2013

Genetics e-Portfolio
Nikkatan Balakrishnan

Mrs. Kaloshi SBI 3UO-e 4/30/2013

Table of Contents: Concept Map.pg. 2 Artefact Picture...pg. 2 Artefact Reflection.pg. 3 Article Response -> Article 1pg. 4 & 5 -> Article 2pg. 6 & 7 Career Research -> Career 1...pg. 8 -> Career 2pg. 9 Canadian Scientist Reportpg.10 References...pg. 11

Unit Concept Map: Link: http://prezi.com/9iqnfcipla_k/genetics-concept-map/?kw=view-9iqnfcipla_k&rc=ref-193678 Legend: BLACK BLUE GREEN RED Gregor Mendel Meiosis Mitosis Alleles

Unit Artefact: Picture

Unit Artefact:
This is a picture of the final lab that we conducted for this unit which was the blood typing lab. The purpose of this lab was to determine which of the 4 suspects killed the victim named Shamari. To solve this lab we needed to determine which of the 4 victims had blood type O+ because that was the blood type left at the crime scene. We were given blood sample of the 4 victims and had to make reactions to identify the blood. We had three serums that would help identify the blood. There was Antiserum A which stood for Antigen A, there was Anti-serum B which stood form Antigen B, and there was the RH serum which stood for the RH factor. We put the blood sample in a test-tube along with the serums, one at a time, and identified the reaction to classify the blood sample. This was a very significant activity for me because I am interested in the whole nature of blood and how important it is. I loved the TV show Dexter, which centers around a blood spatter patter analyst who is also a serial killer named Dexter. Ever since watching the first episode of the show I have been fascinated about the nature of blood. Although this lab didnt involve real blood, and real crime situations, it helped me get somewhat of a firsthand experience of what the character does for a living. This lab also helped me learn a lot of important topics. For one, it further introduced me to blood clotting. Due to this lab I got the opportunity to learn more about blood clotting. I learned that people with blood type A cant receive blood type B blood and vice versa. If this were too still happen something fatal would occur which called blood is clotting. This is when a reaction between the Antigens and Antibodies that are located in the blood occurs. I also learned that people that have blood type AB are known as universal recipients, because they can receive blood types A and B. People with blood type O are known as universal donors because they have no antigens, and can enter any body without a reaction occurring. Another thing I learned was how highly science is involved with solving crimes. This lab inspired me to look up how genetics is used to find murderers. For example at a crime scene they look for fingerprint and they match them with fingerprint of suspects to get a lead, or in this case look at the genetic makeup of the blood left behind so they can match it with a suspect for a lead. The information gathered from this lab can apply to real life situations. For example, now I know it is important to know what blood type you are in case of an emergency. If you get into a serious accident and need blood desperately you can tell the doctor what blood type you are. If you dont know, they would have to run blood test to determine what you are which can take time. It is also important to know what blood type you are because when you go to donate you can tell the nurses or the care workers. This lab helped me better understand the unit because it was a hand-on activity. I am more of a kinetic learner, someone who needs a hand-on activity to learn. That is why labs in general are a favourite of mine as they are hands-on. This lab in particular better helped me understand the antigenantibody reaction, in other terms blood clotting. Even though in the reaction, blood clotting came in the form of black dots and strings, it showed a visual of how the reaction would occur. This helped me better understand the concept and how fatal it is.

Article (1) Response: Genetic Study Finds Ice Age Salmon Refuge Summary:
A team of European researchers from the UK recently identified that the coastal waters around North-West France was an ice-free ecosystem during the Ice Age that Salman migrated to. They say this isolated marine ecosystem will help explain the genetic mosaic make up of Irish and British Salmon. This well-educated team had a lot of experience prior to this exploration and research because they had dealt with similar organisms and their refugia. They say these findings are significant and are most likely accurate because of one issue, genetic differences. A genetic mosaic creature has a body built with two or more genotypes or a mixture of cells. The key findings from this research will determine that British and Irish salmon are made up genetically from an unidentified refuge bred that migrated to North West France and fish from the Iberian Peninsula.

Response:
This article was simply mind opening. Even though there have been many discoveries over the past couple of years that involve species and animal ancestry, there are even till date many research teams that are setting up expeditions to explore how animals genetics are made up. Just recently a research team from the University of Exeter, UK started research on the history of genotypes of mixed dogs in Europe. In this unit we learned about how we get our genetic information from our parents. We also looked at how genotypes and phenotypes are passed on and their probabilities using crosses. This article covers those topics because it talks about the genetic ancestry of the British and Irish fish, and how they got their unique genotypes In my opinion I do agree with this article because of the extensive research they have done beforehand. This tem spent years researching about the genetic makeup of British and Irish salmon fish before even considering exploring the waters. These types of experiment are currently being conducted and have been conducted before. In the US, genetic scientist worked with genetic mosaic rats to explain the theory of how these creatures came to live and their genotypic history. This special condition also occurs in humans, they are referred to as tetragametic humans. These are individuals with two genotypes for a specific trait, for example having blue and brown eyes. Since this type of condition is common amongst animals and research is being done on this, I strongly believe the facts found in this article are accurate.

For me as a student I see this as an opportunity to learn. If I pursue genetics in university or college I strongly believe genetic mosaic creatures are going to become strongly apart of the curriculum. Since these special types of creatures are being studied so often in modern science, I assume that they will be highly experimented upon. For me as a citizen, this virtually doesnt really have an effect because it is more involved in animal genetic which is not common issue with the common citizen. For me as a professional, I can really see my field expanding. I can see that animal genetics and their refugia are going to be highly studied upon because people are becoming interested in how species got their traits. This is also good for me as a genetic professional because there is an opportunity for me to make a new discovery. In the article it said that the parent fish that bred the British and Irish Salman was an Iberian fish and an unidentified fish. If I could find and identify this mysterious fish it will be huge for my career. The advantages of this article are the findings. This research may inspire other university teams that might want to explore the field of terrestrial organisms and their refugia. This is an advantage because it will expand our knowledge of how modern creature got their genetics from the time of the Ice age. The disadvantage of this research is the disruption of the ecosystem. Although this team did extensive prior research before setting out on an expedition to explore the landscape of the costal water, they did disturb the ecosystem from gathering data. This exploration will disturb the organisms living in it as your bringing foreign smells, bacteria and technologies into it. My suggested improvements for this article is to continue research on the unidentified fish, so that it looks more concluded. With all the big discoveries published, without the identification of that parent fish it looks somewhat inaccurate or incomplete. Also spend more time thinking of ways to preserve the ecosystems that you are exploring, trying not to take things out of an ecosystem is a start; however it is well known that all great discoveries come at a cost.

Article (2) Response: Could we ever run out of blood?

Summary: Recently, the NHS blood and transport (NHSBT) service running in England and North Whales put out an extremely urgent notice for O negative donors. The station is currently only carrying about 3.2 days of the O negative blood, other blood service stations like the Welsh and Scottish stations are doing much better carrying about 6.1 days of O-negative blood. The last urgent appeal for blood came during the Olympics. The large amount of visitors and athletes from all over the worlds actually helped the cause, as the station got a staggering 7 days of O negative blood stocks. This helped the station deliver to hospitals helping a wide range of conditions including anaemia, leukaemia, during surgery and following organ transplant. Now the station is in desperate need of blood and the stats arent helping their cause, almost 20% of young people that donate arent donating anymore, and the latest blood donation campaign wasnt really affective. Now they are looking for a major innovation projects in 2013 to help raise blood stocks. Response: This article was really an eye-opener, because never before have I considered or even thought about how important donating blood is. This article relates to topics covered in class because we learned about the different blood types of blood and their specifications. For example, in class we learned that Blood Type O individuals are classified as universal donors and in the article its talks about that exact same issue and why they need O negative blood. This isnt really an article where I can say I agree or disagree but I do think this is an important issue and that people need to start donating blood. I think that donating blood especially with my age group is really unpopular thing to do because no one knows about the consequences of short blood stocks. I also think that people that donate blood are also under-appreciated. These individuals that donate blood are essentially life savers, and that is why I think it is important from them to continue donating blood or people to start donating blood. For me as a student, or citizen it really does impact my life especially if I am a blood type O. This article really emphasizes how people are not donating blood anymore and how bad that is for future patients that need them. It certainly made me consider about donating blood because I am now 16 and eligible, because you have to be at least 16 and 110 pounds. Also if I knew someone who recently got into a bad accident and needed blood that wasnt around, I would be frustrated that there are individuals out there that have blood and can donate but are not. For me as a professional this really hurts because without enough blood stock the treatment and surgeries that I might want to do will not be available because of the blood shortage. This may cause a patient to die, which a doctor never wants. 6

The advantage of having a short blood stock is nothing; nothing good comes out of having not a lot of blood for patients. The disadvantages are not being able to help serious patients. If someone is hurt and is in dire need of blood, he or she cant be treated on. A lot of money goes into the campaigns that are not being really affective; this will also result in a loss of jobs for the care workers that are not anymore needed and cant be afforded. The improvements for the campaigns and awareness are the next huge steps for the NHS I think. Globally looking I think they need to release some on air advertisement, or some online ads on Google and especially on social media site. Todays society is very social media based. People dont find stuff on newspapers anymore, they find stuff from Facebook, Google, and especially Twitter. Also if you enter the social media world the awareness will spread by itself. With social media if I were to post something people can re-post it, and the cycle will continue. If the campaigns can reach social media I believe that there will be more people lined up to donate blood, because they will know about the growing concerns.

Prospective Career (1) Forensic Scientist

Description: Forensic scientists use science and technology to analyze, identify, and compare evidence from crime scenes.

Core Tasks: Examine and analyze hair, fibre samples, and other evidence Test for alcohol, drugs, or toxins in blood and body fluid samples Analyze and compare DNA samples Identify bullets, forged documents, and substances used to start fires Testify in court about their findings

Working Environment: Employed by the RCMP, provincial governments, and private forensic labs Work indoors in labs and offices Potential hazards include exposure to harmful chemicals Dealing with evidence from crime scenes may be unpleasant Most work regular hours, but overtime may be required

Education: Salary: $50,000 to $90,000 a year Earnings depend on experience, education, and employer At least a bachelors degree in forensic science or a related field A masters degree is often preferred by employers On-the-job training once hired

Prospective Career (2) Bioethicist:

Description: Bioethicists help people understand and resolve moral issues surrounding health care and scientific research.

Core Tasks: Counsel patients and their families about their medical choices Advise doctors and researchers whose work poses moral dilemmas Help develop government policies Some give legal advice on bioethical issues Professors teach students, mark essays and exams, and publish papers

Working Environment: Employed by hospitals, universities, governments, research organizations, and law firms, or have their own practice Spend much of their time interacting with others Dealing with ill patients can be stressful Most work a regular 40-hour week Those working in hospitals may be on call

Education: Salary $40,000 to $120,000 a year for most People with a law degree as well can earn more A graduate degree is usually required A PhD is required to teach at a university Some complete post-graduate courses after obtaining a nursing, medical, or law degree

Canadian Scientist:
Dr. Krassimir (Joseph) Yankulov - ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR Email: yankulov@uoguelph.ca Office: SCIE 3245 Ext: 56466 Lab: SCIE 3203 Ext: 58238 Profile Dr. Yankulov interest in microbiology began as an undergraduate at Sofia, Bulgeria. He had planned to pursue a degree in another discipline but took a first-year course in microbiology, largely to see what it was all about. Soon he became fascinated by genetics and their contributions to our understanding of many of the critical fundamental questions in biology. He ended up switching his major and developed an interest that still drives his research today. His first professional exposure was in an institute with a total focus on molecular mechanisms of fundamental biological process. This job lasted a huge imprint on him because even many years later he finds this field exciting. He currently focuses on studying the fundamental processes of genetics such as transcription, gene expression and DNA replication, as he still finds inspiration in the grey and dark areas in these extensively studied, but not at all completely explored fields Education: ->B.Sc. - Sofia, Bulgaria ->Ph.D. - Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London, England Research: Telomeres: Explaining gene repression Telomeres are repetitive sequences at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. They confer the formation of repressive chromatin structures and exert strong gene repression signals. Interestingly, the length of telomeres and their structure have been heavily implicated in longevity, genome stability, cancer and genetic disease. They are currently studying the telomeres of the S.cervisiae(Yeast) to compare repressed genes to the active states of genes. This experiment will help them decipher the general principles of gene repression and how it links to DNA replication. DNA replication DNA replication is tightly controlled to allow exactly one round of duplication of the genome in each cell cycle. We know reasonably well how these factors operate; however, we do not know how these factors communicate with the complex chromatins. Recently they have identified a GCN5 element, which strongly stimulates the activity of origins of DNA replication in the S. cerevisiae. Studies on the role of GCN5 in the assembly of pre-replicative will help explain this process in eukaryotic nuclei 10

References: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Career (2) Career (3) Article (1) Canadian Scientist Article (2)

1. Bioethicist. (n.d.). Career Cruising. Retrieved April 18, 2013, from https://www2.careercruising.com/careers/profile-at-a-glance/601 2. Forensic Scientist. (n.d.). Career Cruising. Retrieved April 18, 2013, from https://www2.careercruising.com/careers/profile-at-a-glance/570 3. Kinver, M. (n.d.). BBC News - Genetic study finds Ice Age salmon refuge. BBC - Homepage. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22151865 4. Walsh, F. (2013, January 8). BBC News - Could we ever run out of blood?. BBC - Homepage. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-20946568 5. Yankulov, K. D. (n.d.). Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Faculty . Dr. Krassimir (Joseph) Yankulov.University of Guelph. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://www.uoguelph.ca/mcb/people/faculty/faculty_yankulov.shtml

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