inflammatory fatty acid, immune signaling molecule, and this can really help individuals that are exposed to mycobacterium which causes tuberculosis. Individuals that are heterozygous for this enzyme-encoding gene and produce an average amount of the enzyme are more likely to resist to tuberculosis than others. Also, people with this form of the gene, appear to gain protection against leprosy, which is another disease caused by a mycobacterial infection.
Researchers also have learned that the connection between infectious disease and heart disease has implications for understanding the evolution of the immune system’s inflammatory responses. According to this article, researchers have said that although people have thought that inflammation is a positive when it comes to fighting infections, it can also cause modern-day disease. It is seen that the finding if this LTA4H gene and the activity of the immunity enzyme, can protect people from tuberculosis and leprosy. That was definitely something that surprised me from that article.
This connects to what we learned in class because as we were learning about genetic diseases, we learned how the mutation of a gene, or the heterozygous/homozygous form of a gene, can make a big impact to the organism in their different environment. It is important to learn about this because it also shows the kind of protection that individuals can get for an infection such as tuberculosis. We learn how small changes to DNA, can lead to big changes in the organism. We also learned that an individual can gain a positive impact or negative impact depending on their genotype. What I mean by that is how a person can has a better chance of resisting to mycobacterium if they have the heterozygous version of the gene that produces the LTA4H enzyme, which can give them less chances of getting tuberculosis.
There weren’t many questions that I had other than why is it the heterozygous form of the gene that helps with protection of tuberculosis? Also, how do researchers use information from the connection between infectious diseases and heart disease to learn more about the evolution of the immune system?
Science Daily
Title: Humans And Chimpanzees Genetically More Similar Than One Yeast Variety Is To Another
Cite:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090213114325.htm
Author: Unknown
The article was about how similar our own genes are to chimpanzees and how this discovery can help scientists find ways to understand evolution in much greater detail.
Before reading this article, I knew that humans and chimps did have similar genetic structures, but I had no idea just how similar they could be. According to the research done by the University of Gothenburg, Humans and chimps are more similar genetically than one type of yeast is to another. A fact that I found shocking was that the genetic structure of humans and chimps only differs by about 1%. It amazed me that chimps are still so much different from humans when in theory they are so similar. It surprised me when I found out that the types of yeast were 4% different genetically. I thought it would be less than that, if humans and chimps were 1% different. I thought it was interesting that they compared humans and chimps to the relationship in yeast, because it seemed so random to me. One of the most surprising things to me though was how the discovery with the yeast was going to be such a breakthrough for the study of evolution.
Some questions I have are:
Why are the genes of humans and chimps being compared to the yeast? Are there other things they could have compared it with?
What lead them to make this discovery? How did it happen?
If chimps and humans are so similar, how similar is each human to another genetically?
Since I had all of these questions I decided to read another article that related to the same topic.
Title: Humans And Chimps Differ At Level Of Gene Splicing
Cite: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071114151513.htm
Author: Unknown
This article went more deeply into how our genetic structure can be so similar to chimps, but still somehow make us so different.
When I read this article it answered a lot of questions that I had from the last article. It turns out that the reason why humans and chimps are so much different physically is because of the proteins that they make through gene splicing. Apparently the process that chimps use for splicing is significantly different than the process humans use. The differences in splicing were associated with a series of important processes, which included the susceptibility to some diseases. This didn’t surprise me too much because I knew that every single base pair on a chromosome was so important, so even if just a few are changed, it can make life totally different, and that would explain why humans and chimps can be so different. I thought it was interesting that this information could help scientists see why some species are affected by certain diseases, why others aren’t, and help they find ways to stop diseases. I did not have any questions on this article.
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Human gut microbes hold 'second genome
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8547454.stm
By Doreen Walton
The human gut holds microbes containing millions of genes.The article also talks about microbes that live in stomach and intestinal track are essential to our survival.
I learned a lot of new things. The things that stood out the most were that we have about 100 times more microbial genes than human genes in the body. We also have 10 times more bacterial cells in our body than human cells.The bacteria help digest food, provide vitamins, and protect us from invading pathogens. According to the article most of the bacteria live in the intestinal track and that we could not live without them. There are 160 different species of bacteria in every person.
NEW VIEW REVEALS HOW DNA FITS INTO CELL
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48166/title/New_view_reveals_how_DNA_fits_into_cell
The article that I read was about how scientists discovered a process in which they could figure out how all of the DNA fits into the cell’s nucleus. The researchers found that the DNA forms into globs. And those globs form into bigger globs and so on and so forth. In the article, it says that the chromosomes weave into each other and there are no knots. One thing that surprised me was that the chromosomes just weave into each other in a pattern and there’s no tangling or knots or anything of that sort in the glob of DNA. A question that I have is why the DNA goes into that shape. In the article it said that the scientists didn’t know why it goes into that shape, and that looks like a lot of work to do if they are trying to figure out why which they probably are. This relates to what we are doing in class because we are learning about DNA and the double helix and stuff like that and thought that this article really tied into what we are doing now in class.
Neanderthal DNA secrets unlocked
By Paul Rincon
Science reporter, BBC News
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6146908.stm
This article was about archeologists who were able to reconstruct a chunk of DNA from the genome of a Neanderthal man, who love 38,000 years ago. The scientists extracted the DNA from the nucleus of a bone cell. The bone cell came from a femur bone, found in an archeological site in Crotia. The site is in the Vindija Cave. Just from that one bone, they were able to decode 65,250 base-pairs of Neanderthal DNA, which I found amazing. I thought that this article was really interesting. It didn’t really have a lot of information about what the scientists found in the DNA. It sounded more like what the possibilities of what they would find were, and what the scientists anticipated would be there. There are some scientists who believe that Neanderthals and humans mated around 40,000 years ago. And the DNA sequences that they uncovered can prove or disprove that theory. The article mentioned the bonds between Adenine and Thymine, and between Cytosine and Guanine. It also talked about how the DNA was made up of ‘letters’ and ‘words’, that made up the ‘code of life’, which is exactly what we have been talking about in class. Overall I liked this article, and would like to be updated on what the scientists find in the DNA.
1: Alzheimer's disease
http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/alzheimer's_disease.htm
2: It talks about how 24 million people have Alzheimer’s. This disease gets stronger as the person gets older.
3: This can only be found out during an autopsy. This disease is found to be passed down through a family. They have found that is can be on ApoE. They have found that it can be on any of four genes but only makes up 30% of the genetics. Those four genes all have in common that mutations lead to excessive accumulation in the brain. Alzheimer’s disease can be slowed down with medication but it can’t be stoped.
Ancient Man in Greenland Has Genome Decoded
nytimes.com
by: nicholas wade
2) Scientists decode DNA from a strand of hair from a man that lived nearly 4,000 years ago.
3) They found some of this man's hair, thinking it was bear's hair. From this one little discovery, they predicted that the man had brown eyes because of variations, at four positions along his DNA, that are associated with brown eye color in East Asians. He would have had dry earwax, as do Asians and Native Americans. The man could have been at risk for baldness. Dr. Rasmussen assumed the man died young. Biologists and other scientists used to think that the DNA was only found in the roots of your hair, but they find out that the cell is incorporated in the growing shaft, and the DNA is sealed in by the keratin.
This relates to what we're studying in class, because it demonstrates how much DNA is responsible for, and it shows how much you can see about somebody by just a tiny piece of DNA, and the traits, the brown eyes, and dry ear wax.
I was wondering, why would they put a bag of hair in a museum? wouldn't they want to display it nicer? And how do you figure out all of that from four tufts of hair, beside from being able to see what color hair they had, but how do you get dry ear wax from a hair DNA strand? The Danish researchers, using a DNA sequencing technology, reported that they were able to decode 80% of the ancient man’s genome to a high degree of accuracy.
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