Unit 6 Reflection

     This unit was called biotechnology.  Biotechnology is the manipulation of living organisms in order to benefit mankind.  Biotechnology is very broad, but in this unit, we focused on the question, "What is the purpose of biotechnology?"  Biotechnology generally focuses on topics such as DNA, proteins, and inheritance.  Throughout this unit, we learned various subjects of biotechnology such as sequencing, PCR, and gel electrophoresis.  Watching the nightly vodcasts, I learned a lot of detailed facts about these various subjects, but there is a bigger scope than just memorizing the facts about the subjects.  Sequencing, for example, can be applied into the bigger world rather than just a biology class.  Sequencing can find the exact order of the DNA.  This is impressive and also can be used in the outside world.  Sequencing can be used for forensics to see who committed the crime with the given DNA sample.  Another example is PCR, which stands for polymerase chain reaction.  This is the process that amplifies a certain DNA segment into making millions and millions of copies.  Again, PCR can be used in the outside world in cloning.  If a scientist wanted to clone something, he or she would use the process of PCR.  Gel electrophoresis can also be used in the real world.  Gel electrophoresis can be used to identify criminals that ran away from the scene.  The forensic scientist would scoop up a DNA sample and can try and find the culprit.  The DNA would be put into the tiny wells into the agar gel to run the gel electrophoresis and analyze the data like in my previous blog post about gel electrophoresis.  These subjects are just a few of the many topics I learned this unit.

     This unit was short and sweet.  Some strengths in this unit for me was that I just came off a nice long vacation after the stressful finals week.  My family and I went out of town to visit family and this was a nice break from the constant stress of school.  My brain was allowed to be relaxed and decompress, which made my mind fresh for this unit.  I also had a clearer idea of how to study and tackle various assignments such as vodcasts, tests, and lab reflections.  Some setbacks, however, included the constant studying I wanted to accomplish.  I wanted to constantly study after each vodcast, but I was not able to do so.  A success I would like to share is the use of note cards for studying for the big unit test.  I convert all my vodcast notes into note cards and this is a neat way to study in short chunks separated by a few minute breaks in between.

     In this unit, we did the Candy Electrophoresis Lab and the pGLO lab.  In the gel electrophoresis lab, I learned about how to get the DNA.  In this lab, we did the candy with dye.  The dye acted like the DNA.  The different DNA would run against the control DNA, and I learned that the results were never exact.  Some were pretty close, but not all of them were 100% perfectly this color or length.  More information about how I analyzed the lab can be found using this link:  http://leibiologyblog.blogspot.com/.  The other experiment we did in the biotechnology unit was the pGLO lab.  In this lab, we tried to use different possibilities to try and see which DNA would glow.  In this unit, I learned the reason for each substance that we used.  For example, the calcium chloride would be used for loosing the membrane and the arabinose would make the bacteria glow.  With all these chemicals, I was able to find out what each substance did to the final result.  My analysis can be found with the same link which is: http://leibiologyblog.blogspot.com/. 

     As always, there is never enough to learn about a various topic.  Biotechnology is so broad that we barely covered the fundamentals.  I wonder about the real world of biotechnology and how it can be implemented to benefit our society to make things easier.  For example, the movie GATTACA.  GATTACA was a dystopian society where everybody was perfect genetically.  I want to prevent things like that, but also use biotechnology to benefit our society.

     In the beginning of the year, we wrote a New Years Resolution.  My goals were to maintain my grades fairly high.  So far after around three to four weeks, my grades are still maintaining a high percentage.  The hardest part of the semester is definitely the first month.  This period of time is the hardest of all because the grades fluctuate a lot.  If you get a 5/10 on your first assignment, you will have a D as a grade.  Right now, I am still around where I would like to be grade wise.  There are a few steps, however, I could start doing.  The first thing for biology is to study proactively.  This means after each vodcast relate and review and CFU, I need to study the material so I could come in prepared with all my questions that needed to be answered.  This way, I do not need to cram the last minute.