Vocabulary and Concepts

Experiments DNA Extraction DNA Gel Electrophoresis SDS PAGE Western blot ELISA GFP Transfection/Transformation Viral Transfection Cell Biology Nucleus Cytoplasm Cell Membrane Ribsome Genetics Genome Gene Allele Heterozygote Homozygote Biochemistry DNA RNA mRNA tRNA Amino Acid Polypeptide Protein Enzyme Antibody

Questions
Why did you want to shadow members of the lab? What did you hope to get out of the experience? Do you feel like you got everything you wanted out of the experience? Is there anything that you hoped to get out of the experience that you didnt get? What did you learn? What is your favorite thing that you learned? Did you learn anything that surprised you? How did this experience change your understanding of laboratory science? Did this experience change how interested you are in research? What was the best part of the experience? What was the worst?

Central Dogma
Central Dogma is the central idea of Biology. It is the process by which the cell uses the information encoded in DNA into proteins, the functional pieces of the cell. So here are the most important concepts DNA- DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. It is made up two complementary strands made of many subunits called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is made of three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar (deoxyribose), and a nitrogenous base (the A, T, C, or G). The phosphate groups and sugar form the back bone of the DNA, while the base sticks out and forms hydrogen bonds with the complementary base on the other strand.

The structure of DNA and the nitrogenous(nitrogen containing) bases that encode the genetic information.

DNA is the molecule that makes up the blueprints for the cell. These blueprints are also known as an organisms genome. The genome is all the hereditary information in an organism. In a human, this means the chromosomes you inherit from your mother and father. An organisms genomic DNA is located in the nucleus of its cells. The genome is divided into discrete units called genes. A gene is a length of DNA that encodes the information to make one specific polypeptide. RNA RNA stands for ribonucleic acid. As you might guess from the name, it is almost the same as DNA except that it incorporates a different sugar subunit, ribose. There are a few other differences between DNA and RNA. The main differences are: 1) DNA contains deoxyribose, RNA contains ribose 2) In DNA the bases are ATCG, in RNA they are AUCG 3) DNA is double stranded, RNA is usually single stranded.

RNA serves many purposes, but one very important purpose is serving as a template for protein synthesis. This RNA is called messenger RNA, or mRNA. mRNA is an RNA copy of a single gene. It is copied from DNA in a process call transcription, and transported out into the cytoplasm where it is used a template for DNA synthesis. Protein If you think of the cell as a little factory, then DNA is the blueprints for the factory and instructions for how it should run, and proteins are the bricks and girders that the factory is built from and the machines that run the factory. Proteins serve many different functions in the cell. Some work as enzymes and catalyze reactions, others are structural and help to give the cell shape. Regardless of their function, all proteins are made the same way. The subunit of a protein is the amino acid. There are twenty one different amino acids. They have a common form with an amine (nitrogen containing) group on one end and a carboxylic acid group on the other end, but each amino acid has a different side chain with different chemical properties To form a protein, amino acids are linked together, amino group to carboxylic acid group, by something called a peptide bond. This is why chains of amino acids are sometimes call polypeptides.

An example of a polypeptide, notice all the different side chains.

Proteins are not just long chains of amino acids, however. They have a three dimensional structure. This structure is formed when the chain folds on itself. This folding is controlled by the chemical properties of the side chains, for example, charged side chains will be attracted to each other. Gene Expression In the form of DNA, genes are just information, they only have an effect on a cell, and thus an organism, when they are in the form of a protein. The process by which the genetic information in DNA is used to create a functional protein is central to Biology. The DNA containing a cells genetic information is contained in the nucleus. Every gene is not expressed all the time, however. For example, babies and young children grow very rapidly, but at some point adults stop growing. A babys cells will need proteins that encourage growth, while an adult will not need these proteins. We say that a baby expresses the gene for these proteins that promote growth, and adults do not express the genes. When a cell receives a signal that it needs to express a certain gene, proteins called transcription factors enter the nucleus and bind to the DNA at the site of that gene.

The gene is then copied into mRNA. Copying mRNA from DNA is called transcription. The mRNA contains the exact same information as the DNA. mRNA enters the cytoplasm of the cell and interacts with the ribosome. The ribosome is an organelle in the cell that is responsible for reading the information in the mRNA and recruiting the amino acids that the mRNA encodes. It also helps catalyze the formation of the peptide bond between the amino acids. The process by which the ribosome uses the information on the mRNA to form a polypeptide is called translation. As the polypeptide chain is formed from the amino acids according to the instructions on the mRNA it folds into its three dimensional form. After all the appropriate amino acids have been added, the protein is released. It may then undergo other modifications in various parts of the cell. Much of biology involves exploiting this process. For example, if a scientist wants to see the effects of a certain gene, she may use some method to put that gene into a cell, or stimulate a cell to start expressing that gene when it normally would not.