The Secret of Life

It has been a long day in the rain forest. Those of us at the agency have been anxiously awaiting word from agent Gordon. Our amphibian friend left this morning with one mission find the secret of what makes us what we are. It was a dangerous mission. It required being in close contact with human scientist. But, we have to find out what the humans know. Just when I was about to catch my dinner, agent Ace informed me we had received a transmission from Gordon.

I raced to headquarters to find out what it said. The transmission read:

Have found secret! All organisms on planet made of

cells. Some made of only one cell. Most made of billions of cells. Every cell in complex organisms, such as dogs and humans, contains nucleus. Every nucleus contains chromosomes. Every chromosome made of incredible DNA. DNA holds instructions for what creature is, and what it will look like. How can this chemical have so much control? It is

The transmission cut off unexpectedly. There is no telling what happened to Gordon. But, now it is up to me to continue his work. I just need to avoid the humans. Armed with a top secret tip, I am headed to a location filled with abandoned books. This should help me to avoid the humans, but still collect important information.

I have found my first piece of real evidence. It is an interview with between TeenZeen magazine and Sherona, a popular musical artist.

TZ: Whats the greatest thing youve received from your parents? Sherona: My hair. I got my hair from my parents, and its been a big help to my career right from the start. TZ: But I mean, Ive heard your father gave you a guitar when you were three and said you could do anything you put your mind to Sherona: I got my dads chin, and Ill always be grateful for that. Not that I hate my moms chin or anything. I just wouldnt want it on the bottom of my face. Thank goodness I got my moms nose, though, huh? Imagine me with Dads nose! Ick!

TZ: But I mean, did your parents give you support? Sherona: If you mean like strong arches on my feet, yeah, definitely. TZ: I mean love and understanding. Sherona: That too! TZ: What about your brothers and sisters? Youre a world-famous star. Theyre normal kids. Is there anything at all that you still have in common? Sherona: I share a lot with my brothers and sisters, and thats real important to me. For one thing, we all have Moms great complexion. Except my sister Bobbi, whose face is totally covered with zits.

Im so confused by this interview, how can Sherona have her dads hair? Did he grow extra hair, rip it off his head, and glue it to Sheronas head? But then I remembered Gordons words. The chemical DNA contains instructions for what an organism will look like. The parents would not have to give their children their actual hair. They could give their children their DNA.

Then I looked at the family pictures. Each child is so different. If these children look so different, they must also have different instructions for looks. They must have different DNA! Each child must have gotten some DNA from one parent and some from the other. But How?

After digging in books all day, here is what I learned:

-Chromosomes are in the nucleus of a cell. -Each parent gives half of their chromosomes to their offspring. -In this way the offspring inherits half of its chromosomes from each parent. -Humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from dad and 23 from mom. -Chromosomes are made of coiled DNA. -Segments of the DNA, called genes, control specific traits about an organism.
gene -Being a frog myself, I have 26 chromosomes, 13 from dad and 13 from mom.

I even learned that these chromosomes are responsible for whether you are a boy or a girl.

The last pair of chromosomes in a girl are XX, but in a boy they are XY.

 When parents pass their

chromosomes onto their offspring they are passing on their traits to their offspring. These traits are inherited.
Maybe you can help me with my

research. Fill in the table your teacher gives you to show which traits you have inherited from your parents.

Just when I thought I had it figured out, I stumbled on this picture of Princess and Rover with their children. How could mom and dad be black, but have a brown puppy? The brown puppy doesnt look like either of its parents.

Punnett Square

- The different forms that a gene may take are called alleles. -Ex. The dogs fur could be Black or Brown. -Dominant alleles are represented by a capital letter.

-Recessive alleles are represented by a lower case letter. -In this case Princess and Rover each had one Black allele (B) and one brown allele (b).

- When we represent the

Punnett Square

alleles together we call this a genotype.

- Both parents have

genotype Bb.
- The punnett square

shows what genotypes their offspring could have.

- When we see the

genes represented as a trait, we call this a phenotype. - Ex. The fur could be

Just when I was about to return to the agency to report my discovery, I heard a familiar croaking sound. I followed the sound behind a pile of books to locate the source. To my pleasant surprise, it was Gordon! He had gotten stuck when a book fell off the shelf. I am so excited to be able to return to the agency having found both the secret of life, and Gordon.

Everyone at the agency was very happy to see us. Here is our report.

Our cells are controlled by the nucleus. The nucleus contains all of our genetic material on chromosomes. Chromosomes are made up of coiled DNA. DNA segments are called genes.

gene

 Chromosomes always occur in pairs.

Each organism receives half of their

chromosomes from their dad, and half from their mom. Humans have 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent. The genes in these chromosomes actually control inherited traits. For example, genes control eye color, hair color, and whether the offspring is a boy or a girl.

The different forms of the gene are called alleles.

A Brown allele would code for Brown eyes. While a Blue allele would code for blue eyes

Some alleles are Dominant such as Brown eyes (B). Others are Recessive, such a Blue eyes (b). If both alleles occur together, the Dominant allele will win. BB = Brown eyes Bb = Brown eyes Bb = Blue eyes

 We always represent dominant alleles

with a capital letter. The recessive allele is represented by a lowercase letter. For all inherited traits, we get one allele from each parent. When we look at the genes, we call that a genotype. Example: Bb When we look at what trait shows up, we call that the phenotype. Example: Brown eyes

Sometimes genes can have errors.

Nothing is fool proof.

Some children are born with physical

problems or mental disorders. Mrs. Askews brother was born with a problem in his heart and lungs. Other examples: Deaf, Blind, Down syndrome, Autism.

Of course, not everything about an organism is controlled by their genes.

Genes control how your body should

look. They also have some affect on your personality.

We are not born with the ability to read,

but we are born with the ability to learn to read.

Can you think of some other things you

have learned?

There are a lot of learned behaviors.

Playing golf.

Using our manners.

Math.

Being mean or nice.

Cooking.