Mrs Robinson's e-mail: hayley.robinson@wegc.school.nz
Topic: (external) speciation
matching revision game
Speciation Quizlet set
Speciation Hangman
Topic: Plant responses
prefixes and suffixes game (plants and animals)
Play this plant responses game
Nice lesson on plant growth response
Phytochrome and flowering lesson
video of Mimosa plant (thigmonasty)
video of GIANT pumpkin growing all the way from seed (multiple tropisms)
video of seed germinating
video of tendril wrapping around pole (thigmonasty)
Plant Responses Jeopardy! (in class activity, or you can use it to study, just login with any e-mail - look up answers in your notes....)
Plant and Animal Hangman game
Topic: Animal behaviour and responses
NEW: Animal Quizlet set
Godwit bird migration NZ
No Brain too Small website - lots of resources for both plant and animal parts of this AS (includes flashcard sets)
Video from class on "What would happen if you didn't sleep?"
Crash Course in Biology video on Animal Behaviour.
Animal Responses and Behaviour Rags to Riches game
Challenge Board game: just hit x next to player 2 name if you want to play solo
Scientists teach bees to play soccer! Clip
Biological Implication examples
Thinking through implications.
Example: babies with mitochondria from a third person/parent
Introduction: Some mitochondria-based genetic disorders can now be prevented using nuclear transfer from a fertilised egg to a donor egg. This is because mtDNA is separate from nuclear DNA. The mtDNA in any resulting child will be solely from the egg donor and not contain any of the mother's (faulty/deleterious allele) mtDNA. This results in a disorder-free child with DNA from three separate individual: the mother, the father and the egg donor.
Describe two implications:
1. individual level implication
the baby will have alleles from the egg donor (as well as its mother and father). This means it could have any harmful alleles from the egg donor too. It could end up with a genetic disorder that it would NOT have had if the nuclear transfer had never happened. This could affect the baby's quality and length of life (it might die early or be unable to work). Some examples of mitochondrial genetic disorders include blindness, nervous disorders and dementia.
2. population level implication
ONLY if the baby is a girl (because mtDNA is not passed on via sperm, only eggs) any alleles from the egg donor will be passed on to the baby's children too. This means any harmful or helpful alleles from the egg donor will be present in the population at a higher rate than if the nuclear transfer process did not occur. While this would be a very insignificant thing at a wider population level, in a small community or at the family level, any harmful alleles would have a dramatic effect (multiple individuals could be affected). Hopefully screening of donors would occur to prevent such harmful alleles being passed on.
Evaluate/analyse two implications: [notice how we get to big biology ideas in these answers and then compare the implications]
1. individual level implication
getting mtDNA from the egg donor could have both benefits and risks for the individual (the resultant child). For example, a benefit is that there is now a very low chance of the child going through life with a major mitochondria-based genetic disorder; the child may live longer and be healthier (higher quality of life). If the nuclear transfer had not taken place, the chances of having the disorder would be close to 100% (because mtDNA is always inherited from the mother). This is why nuclear transfer would be used if the mother has a mitochondrial disorder herself. Unless there was a spontaneous mutation at exactly the right point in the faulty allele, the disorder would have been passed on. The estimated mutation rate (base substitution) for mtDNA in humans is 1 substitution every 33 generations, so the chance of the disorder being 'fixed' by a random mutation is extremely low (reference: https://www.cs.unc.edu/~plaisted/ce/mitochondria.html).With the donor egg's mitochondria the child has close to a 100% chance of not inheriting a mitochondrial disorder. The chances (risk) of getting a harmful allele separately from the egg donor's mtDNA would be very small, since such donors would be screened (have their mtDNA sequenced) to check for any harmful alleles. Another benefit of the individual level implication of being disorder-free is that a female child born after this process (nuclear transfer/egg donor) would also never have to worry about passing on the disorder to her own children. Effectively the future generations in this family would be freed from the disorder.
2. population level implication
If enough couples with this issue were able to undergo the nuclear transfer/egg donor process, the whole population of humans in any given country could become mitochondrial disorder-free: the population could be rid of the harmful alleles. This is easier for mtDNA because we have only one copy of every allele/gene in the mitochondria (we do not have paired/homologous chromosomes in our mitochondria and there is a widely held view that mitochondria are only passed on from the mother's egg cell). It would only take screening (identifying the mothers with harmful alleles through gene sequencing of her mtDNA) and widespread use of the nuclear transfer/egg donor process to make a huge difference to the frequency (rate) of the harmful alleles in the population. It may however, not be that simple. Recent studies (reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3659417/) show that there can be some 'leakage' of male mitochondria at the point of conception. Some of the mitochondria that provide energy to the sperm cell, and which are usually destroyed when egg and sperm fuse, can (rarely) remain present in the fertilised egg and contribute their own mtDNA to the resultant child. This means that even if the mothers in a population were screened, occasionally fathers with mtDNA disorders could still contribute their faulty alleles to their child. However, this is a rare event and so would likely have a very small impact on the population as a whole (few children affected by it). The individual level implication (child not having the disorder) is Just as important as the population level one (child not passing on the disorder to the grandchildren) are equally important in my opinion, since being able to have children who are disease-free without further medical intervention is an enormous side-benefit for the child created via this process.
The first mammal clone was Dolly the sheep.
1. Read this page to find out how it was done
2. Now clone a mouse yourself!
3. Now read this page: What is cloning?
4. Now find out about cloning a single gene instead of the DNA of an entire organism.
5. Some arguments for and against cloning extinct species
REMEMBER
Genetic Manipulation = altering/changing the DNA sequence artificially
e.g. inserting genes from the same species in a lab
e.g. inserting genes from a different species in a lab
e.g. breeding organisms (artificial selection) to get a desired trait, then screening them (checking the allele is present using DNA sequencing techniques in a lab)
What is the purpose/aim of genetic manipulation?
-> to get a trait/allele/phenotype desired by humans
e.g. to get a desired drug product produced in an animal's milk (cheap and reliable way to mass produce once initial expensive research is done)
e.g. to get a desired phenotype in an animal that mimics human disease (so that they can be used to test drugs for people)
e.g. to get a desired allele/gene inserted into a simple organism (such as bacteria) to try and help figure out exactly what that gene or allele produces/what trait it results in (Scientists actually only know what a small subset of human genes actually DO)
e.g. to produce an exact clone of an organism for drug production, testing or research
e.g. to try and 'fix' a genetic disease in a human by inserting new DNA
e.g. to try and make the human immune system attack specific cells such as cancer cells more effectively
e.g. to try and produce pets (such as cats or dogs) that do not carry alleles for substances that people can be highly allergic to (low allergen pets)
1. What is genetic engineering? In a Nutshell video.
2. How did scientists clone Dolly the sheep?
3. Natural Selection: Crash Course in Biology
4. Natural Selection vs Artifical Selection (ie. selective breeding)
5. Genetics Basics flashcards and games set
6. Genetics Rags to Riches game
Topic: Homeostasis 3.4 (Internal)
Some homeostasis websites, clips and resources:
Topic: Human Evolution
What happened before history? In A Nutshell clip.
The rest of this topic has its own page HUMAN EVOLUTION PAGE
General resources:
huge slideshow on both plants and animals
Topic: Human Evolution
What happened before history? In A Nutshell clip.
The rest of this topic has its own page HUMAN EVOLUTION PAGE
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Answering questions in senior biology:
REMEMBER: discussing involves linking ideas to each other and to bigger biological concepts in a cohesive way
As you answer the question think:
Do I understand all the terms used? (No? Look them up now! You can't do it in the exam!)
Have I shown that I understand the terms (basic describing)
Have I used words like 'why', 'because' and 'how' (explaining)
Have I linked ideas together eg, skeleton - walking
Have I linked the ideas to wider biology concepts eg, evolution/genetics/behaviour
Have I written more than a couple of sentences!
Have I just written the question out again, or have I actually answered it....?
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Topic: internal on biological issue
the issue-based internal assumes a certain level of Biology knowledge. Below I have listed some videos that could help you understand subject matter if you did not do Year 12 Bio or if you are feeling your need a refresher
What is DNA/how does inheritance work?
the amoeba sisters talk about biodiversity and foodchains