Unit 6 Reflection

Unit 6 Reflection
This was a very interesting unit on Biotech, which included: Bioethics, Gene Therapy, GMO's, & DNA Plasmids. These were very interesting to explore and to learn about. As I said in my goals I did all my HW and have an A+ currently in Bio, but my planner skills are not improving as much as I hoped.

Bioethics: This is a little hard to explain because it is all a concept and opinion based on what is acceptable to do with genetics. For Example I read an article on how people genetically engineered salmon to grow to market size a year faster. What they did was insert into the plasmid the genes from 
  a Chinook salmon and a Ocean pout to keep the salmon growing all year instead of only part of it. This was the first ever GMO to get passed as clear to eat by the FDA. Although this is cool and great news for Biotech a lot of stores and restaurants refuse to buy GMO products like this one due to disagreements in the general public. This ties into Bioethics because it shows we may have the technology to do many advancements but we need to put in front of us the problems they may create or how it will effect society as a whole. Many people think only the government can effect the decisions for Biotech but in reality the true deciders are the morals of the people.     

This Unit we learned about Gene Therapy. We learned how it was used to manage or cure genetic diseases. It used what we know about genetics to make special proteins. This is cool because now that we can sequence human DNA we can find out how to cure some diseases. I find this to enjoyable because many people are helped and good.

GMO's:
https://sumofus-production-media.s3.amazonaws.com/a/img/GMOs-MIX.jpgI think this is one of the most interesting topics that ties into Biotech. It is how we manipulate animals or plants with other genes from other species and make them have a desired trait. It is cool and ties into what I was saying earlier about the GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) Salmon. It really shows us what we value and how we can change the very nature of things and I'm gonna tie this in with the next section on Plasmids. They are the things we can "copy paste DNA from different creatures into each other. As shown above (The Top Picture) we use DNA and insert it in using sticky ends and restriction enzymes to cut them.


I really think I learned some interesting things though some were a little boring. I'm glad that things are finally building on things and making them cooler and a lot more connected to the world and what I hear happening in it. I think this was a very fun section and want to learn more. Here are my questions and if you can answer them in the comments below that would be great.

Here they are:

How many insertions can you put in Plasmids?

What can go wrong in cloning?

What is the best way to cut a gene?

Has anyone ever been cloned?



Thanks for reading and hope you learned as much as I did.

XD

-Axel Georgiou




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