Video 1

Stewie cannot initially lift the weight as his muscles are not capable of exerting the
required force. The strength of a skeletal muscle (force of exertion) is primarily
determined by the cross-sectional area of the muscle. Muscle tissues function
through contractions caused by the interactions between the contractile proteins
actin and myosin. A muscle contraction refers to the process whereby actin and
myosin generate tension in the muscle, which can then lengthen or shorten the
muscle (it does not necessarily contract). Therefore, for Stewie to be able to lift the
weight he needs to undergo muscular hypertrophy (or the increase of the size of
muscle cells) in order to increase the cross sectional area of his muscles. Humans
gain muscle mass through progressive weight training. Weight training causes
hypertrophy primarily by increasing intermuscular synthesis of the contractile
proteins. Also, the damage to muscle fibres during strenuous activity leads to the
bodys over repair of such damaged tissues (this causes significant muscle growth).

In the video Peter is shown giving Stewie an injection of steroids which
subsequently cause him to gain a large amount of muscle mass and strength. The
steroids shown are actually anabolic-androgenic steroids. A steroid molecule is a
class of lipid characterized by four cycloalkane rings joined together. Steroids
encompass a wide class of molecules with greatly different functions. Anabolic-
androgenic steroids are chemically similar to and create the same effects as the
hormone testosterone. Anabolic-androgenic steroids have two different functions.
Firstly they promote anabolism (cell growth), secondly they induce androgenic
effects (i.e. the development of masculine characteristics).

Stewie is able to gain significant muscle mass and strength upon the injection as the
steroids increase protein synthesis from amino acids. This causes an increase in the
synthesis of contractile proteins. Steroids also cause increased hypertrophy by
blocking the effects of the stress hormone Cortisol on recovering muscle tissue- this
reduces catabolism of muscle and thus recovery time. Along with the hypertrophy
caused by increased protein synthesis, the steroids also lead to the development of
new muscle fibers (further increasing the cross-sectional muscle area).

Anabolic steroids function on a biochemical level as steroid hormones and thus are
capable of penetrating the cell membrane of target cells. Anabolic steroids upon
penetration of the cell membrane bind to androgen receptors in the cytoplasm
forming a hormone-receptor complex. This complex then travels to the nucleus
where it will either directly affect gene expression or send signals to other parts of
the cell.

There are however, a few inaccuracies in the video. Firstly, steroids produce a much
more gradual effect than that shown in the video. One dose of anabolic steroids will
not lead to instant development of large muscle mass and strength. Rather, they
facilitate hypertrophy in conjunction with diet and a regular exercise routine.
Hypertrophy actually only occurs when the body is at rest, therefore, Stewie having
gained muscles in the one workout is fundamentally impossible (as his body had no
time to recover). Secondly, Stewie being a child is physically not capable of
developing such amounts of skeletal muscle. The introduction of anabolic steroids
would likely induce early puberty (which would then allow for the physiologic
environment necessary for muscle growth). However, until Stewie has undergone
such artificial puberty, his body is physically incapable of generating the muscle
mass shown. In conclusion, although the video demonstrates the basic actions of
anabolic-androgenic steroids, the timescale shown is completely inaccurate from a
biological perspective.


Video 2

The beanstalk shown is growing at an alarming rate and to alarming dimensions.
The growth of a plant is dependent on two primary factors: photosynthesis and
cellular respiration. Photosynthesis is the process whereby light energy from the
sun is converted into the chemical energy necessary for respiration.
Cellular respiration is the subsequent process whereby biochemical energy from
organic compounds is harvested via the use of oxygen. The photosynthates
produced in photosynthesis are then utilized in cellular respiration to produce the
cellular energy needed for tissue growth. Therefore, the growth rate of a plant is
dependent on both the process of nutrient generation (photosynthesis) and energy
harvesting (cellular respiration).

In photosynthesis, via the use of water and carbon dioxide plants store light energy
as chemical energy in the from of organic compounds. Photosynthesis can be
characterized by three general stages. Stage one is the process of capturing light
energy. Stage two is the process of using captured light energy to make ATP and
NADPH. Stage three is the process whereby ATP and NADPH are utilized to
synthesize organic compounds from carbon dioxide.

Stages one and two make up what are known as the light reactions of
photosynthesis. The first stage of the light reactions is photoexcitatio; the
absorption of a photon by an electron of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a light-
absorbing pigment found in the chloroplasts of plant cells. Chlorophyll is
characterized by a porphyrin ring and a long hydrocarbon tail. The porphyrin ring
in chlorophyll contains a magnesium atom surrounded by a hydrocarbon ring with
alternating single and double bonds. Delocalized electrons in the alternating bonds
absorb light energy by rotating proportionally to the frequency of incoming light-
this initiates the process of photosynthesis. In the process of photoexcitation an
electron in chlorophyll gets excited by an incoming photon causing it to rise to a
higher potential energy level. However, the electron is unstable at that higher level
and falls down releasing the energy as heat and light. However a molecule called the
primary electron acceptor captures this electron in a redox reaction. Light is not
absorbed independently by chloropyll. Rather, chlorophyll is contained in protein
clusters called photosystems. A photosystem consists of an antenna complex and a
reaction centre. The antenna complex is composed of chlorphyll molecules and
accessory pigments set in a protein matrix. Antenna pigments absorb light energy
and trensfers the enrgy from pigment to pigment until it reaches a chloropyll a
molecule in an area called the reaction centre. An electron of the chlorophyll a
molecule absorbs the transfereed energy and is raised to a higher potential energy
level. The excited electron is transferred to the primary electron receptor through a
redox reaction. There are two types of photosystems photosystem I and
photosystem II. Photosystems I and II work together in a two-step process called
noncyclic electron flow to produce ATP and NADPH. The process begins when a
photon strikes photosystem II and excites an electron. This electron is transferred to
an electron carrier PQ via a series of redox reactions and then to an electron
transport chain (the process occurs twice 2e). A Z protein then splits water into
oxygen, hydrogen ions and electrons. Two of these electrons are used to replace the
missing electorns in photosystem II. Oxygen leaves the chloroplast as a byproduct
and the hydrogen ions remain in the thylakoid space. The electrons that leave
photosystem II pass through the Q cycle, which transports protons from the stroma
into the thylakoid lumen- creating a H+ gradient for chemiosmosis. Four protons are
translocated into the thylakoid lumen for every pair of electrons that passes through
the transport chain. The electrons then move through Pc and the remainder of the
electron transport chain replacing the two electrons lost by photosystem I. The
electrons from photosystem I pass through an electron transport chain containing
an iron-containing protein called ferredoxin (Fd). The electrons then move to the
enzyme NADP reductase that uses the two electrons and H+ ions from the stroma to
reduce NADP+ to NADPH. The H+ gradient established is then utilized to drive the
phosphorylation of ADP to ATP in the ATPase complex (chemiosmosis).


Following the light reactions carbon dioxide is converted into carbohydrate
molecules in the stroma of chloroplasts. The process occurs in a cyclic series of
reactions termed the Calvin cycle. The Calvin cycle consists of three phases. In
phase one, carbon is fixed from carbon dioxide into the 5-carbon molecule, RuBP.
This forms an unstable 6 carbon molecule that splits into two 3-phosphoglycerate
molecules (PGA). In phase two the six PGA molecules are phosphorylated by ATP to
form 6 molecules of 1,3-BPG. From there a pair electrons from 6 NADPH molecules
reduces the 6 1,3-BPG molecules into 6 G3P molecules. At this point one G3P
molecule exits the cycle. The remaining five G3P molecules are then rearranged to
regenerate three molecules of RuBP in phase three. The G3P molecules are then
used to make starch, glucose and other carbohydrates.


The glucose generated in photosynthesis is then utilized in the processes of cellular
respiration to generate the necessary ATP for plant growth and functioning.
Cellular respiration can be broken down into four stages. In stage one, glycolysis, a
process of harnessing energy in which a glucose molecule is broken into two
pyruvate molecules in the cytoplasm of a cell occurs. After glycolysis, the pyruvate
molecules are transported through the two mitochondrial membanes into the
matrix, whereby acetyl coenzyme A, NADH and carbon dioxide are produced. The
two molecules of acetyl-CoA then enter the Krebs cycle (a cyclic series of reactions)
where ATP, NADH and FADH2 are formed along with the removal of carbon atoms.
The NADH and FADH2 molecules from steps 1-3 then enter the electron transport
chain on the inner mitochondrial membrane. The ETC is a series of membrane-
associated protein complexes and cytochromes that transfer energy to an
electrochemical gradient by pumping H+ ions into an intermembrane space. The
electrochemical gradient accumulated in the intermembrane space produces the
proton-motive force that moves protons through an ATPase complex producing ATP
from ADP.

The cellular energy (ATP) generated in cellular respiration can then be utilized to
facilitate the tissue growth as shown in the video.


Video 3

The process of creating a dinosaur from its DNA as shown in the video is that of
organismal cloning. Before discussing the plausibility of such, the role of DNA as the
blueprint for life should be discussed.

DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a nucleic acid that encodes the genetic instructions
used in the development and functioning of all living organisms. DNA is located in
the nucleus of the cell. DNA exists in a double helix structure with complementary
base pairs running anti-parallel to each other. DNA is designed so that each of the
single strands codes for the same information (complementary base pairing). A gene
is a segment of DNA that codes for a specific messenger RNA and subsequently a
specific protein. The first step in gene expression is transcription; the process
whereby a particular segment of DNA (a gene) is copied into mRNA by the enzyme
RNA polymerase. RNA polymerase reads the gene and through a series of events
produces an antiparallel RNA sequence called the primary transcript. The primary
transcript (in eukaryotic cells) then undergoes posttranscriptional processing. This
includes the splicing of introns and the annealing of surrounding exons from the
transcript. Furthermore, a methyguanosine cap and poly-A tail are added to the
transcript for protection from exonucleases. The mRNA sequence then exits the
nucleus of the cell and travels to the ribosomes in the cytoplasm. The ribosome then
reads the mRNA and creates the relevant protein in a process known as translation.
The ribosome facilitates protein synthesis by linking transfer RNA (tRNA) with
complementary anticodon sequences to the mRNA. The tRNA molecules contain
specific amino acids that are chained together into polypeptides as the mRNA
reading continues. The poplypeptide chain synthesized is then folded into
functional protein structures.

The video showed that a tiny sample of ancient mosquito blood could be used to
extract dinosaur DNA. To do such, a process known as PCR (polymerase chain
reaction) would have been employed. In PCR thermal cycling is used to facilitate
DNA replication. DNA is heated to a high temperature where the two strands
separate in a process known as DNA melting. The temperature is then lowered
whereby DNA primers (short DNA segments that target the selected sequence)
anneal to the target sequence and are replicated using a DNA polymerase enzyme
from the Achaea Thermus Aquaticus.


Unfortunatly, there are several impossibilities associated with the video. Firstly, to
clone a dinosaur you require a complete genome. They mention replacing the
genome with frog DNA- that would not produce a dinosaur. To properly complete
the genome a complete dinosaur genome would be needed as comparison. Further,
the DNA of the dinosaur must be inserted into a dinosaur embryo.