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What We Did
What We Did
For our project, we investigated spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to find out what caused it, and what research is being done to cure the disease. Spinal muscular atrophy is most present in infants and elderly people. It occurs when the patient's spine is weaker than normal spines, and presents with symptoms like difficulty breathing and swallowing, muscle weakness, and tremors. We found that SMA is caused by a mutation in the DNA set that codes for the creation of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. Although no treatments are known for SMA, there are ways to slow the progression, such as physical therapy, and a balanced diet. Along with that, there are some experiments being done which show that survival motor neuron proteins can be injected around the spine to artificially replace the SMN1 gene responsible for the creation of these proteins.
What I Did Well
What I Did Well
There were two large places where I excelled during this project: time management, and researching skills. I managed my time effectively by staying on track and avoiding distractions. While researching SMA, I was extremely focused on finding out enough information to answer the questions in front of me. This allowed me to finish the initial research quickly, and be done far before the necessary due date, allowing my partner and I to become proficient at presenting the information seamlessly. Along with that, my research skills improved a lot. I knew nothing about spinal muscular atrophy or protein folding before the project, and I came out of the other side having a very good understanding of both. This did not take me too long, showing that I was capable of researching quickly and effectively.
What I Could Improve On
What I Could Improve On
There are many things that I could improve on, but the two that stand out are collaboration and creativity. During this project, my partner and I did not collaborate much, and we mostly worked separately on our own aspects of the project. I wish that we collaborated a little bit more so that we could have split up the work more fairly. My partner ended up doing a lot more work on this project than me, because there were a few questions that took a long time to find the answer to online, leaving him to answer multiple questions in that time. Along with that, my partner ended up doing a lot of work on the slide show over the weekend without my knowledge. I feel bad for not fairly dividing the work before starting the project, and I would like to change this during my next project. Secondly, although we finished the slide show earlier than some other groups, we did not take the time to decorate our slides with colorful images or finding creative ways to show information. Next time, I would like to focus more on making our information engaging, and making our presentation something that people would like to sit through.
Biology Concepts That We Used
Biology Concepts That We Used
DNA: DNA is the genetic code that holds the information about what traits living things are supposed to have, along with how they are supposed to grow.
RNA: Ribonucleic acid is a molecule that tells cells what the DNA wants them to do.
mRNA: mRNA is a molecule that is responsible for transcribing and transporting the information that DNA holds.
Transcription: Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into mRNA.
Translation: Translation is the process where mRNA moves from the nucleus to the ribosomes, and proteins are created with help from tRNA.
Amino Acid- Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
Protein: Proteins are complex molecules that play different roles in the body.
Codon: A codon is a sequence of three bases of RNA that corresponds to a specific amino acid.
Anticodon: An anticodon is a sequence that is complementary to the codon sequence.
Gene Expression: Gene expression is the process where information from a gene is used to synthesize a gene product that can produce protein.
Mutation: Mutations occur mostly during the process of transcription. Mutation occurs when a base in the DNA is incorrectly transcribed into RNA. This can be seen by nucleotides being added, deleted, or even being moved to the wrong place in the sequence.
Primary Protein Structure: Primary Protein structure is the sequence of amino acids in a protein
Protein Folding: Protein folding is the process of taking a polypeptide chain and turning it into a fully functioning protein. Protein folding consists of four structures or steps, each playing a vital role in turning an amino acid sequence into a protein.
2 of the 6 C's That I Demonstrated
2 of the 6 C's That I Demonstrated
During this project, I demonstrated all of the 6 c's in different ways, but the two clearest examples are critical thinking and communication. During this project I demonstrated critical thinking by being able to research and understand multiple concepts, such as certain diseases, how proteins are related to the diseases, and what protein folding is. This is all information that was new to me before this project, and I think that my critical thinking skills helped me understand some of the more complex topics that were covered in this lesson. Secondly, I demonstrated communication when I affectively gave a presentation to the class with help from my partner. I believe that I was fully capable of getting my point across in a clear way without too much stammering or pausing. I believe that the presentation I gave was informative and easy for every one in the class to understand.
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