Epigenome

Identical Twins

Are twins exactly alike? The idea of this article was that as twins grow older, and get exposed to different things or different environments, they can grow to be different. Even though the twins may be genetically identical, they can differentiate through time and near the end of their lives, you can really see the differences. Most of the time, they will grow up in the same environment. This means that twins will get the same diseases, genetically. Like cancer or Alzheimer's. Usually; height, reading disability, and autism will be in both twins. Environmental factors that could influence epigenetic tags is diet, stress, and toxins.

I have had zero experiences with epigenetics in my life. No genes that I know of have been turned on.

Lick Your Rats

Rats with high nurture will be more relaxed then those with low nurture. The rats with little to no nurture will be stressed for longer periods of time and anxious. We look at this like it is a bad thing. In human society (in America), yes. In the rat world, no, in fact it may be helpful. In the rat world, food is scarce and it is a struggle to survive along with the predators. It wouldn't be a good thing to be relaxed, because you always have to be looking out for the predators preying on you. The rats who are anxious all the time, won't let their guard down and won't be their predators next meal. When the mum rat licks her pup, it activates a gene, the GR gene, which signals to relax. The gene will bind with a protein called cortisol to calm down the pup in the hippocampus. This can be applied to humans but not with stress and relaxation. With humans, all are nurtured. The problem lies with how much time are they nurtured for? Those who are nurtured for the longest time will never leave home and will be dependent on their parents until the parents die and he/she will live a harsh life. Those who are nurtured for a short time, will deal with stress for a brief period of their lives and eventually get out of that rough spot to end up supporting themselves and their families.

Nutrition and the Epigenome

Nutrients end up affecting gene expression. The certain foods you eat can rapidly alter the gene expression. Nutrition of the parent can affect the child's genetics and health. An unhealthy parent can pass on the obesity and give it to their child.

DNA Fingerprinting Lab

1) DNA is different for everyone only if you have a twin sibling.

2) DNA fingerprints are used for finding the culprits of crimes.

3) The crime was that Jimmy Sweet's NOVA lollipop was partially eaten by someone.

4) Saliva was the bodily fluid removed at the crime scene. When someone licks a lollipop, saliva is always left behind.

5) The restriction enzymes cuts the DNA into segments. Where they cut depends on the code within the DNA.

6) Agarose gel is a thick, jello-like substance.

7) Electrophoresis is the process of moving molecules.

8) Smaller fragments of DNA move more easily through the gel than the larger fragments.

9)Just because the gel becomes hard to work with, a nylon membrane is placed on top of the tray and the DNA is transferred to it.

10) Probes attach themselves to the DNA fragments.

11) The probes have been radioactively labeled.

12) There are a bunch of lines, some thicker than others. It acts as a code.

13) Honey was the criminal of the crime, and her punishment was no dessert.

14) You can replicate DNA and see protein synthesis at work.

15) An interesting read is DNA Fingerprinting by WebMD.