Cloning

What is Cloning?

1. Who is Dolly? Dolly is a sheep that is actually none other than a clone. This occurred in 1997.

2. When a zygote divides into to separate cells, it is called: A Two-Celled Embryo

3. Somatic cells are also called: body cells.

4. In order to clone a gene, a gene is inserted into a: petri dish.

5. In order to create an embryo from a somatic cell, the donor egg cell must have its nucleus removed.

Click and Clone

6. List all the materials needed to clone a mouse.

Mimi (Brown mouse that shall be cloned)

Megdo (Black mouse egg cell donor)

Momi (White mouse surrogate mother)

Microscope

Petri Dishes

Sharp Pipette

Blunt Pippete

Chemical to stimulate cell division

7. Place the following steps in the correct order.

4: Stimulate cell division
6: Deliver baby
2: Remove and discard the nucleus from the egg cell
1: Isolate donor cells from egg donor and germ cell donor

3: Transfer the somatic cell nucleus into the egg cell

5: Implant embryo into a surrogate mother

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8. There are two time gaps in the process of cloning. What are they? (ie. what do you have to wait for?) You must wait for the egg cell and the DNA in the somatic nucleus to adjust to each other, and you must wait for the cell to divide a few times.

9. What color with the cloned mouse be? The mouse is brown, just like its somatic cell donor mother. What is the name of this mouse? The name of the clone is Mini-Mimi.

Why Clone?

10. Why is cloning extinct animals problematic? In order to clone extinct animals, there must be an extremely well preserved DNA sample, and most of the time, there aren't any.

11. What are some reasons a person might want to clone a human? Some reasons people might want to clone another person or themselves is so that the clone can replace a dead child or help infertile couples have a child.

The Clone Zone

12. What animal was cloned in 1885? Sea urchins were cloned in 1885.

13. How did Spemann separate the two cells of the embryo of a salamander in 1902? Spermann used a tiny noose from a strand of baby hair to separate the cells.

14. The process of removing a nucleus is called enucleation.

15. In 1952, the nucleus of a tadpole embryo cell was placed into a donor cell. Did it work to clone the animal? Yes.

16. Can the nucleus of an adult cell be injected into an egg cell and produce a clone? Yes.

17. Why are mammals hard to clone? Mammals are hard to clone because of their smaller egg cells that, of course, form in females.

18. What were the names of the first two cloned cows? The first two cloned calves were called Fusion and Copy.

19. In what year was the National Bioethics Advisory Council formed? 1995

20. The first mammal clone to be produced from an adult (somatic) cell? Dolly the sheep.

21. What do scientists do to adult cells to make them "behave" like embryos? Scientists "reboot" the cells and fuse them with egg cells using a small electrical shock.

22. Transgenic, cloned sheep were used to produce what medical protein? The sheep were used to make a blood clotting protein that could help with hemophilia.

23. What is a stem cell? A stem cell is a universal cell that can develop to form anything, such as skin, muscles, tissue, bones, blood, and more.

Cloning Myths

24. Briefly describe in your own words, why CC the cat was not identical in color to Rainbow, even though she was a clone.

When Rainbow was born, her cells turned off either the black color or orange color on the X chromosome. Because CC was cloned, the somatic cell was only retrieved from a patch on Rainbow that had strictly the black color on the X chromosome turned on.

25. What is "nature vs nurture"?

Nature vs. Nurture is pretty much just that while two people can be the exact same in genetic coding, the epigenetic factors will always be different in some form, causing the people to be different.

Is it Cloning or Not?

26. For each of the following scenarios, indicate YES (it is cloning) or NO (it is not cloning)

NO Sperm taken from a mole goat is combined with a female's egg in a petri dish. The resulting embryo is implanted into the female's uterus to develop
YES A sheep embryo, composed of 16 cells, is removed from the mother's uterus and separated into indivudal cells. Each cell is allowed to multiply, creating 16 separate embryos, which are then implanted in different female sheep to develop to maturity.
YES A cow with many desirable traits is stimulated with hormones to produce a number of egg cells. Each of these eggs is fertilized and implanted into a surrogate mother.
NO In vitro fertilization
YES Cell nuclei from an extinct wolly mammoth are placed into enucleated cow cells.

27. Define or describe each of the following processes (you may need to reset the Cloning or Not Screen)

Invitro fertilization

In vitro fertilization is the fusion of a father's sperm with a mother's egg, therefore allowing the child to be unique.

Embryo splitting

All of the original 16 cells came from a single somatic cell on a certain sheep embryo and were separated into different mother surrogates, resulting in cloning.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

All of the offspring would be the same genetically because the cells have the same genes and will form an identical clone.

Multiple Ovulation Embryo Transfer

Taking donor egg cells and fertilizing them with male sperm is not cloning because none of the offspring would be identical.

Artificial Insemination

Each sperm is different as well as each cow, and this results as not cloning because all the cows birthed are different.

What Are the Risks of Cloning?

28. What is one reason why cloning animals has such a high failure rate?

One reason is that sometimes the enucleated egg is not compatible with the transferred nucleus.

29. What is a telomere and how does it affect cloned animals?

Telomeres are DNA sequences at each end of a chromosome. As cells divide, telomeres can become longer or shorter. This is what occurs with clones and their telomeres. They can become longer or shorter, such as Dolly the sheep.

What Are Some Issues in Cloning?

30. Pick one of the questions to ponder and ....ponder it. Write a brief essay on your thoughts and opinions.

Q: What are the benefits?

A: The benefits of cloning are that if a lost one is severely missed, a clone can be made and can help relive some memories or even take the place of the lost one. A HUGE benefit is that, if there is sufficient DNA, we can clone extinct animals that have been well preserved. Those animals can even become a normal species once again. For instance, if we were to clone dinosaurs with well preserved cells, they can be studied and researched as for body types and organs (etc).

Site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/harvest/

Should we Grow GM Crops?

Instructions: Read the page and click YES or NO, reach the next...click YES or NO...etc until you’ve read all the arguments -- You will need to do this 12 times in order for your votes to be tallied. Navigate the site, each of the bold headings below are links within the site.

1. What is a GM Crop.
A GM Crop is a genetically modified crop that can withstand pesticides, herbicides, or may even have spliced genes.

2. List 2 arguments FOR the growing of GM crops.
1 argument for the growing of GM crops would be that pests and weeds can't survive because the crops have a resistance to herbicides and pesticides, allowing them the be safe while the weeds and pests are sprayed with those chemicals. Another argument is how GM crops have a longer shelf life. There are low calorie beets and even oils with less saturated fat content.

3. List 2 arguments AGAINST the growing of GM crops.
One argument talked about how children may be exposed to new allergens, or food with allergens that other foods hold, such as splicing peanuts and soybeans. Soybeans would have the peanut allergy in them. Another argument is how Monsanto was suing small farmers for growing their GM crops when the seeds from the crops blew over to their farm.

*Read some of the reader’s responses.

Engineer a Crop

4. Practice this simulation until you get the largest ears of corn. How many times did it take you?
It took me two times, and on the third, I got the largest ears of corn.

What’s for Dinner?

*Click on the foods on the table to see what research is being done to bioenginner the foods.

5. List two foods and desribe how they are being modified.

Potatoes are being modified to absorb less oil so that, when fried, the potatoes are less fattening and pose less of a health risk.

Scientists are also modifying cheese and adding rennet, an extract that is dried to curdle milk to make cheese, so that the cheese making process speeds up.

Viewpoints

*Read the article titled “Are GM Foods Sufficiently Regulated in the US?”

Do you think food should be labeled if it has been genetically modified? Why or Why not?

I believe that GM foods should be labeled so that consumers can find out what type of food they are eating, and what the foods have been modified with. I personally would not like to eat a strawberry with flounder genes in it, even though you may not be able to taste any difference. It is mainly because of morals, and people prefer natural foods because that is what nature intended to have formed.

Epigenome

Indentical Twins: Pinpointing Environmental Impact on the Epigenome

1. Often, the physical characteristics of genetically identical twins become increasingly different as they age, even at the molecular level. Explain why this is so. (use the terms "environment" and "epigenome")

For both twins, they are exposed to the same environment early in life, but as they age, the environments begin to differ. For instance, one twin could be a social people-person. The other could become a quiet, shy adult later on and they might not be very successful.

2. Name 3-4 environmental factors that influence the epigenome.

Diet can have an affect, as well as differences in physical activity, exposure to toxins, and stress.

3. What is an imprinted gene?

An imprinted gene is a gene with epigenetic tags left on it after reproduction and during embryo development.

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Your Environment, Your Epigenome

1. Discuss factors in your daily life (ie. diet, exercise, stress, etc.) that could be affecting your epigenome.

Factors in my life that affect my life include diet, for instance. I personally have a healthily diet and I eat my 5 servings of vegetables and fruit every day. This allows me to be healthy, energized, and alert. I haven't been sick with a flu or even a cough for several years, and this is because of my diet. I exercise a good amount each day, which allows me to stay fit. I do receive a large amount of stress over time and this hurts me by adding worries in my life. Also, stress blocks out other thoughts, but I can quickly get over it.

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Lick Your Rats

1. Explain how a high nurturing mother rat shapes her pup's epigenome, and what that pup's response to stress would be.

A high nurturing mother rat would change her pup's epigenome by loosening it and allowing stress to be quickly dismissed. This allows more methyl to be released and sent away from the gene, and the loosened gene also allows GR protein to form in larger amounts, letting the rat pup calm faster.

2. In rats, does licking by the mother activate, or deactivate her pup's GR gene?

Licking activates the GR gene.

3. Explain how cortisol and the GR protein work together in the brain to relax a rat pup. You may draw a diagram.

Cortisol is the calming hormone released in the rats fight or flight response. More GR proteins allow more cortisol to attach, so that the rat can calm down at fast or slow speeds.

4. The rat nurturing example shows us how parental behavior can shape the behavior of their offspring on a biochemical level. Relate this to humans and think about the personal and social implications. Record your thoughts.

If parents nurture their children very well, those children are going to be able to withstand stress and the related subjects much more than children who were say, abused, by their parents. Those abused children would have a large amount of fear in their lives, and they would be anxious. The well nurtured children would probably become social and positive, while the badly nurtured children would end up lonely and worried.

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Nutrition & the Epigenome

1. Explain how the food we eat affects gene expression.

The food we eat affects gene expression by being broken down and combined to form molecules and particles that the body can utilize every day. For instance, some foods are formed into methyl tags, which are important because they silence genes.

2. Can the diets of parents affect their offspring's epigenome?

Yes, the diets of parents can affect their offsprings epigenome, and this is because whatever nutrients the mother recieves during childbirth are passed down to the child. Say, a mother drinks alcohol. Her child would be harmed because the alcohol would affect genes and brain cells.

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EPIGENETICS & THE HUMAN BRAIN

1. How does Dietary methyl influence gene expression ?

Dietary methyl affects gene expression by stably altering gene expression (turning some genes on and others off).

2. Why do Toxins affect gene methylation?

Toxins can not only poison people, but they can also harm unborn babies. Toxins can change gene methylation by reducing or increasing methyl group amounts. Drugs such as cocaine can give long-term gene damage or changes even.

DNA Fingerprinting

Introduction:

1. DNA is unique for everyone. The only exception is if a person has what?
If someone has an identical twin, the DNA is not unique between them.

2. What are DNA fingerprints used for?

DNA fingerprints can be used to find a biological parent or even finding criminals and suspects.

Part 1 “It Takes a Lickin”

3. What “crime” was committed?
Somebody licked Jimmy Sweet's holographic NOVA lollipop.

4. What bodily fluid was removed from the “crime scene” to get DNA?

Saliva was removed to get DNA.

Part 2 “DNA Fingerprinting at the NOVA Lab”

5. What does a restriction enzyme do?
A restriction enzyme cuts DNA at certain parts of the DNA. Where the DNA is cut depends on the codes in both DNA and the enzyme.

6. What is agarose gel?
Agarose gel is a thick, jello- like liquid that is a "molecular strainer", meaning that it will allow small pieces of DNA to move farther and more easily than the longer pieces.

7. What is electrophoresis?
Electrophoresis is the process of moving molecules with an electric current.

8. Smaller fragments of DNA move ____________ than longer strands?
Smaller fragments of DNA move more easily than longer strands.

9. Why do you need to place a nylon membrane over the gel?
You need to place a nylon membrane over the gel because the DNA will transfer to the nylon, allowing an easier representation to work with than the agarose, which is hard to work with.

10. Probes attach themselves to __________
Probes attach themselves to DNA fragments on the nylon membrane.

11. Which chemical in your "virtual lab" is radioactive? The probes are radioactive because they were labeled radioactively so that they can be traced.

12. Sketch your DNA fingerprint.

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13. Based on your DNA fingerprint, who licked the lollipop?

Honey licked the lollipop.

Click on the Link "DNA Workshop" (if this link won't load, scroll down to the bottom where it says "try the non-java script version")

Once you’re there, go to the link “DNA Workshop Activity” and practice with DNA replication and protein synthesis.

Browse the DNA Workshop site.

14. What kinds of things could you do at the DNA workshop?

You could go to the DNA Workshop activity, learn more about cell division, DNA replication and protein synthesis, and click on links to learn more about the people who first discovered these processes and the such.

Find an Article about DNA

Go to http://www.thegenesite.com/

15. Read an article about genetics at this site that you might find interesting, or use the "Search" box in the upper right hand corner to search for DNA fingerprinting.

Title of Article ____________________________ Author and Date ______________________________________

Summarize what the article was about. Write this in a paragraph format.

NOTE: This site didn't work at the time of my usage, it is just a search site that provides advertisements only.

Mitosis

Mitosis Tutorial:
1. Which stage does the following occur:

Chromatin condenses into chromosomes.
Prophase.

Chromosomes align in center of cell.
Metaphase.

Longest part of the cell cycle.
Anaphase.

Nuclear envelope breaks down.
Prometaphase.

Cell is cleaved into two new daughter cells.
Cytokinesis.

Daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles.
Telophase.
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2. The colored chromosomes represent chromatids. There are two of each color because one is an exact duplicate of the other.

--How many chromosomes are visible at the beginning of mitosis?
Four chromosomes are visible.

-- How many are in each daughter cell at the end of mitosis?
Four chromosomes are in each daughter cell.

--The little green T shaped things on the cell are:
Centrioles.

-- What happens to the centrioles during mitosis?
The centrioles gravitate towards the poles of the cell during mitosis, and separate the cell.

3 . Identify the stages of these cells:
The first image is of a cell in metaphase.
The second image is of a cell in cytokinesis.
The third image is of a cell in prophase.
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Another Mitosis Animation:

Prophase: The centrioles begin to go towards the cellular poles, and the chromosomes fully form. Also, they spread out.

Metaphase: In metaphase, the spindle fibers attach to the chromosomes and the chromosomes align in the center of the cell.

Telophase: In telophase, the nuclear envelope forms, and chromosomes go towards the poles of the cell, to finally split the cell into two daughter cells.
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Onion Root Tip - Online Activity

Number of Cells:
Interphase: 20
Prophase: 10
Metaphase: 3
Anaphase: 2
Telophase: 1
Total: 36
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Percent of Cells:
Interphase: 55%
Prophase: 28%
Metaphase: 8%
Anaphase: 6%
Telophase: 3%
Total: 100%
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Mitosis in Whitefish and Onion Roots

Whitefish
View 1: Telophase
View 2: Metaphase
View 3: Prophase
View 4: Anaphase

Onion
View 1: Prophase
View 2: Metaphase
View 3: Prophase
View 4: Telophase
View 5: Anaphase