Harvest of Fear

Should we Grow GM Crops?

Instructions: Read the page and click YES or NO, reach the next...click YES or NO...etc until you’ve read all the arguments -- You will need to do this 12 times in order for your votes to be tallied. Navigate the site, each of the bold headings below are links within the site


1. What is a GM Crop.

Industry, government, and many academic scientists tout the benefits of genetically modified (GM) foods for agriculture, ecosystems, and human health and well-being, including feeding a world population bursting at the seams.

2. List 2 arguments FOR the growing of GM crops
Some people, including children, are highly allergic to peanuts and other foods. Some critics of GM foods feel the possibility exists that those genetically modifying food crops may unintentionally introduce a new allergen. Given that genes can be introduced from unrelated species -- for example, a fish gene can be put into a plant -- some critics argue that the possibilities of allergies might be greater than with traditionally bred crops. Critics of GM agriculture insist that patenting genetically altered crops, as agribusiness is rushing to do, will make small farmers indentured to big firms. Monsanto, one of the biggest players in the field, is currently suing dozens of North American farmers whom it claims have raised its patented GM crops without paying for the privilege. (Farmers have responded that pollen from Monsanto crops blew in from neighboring fields.)




3. List 2 arguments AGAINST the growing of GM crops.
GM foods will have even greater benefits for the world's poor, supporters state. In developing countries, malnutrition is a grave problem, because people often have to rely on a single staple, such as rice, that on its own doesn't supply sufficient nutrients. Food scientists hope to genetically modify crops to add vitamins and minerals. One of the most promising is "golden rice," which can stimulate our bodies to generate vitamin A. In the developing world, vitamin-A deficiency kills two million children each year, and another 500,000 become permanently blind. Insect pests cause stupendous crop losses every year, resulting in harsh financial setbacks for farmers. With crops genetically engineered to resist pests, GM proponents say, growers can avoid such losses and bring their produce to market at less cost. By the same token, weeds rob crops of vital nutrients. To do away with them, farmers often have to spray large amounts of weed killers, a time-consuming and expensive process. With, say, GM soybeans that are resistant to a single broad-spectrum herbicide, farmers only need to use a single weed killer rather than multiple kinds, and they may have to make only a single application rather than several.

Engineer a Crop

4. Practice this simulation until you get the largest ears of corn. How many times did it take you?
The stimulation of the engineer a crop took me 3 times to get the largest ears of corn.


What’s for Dinner?

*Click on the foods on the table to see what research is being done to bioenginner the foods.

5. List two foods and desribe how they are being modified.
Potatoes are engineered to absorb less oil when fried are currently pending approval by food regulatory boards. Bioengineers are also working to generate high-performance cooking oils such as peanut oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil, which may allow for healthier fried foods with fewer saturated fats. Cotton-soon, perhaps, even your tablecloth may contain GM material. Testing is underway on GM cotton with altered fiber quality that is also moth resistant and drought tolerant.



Viewpoints

*Read the article titled “Are GM Food Sufficiently Regulated in the US?”

Do you think food should be labeled if it has been genetically modified? Why or Why not?

Yes, I know that the company's will not be happy with this because there sales will most likely go down, but the consumers will know what is actually good and what isn't.

Finished? Go to www.yahooligans.com and type "genetic engineering" in the search field. Browse some of the sites that pop up.

(Yahooligans is better than yahoo, the sites tend to be picked for education rather than for scientists and universities, you'll find more understandable and interesting sites on yahooligans than you will with Yahoo)

Write down any of the sites you visited below.

http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/cloning.htm

http://www.eco-pros.com/genetic_engineering.htm

http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/gen_eng.htm

http://www.eurekascience.com/ICanDoThat/gen_eng_pt.htm

Epigenome

Epigenome

IDENTICAL TWINS: PINPOINTING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON THE
EPIGENOME

1. Often, the physical characteristics of genetically identical twins become increasingly
different as they age, even at the molecular level. Explain why this is so. (use the
terms "environment" and "epigenome")
Physical characteristics of genetically identical twins become increasingly different as they age by one major reason which is environmental factors such as level of stress, smoking, your diet, and even your exposure to the sun. These factors impact the epigenome by turning genes on and off to determine which characteristics are expressed. If one twin smokes and another doesn't the genes on one will be different than the other causing different physical and molecular characteristics. This increases during aging due to more factors encountering the epigenome.

2. Name 3-4 environmental factors that influence the epigenome.
Stress, smoking, diet, and exposure to sun are all environmental factors that influence the epigenome.

3. What is an imprinted gene?
Imprinted genes are genes whose expression is determined by the parent that contributed them.

YOUR ENVIRONMENT, YOUR EPIGENOME

1. Discuss factors in your daily life (ie. Diet, exercise, stress etc.) that could be affecting
your epigenome. Stress and exercise are factors that can be effecting my daily life the stress can even control my exercise achievements.

1. Explain how a high-nurturing mother rat shapes her pup's epigenome, and what that
pup's response to stress will be. When a high-nurturing mother rat shapes her pup's epigenome she licks the pup constantly and the response will become relaxed to stress.

2. In rats, does licking by the mother activate, or deactivate her pup's GR gene? Rats (and people) with higher levels of GR are better at detecting cortisol, and they recover from stress more quickly. GR helps shut down the stress response. Stress circuitry activates the adrenaline-driven Fight or Flight response and causes the hormone cortisol to be released into the bloodstream.

3. Explain how cortisol and the GR protein work together in the brain to relax a rat pup.
You may draw a diagram. Stress signals travel from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland and then to the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol.

4. The rat nurturing example shows us how parental behavior can shape the behavior of
their offspring on a biochemical level. Relate this to humans and think about the personal
and social implications. Record your thoughts. When we over nurture and take things carefully and really nurture the end result is a calm and understanding person with balance and a great base and blocks to build. When we don't nurture or care about someone they end up up not knowing what to do, no structure at all.

UTRITION & THE EPIGENOME

1. Explain how the food we eat affects gene expression.
Diet is one of many environmental factors that turn genes on and off to be expressed. Unhealthy diet choices may lead to a unhealthy body.

2. Can the diets of parents affect their offspring's epigenome?
Yes, records show that food availability between the ages of nine and twelve for the paternal grandfather affected the lifespan of his grandchildren. Shortage of food for the grandfather was associated with extended lifespan of his grandchildren. Food abundance, on the other hand, was associated with a greatly shortened lifespan of the grandchildren.

EPIGENETICS & THE HUMAN BRAIN

1. How does Dietary methyl influence gene expression ?
Methyl groups (tags) do the job of silencing genes so that they are not expressed. Diets high in these methyl-donating nutrients can rapidly alter gene expression, especially during early development when the epigenome is first being established.

2. Why do Toxins affect gene methylation? Exposure to BPA(toxin) during early development had caused decreased methylation of the agouti gene.

DNA Fingerprinting

Introduction:
1. DNA is unique for everyone. The only exception is if a person has what?
1A. If a person has an identical twin then their DNA is not unique.

2. What are DNA fingerprints used for?
2A. DNA fingerprints are used for many things such as identifying a biological parent, or as evidence in a crime.

Part 1 “It Takes a Lickin”
3. What “crime” was committed?
3A. Jimmy's property had been damaged (his lollipop was eaten).

4. What bodily fluid was removed from the “crime scene” to get DNA?
4A. To eat a lollipop you have to lick which means a trace of the criminal's saliva was left. The saliva is what will be used to create a DNA fingerprint.

Part 2 “DNA Fingerprinting at the NOVA Lab”
5. What does a restriction enzyme do?
5A. A restriction enzyme chops the DNA at different places like a pair of scissors. The location in which the enzyme cuts depends on how the molecule/gene is coded. A certain sequence can make a certain enzyme cut at a certain spot.

6. What is agarose gel?

6A. Agarose is a thick gelatin-like matter that strains molecules, letting smaller DNA particles percolate better than larger ones.

7. What is electrophoresis?

7A. Electrophoresis is the process in which molecules move along an electric current. Since opposite poles attract, the negative DNA bits are pulled towards the positive end of the tray.

8. Smaller fragments of DNA move easier than longer strands.


9. Why do you need to place a nylon membrane over the gel?
9A. You need to place a nylon membrane over gel so you can pick it up easily. It is pretty difficult to pick up the gel by itself, but the nylon membrane, a paper-like substance, will suck up the DNA.
10. Probes attach themselves to DNA fragments (on nylon membrane).

11. Which chemical in your “virtual lab” is radioactive?
11A. The chemical(s) in the lab that are radioactive are the probes.

12. Sketch your DNA fingerprint.

13. Based on your DNA fingerprint, who licked the lollipop?
13A. The culprit was Honey Sweet.

Click on the Link “DNA Workshop” (if this link won't load, scroll down to the bottom where it says "try the non-java script version)
Once you’re there, go to the link “DNA Workshop Activity” and practice with DNA replication and protein synthesis.

Browse the DNA Workshop site.


14. What kinds of things could you do at the DNA workshop?

14A. I was able to go through the process of replicating DNA and synthesizing protein in which I matched up base pairs, transcribe DNA, match anticodons,

The Phases of Mitosis

The stage that the chromatin condenses into chromosomes is Prophase and during this first mitotic stage, the nucleolus fades and chromatin (replicated DNA and associated proteins) condenses into chromosomes. The stage that the chromosomes align in the center of the cell and tension is applied by the spindle fibers aligns all chromosomes in one plane at the center of the cell. The stage that is the longest part of the cell cycle is Interphase and this is the longest period of the complete cell cycle during which DNA replicates, the centrioles divide, and proteins are actively produced. The stage that the nuclear envelopes breaks down is Pro metaphase and in this stage the nuclear envelope breaks down so there is no longer a recognizable nucleus. The stage that the cell is cleaved into two new daughter cells is Cytokinesis and it is in this region that a contractile ring cleaves the cell into two daughter cells. Microtubules then reorganize into a new cytoskeleton for the return to interphase. The stage that the daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles is Telophase and the daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles and the spindle fibers that have pulled them apart disappear. There are 4 chromosomes visible at the beginning of mitosis. At the end of mitosis there will be 8 chromosomes in each daughter cell. The little green T shaped things on the cell are the Centrioles. During mitosis the centrioles are together in one cell and during they move around and at the end they are split up by themselves in one of the two daughter cells. The three stages below are phases of mitosis. The first stage is Metaphase. The second stage is Cytokinesis. The third stage is Prophase.

Prophase The chromosomes condense/ nucleus disappears/ the centrioles go to opposites sides of the cell/ and spindle network fiber forms.

Metaphase Spindle fibers attach to kinetochores / chromosomes align on meta phase plate.

Telophase Nuclear envelope reforms/ chromosomes disperse/ spindle fibers dissolve/ cytokinesis= the cell is pinched in two by ring of action protein

You will have 36 cells to classify. When you’re finished, record your data in the chart below.

	Interphase	Prophase	Metaphase	Anaphase	Telophase	Total
Number of cells	20	10	3	2	1	36
Percent of cells (calculate: number of cells divided by total cells x 100 )	55.5%	27.7%	8.3%	5.5%	2.7%	100 %

	View 1	View 2	View 3	View 4	View 5
Whitefish	telophase	metaphase	prophase	anaphase	wasn't a 5th view
Onion	anaphase	metaphase	prophase	interphase	telophase

Introduction to Genetics

The introduction to genetics was kicked off with a man named Johann Gregor Mendel. Knowledge of cross fertilization was found when Mendel had studied the pea plants. When you take one part of the flower which was the male part and was switched with the other flower's male parts with the end result of another flower with characteristics of each flower to a third one. Mendel should be considered the "Father of Genetics" according to many people.

As generations went on in his studies and his pea plants began to give him a ton of data he states that there were three laws to his discoveries that can be categorized: Law of Segregation (when traits are found a gene pair and sex cells unite to fertilize and an inherited trait is defined by a gene pair. The oars are separated in the cells so that the cells on y contain one of the two. Offspring therefore inherits one genetic allele from each parent., Law of Independent Assortment (assorted in categories in which traits are not needed to be categorized together to move on to another generation) Law of independent assortment: genes of different traits are sorted apart form each other so that the inheritance of one trait will not need to have another gene inherited for it to be inherited., and Law of Dominance( a dominant trait or gene.) Law of dominance: a life form will inherit the dominant gene in a trait. Traits have two alternate forms. Mendel found that a seed color can be green or yellow. Each visible trait is called a phenotype. He worked with the phenotypes of flower position and stem length for stem and stem and flower traits. The pod traits is the pod shapes and pod color. Also, seed traits the seed shape, the seed color, and seed coat color.

Pure-bred seeds are when they are only green or only yellow and they produce only green or only yellow. Mendel looked at the pea plant as individual part, rather than as a whole so that he could analyze all of the genes easier. To figure out which genes are inherited from which parent, Mendel had to figure out which genes each parent carried. The traits like a seed color are controlled by one gene, which has a green form and a yellow form. Each form is called an allele. The pair of these are called the genotypes. Pure-bred pea plants when crossed did not produce offspring with blended traits. When the green color disappeared because the yellow gene is more dominant than the yellow gene. The end result was never a mix it either had one or the other. Some genes are dominant and others can be recessive. Heterozygous is two different alleles. Homozygous is two same alleles. A gametes is what everything started as. When sperm and eggs come together that is what the gamete is.

A Punnett square is like a multiplication table for genotypes or alleles. This is the 3:1 ratio. A dihybrid is the cross between two different organisms. Genes are real, but not living. Because of this, it look Mandel a long time to get his work approved. All cells come from pre-existing cells and every hour or so cells duplicate. Mendel deduced that Genetics come in pairs and are inherited as distinct units, one from each parent. Peas have well categorized traits that are inherited in ways that are fairly predictable.