Exploration of Molecular Biology

From memory, I know mitochondria are very important for each and every cell, so that we may produce energy. This organelle is able to contribute to the breakdown of complicated molecules to produce ATP required for our bodies to function efficiently. It also has its own DNA which made some theorize that early cells were made by bacteria which integrated themselves into others eventually becoming what we know. This mitochondrial organelle can be transferred from mother to children since it is in the egg which is used during fertilization. This mitochondrial DNA has been used for tracing back origins of mankind and it is useful for forensic analysis in some cases. It also seems to be related that as we age the mitochondria develop mutations. As we have mentioned there is mitochondrial DNA present in our cells which are inherited from our mother. These can be obtained in certain samples to get a hint of who was present at the crime scene. Our own nuclear DNA could also be used but th...

Our theory of cells has led us to believe that there was a bacterium which was able to produce energy and integrated itself into another organic organism. This created the mitochondria in energy-producing cells which use oxygen and it could have made chloroplasts in cells which use sunlight. Today we still have relationships which are mutual and both organisms benefit from each other. Sometimes it is two animals and sometimes it is on a microscopic scale. In our own bodies, we have bacteria which live in our digestive systems which help with breakdown, nutrient uptake, and general function of our body system. These bacteria produce material which we may sometimes use and now we are learning that we may be receiving more than just digestive help. I actually overheard some speaking about this so I thought I would look into it for myself. I have found that there are bacteria in the gut which produce different neuropeptides such as serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, GABA, ...

As I looked into what makes a species a species last week I assumed that of course, DNA had to be a factor in what makes us who we are. Over time this has changed and it is these changes over a long period of time that allow us to develop into creatures more adapt to our environment. It should take animal generations to adapt to a new environment but maybe one can do it in a shorter amount of time. I go back to one of my first posts which spoke of the commonly known trend of DNA to RNA to protein. We change our DNA so that we can have traits produced to survive in our environments, but why not edit RNA to create the desired proteins. There is information that squids, octopuses, and other coleoids are able to use post-transcription processes to edit their DNA on a different level than mammals. From what I remember we splice out our introns to leave our exons when making our mature RNA. The article states even though we have sites for recoding humans generally try to avoid this. We...

I began thinking first about when does a species become a species? Then I got stuck with that idea for the rest of my writing. I have asked this question but wanted to look into it for a more solid definition. I consider If we put two identical animals in different terrains and assume they could survive how long would it take for them to become different species? One definition I have heard states that different species cannot mate or breed with each other. My first thought goes to dogs and squirrels. We have so many different kinds of dogs small to large. If you tell someone who has never seen a dog that a Chihuahua and that Great Dang are the same species they would think you are insane. These cannot be the same animal! Then we see on the other spectrum that we have red squirrels (Sciurus Vulgaris) and gray squirrels (Sciurus Carolinensis) which are similar in many aspects but cannot be considered the same species. Obviously, if this has to do with the compatibility of breeding ...

Hello, this topic came in my mind as I tried to donate this Thursday but arrived too late. I try to donate on a regular basis at my regular Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. I think it just an easy way to give something back without giving money and it is not much of a sacrifice because it only takes about 10-15 minutes. I have never felt any adverse effects so it’s pretty simple every time I go. Anyways I have thought about that just about every two to three months I give about a pint of blood if I am donating whole blood, if not that I donate what they call double red blood cells. I began to wonder what the long-term effects are. Obviously, not many people lose 4 pints of blood a year or on a regular basis. Some have told me it has benefits and some have said it can cause issues . The first thing I consider is red blood cells. We rely on these to give us our oxygen throughout our body and obviously a lack of these would decrease your performance. I believe it is even shown tha...

Imagine a flaming fireball coming out of the sky falling onto a planet with water, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen that filled the atmosphere with levels which made life almost unlivable. This ball could have induced such energy or added its own mixtures which may have allowed organic materials to form and develop. These molecules eventually may have led to other processes which created genetic information, cells and more. Creating organic materials from inorganic was thought to be impossible to some until it was shown otherwise by Miller and Urey in the 1950s. Their experiment contained materials which some would think to be gasses from ancient earth and energy which could simulate the energy which could have forced forward the reaction to occur. After a few days, they were able to extract amino acids and other organic compounds. This of course, obtained the attention of many who may have thought they discovered how the first forms of life began. Some consider that it was aldehyde...

As we learn about DNA we see how many of our genes relate to the way we look are affected by a mix of four nucleic acids. Some want to start using this to change the way certain organisms behave or look. Already much of the food we eat has been influenced to have certain traits which can benefit the population. Sometimes people refer to these as GMOs which are more of a benefit than damaging, based on what I have seen so far. Some of it has been done through breeding but there are also other processes which allow for certain traits which is what I am interested in finding out. Transgenesis will allow for certain genes to be integrated into a host and possibly continue on to its offspring. Some methods used are plasmids, viral vectors, TALENS, and CRISPRs which will allow for integration. I have been looking for information on transgenesis on animals and how it may have begun. The beginning of this research found that even though we have differentiated cells these still contain our...

Gene transfer is something that has come to mind after I read about the discovery of RNAi which involved adding RNA to a plant to create more purple color in flowers. So I wondered what are the methods that we use to bring forth genes or traits that would not be there. The first thing that comes to my mind is something I have used in a lab before which is the GFP (green fluorescent protein) protein which can be placed into bacteria cells. This protein is from a jellyfish and was isolated for use. This can be used when adding plasma which adds the gene to a bacteria cell through horizontal gene transfer. This will allow detection that the gene has been transferred into the bacteria which did not have the ability to glow before.  Bacteria have mechanisms which involve transformation, transduction, and conjugation. What I want to know is how we get these genes into eukaryotes. My search began with plants and I found that some mechanisms mentioned in a reading are organelle tr...

I almost forgot that  RNAi is something involved in our systems when I was finding information about RNA last week. I found about its discovery and also I realized people have been researching it for gene therapy. As you know RNA is usually a single-stranded polymer of nucleotides that is similar to the structure of DNA but has a uracil instead of a thymine in most cases. We have connected these to making proteins but there are ways that these can be altered to make miRNA (microRNA) and siRNA (small interfering RNA), which both have functions in the body for the interference of RNAs.  Many people view these and see a possible way to end cancer. Cancer continuously wants to divide so a way to stop this process would be a large hit to the disease, what is a problem is the stability of RNA. RNA is not as stable as DNA and can be damaged before it is used. A co-delivery system is being considered in an article by Larsson where the RNA and drug that could assist can work tog...

After reading blogs talking about dogma put up, and us speaking about enzymes in class, I thought I would look into more what RNA enzymes mean for life or molecular biology. Starting from the top we know that Dogma starts with DNA and makes RNA which makes protein, which function as enzymes and much more. According to writing by Schot we found RNA only in the 1980s and did not know about their enzyme activity until 1994. Knowing this information has led some to consider an RNA World Hypothesis which many of us have heard about. A theory which states that old life may have used RNA as genetic data. This being said perhaps before they were used to make proteins they could have performed some simple functions themselves. RNA or more specifically ribozymes are able to cut themselves and go through their own folding. It defiantly has some folding options to be able to position itself for activity. When I think of RNA I consider three things one is the ability to make proteins, anot...

To begin this semester of posts, I think looking into how microbiology has grown from its start to where it is today will allow me to develop a vision for future concepts and interests. Who I consider as one of the major beginners of microbiology is Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, who was one of the first to have descriptions of many microscopic organisms. But how they functioned with everything around us was not studied until much later. Louis Pasteur might be the one who disproved spontaneous generation and found that microorganisms could be the reason for disease. This may also have sparked the new interest in this field of study. One of the next major breakthroughs came from Robert and his postulates. He made even more certain the connection between microorganisms and disease. Since then we have done much to improve what we know about microbiology. We have found different disease causing agents, bacteria, viruses, and made treatments such as antibiotics that can stop the spread of di...