GATTACA Blog Post

Responding to GATTACA Quote

"I was never more certain of how far away I was from my goal than when i was right beside it."

       While Vincent was scrubbing and cleaning at the facility, he realized that he really might never reach his goal. He realized that it was now literally impossible to get a land an ideal occupation with the new technology that is used in all jobs of the future. Invalids are destined to be low paying jobs until they die off from disease or age. Vincent had little hope but still kept his dreams alive by never giving up.

One of a kind: The Wonders of Biodiversity

Our story of the seed group is experimnting with collards. Our collards have grown a lot since day one. They look like there parents because they inheried there parents genetics. Since our collards have thin stem and long leaves, the collards offspring would have the same. You can also see what offsprings they have by using the punnent square. Before going off there offsprings the collards have to go though meiosis to create the genes to the cell to produce the offspring. The next collard to come will carry on the genetics to more generations to come.

Wonders Of Biodiversity With Collard Plants

The story of the seed group 4-2 has been experimenting with collard plants, learning about genetics. We learned that we can use the punnett square to trace back our collard's parents, and determine its characteristics, because they inherit the genetics from the parents. So they look alike. Our collard plants have thin stems and big long leafy leaves. We could also use the punnett square to most likely or specifically know what the offspring would inherit. In order to create the offspring the collard plants would go through meiosis, also known as the division of cells, to create gamete cells(or sex cells). Which then go through fermentation to produce the offspring. Son our collard plants will be doing the same things as the parents, creating more collard plants for generations to come.

The Wonders of Biodiversity

A type of Brassica Oleracea carrying the phenotype for purple leaves.

4-2 Collards

          The 4-2 group has been experimenting with Brassica Oleracea L or collards. By looking at the collard's leaves we can tell that one of the parents carried the phenotype for the color green. Since the plant show the dominant gene for color its off-spring will most likely share the same phenotype. This trait will be passed down through meiosis; these sex cells are complete when the cell divided one more time to produce the four daughter cells. Our plants off-spring will vary due to the genotype of its partner. Thankfully due to genetics our collards off-spring will be even more beautiful then its parents because it will inherit genotypes from both of its parents. My classmates and I share different but fundamentally similar plants because they all have bread with numerous other types of plants. However, they are are still considered Brassica Oleracea because they still carry their species dominant gene for leaves. Our plants have varied from their ancestors because they have produced gametes from varies different types of collards.  

4-2 Meiosis Pictures

Replication of cellular DNA begins with the S phase, which when gets duplicated with the cell containing nearly double the amount of chromosomes

Homologous chromosomes begin to pair up.

Pieces of chromatin from the chromosome may break off and swap. 

spindle fibers will begin to attach to the chromosomes.

The chromosomes are then pulled apart 

Once they have been they been pulled apart to create four genetically unique daughter cells.

The Wonders of Biodiversity. Markham

             Currently our group as been working and nurturing with collard greens. They are an edible plant used in many dishes. It has thin pinkish veins expanding from the stem. I believe the parents look very related to there offspring, our plant. Since parents pass down their traits, they should be somewhat the same. To predict what our plant would have looked like before it grew, we would have had to use the Punnet square. To actually use the square we would have to extensively research the traits of collard greens and chart the genes the parent plants have. It would be a long process to fully be able to predict what the plant might have looked like.  Even though all of our plants are related they all look different. The millions of combination of genes and traits create diversity in the class garden.

Our Collard Plants

Brassica Oleracia 
Carrying green long leave traits.

How Our Garden Grows

             




             Over the past few weeks 4-2 collards have grown tremendously. From a tinny little seed they have blossomed into beautiful luscious leaves. They have transformed from a little seedling into a ready to harvest vegetable. However, we had a little help from sun to start of a cycle known non other then photosynthesis. Thanks to the sun trickling down its golden rays the light dependent reactions could occur. This when the energy is taken from the sun's rays and converted into oxygen, NADPH, and ATP. All this happens in the thylakode membrane. After all that the plant is not even close to being down. The calvin cycle still needs to occur. This is when six carbon molecules are combined with 5 carbon molecules to produce twelve 3 carbon molecule. Then, energy from ATP and energy from high energy electrons from NADPH are used to convert the tweleve 3-carbon molecules into high energy forms. Two of these 3-carbon molecules are used to make a 6-carbon sugar. The 10 remaining molecules are converted back into six 5-carbon molecules, which are used in the next cycle. Now the cells inside the plant need to go through a process called mitosis. Can be divided into 5 main stages. The first stage in prophase. this is when chromatin condenses into chromosomes and the centrioles separate. Next, metaphase has to occur. This is when all of the chromosomes line up across the cell. Now that the chromosomes are lined up anaphase can occur. This is when the sister chromatids separate into individual chromosomes and are moved apart. Now that the chromosomes have been moved apart they can now gather at each end of the cell, this process is called telophase. The last step has to occur so the daughter cell has an identical set of duplicate chromosomes. This is how how 4-2 collards have been able to grow from little seedlings into a beautiful leaves.