In this literature paper, Independent Functions of Viral Protein and Nucleic Acid in Growth of Bacteriophage, Alfred Hershey and Martha chase decide to study t2 bacteriophages. They both knew that t2 bacteriophage were composed of proteins and DNA. They also knew that when this virus infects bacteria that it injects something into the bacteria which steals that bacteria’s genetic information to start producing more t2 bacteriophage. They were to determine that if they could figure out what was being injected was either a protein or a DNA then they would be able to show that it is either the protein or the DNA that shows the molecular basis. Although, before Hershey and Chase there was an experiment done by Avery, McCarty, and Macleod that produced …show more content…
In conclusion, the definite evidence came from Hershey and Chase in their experiment of bacteriophages. In this paper Hershey and Chase come up with an experiment to figure out what can be injected into the t2 bacteriophage; a protein or DNA. For their experiment Hershey and Chase take two batches of t2 bacteriophage, one batch is grown in the presence of phosphorus 32 and the other batch the t2 bacteriophage is grown in the presence of sulfur 35. It made since that they used phosphorus because it is found in DNA and sulfur because it is found in proteins. Using this technique allowed each of the bacteriophages to be observed and analyzed separately. Hershey and Chase knew that the phages attached to the surface of a host bacterial cell and injected some substance into the host. So, the first …show more content…
They were able to determine that a protective protein coat was formed around the bacteriophage but the DNA is what showed the ability to produce progeny inside of the bacterium. This was a huge step for scientific research, before this experiment many biologists assumed that proteins carried the information for inheritance because DNA seemed to be too small. Hershey and Chase made a huge impact on the thinking of their era. They were able to clarify when viral replication happens, nucleic acid goes inside the cell, whereas the protein coat remains outside. So their results fortified the place of DNA in cellular biochemistry. This experiment is relatively important to genetics because DNA and our understanding of its structure and function is probably the most important discovery that has been made. Being able to study and learn about DNA has allowed us to identify genes that trigger major diseases and being able to create drugs that are able to treat devastating diseases. Because of this discovery there were many other experiments done to determine the composition of DNA and its structure. DNA carries all of our genetic information from your eye color to you being allergic to a cat. With this experiment we have been able to study our DNA and what it is made of, so without the discovery that DNA carries genetic information it might have taken longer for us to
Upon completion of the experiment we were able to examine the DNA. First, the electrophorese
DNA is the blueprint of life. It stores our genetic information which is what is in charge of how our physical appearance will look like. 99.9% of human DNA is the same in every person yet the remaining .1% is what distinguishes each person (Noble Prize). This small percentage is enough to make each person different and it makes identifying people a lot easier when its necessary. DNA not only serves to test relationships between people it also helps in criminal cases. DNA testing in criminal cases has not been around for many years if fact it was not until the early 1990s when the use of DNA testing for criminal cases was approved and made available. By comparing the DNA of a suspect and that found in the crime scene a person can either be convicted of a crime or they can be exonerated. This method of testing gained more publicity in the 1984 case of Kirk Noble Bloodsworth a man who had been convicted of the rape and first degree murder of a nine year old girl in Maryland. His case was a milestone in the criminal justice system since it involved the use of new technology and it also raised the question of how many people had been wrongly incarcerated for a crime they did not commit.
The first step to the unknown is selecting an actual organism. The best way to select a culture is based on a high-quality distribution. Equally important, shaking up the broth tube facilitates in the distribution. Upon selection, a gram check for purity is performed. Step by step instructions for this procedure can be found in Benson’s, Microbiological Applications p. 99. Furthermore, an aseptic technique must be performed for this test and the entire tests following the unknown. The purpose of this test is to differentiate between gram positive and gram-negative bacteria. The key indicator of gram-positive bacteria is a purple stain and a pink stain for gram-negative bacteria. A slide is viewed with a microscope under oil immersion. Equally
These discoveries about the structure of DNA allowed scientists to explore the genome and develop a stronger understanding of genes. Within a decade of its discovery, other scientists had identified the genes responsible for specific diseases and traits. The discovery of the structure of DNA created a basis for ...
Other groups had the same results that we ended up with which meant we were doing something right. This experiment was focused on fruit flies, however the same rules apply to humans and most living things, so we can learn where our traits were passed down to us and how. One of Mendel's laws is the law of inheritance and it is the law that is focused on in this lab and is important to our everyday life as
...et light. If the LAA plate glows green under exposure to ultraviolet light, then we can conclude that our unknown insert piece of DNA would be the kan gene. If it does not glow green under exposure to ultraviolet light, then then we streak the colony from our LAA plate onto the LAC plate using a sterile glass spreader. When the LAC plate is dray, we place it upside down in the microfuge rack so that it can be incubated at 37 ºC. Incubation at 37 ºC will allow the transformed bacterial cells to grow. If we see bacterial growth on the LA plate containing chloramphenicol, we can conclude that our unknown insert piece of DNA would be the cat gene, since the cat gene is resistant to chloramphenicol. Afterwards, we then grab the microfuge tube labeled NP and repeat the aforementioned steps shown above pertaining to the LA plates. This would be considered our control.
I chose this book because it seemed like an interesting topic, and because I thought it might help me understand more things about DNA. Someone else who read it said that it had a lot to do with the things we covered in class too so I figured it would be as good a choice as any.
"The discovery of the structure by Crick and Watson, with all its biological implications, has been one of the major scientific events of this century." (Bragg, The Double Helix, p1) In the story of The Double Helix, James Watson tells of the road that led to the discovery of life's basic building block-DNA. This autobiography gives insight into science and the workings within a professional research laboratory that few members of society will ever be able to experience. It also gives the reader an idea of the reality of life for one scientist and how he struggled with the problem of DNA. However, the author's style is marked by his lack of objectivity and inclusion of many biased opinions and personal prejudices.
The birth of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA began in Stanford University, in the year 1970 (Hein). Biochemistry and medicine researchers were pursuing separate research pathways, yet these pathways converged to form what is now known as biotechnology (Hein). The biochemistry department was, at the time, focusing on an animal virus, and found a method of slicing DNA so cleanly that it would reform and go on to infect other cells. (Hein) The medical department focused on bacteria and developed a microscopic molecular messenger, that could not only carry a foreign “blueprint”, or message, but could also get the bacteria to read and copy the information. (Hein) One concept is needed to understand what happened at Stanford: how a bacterial “factory” turns “on” or “off”. (Hein) When a cell is dividing or producing a protein, it uses promoters (“on switches”) to start the process and terminators (“off switches”) to stop the process. (Hein) To form proteins, promoters and terminators are used to tell where the protein begins and where it ends. (Hein) In 1972 Herbert Boyer, a biochemist, provided Stanford with a bacterial enzyme called Eco R1. (Hein) This enzyme is used by bacteria to defend themselves against bacteriophages, or bacterial viruses. (Hein) The biochemistry department used this enzyme as a “molecular scalpel”, to cut a monkey virus called SV40. (Hein) What the Stanford researchers observed was that, when they did this, the virus reformed at the cleaved site in a circular manner. It later went on to infect other cells as if nothing had happened. (Hein) This proved that EcoR1 could cut the bonding sites on two different DNA strands, which could be combined using the “sticky ends” at the sites. (Hein). The contribution towards genetic engineering from the biochemistry department was the observations of EcoR1’s cleavage of
They also could determine that the structure could only have two, three, or four strands as was indicated by the X-ray data. Numbers higher than four were implausible due to the angles and radii at which the strands must curve. However, it soon became clear that these Mg++ bonds could not work because of the presence of water in the structure. After this first attempted model, Watson took up studying the Tobacco Mosaic Virus, as a major part of it was nucleic acid and could potentially give him insight into DNA. Furthermore, the TMV acid was RNA, which could not only help him figure out DNA, but was also unclaimed scientific territory.
The Benefits The reconstruction of DNA has brought many cures against genetic diseases that before were undetectable. Although it is not a treatment for those already infected with the disease, it is a brand new chance for a couple to have a child who can live life without the hindrance of a genetic disease their entire lives.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Leboffe, M. J., & Pierce, B. E. (2010). Microbiology: Laboratory Theory and Application, Third Edition 3rd Edition (3rd Ed.). Morton Publishing
This shape looks much like a twisted ladder and gives the DNA the power to pass along biological instructions with great precision. The scientific and medical progress of DNA has been immense, from involving the identification of our genes that trigger major diseases or the creation and manufacture of drugs to treat these diseases. DNA has many significant uses in society, health and culture today. One important area of DNA research is that used for genetic and medical research. Our ability to now diagnose a disease in its earlier stages has been greatly improved....
...f the structure of DNA by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953 that was extremely influential for future researchers. They determined that DNA was a double helix structure composed of base pairings, with a sugar phosphate backbone. This model explained how “genes can duplicate themselves [and] would eventually lead to our current understanding of many things, from genetic disease to genetic engineering” (Salem).