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Week 14/ draft 3

Submitted by scasimir on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 21:26

In bacteria, transcription, and translation take place simultaneously. In eukaryotes, transcription takes place in the nucleus, and the pre-mRNAs then undergo processing before being moved to the cytoplasm for translation, which allows opportunities for gene control after transcription. Consequently, posttranscriptional gene regulation assumes an important role in eukaryotic cells. RNA processing and degradation is a common level of gene regulation in eukaryotes.

Nutmeg Procedure

Submitted by sditelberg on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 20:43

A mixture of ground nutmeg (1.00 g) and tert-butyl methyl ether (3.0 mL) was added to a round-bottomed flask and gently boiled for ten minutes. After settling, the resulting liquid was cotton-filtered through a pipet, rinsed again with tert-butyl methyl ether (2.0 mL), and filtered as before into a tared 25 mL Erlenmeyer flask. The filtered solution was then evaporated gently to yield the crude product (0.763 g, 1.05 mmol, 76.3% recovery), which was subsequently recrystallized in acetone (15.26 mL) to yield a once-recrystallized product (0.147 g, 0.203 mmol, 19.3% recovery), isolated via vacuum filtration. Hydrolysis was performed in a clean round-bottomed flask through reflux of a solution of the trimyristin (0.060 g, 0.083 mmol), 6 M sodium hydroxide (2.0 mL), and ethanol (95%, 2.0 mL) gently for 45 minutes. The resulting contents of the flask were then poured into a 50 mL beaker containing 8 mL of water and concentrated hydrochloric acid (2.0 mL) was added dropwise while stirring. The beaker was then cooled in ice water for ten minutes while stirring, and vacuum filtration was used to collect the resulting myristic acid product (0.046 g, 0.201 mmol, 82.14% yield). During the hydrolysis portion of the experiment, the remaining trimyristin (0.086 g, 0.12 mmol) was recrystallized a second time to obtain a twice-recrystallized product (0.067 g, 0.093 mmol, 77.9% recovery), which was subsequently vacuum filtrated. The melting points of the once-recrystallized product (55 - 57 ℃), product of hydrolysis (54 - 55 ℃), and twice-recrystallized product (54 - 56 ℃) were then taken.

Are Violent Video Games Indicative of Aggression?

Submitted by afeltrin on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 20:30

It has been proven that violent video games are linked to maladaptive behavior. When children are playing video games, there are a myriad of effects that occur. There is an increase in physiological arousal, such as an increase in heart rate, or blood pressure. Increases in aggressive cognitions also occur when comparing children playing violent games and non-violent games. There tends to be a decrease in prosocial behaviors, which ultimately leads to an increase in aggressive behaviors. The increase in aggressive behaviors that occur can happen in any individual, regardless of age or gender. Another effect of violent video games is that there is an increase in aggressive emotions, as well. The frustration level increases in children and adults, whether they are male or female.

GMOs

Submitted by sharrath on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 20:16

Modern gene editing techniques have heightened as researchers continue to investigate the regulation, safety and effects of genetic engineering. Although these gene editing tools have the potential to treat various diseases, there is not enough information to determine the overall impact and significance of genetic engineering and specifically in GM foods.

Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods that are bioengineered to allow for changes to be introduced into their DNA. GMOs are a controversial issue as many of these foods are ones that are consumed daily. Researchers detect that US consumers are optimistic about possible benefits of GM foods, but are also concerned with their associated health, safety and environmentally harmful consequences (Costa-Font, Gil, & Traill, 2008). In this study, we explored the ethical beliefs and opinions of 40 UMass students in respect to GM foods. Analyzing these students responses will allow us to obtain a general understanding of college age students virtue of genetic engineering and specifically GM foods.

 

GMO Discussion 4

Submitted by cbbailey on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 19:36

The last issue we wanted to figure out a public opinion was for the overall effects and benefits of GMO’s. Our first question dealt with if people thought they posed a risk to health or the environment they lived in, which around a 70% majority answered with agreement. This shows that a majority of people believe that at GMO’s have at pose at least some potential risk on their current lives. The last question of our survey asked if people thought the benefits of using GMO’s as food outweigh the risks. This question gave us the most varied response with an almost even split between agreement and disagreement.  This shows us the people still either have a large misunderstanding of either how dangerous GMO’s can be to us or the opposite of how helpful they can be to our lives.

GMO Discussion 3

Submitted by cbbailey on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 19:35

The third issue we wanted to figure out a public opinion for was the level of general education for GMOs in food. Our first question for this was question 8 was to determine general knowledge on the prevalence on how common GMO’s are in our current society. This question showed us intesting results, while the vast majority of answers, 82.5% , agreed with the question that over 50% of processed foods contained Genetic modifications only 45% Strongly agreed that it was over 50%. This leads us with a majority of 55% percent that either thought the statement was incorrect or was not sure that it was correct. The second question for this issue was question 9 consumers on genetically modified foods. This question was answered with a OVERWHELMING majority with 97.5% agreeing with the question, 85% of that was strongly agreeing. This makes sense as more education on a topic leads to people having a better understanding of both the benefits and drawbacks of the situation leading them to be able to make a more informed decision non matter which side they land on.

GMO Discussion 2

Submitted by cbbailey on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 19:35

The second issue we wanted to figure out a public opinion for was in what ways we should be allowed to modify organisms. In our survey we had 4 questions each tackling a different situation to see how people agreed with the used of genetic modification to solve the problem. Questions 4,6 and 7 showed a majority of agreement with 75%, 72.5% and 85% respectively of slight agreement or strong agreement. In contrast however, question 5 only had a 25% agreement rate with 0% of the voters strongly agreeing. Based on this data it seems that people agree with genetically modifying in situations in which there is a problem that needs to be solved but are reluctant in situations in which there is no urgent need to change something. This could potentially be due peoples uncertainty on what all of the side effects of modifying these organisms are. In situations such as question 4,6 and 7 were the effects that these modifications provide is the prevention of human deaths most people are fairy comfortable to accept potential side effects, however in situations such as question 5 were the outcome does not provide some major benefit such as saving human lives, people are much less willing to accept the side effects.

GMO Discussion 1

Submitted by cbbailey on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 19:34

The first issue we wanted to figure out a public opinion for was for government regulation on GMO’s in modern society. Our first question brought up the issue if GMO’s should be required to be labeled on foods containing them which came back as over overwhelmingly agreeable. In general people would rather have the information of what is in what they consume or how it is made regardless of the effects of the product. For question 2 we asked a question regarding if companies should have to seek approval before creating new GMO’s for food which also came back overwhelmingly as strongly or slightly agree. In general it seems that people don't agree with notion that we should just be modifying whatever we see fit without proper procedures in place to protect consumers.

Gastrotrichs

Submitted by jhussaini on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 18:57

Gastrotrichs live in a diverse range of habitats. They can be found in freshwater, marine, and a few semi-terrestrial environments, though they are more abundant in freshwater and marine environments.  In semi-terrestrial environments, they live in a film of water surrounded by grains of soil. Because they are so small, they usually live in interstitial spaces between particles of sediment. They are also a part of the benthic community, and are usually attached to underwater plants or submerged objects, which makes them sessile organisms. They have adhesive tubes all over their body allowing them to attach to surfaces. They also have a short life cycle that can span from 3-21 days depending on the species.

 

GMO Survey

Submitted by lgarneau on Thu, 04/25/2019 - 18:45

Responses to Questions 4 through 7 of GMO Survey. Questions 4 through 7 aimed to gather respondents opinions on influential motives for modifying foods. On average, 69.16% of respondents agreed that modifications in order to help better developing/growing populations were acceptable as well as modifications to combat pests/diseases. In contrast, only 25% of respondents, were in favor of modifying food to make it more marketable.

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