The Protein Translation Project-
Content:
For this project, our main goal was to isolate a certain protein, describe the function, characteristics, and locations, and explain how the protein is created. Sounds simple, correct? Short answer is no. The long answer begins with the DNA, the sequence that encodes the entirety of our body. Certain parts of the human genome, known as genes, encode certain proteins, and in the instance of our project, our gene was CD274, which produced a protein known as the Programmed Death Ligand-1, or PD-L1 for short. As the process of transcription begins, a family of enzymes known as RNA polymerase identify the sequence that they want to transcribe, then unwind and separate the two strands of DNA. These polymerases bind to the antisense DNA strand, and then produce a complimentary RNA strand that is identical to the sense strand of DNA. The sense strand is the sequence that eventually codes for the protein, so that is why the polymerase synthesize RNA nucleotides complimentary to the antisense strand. Once the RNA synthesis is complete, the polymerases break the hydrogen bonds between the DNA and RNA strands, repairs the original double-helix structure of the DNA, and sends the mRNA to the ribosomes. Complicated? Well, this was just the first step. Next, in translation, tRNA in the ribosomes bind to the mRNA strand via the anticodons that are present on one end of the tRNA. These anticodons match up to codons, or sets of three consecutive base pairs, on the mRNA. Next, once the tRNA have bound themselves to the mRNA, rRNA comes and aids in the construction of the entire polypeptide chain by ensuring that the amino acids on the other end of the tRNA are completeky bonded to one another. Finally, the new protein is sent to the endoplasmic reticulum and the golgi apparatus, where it is folded and augmented with multiple other compounds to give it its final shape and structure.
Our Presentation:
Content:
For this project, our main goal was to isolate a certain protein, describe the function, characteristics, and locations, and explain how the protein is created. Sounds simple, correct? Short answer is no. The long answer begins with the DNA, the sequence that encodes the entirety of our body. Certain parts of the human genome, known as genes, encode certain proteins, and in the instance of our project, our gene was CD274, which produced a protein known as the Programmed Death Ligand-1, or PD-L1 for short. As the process of transcription begins, a family of enzymes known as RNA polymerase identify the sequence that they want to transcribe, then unwind and separate the two strands of DNA. These polymerases bind to the antisense DNA strand, and then produce a complimentary RNA strand that is identical to the sense strand of DNA. The sense strand is the sequence that eventually codes for the protein, so that is why the polymerase synthesize RNA nucleotides complimentary to the antisense strand. Once the RNA synthesis is complete, the polymerases break the hydrogen bonds between the DNA and RNA strands, repairs the original double-helix structure of the DNA, and sends the mRNA to the ribosomes. Complicated? Well, this was just the first step. Next, in translation, tRNA in the ribosomes bind to the mRNA strand via the anticodons that are present on one end of the tRNA. These anticodons match up to codons, or sets of three consecutive base pairs, on the mRNA. Next, once the tRNA have bound themselves to the mRNA, rRNA comes and aids in the construction of the entire polypeptide chain by ensuring that the amino acids on the other end of the tRNA are completeky bonded to one another. Finally, the new protein is sent to the endoplasmic reticulum and the golgi apparatus, where it is folded and augmented with multiple other compounds to give it its final shape and structure.
Our Presentation:
Concepts:
DNA-Deoxyribonucleic Acid, the key component of the human body, makes up the human genome. In our project, we looked at how it is converted into a protein.
RNA:
mRNA- The product of transcription, main difference between DNA is the absence of thymine and the presence of uracil in mRNA. In our
project, we looked at how transcription results in mRNA, and how this sequence becomes a protein.
rRNA- A type of RNA that aids in protein synthesis, especially during translation, by catalyzing the formation of peptide bonds. In our
project, we looked at how this plays a role in translation of mRNA.
tRNA- A type of RNA that plays an integral role in translation in that it bonds to codons of the mRNA, and has a peptide attached to the
other end of it. In our project, we looked at how tRNA binds with the help of anticodons, and what role it plays in translation.
Protein - A polypeptide chain that is a result of protein synthesis. In our project, we looked at how these are formed.
Protein synthesis - The process in which cells generate new proteins. This was essentially the crux of our project which we wanted to explain.
Central Dogma - The process in which genetic information from DNA goes to messenger RNA to proteins. In our project, this was the method by which we showed the steps of protein synthesis.
Codon - A group of three consecutive nucleotides in a DNA or RNA sequence. In our project, we showed how these are involved in translation.
Ribosome - An organelle that is used in protein synthesis. We showed how this is a site of translation in our project.
Transcription - The conversion of the genetic code for the protein from the DNA to the mRNA. This was one of the steps of protein synthesis we explained in our project of how it occurs.
Translation - The process by which the mRNA is used to form a polypeptide chain. In our project, we showed how this process generates a newly formed polypeptide chain.
Folding - The process in which a polypeptide chain folds to create a fully functional protein. This was the final step of protein synthesis that we covered in our project.
Reflection:
Whew. That was tough. It was fun, too, but we were so pressed for time that in the final few days, I was a bit exhausted. And then, ironically enough, we didn't present for more than a week, and by the time we had done so, it was so distant and we were so determined on finishing the homeostasis project that we weren't really able to give it our best. Despite this obstacle, though, I think that we did really well on this project, especially considering that we only had three people in our group. In this project, I learned that help can be found anywhere, especially in your parents. Now, while this isn't something that I learned about myself, it is important enough that I put it on here. My mom was probably the most crucial part of this project, since I was able to talk to her about the concepts mentioned in this project, and even go further in depth about some of the other topics just for my educational enrichment. One thing I did learn about myself, though, is that I actually enjoy working with two other people rather than three. Not to say anything against my previous group for the Secretary of the Future project, but I would have preferred that project if there was one less person, which would have decreased conflict, and invariably increased our productivity. I think the biggest peak of this project was how quickly our group was able to adapt to a new protein. While we were trying to find the gene sequence for our first protein, a synthesized antibody known as Pembrolizumab, we figured out that it was confidential and we couldn't obtain it legally. The very next day, we shifted gears and caught back up to our deadline, and I think that this flexibility was key in our success. We had a few pits, though, with one of them being the long gap between the time we finished the project and when we actually presented, which could have lowered our ability to present our findings properly. A second, smaller pit was the fact that we had picked a patented drug as our protein, which posed a minor obstacle in our project. Otherwise, it was a great project that I really enjoyed, but still, I could have improved on my focus in the classroom. I often found myself distracted by something or the other, and a second thing that I could generally improve on was my collaboration with my partners. It took me a while to figure out some of the problems with the initial protein, and I actually didn't tell my group first. I tried to find another way around this problem first on my own, so that we wouldn't be set too far behind, but I found it to be more productive when I told them.
The Homeostasis Investigation-
Content:
For this project, our goal was to investigate how homeostasis occurs in a human being, and to create and conduct an experiment in which there is a clear demonstration of homeostasis. Homeostasis is the ability of the body to balance its internal environment, so when someone has to run a 100m sprint, persay, their blood pressure will increase in order to provide their muscles with adequate oxygen so that they can function properly. When the body's blood pressure is elevated for long periods of time, the resulting hypertension can have detrimental effects on the person, so what the body does is reduce the blood pressure. What my group and I initially planned on doing was to show an increase in blood pressure through exposing our subjects to scary or frightening images and videos in order to induce stress in the victim- I mean subject- and eventually see a slight rise in blood pressure. That didn't work out, so our alternative was to induce a response through running different lengths and overall physical exercise. We made our subjects first run a 100m sprint. We took their blood pressure before the sprint to provide us with a baseline, and then we took the pressure once again immediately after every run. We did this to see if homeostasis occurs after a cool down in our subjects, and lastly we took there blood pressure 5 minutes after the run to ensure if homeostasis occurred. We repeated this process again for the 400m run. Once we gathered all of the necessary information, we constructed a scientific poster in which we displayed an abstract of our report, and a user-friendly interpretation of the background of our experiement, the methods, results, conclusions, and also a discussion where we elaborated on how our results proved our hypothesis and what we could have done better.
DNA-Deoxyribonucleic Acid, the key component of the human body, makes up the human genome. In our project, we looked at how it is converted into a protein.
RNA:
mRNA- The product of transcription, main difference between DNA is the absence of thymine and the presence of uracil in mRNA. In our
project, we looked at how transcription results in mRNA, and how this sequence becomes a protein.
rRNA- A type of RNA that aids in protein synthesis, especially during translation, by catalyzing the formation of peptide bonds. In our
project, we looked at how this plays a role in translation of mRNA.
tRNA- A type of RNA that plays an integral role in translation in that it bonds to codons of the mRNA, and has a peptide attached to the
other end of it. In our project, we looked at how tRNA binds with the help of anticodons, and what role it plays in translation.
Protein - A polypeptide chain that is a result of protein synthesis. In our project, we looked at how these are formed.
Protein synthesis - The process in which cells generate new proteins. This was essentially the crux of our project which we wanted to explain.
Central Dogma - The process in which genetic information from DNA goes to messenger RNA to proteins. In our project, this was the method by which we showed the steps of protein synthesis.
Codon - A group of three consecutive nucleotides in a DNA or RNA sequence. In our project, we showed how these are involved in translation.
Ribosome - An organelle that is used in protein synthesis. We showed how this is a site of translation in our project.
Transcription - The conversion of the genetic code for the protein from the DNA to the mRNA. This was one of the steps of protein synthesis we explained in our project of how it occurs.
Translation - The process by which the mRNA is used to form a polypeptide chain. In our project, we showed how this process generates a newly formed polypeptide chain.
Folding - The process in which a polypeptide chain folds to create a fully functional protein. This was the final step of protein synthesis that we covered in our project.
Reflection:
Whew. That was tough. It was fun, too, but we were so pressed for time that in the final few days, I was a bit exhausted. And then, ironically enough, we didn't present for more than a week, and by the time we had done so, it was so distant and we were so determined on finishing the homeostasis project that we weren't really able to give it our best. Despite this obstacle, though, I think that we did really well on this project, especially considering that we only had three people in our group. In this project, I learned that help can be found anywhere, especially in your parents. Now, while this isn't something that I learned about myself, it is important enough that I put it on here. My mom was probably the most crucial part of this project, since I was able to talk to her about the concepts mentioned in this project, and even go further in depth about some of the other topics just for my educational enrichment. One thing I did learn about myself, though, is that I actually enjoy working with two other people rather than three. Not to say anything against my previous group for the Secretary of the Future project, but I would have preferred that project if there was one less person, which would have decreased conflict, and invariably increased our productivity. I think the biggest peak of this project was how quickly our group was able to adapt to a new protein. While we were trying to find the gene sequence for our first protein, a synthesized antibody known as Pembrolizumab, we figured out that it was confidential and we couldn't obtain it legally. The very next day, we shifted gears and caught back up to our deadline, and I think that this flexibility was key in our success. We had a few pits, though, with one of them being the long gap between the time we finished the project and when we actually presented, which could have lowered our ability to present our findings properly. A second, smaller pit was the fact that we had picked a patented drug as our protein, which posed a minor obstacle in our project. Otherwise, it was a great project that I really enjoyed, but still, I could have improved on my focus in the classroom. I often found myself distracted by something or the other, and a second thing that I could generally improve on was my collaboration with my partners. It took me a while to figure out some of the problems with the initial protein, and I actually didn't tell my group first. I tried to find another way around this problem first on my own, so that we wouldn't be set too far behind, but I found it to be more productive when I told them.
The Homeostasis Investigation-
Content:
For this project, our goal was to investigate how homeostasis occurs in a human being, and to create and conduct an experiment in which there is a clear demonstration of homeostasis. Homeostasis is the ability of the body to balance its internal environment, so when someone has to run a 100m sprint, persay, their blood pressure will increase in order to provide their muscles with adequate oxygen so that they can function properly. When the body's blood pressure is elevated for long periods of time, the resulting hypertension can have detrimental effects on the person, so what the body does is reduce the blood pressure. What my group and I initially planned on doing was to show an increase in blood pressure through exposing our subjects to scary or frightening images and videos in order to induce stress in the victim- I mean subject- and eventually see a slight rise in blood pressure. That didn't work out, so our alternative was to induce a response through running different lengths and overall physical exercise. We made our subjects first run a 100m sprint. We took their blood pressure before the sprint to provide us with a baseline, and then we took the pressure once again immediately after every run. We did this to see if homeostasis occurs after a cool down in our subjects, and lastly we took there blood pressure 5 minutes after the run to ensure if homeostasis occurred. We repeated this process again for the 400m run. Once we gathered all of the necessary information, we constructed a scientific poster in which we displayed an abstract of our report, and a user-friendly interpretation of the background of our experiement, the methods, results, conclusions, and also a discussion where we elaborated on how our results proved our hypothesis and what we could have done better.
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Major Concepts:
Homeostasis- The body's ability to regulate balance within itself, and it is accomplished through various interactions between body systems. In our project, we wanted to show how homeostasis occurs in people of varying heights and weights.
Blood Pressure- The amount of force exerted on arterial walls by the blood flowing through them. In our project, this is what we recorded as an indicator of homeostasis taking place.
Systolic Pressure- The maximum pressure exerted on the blood vessel during one heart beat.
Diastolic Pressure- The minumum pressure exerted on the artery walls between two heart beats.
Reflection:
Man, I loved this group. In my opinion, it was one of the easiest groups I've had this year to work with. That being said, I also think that the project itself wasn't very complicated, especially with the way we chose to exhibit the change in our indicator of homeostasis, which was the subject's blood pressure. Surprisingly, not much went wrong in this project, which is something that I can't say about any of my other projects, and I believe that this can be attributed to how well our group worked together. Even the slight hurdle we had, in the form of a lack of change in blood pressure when we tried out using unnerving or alarming imagery and videos, we were able to overcome in a pretty short period of time. There was one group member in particular who spent a lot of time working on this project in their free time, even during a team practice, so they deserve a lot of thanks. As for myself, I learned that I can work well under time constraints and manage my time somewhat efficiently, which is why I was able to contribute enough to the development of the project. Another thing I learned about myself is that I like scary video games like Five Nights At Freddy's. Not actually playing the game, though, that may be a bit too much for me at this point. But getting back on topic, there were a couple areas I could have improved. I definitely procrastinated in the earlier parts of the project and didn't spend as much time at home as I could have, so the lack of discipline is something that I have to overcome if I am to become an asset to my group in future projects. A second area of improvement for me, personally, is that I have to work on my writing and explanation of topics. I know that I write really long, winding sentences that can eventually be boring and tedious to read, especially considering the fact that the scientific content within each sentence has to be explained thoroughly, but nonetheless, I have to reduce the amount of sentences like these if I am going to become a better writer and presenter.
Homeostasis- The body's ability to regulate balance within itself, and it is accomplished through various interactions between body systems. In our project, we wanted to show how homeostasis occurs in people of varying heights and weights.
Blood Pressure- The amount of force exerted on arterial walls by the blood flowing through them. In our project, this is what we recorded as an indicator of homeostasis taking place.
Systolic Pressure- The maximum pressure exerted on the blood vessel during one heart beat.
Diastolic Pressure- The minumum pressure exerted on the artery walls between two heart beats.
Reflection:
Man, I loved this group. In my opinion, it was one of the easiest groups I've had this year to work with. That being said, I also think that the project itself wasn't very complicated, especially with the way we chose to exhibit the change in our indicator of homeostasis, which was the subject's blood pressure. Surprisingly, not much went wrong in this project, which is something that I can't say about any of my other projects, and I believe that this can be attributed to how well our group worked together. Even the slight hurdle we had, in the form of a lack of change in blood pressure when we tried out using unnerving or alarming imagery and videos, we were able to overcome in a pretty short period of time. There was one group member in particular who spent a lot of time working on this project in their free time, even during a team practice, so they deserve a lot of thanks. As for myself, I learned that I can work well under time constraints and manage my time somewhat efficiently, which is why I was able to contribute enough to the development of the project. Another thing I learned about myself is that I like scary video games like Five Nights At Freddy's. Not actually playing the game, though, that may be a bit too much for me at this point. But getting back on topic, there were a couple areas I could have improved. I definitely procrastinated in the earlier parts of the project and didn't spend as much time at home as I could have, so the lack of discipline is something that I have to overcome if I am to become an asset to my group in future projects. A second area of improvement for me, personally, is that I have to work on my writing and explanation of topics. I know that I write really long, winding sentences that can eventually be boring and tedious to read, especially considering the fact that the scientific content within each sentence has to be explained thoroughly, but nonetheless, I have to reduce the amount of sentences like these if I am going to become a better writer and presenter.