Drafts

Anna was born with the sole purpose of keeping Kate alive. In the first chapter she states, “I was born for a very specific purpose. I wasn’t the result of a cheap bottle of wine or a full moon or the heat of the moment. I was born because a scientist managed to hook up my mother’s eggs and my father’s sperm and come up with a specific combination of precious genetic material.” Throughout the book Anna struggles to fulfill the role of a savior to her sister, because otherwise she has no reason to exist at all. At 13 years old, this internal conflict juxtaposes with her desire to be a free individual in control of her own body. She wants to be more than flesh and organs for transplant but she also doesn’t want to be the reason her sister dies.

If Anna was a clone, then the book could have played out differently. Maybe because of the sisters’ identical genetic makeup, the transplants of bone marrow, lymphocytes, etc. in addition to chemotherapy would have actually worked and cured Kate’s cancer. If this occurred, then Anna would have fulfilled her life’s purpose to save Kate and subsequently she could choose her own path and have autonomy over her body. She would not have to worry about dietary habits, engaging in sports that are too rigorous, or about being too far away from Kate any longer. It would be ironic for Anna to win autonomy as a genetic copy of Kate.

If Anna was cloned and she still ended up going to court to fight for her autonomy, I don’t think she would have won the case. Since she would have been made using one of Kate’s cells, then it would be controversial as to whether she is her own person or if she is an extension of Kate. Since her DNA exactly matches Kate’s genome then the latter opinion might be favored. The court might view it as a choice to save the life of an artificial clone or the original human that made it possible for that clone to exist. The potential to under-value Anna’s life leads me to conclude that human reproductive cloning should not be explored at any point in the future.

Due to the neuroendocrine nature of this cancer, the researchers are interested in developing an early screening technique involving hormonal and molecular biomarkers through routine blood tests. PanNETs are classified into functional tumors, which have symptoms related to excessive hormone secretion, and non-functional tumors, which do not secrete hormones and therefore do not exhibit associated symptoms. Currently, measurement of hormones such as pancreatic polypeptide, gastrin, proinsulin, insulin, glucagon, and vasoactive intestinal peptide can determine if a tumor is involved in hypersecretion (Ro et al., 2013). Up to 60% of PanNETs are non-functional, which may pose a challenge. However, 85% of PanNETs have an elevated blood marker, which may allow for research and the scrutiny of biomarkers to accomplish this goal (Jensen et al., 2009).

Once DNA is isolated, it must be quantified.  There are two common methods for quantifying the amount of DNA present in a solution.  A spectrophotometer measures the amount of 260 nm light that shines through the solution.  The absorbance is based on the ratio of transmitted light to incident light. Based on this, a concentration of DNA is calculated.  Unfortunately, a spectrophotometer cannot distinguish between DNA and RNA, so the reported concentration includes all nucleic acids.  Gel electrophoresis is quite accurate in telling size of DNA chains, but concentration of DNA of particular sizes in solution may also be inferred.  A ladder is loaded in the first lane of the gel in order to compare the samples to. The darkness of the samples is compared to the ladder to estimate concentration.  Gel electrophoresis utilizes the fact that the phosphate groups of DNA nucleotides give the molecule an overall negative charge. An applied electric field causes DNA to move down the gel towards the positively charged electrode.  Smaller DNA molecules will migrate faster than bigger ones, and will appear lower on the gel. Results from these two methods can be analyzed to draw conclusions about the true concentration of DNA in solution.

Although it is true that whales have flukes instead of hindlimbs this does not mean that whales do not belong in a monophyletic group of mammals that have hindlimbs. The reason being that early whales did in fact have legs. Even though they no longer possess these hindlimbs it does not take away from the fact that whales once did have them. Occasionally there are whales born with vestiges of these limbs. Whales losing their limbs is just one example of a dramatic evolutionary change, something that has happened countless of times to different species.

I've been holding onto the larva since the last class that was held and there has been a dramatic change in the appearence of the larva. When I brought the larva back into my room I put it on top of my desk and to the side I did not want to keep disturbing it, I wanted to see how it would be reacting without any type of interference. As the day progressed I noticed that it no longer moved around the perimter of the container as a matter of fact it did not move at all. The larva remained off to the side of the container without any movements. This was a huge difference when compared to how it acted before, during class the larva moved rather quickly around the perimeter. Now it was staying still. Even when picking up the container the larva did not make any type of movement. This changed the day after, this is when I started seeing some action from the larva once again it kept busy and moved around the container. This monday the larva no longer moved at all, instead it decided to pupate. It's a dark brown color and when I move it around the container I can tell it is surrounded by a hard shell. It took about four days of having it in order to have this transformation occur. 

PanNETs are often associated with somatic mutations in the MEN1, DAXX, ATRX, PTEN, TSC2, and PIK3CA genes, with the MEN1 gene most frequently mutated (Jiao et al., 2011). MEN1 is a tumor suppressor gene that codes menin, a protein found in the nucleus that regulates chromatin remodeling and plays a role in cell cycle regulation (Jiao et al., 2011). A study by Schnepp et al. found that excision of the MEN1 gene in embryonic mouse tissue led to misregulation of the G0/G1 checkpoint and accelerated entry into S-phase, as well as downregulation of CDK inhibitors in the pancreas (Schnepp et al., 2006). Therefore, MEN1 is a crucial gene to prioritize in treatment as its mutated form can lead to proliferation of cells and eventually, PanNETs. The five other genes mentioned previously will also be studied to understand their interaction with MEN1, but as MEN1 is most frequently mutated, it will be the main focus of treatment. More specifically, the researchers would like to prevent MEN1 excision from occurring and explore targeted treatments involving molecules possibly related to this excision, although more research must be performed in order to find these. Further exploration of this may lead to additional signaling pathways the researchers can utilize in targeted treatment.

    At the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, there lies an interspecific interaction that while in principle is dangerous, it seems to be a regular occurrence for the majority of dormitories. At the university, access to the dormitories require a specific ID in order to unlock the doors. These ID’s are only acquired if a person is given permission and is approved by the university. This includes paying expensive housing fees, attending the university itself, and paying the tuition.
    In principle, there lies a very high requirement in order to gain access into any of these buildings. Yet on the contrary, if you happen to catch a resident leaving the building at the same time you’re trying to enter it, more likely than not the resident will leave the building, and hold the door open for you to go inside. This occurs so frequently, that it’s very likely that if you were to wait outside one of these dormitories, eventually someone will notice you’re standing outside and invite you in.
    The buildings are so incredibly easy to get into, that it almost doesn’t make sense to have the ID card authorization a requirement to enter the building. It’s functionality serves as more of a formality, rather than security like it was originally intended.

I don’t know how many of you kept the larvae from last week but I did. When I took the larvae back to my dorm room I found out that the larvae feed off of decaying vegetation. I put an orange peeling into the cup to see what would happen. A day later the larvae started to move slower around the perimeter of the cup and eventually stayed in one spot. I thought that I had killed the larvae due to the acidity in the orange peel, but the larvae was just moving in a slower rate. Two days after the larvae turned into a cocoon. The cocoon is a dark brown color similar to that of a coffee bean. The cocoon is smaller in size from the initial larvae stage, around 5 segments in length. It has been four days since the larvae turned into a cocoon. 

DNA extraction is an essential technique used in many scientific research endeavours. In my gene and genome analysis lab, BIO383H, we extracted DNA from a young Brachypodium distachyon leaf. DNA is found in the nucleus of cells. As such, we had to disrupt cells and tissues to obtain the DNA. First, we did that by mechanically grinding the leaves. Then we had to use detergent, found in the DNA extraction buffer, to dissolve the solubilize the plasma membrane and other membranes within the cell. Within the extraction buffer is also a metal chelating compund which locks away calcium and magnesium ions, allowing the denaturation of proteins. High temperature was also used to augment the efficiency of extraction buffer and hasten cellular disintegration. After breaking up cells and tissues, we had to prevent the degradation of DNA by DNAse enzymes. The metal chelating compound already helped us with this by locking away calcium and magnesium ions, which are essential co-factors for enzyme activity. Next, we had to remove undesirable products. We did this by rounds of centrifugation and then precipitating out the DNA  by using high levels of sodium and isopropanol. To truly purify the DNA, 70% ethanol was used to wash it. Then it was dissolved in T₁₀E₁ before being stored in a freezer.