Drafts

The lab, "Restriction Enzyme Digestion of DNA" was done to observe how restriction enzymes function in DNA.
Different restriction enzymes were used to compare the difference in the DNA. The
method of gel electrophoresis was used; however, the data did not appear properly
because the bans on the gel did not appear. There was no observable evidence that could support
that different restriction enzymes create different typr of DNA fragments.

The journal I viewed for homework was for aquatic mammals. The intructions for submitting writings was on their websites homepage. Submittions they accept include full articles, reports, notes, and letters to the editor. It says that the journal accepts review papers but authors have to directly contact the editors. The editors of the journal offer "early stage of manuscript preparation" consultations if the subject material make it difficult to follow formatting instructions and the paper is 25 or more printed pages. The journal requires manuscripts to be in a Word document and not a PDF, to have a cover letter attached, and any figures and tables included as a separate file when submitted.

Just like babies enjoy being rocked to sleep, apparently adults do too. There is a new study that suggests that rocking puts adults to sleep faster and makes their slumber deeper. These adults were also found to have much sharper memories the next morning. This tips at first seem to solely just sleep aids, however, they also may be telling of how the brain refreshes itself every night. To test this, researchers built a custom made rocking bed and analyzed the quality of participants naps. The researchers measure the people’s brain activity by EEG which can spot electrical signs of certain sleep stages. They believe rocking while asleep might be helpful to people with insomnia compared to sleeping pills.

Exergonic reactions are spontaneous, while endergonic reactions are not. However, it is not the free energy change that determines the rate of a reaction. The rate of a reaction is determined by the activation energy instead. An exergonic reaction can be slow, while an endergonic reaction is fast. The activation energy is the energy needed to reach the transition state between reactants and products, and all reactions require activation energy, even exergonic reactions. Reactions with smaller activation energies have faster rates than those with larger activation energies. With a high activation energy, fewer moleules have enough energy to reach the transition state, causing the reaction to proceed slower. When the activation energy is lower, more molecules can easily reach the transition state, accelerating the reaction. This is precisely how enzymes work to speed up a reaction: They lower the activation energy of the reaction. They do so by stabilizing the structure of the transition state, which then requires less energy to be reached. Enzymes do not affect the free energies of the substrates or products, and they do not alter the equilibrium of a reaction. They simply allow equilibrium to be reached quicker. Enzymes can enhance the rate of a reaction in many ways. They can form favorable interactions with the transition state in its active site. It can also orient two subtrates to react easier. An enzyme can also directly participate in the reaction, or it can strain the bonds in the reactant(s). Enzymes usually use more than one of these strategies to stabilize the transition state, lower the activation energy, and speed up a mechanism. 

The paper talks about the divergence of cephalopods. The limited fossil record makes it difficult to find divergence times and patterns. The researchers used molecular clocking to figure out where groups split off from one another. Molecular clocking measures genetic mutations over time in different groups to show measure how they evolve differently, and this data is subsequently compared to their fossil records. Cephalopods diverged during the Mesozoic Revolution, 160-100 millions of years ago. During this time there were not only dinosaurs above land, but there were also dramatic changes below the sea caused by competition. Many adaptations arose around this time in response to the competition. For example, cephalopods lost their shells. The researchers tracked when these adaptations came into existence in in addition to the rate of diversification.   

You could use antibodies specific to cdc20 protein to see if it is expressed in the Naegleria. The primary antibodies would bind to cdc20 (if it is present) and the secondary antibodies would bind to the constant region of the primary antibodies. Using polyclonal antibodies as the primary antibody would be a good idea because they can detect low expressing proteins. If we detect cdc20 protein in our experimental group, then the gene silencing and RNAi didn't work. If we do not detect cdc20, then it was silenced, which is what we expect. In our negative control, since cdc20 is not silenced, we expect detection of it. Antibodies can therefore help us make sure that any changes in phenotype between the negative control and the experimental group are because we silenced cdc20.

There is no specific answer to why birds migrate. However, there are some factors that lead to the benefits of migration. For example, birds can escape predation in certain seasons, or find better resources such as food and water elsewhere than others. Some places are more suitable for breeding than others. Birds travel to find a place to live, reproduce, and nest. Depending on the climate or the temperature, different type of bird population appears at different timing. In unpredictable weather habitats, both migratory and non-migratory birds live together.

The data above compares Drosophila melanogaster growth and development at each gender and life stage at varying concentrations of the growth hormone, ecdysone. According to Figure 1 and Tables 2 and 3, overall, pupae are most abundant during normal conditions (control vial). In table 2 we observed 81 pupae in the control vial, followed by 61 pupae in the 10 µM vial, then 47 pupae in the 1.0 vial, then 25 pupae in the 0.1 vial. This coincides with the data in Figure 1, where pupae exhibit the largest number of flies than any other life stage, with the control vial displaying the largest number of pupae counted. In Figure 2, for the control vial and the 10 µM vial, there is a significantly higher number of females than males. This is also supported by Table 2, where there are 10 females and 3 males for the control, and 2 females and 0 males for the 10 vial. On the other hand, for the 0.1 and 1 concentrations of ecdysone, there are more males than females. In Figure 3, the females overall have a greater length than that of the males throughout all concentrations of ecdysone.

Drosophila melanogaster have been used as a model system for generations as an ideal organism for the study of development, behavior, and genetics due to their short life cycle (allows for larger fly production), ease of culture, and on a molecular level, shares many similar features and pathways with humans. Being able to produce multiple generations and view the different life cycles of the flies allows us to easily observe the effects of hormone concentration upon the growth and development of the organisms. In insects, the two hormones, juvenile hormone and ecdysone (Ponasterone A), control timing of normal molting, and formation of the pupa. (Yamanaka). Ecdysone is is a steroidal prohormone of the major insect molting hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone, one of many hormones which regulate growth in Drosophila. Ecdysone is essential in transforming the body plan of insects from larva to the adult fly by activating the programmed cell death of larval tissues and causing cell shape changes in the imaginal discs during Drosophila metamorphosis. Ecdysone signaling is important in morphogenetic movements that shape the first instar larva.