Non-Genetic Evolution Proposed Regarding American Obesity Epidemic

Dr. Edward Archer from the University of Alabama published a paper in Mayo Clinic Proceedings this month regarding non-genetic evolution [1]. Archer proposed that rapid increases in obesity within the United States are an indication of human evolution, or devolution, from a non-Darwinian sense. He claims that humans obese tendencies are a result of human living conditions, primarily the improved medical support as well as human choices regarding food and exercise. This is a highly controversial proposition due to the fact that it greatly contradicts Darwin's statements in his famous Origin of Species book which in a broad sense claimed that all species evolve slowly through a genetic pattern, and that they change primarily out of necessity. Therefore Archer's claims have now been considered as a direct threat towards the very fundamentals of which evolutionary science is based upon. If it is true that evolution can occur based on an individuals actions as well as through genetic inheritance it is certain that many of Darwin's own propositions are false. However, Archer's theories are still disputed as some may claim that what he is describing, the devolving of Americans into obese tendency, is not actually evolution at all but merely a change in human tendencies. In retaliation towards skeptics, Archer is quoted:

"This a priori constraint on heritability and evolution has no empirical or theoretical foundation; however, because theory affects research, clinical practice, and public health policy, the exclusion of nongenetic pathways for the intergenerational transmission of obesity and high-risk phenotypes has been unproductive. [2]"

In essence, he claims that the scientific community has for too long ignored the evidence presented by himself and others that non-genetic evolution is not only a possibility, but is a fundamentally sound theory. He later claims that Darwinian theories therefore ought to no longer be considered as utmost truth with in the scientific community.

This relates to the current unit at hand regarding Darwinian evolution on many regards. For one, it signifies the potential flaws, or at least incompletion, of Darwin's famous theories. While I myself am not entirely swayed towards adopting Archer's ideology, he does effectively raise the question about if we are fully learning the processes of evolution in academia. It also relates firmly to the application of the theory of evolution within modern day life. Due to the immensely slow nature of evolution, it is generally not a phenomenon that most people are aware of in their own lives. The proposition of non-genetic inheritance however can fluidly relates to the modern day issue of obesity within the United States and raises the question 'are we devolving ourselves?'

Sources

[1] http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(14)00740-X/abstract
by Edward Archer
published January, 2014

[2] http://www.evolutionnews.org/2015/01/mayo_clinic_pap092421.html
by Casey Luskin
published 4 January 2014

Why Black Widow Spider Venom Is So Potent

Viegas, Jennifer. "Why Black Widow Spider Venom Is So Potent." Discovery News. 6 January 2015. 12 January 2015. <http://www.livescience.com/49333-why-black-widow-spider-venom-is-so-potent.html>

                Scientists have found that Black Widow spiders produce a similar toxic compound called latrotoxins like common house spiders. However the difference is that female balck widow spiders produce high amounts of toxic venom to the point that they must spin stronger webs to handle bigger caught prey. When bitten by one, the neurotoxin called alpha-latrotoxin attacks the victim's own nervous system causing the signals from each neuron to malfunction. Many spiders churn out toxins to help with their hunting, but occaisonaly they make a version that is not harmful to most people because it's "watered-down".On average 2,200 people get bitten by one, but eventually recover with medical treatment after 24 hours. Researchers have also found out that the spider's venom contains a mixture of other toxins that make the alpha-latrotoxin more effective.

                This relates to term 2 because scientists believe that these black widow spiders have evolved over the past few years to create such potent venom so it could expand its diet. Before they could consume small animals and reptiles, more smaller prey and even their mates, but now their food can be on the even larger scale. This shows they have evolved to cope with their eating conditions. This term we learned how organisms can adapt to a particular envrionment by improving its ability to survive and reproduce; black widow spiders are creating more toxic venom to kill larger prey, larger prey means more food, and more food means easier survival.

Radiation In Space

By: Melissa Gaskill 2/27/14

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/micro7/#.VK8xujTF9yI

Gaskill, Melissa. "The Space Double-Whammy: Less Gravity, More Radiation." NASA. NASA, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 8 Jan. 2015.


As missions into outer space increases, astronauts, cosmonauts, and scientist begin to discover that there is greater threats other than equipment malfunctions. While in space the human body is heavily effected by lack of gravity as well radiation.We are rarely affected by radiation because Earth's atmosphere blocks most of the harmful rays from the Sun. Radiation is harmful because it damages the DNA in cells, then when the DNA repairs itself mistakes in the coding an occur which could lead to the development of cancer. NASA estimates that one year in space can damage one-third of an astronauts DNA. This is large problem for long missions such as the nine month voyage to Mars. NASA is currently testing the effects of radiation on human fibroblasts which are the non-dividing cells in the body that make up the structure of organs and contributes to healing the body. Since the experiment will take place on the space station where there is no radiation, bleomycin will be used to simulate radioactive damage. From the results of the experiment NASA will develop technology to suppress the effects of radiation on living organisms. NASA will also see whether or not cells repair DNA more efficient in space or on Earth. The investigation will show any difference in cell function between Earth and space.

This relates to our study of DNA. It shows the importance of DNA in the human body and that even small changes in DNA can lead to mutations and other harmful activities. This also relates to a species ability to survive and thrive or the inability to do so in different environments. Since humans have evolved and adapted to the environment on Earth, the body has trouble functioning correctly in space. This is due to the absence of gravity which deteriorates muscles and effects the circulation of blood and other fluids. The lack of oxygen and the temperature also makes it impossible for humans to survive without the assistance of space equipment. Radiation's affect on the human body underlines the importance of how the Earth's atmosphere is suited for life and how vital it is to preserve it.            
     

World First: Scientists Observe DNA Shuttling Between Cells, Triggering Tumor Growth

Scientists have made a groundbreaking new observation, one of DNA of a particular type that actually shuttled or moved between the cells of an animal. The way this happens involves actually primarily not the genome within the nucleus but the much smaller genome of the mitochondria. Scientists observed mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, that could be transferred from healthy cells to tumor cells which would promote cancer growth. While the spread of cancer is evidently a very dangerous interaction, there also rises the new possibility that we may be able to replace malicious genes with synthetic and constructive ones instead! As previously known by scientists, mtDNA is very prone to mutations since there is not a very effective proofreading system for its genes, at times causing disease. Scientists believe that if they remove the mtDNA from cancerous cells they may be able to stop the tumors. However, when they tested it out they realized that it was uneffective and the tumor cells grew regardless. They realized then that mtDNA was present even without the mitochondria, and then made the discovery that it was migrating from other cells, though they are not quite sure yet where exactly it had come from (it was obvious though that it was from healthy, non-tumorous cells around them). The observation opens up a whole new field with lots of room for experiments and new discoveries.

This is relevant to the things we have learned regarding to genetic modification and the genomes of organisms in all sorts of way. The first connection, is link between how mitochondria have their DNA, relevant to how they may have originally been a separate organism that joined with other bacteria to create the first multicellular organism cells. But more largely, it relates back to how we could have possibly opened up all sorts of new doors in the field of genetic modification. For example, may it be possible for us to genetically alter some of the genes in our body and then possibly have the DNA migrate to the rest of the cells and end up with all of the cells genetically modified. Also, genetically modifying mtDNA could have other potential benefits that modifying regular DNA does not. Who knows what other key discoveries this one may lead to.


http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/world-first-scientists-observe-dna-shuttling-between-cells-triggering-tumor

Evolution Can Result in Formation, Loss of New and Elaborate Structures

http://www.universityherald.com/articles/14720/20150111/evolution-can-result-in-formation-loss-of-new-and-elaborate-structures.htm

The article discusses a study conducted by the University of California, Riverside that observed the loss of a specific trait in geckos. The scientists observed that geckos who had lost the natural adhesiveness on their feet due to evolution had gained the ability to run faster and burrow. The scientists noted that this loss of features is beneficial, and leads to biodiversity. The geckos observed in the study had moved into terrestrial environments where adhesive feet was no longer an advantage. The scientists also noted that observing the loss of a trait can tell a lot about the function the trait had.

The article is relative to out current study because it deals with evolution, and specifically, natural selection. The adhesiveness of the feet of the geckos become a disadvantage, and so those organisms who retained more adhesive feet did not survive to produce offspring as often as those with less adhesive feet. As a result, the trait was lost over time. This is a very good example of Darwin's principle of natural selection.

Loblolly Sets Record for Biggest Genome

Date Published: May 1, 2014 
Author: Ashley Yeager

Summary:

            The loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, supplies most of the paper products in the United States. It is a conifer tree that can grow up to 30 meters tall. Scientists recently finished mapping the loblolly genome, which has around 22 billion base pairs, about a year after announcing the project in 2013. The loblolly has even more DNA than the wheat plant, which had previously had the largest recorded genome at 17 billion base pairs. However, even though loblolly pines have a vast amount of DNA, the published genetic blueprints show that 82% of it is repeating information. Analysis also revealed DNA sequences in its genome that are related to resisting pathogens, which could further our knowledge on how loblollies and other pine trees fight disease.

Relevance: 
           In Term 2, we discussed DNA, genes, and genomes in class. A genome is the complete set of all the genetic material in an organism. This piece of news is about the sequencing of an organism's genome like in the Human Genome Project we read about, although this time, researchers were looking at pine trees instead of humans. The article compares the number of DNA base pairs in loblolly pines and wheat, as well as making a brief allusion to how DNA controls processes like fighting disease in an organism.


Yeager, Ashley. "Loblolly Sets Record for Biggest Genome." Science News. Society for  
           Science & the Public, 1 May 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.
 
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/loblolly-sets-record-biggest-genome?mode=pick&context=151

New Way To Turn Genes On

December 10th, 2014

Summary:

Researchers from MIT have discovered a gene-editing system, originally developed to delete specific genes, that has shown it can be used to reliably turn on any gene in living cells. This new application for the gene-editing system should allow scientists to more easily determine the function of individual genes. This also enables rapid functional screens of the entire genome, allowing scientists to identify genes involved in particular diseases. The system relies of cellular machinery that bacteria use to defend themselves from viral infection. Before, this system could be used as a tool for turning genes off or replacing them with a different version, but now it is engineered to turn genes on, rather than knock them out. 

Relevance:

This relates to Term 2 of Biology because the gene-editing system they use is artificially mutating cells, which relates to our study on mutations. Also, by using screening the entire genome of a disease, such as cancer, scientists are able to locate certain genes which may cause cancer to recur and spread, and turn off those genes to prevent the spread of cancer. This second part relates to our short study on cancerous cells.

"New way to turn genes on." Biology News. N.p. 10 December 2014. Web. 11 January 2015. http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2014/12/10/new_way_to_turn_genes_on.html

Helping wheat defend itself against damaging viruses

Common wheat diseases caused by viruses such as wheat streak mosaic, triticum mosaic, soil-borne mosaic and barley yellow dwarf lower the average wheat yield about 5-10% a year. John Fellers, a molecular biologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, and Harold Trick, a plant geneticist for Kansas State University, have investigated the genetic modification of wheat to build resistance to the viruses. However, due to the popular demand for non-genetically modified foods, they have created a new way to protect their wheat from viruses. By "vaccinating" the plant, or adding a piece of an inactive virus, the plant is able to keep a copy of the of the virus and can then recognize it when confronted with the real thing. This method is called pathogen-derived resistance, or RNA-mediated resistance because the piece of virus is actually a piece of RNA. Furthermore, Fuller and Trick say that their work is a proof of concept, and can be applied to many other plants and viruses. Their lack of the use of genetic modification makes it a great concept that can both support the needs of the public and the producers. 

This article is connected to the class curriculum because it talks about the ever-important debate that is GMOs. GMOs are genetically modified organisms who's genome has been altered through genetic engineering. In class, we had a discussion on the topic of GMOs and their effects on the environment and people. Furthermore, we discussed how genes could be inserted into an organism's genome. Specifically, plasmids, or small rings of DNA from bacteria, could have their DNA changed into different sequences and injected into an organism. The GMO controversy has spiked over the last few decades, but today, GMOs make up much of what we eat. 

Kansas State University Research and Extension. "Helping wheat defend itself against damaging viruses." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 November 2014.<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141118104845.htm>.

Synthetic XNA Replaces DNA

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/41570/title/Enzyme-Design/
By Jeff Akst
December 3, 2014



In the past several years, scientists have learned how to create synthetic proteins by using artificial DNA called XNA. XNA is created by using other molecules to replace the ribose and deoxyribose parts of the DNA molecule. XNA can function just like DNA by going through the processes of replication, transcription, and translation. By going through the process of translation, XNA is able to create synthetic enzymes that are able to function exactly like the natural enzymes that are created by DNA. Scientists have learned from this discovery that there are other molecules that can be used to support the processes that are required for life. DNA and RNA just happened to be one chemical possibility.


This article relates to the molecular genetics unit because we learned about the major functions of DNA by discussing the processes of transcription, translation, and replication. We learned that through these processes, DNA is able to support the basic processes that is need to support life. However, this article shows how other molecules with a similar structure to DNA can function exactly the same way. This provokes the thinking of life on Earth being only one chemical combination.

Genetically Engineered Pig Hearts Survived More Than a Year in Baboon Hosts

Feltman, Rachel. "Genetically engineered pig hearts survived more than a year in baboon hosts." Washington Post 19 Aug. 2014. Science in Context. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

Article Link

Researchers at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute have been breeding piglets with some human genes to be able to put them into primates. The goal was that if that went well, then they could be used in human heart transplants. The hearts were not used as hearts,instead just inserted into healthy baboons. To do this the NHLBI had to prevent certain enzyme production which lead to organ rejection. There are was also a problem with blood clotting, so there had to be made some gene alterations to fix that. One group had human thrombomodulin gene added to their genomes, which prevented blood clotting. The hearts in other groups survived an average of 70 days and the average for the thrombomodulin gene group was 200 days, however the majority of the grafts in the group survived 200-500 days, so more than a year. Since the NHLBI has been able to ensure that they can survive in the baboon, the next step is to do a heart transplant with that of a baboon, and see if it is able to support it. 

This article relates to our last unit of molecular genetics because it talks about genetic engineering, and modification. It says how they had to put in certain genes to prevent problems or make gene alterations to fix problems. It also talks about how it was inserted into their genomes, which was another topic we discussed in class in unit 5. 

Tibetan Gene

Saey, Tina H. "Tibetans Live High Life Thanks to Extinct Human Relatives."Science News. Science News, 2 July 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

For years it was known that Tibetan people had a gene that allowed for them to deal with high altitudes. It is now believed that they got this gene from the Denisovans, an extinct relative of humans. The gene that allows the Tibetans to do this is a variant called the EPAS1 gene. This gene probably came from interbreeding with the Denisovans. Since the Tibetan plateau is 4000 feet above sea level and has at points 40 percent of the oxygen, this gene would be crucial.

This article relates to our current unit, because of its display of natural selection. Because certain humans, had the gene they were able to survive and pass on this gene, while their counter parts died. Because lack of oxygen highly affects mothers giving birth, if a mother did not have this gene, there was a high likely hood that in the high climate of Tibet that they would die. This means that they would not be able to contribute to the gene pool. Mothers who had this gene could contribute to the gene pool. This meant that the allele frequency went way up for this gene.

Fish color evolution

Researchers have looked at a species of fish to help unravel one of the biggest mysteries in evolutionary biology.Research published in the Journal of Evolutionary Biology has looked at a species of Central American freshwater fish to look at how different colors are maintained in the species."Color variants of the same species are a striking example of biological variation, yet the adaptive significance and what evolutionary processes maintain them, remains unknown."Sowersby said the team looked at a species of fish called the red devil cichilds, which comes in two colors one is dark (grey through black with dark patterns) and the other is gold, (yellow through red).The gold colored fish is genetically dominate but the darker colored fish is much more common.The researchers filmed the red devil cichlids over both dark and light surfaces. Screenshots were then analysed to measure the amount of change to the shade of the fish's body color. After analysis they found that the darker fish could alter its brightness to match the surface it was on, while the gold colored fish could not.This is relevant to our class because we are learning about evolution.

Along Came A Spider

Along Came A Spider
By Jef Akst

Since the mid 1990's, scientists have been researching about crops and how to make them more resistant to insects. They were able to create a new type of crop that was genetically modified to withstand the pests. These new crops are called GMO's. They were prominently using Bt. toxins to save the crops however, the protein does not stop all insects. Scientists went in search for another protein that could stop the insects. Some researches turned to spiders to find the solution to their problem. A peptide in the venom of the Australian Funnel - Web spider was seen as useful. After the discovery scientist tested the peptide by placing it in tobacco and cotton. Both crops were successful since they effectively killed of the pests while allowing some insects to pollinate both types of crops. Even with the success of the project it is unlikely that crops containing spider genes will hit the market any time soon because of the lack of acceptance of GM crops. Over the course of several years and with lots of support though these crops may be accepted and sold in markets for everyone to enjoy.

This is connected to what we learned in term two because genetic engineering was a topic that we discussed in class in detail. Genetic engineering has become a widely discussed topic because of the research and development being done in that field. Over a short period of time scientists had been able to make it so far. In class we talked about GMO's and how they have become a debated topic of our generation. In class we talked about how genetically modified organisms are created and what there purpose is. For example we talked about plasmids and how the DNA is coded and inserted into the organism. 

Akst, Jef. "Along Came a Spider." The Scientist. N.p., 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/41498/title/Along-Came-a-Spider/ 

5,000 Year Old Skeleton Reveals New Thoughts on European Eye, Hair, and Skin Color

Universität Mainz. "Natural selection has altered the appearance of Europeans over the past 5,000 years." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 March 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140310182731.htm>.

Anthropologists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, geneticists at University College London, and archaeologists from Kiev and Berlin have been working together to get a better idea of the evolution of the human race over the past 50,000 years. To do this, they have been studying the DNA of ancient skeletons in Europe, and have then been comparing the data gained from this to the genomes of today's Europeans. Through their research, they have determined that over the last 50,000 years, change in eye, hair, and skin pigmentation has occurred in Europeans (possibly in the humans of other locations as well, though research of this was not posted in this media file). According to the DNA of the skeletons studied, the skin, hair, and eye color of Europeans used to be darker. The reason for the change to a lighter skin pigmentation may have been due to the migration of Europeans to more northern latitudes throughout the last 50,000 years. This would have caused for lighter skin pigmentation to be favored because of the decrease in sunlight in the north meaning that it would be more difficult to receive vitamin D. Lighter skin pigmentation allows for it to be simpler to gain vitamin D. According to this media blog, the reason for lighter hair and eye color pigmentation may have been due to sexual selection. If Europeans favored lighter hair and eye color (which is likely due to segregation), then it would only make sense that Europeans would want to have a husband or wife with lighter hair and eye color meaning that the genes for these traits would likely be passed down from generation to generation.

This relates to our learning of evolution that we are currently doing in class. In class, we learned that the beaks of finches that lived on the Galapagos Islands have been changed (due to natural selection) to help the finches better survive in their environment. The evolution of human skin color is very similar in the fact that natural selection was used to allow humans to better survive in their new environment located further north. The sexual selection that affected human eye and hair color is similar to the sexual selection that we learned about relating to the peacock spiders that dance to attract a mate. Similar to the peacock spider, if a human does not contain attractive qualities, then they may not find a mate causing for their unsuccessful traits to not be passed on (except the spider also gets eaten) decreasing the amount of unsuccessful (not attractive) genes in the gene pool of the Europeans making it less likely that these darker genes will remain. This then caused for an overall change in the eye color and hair color of Europeans similar to the change that would take place with the spiders.

Scientists map 48 bird genomes, unlocking their dinosaur pasts

In early December, the mapping of genomes of 48 species of birds, representing various lines of ancestry, was completed. This greatly increased the amount of information available to study and gave information about bird's evolutionary connections to other animals. The genomes have been used to reconstruct the genome of the most recent common ancestor of birds, dinosaurs, and crocodiles. (Crocodiles are related more closely to birds than they are to other reptiles.) Some more understanding that this new information has given us has to do with how birds survived when dinosaurs went extinct and why there are so many different types of birds. Latest studies have suggested that birds did not break into all of these species until after the mass extinction of dinosaurs, because the small amount of birds that did survive adapted to fit all the niches left open from extinct species.

This connects with what we are learning in term 2 because it tracks the evolution of lots of different related species. This is an example of molecular data providing more evidence in taxonomy than fossils could alone. The connection between crocodiles and birds also challenges traditional classification, which would have grouped them separately. Grouping them together abides by the new effort to use cladistics to organize phylogenic trees solely based on derived characters. The survival and species variation of birds also relates to adaptive radiation. After the mass extinction at the end of the cretaceous period, surviving birds had many more niches to fill that were once filled with now-extinct species. This is similar to what the Galapagos finches experienced when colonizing the islands. Where on the mainland there was only one niche for them to fill, and so they were only one species, on the islands, which they were one of the first species to colonize, they were able to adapt to different isolated niches and become different species.

Feltman, Rachel. "Scientists map 48 bird genomes, unlocking their dinosaur pasts." Washington Post 11         Dec. 2014. Science in Context. Web. 11 Jan. 2015.

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/scic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=SCIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&display-query=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&u=mlin_m_actonhs&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=SCIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CA393183602

Monkeys born with edited genes

Saey, Tina Hesman. "Monkeys Born with Edited Genes." Science News. N.p., 1 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Jan. 2015. <https://www.sciencenews.org/article/monkeys-born-edited-genes> 

Recently, two female monkeys were the first to have their own genes edited by scientists. The hope was to find ways to cure human brain mutations by studying them in monkeys. By genetically engineering the monkey's embryos in order to "edit their genes", the resulting monkey would have brain mutations very similar to those found in humans. To do this, Chinese scientists inserted mRNA into a single celled monkey embryo that produces the enzyme Cas9. This enzyme, first found in bacteria, defends against the bacteria's virus's by cutting up foreign DNA. Putting this enzyme into the monkey's embryo would snip sequences of DNA and cause mutations. The single celled embryo would then divide and each resulting cell would contain the mutation. The genes that were mutated were NrOb1, a gene involved in embryonic cells and determining the organisms sex, Ppar-gamma, a gene involved in regulating metabolism, and Rag1, a gene involved in the organisms immune system. Out of the eight embryo's that were altered, only two female monkey's named Mingming and Ningning were born with the mutations. However, in addition to being able to study these mutations more closely, scientists hope that a process similar to the one of editing genes to cause mutations will help remove mutations from people in the future.

This relates to our study of mutations and genetic engineering, specifically in the sense of genetically modified organisms. Organisms that are genetically modified are organisms whose genes have been modified by artificial means. In class we learned how scientists can insert genes from one organism into another organism, mostly by using plasmids and restriction enzymes. This experiment, however, took genetic engineering a step further. Scientists discovered a way to directly alter the genes of monkey embryo's with the enzyme Cas9. Additionally, the enzymes job to cause mutations also relates to our study of mutations in class. A mutation in a sequence of DNA can occur when there's a substitution, deletion, or insertion of bases in the nucleotide sequence. The enzyme did this by snipping the DNA, most likely causing a deletion in one or more of the bases.

U.S.D.A. Approves Modified Potato. Next Up: French Fry Fans

Pollack, Andrew. "U.S.D.A. Approves Modified Potato. Next Up: French Fry Fans." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 7 Nov. 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/business/genetically-modified-potato-from-simplot-approved-by-usda.html?_r=0>.

The United States Department of Agriculture announced on November 7, 2014 that it will approve the production of a new genetically modified potato. The J.R. Simplot company, located in Boise, Idaho, invented a genetically modified potato that has reduced acrylamide levels when fried. High acrylamide levels are suspected of causing cancer in people, and tests have already proven that this chemical causes cancer in rodents. The major question now is whether food companies and restaurant chains, such as McDonald's, will buy this new potato which comes in the Russet Burbank, Ranger Russet and Atlantic varieties. Many consumers are against the whole idea, and question the safety of genetically engineered foods as a whole. They want the new potatoes to be labeled, although voters rejected this in Oregon and Colorado a week before the announcement of approval. Simplot hopes the way the potato was engineered will also help lower consumer fears. They call their new product an “Innate potato” because it does not consist of genes from another species like bacteria.The company argues that when the Innate potatoes are fried, the levels of acrylamide are 50 to 75 percent lower than for non engineered potatoes. However, it is unclear whether the potato needs to be genetically modified to lower acrylamide levels. The F.D.A. issued a draft telling the food industry ways to reduce levels of acrylamide, which is also in some baked goods, coffee and other foods. The agency listed many steps that could be taken in the growing, handling and cooking of potatoes, so there may not be a need for genetically engineered potatoes. Another problem is that exports could be disrupted if genetically engineered varieties accidentally end up getting shipped to countries that have not approved the potatoes.
 
This relates to our current term because the article discusses a genetically modified organism (a GMO), which is a new form biotechnology that our class recently debated in detail. We learned a genetically modified organism is created when a specific gene is moved to improve or alter the gene coding for the same trait in another organism of the same species. This article highlights some key points on why genetically modified foods, in this case a potato, can be beneficial. However, there are also some drawbacks to this new technology, and this article mentions a few of those. The major pro in this case would be reduced acrylamide levels when the potato is fried, although it is unknown how necessary it is for the potato’s genes to be altered to do so. One of the cons include accidentally mixing the genetically modified potatoes with the non engineered potatoes, and shipping them to countries who do not approve of this just yet. Our class also watched a video explaining the production of genetically modified potatoes, which featured the Simplot Company and a background on potato farming. This topic is continuing to be widely debated by biologists all over the world, and consumers remain skeptical on the safety of this new technology. Despite the skepticism, genetically modified organisms are becoming more and more prominent in today's culture.

Can returning crops to their wild states help feed the world?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141216140743.htm

"Can Returning Crops to Their Wild States Help Feed the World?" ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 Dec. 2014. Web.

The world’s population is expected to reach nine billion by the year 2050.  To feed the growing population, finding ways tot produce more food on less farmland, without causing additional harm to the remaining natural habitat is necessary.  One possibility is intensifying agriculture sustainably by fixing weaknesses that have sprung up accidently in the process of traditional crop breeding over a thousand years.  Michael G. Palmgren from the University of Copenhagen and his colleagues suggest that the most efficient way to regain those properties is by reinserting good genes back into the crops after isolating them from related plants or using precision methods to repair faulty genes.  Once the genes that have been mutated accidently are identified, the wild-type properties can be reinstated.  There is one problem with this breeding.  Crops restored to a more natural state would be classified as a genetically modified organism (GMO).  If the crops are named as GM products, they may face challenges in the market.  Palmgren says that, “the plants we eat and depend on are not the same as those originally found in the wild, whether they’ve ben genetically modified or not.”

This article relates to our Term 2 curriculum because it deals with genetically modified organisms.  GMOs are plants or animals that have undergone a process where their genes are altered with DNA from different organisms, bacteria, or viruses to get desired traits.  One pro of genetically modified crops is that they can produce a larger yield of food.  Genetically modified crops can pose as a solution to feeding the growing population.  In class, we also learned about the controversy of GMOs in the world.  We learned that genes are inserted to get the desired traits, which directly relates to this article.

Evolution Of Human Vision Clearly Understood

A clear, molecular view of how human color vision evolved

Emory Health Sciences. "A clear, molecular view of how human color vision evolved." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 December 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141218210100.htm>.

           Recently, scientists have made a clear understanding about the evolution of human color vision. The human evolution from ultraviolet to violet vision. It took millions of years of genetic mutations in visual pigments for humans to acquire color vision or the full-cover spectrum. Scientists have finalized their findings in the journal of PLOS Genetics. Biologists at Emory Univesity have mapped evolutionary pathways dating back from 90 million years. They identified "5,040 possible pathways for the amino acid changes required to bring about the genetic changes". When experiments were done for every single possibility, seven genetic changes individually had no effect. However, when several changes were combined in an order, the evolutionary pathway was complete. They were able to back up the molecular pathways at the chemical, genetic, and functional level using theoretical computation, biophysics, quantum chemistry and genetic engineering. In general, Scientists synthesized ancestral pigments and proteins from humans and vertebrates and tested them. Scientists observed the changes of the opsin genes; there are 5 classes of opsin genes that are responsible for dim-light and colored vision. Pieces of the genes can tell how the species changed its vision by adapting in the environment. About 90 million years ago, mammalian ancestor had UV-sensitive and red-sensitive color. By around 30 million years ago, mammalian ancestors had evolved four classes of opsin genes, giving the ability to see color vision.

            This article relates to Term 2 curriculum because it explains about how humans have evolved from ultraviolet to violet vision. In the course, it explains how natural selections occurs, meaning the genes that are more efficient and useful pass on while the rest die off because of limited resources in the environment. Similarly, the articles provide that human ancestors have adapted to their environment resulting in favor of color vision to thrive rather than nocturnal vision. In the previous course, the class learned how every amino acid is coded by specific genes in DNA. The article uses how these amino acids to proteins create biological molecules. Also, mutations were what caused changes in eyesight for humans, which the class was taught how mutations results in the change of DNA. Overall, this article allowed us to apply knowledge such as Darwin's Principles of natural selection, and to see it in effect in the real world.

       

Can DNA Nanobots Cure Cancer?

Can DNA Nanobots Successfully Treat Cancer Patients? First Human Trial Soon

Dorrier, Jason. "Can DNA Nanobots Successfully Treat Cancer Patients? First Human Trial Soon." Singularity HUB. Singularity University, 8 Jan. 2015. Web. 10 Jan. 2015. <http://singularityhub.com/2015/01/08/can-dna-nanobots-successfully-treat-cancer-patient-first-human-trial-soon/>.

If someone could make a miniature robot that can test to see whether a single cell is cancerous and makes the cancerous cells commit suicide they would be able to cure cancer. Such robots seem like a thing of the future but in reality they already exist today. Using DNA scientist are able to create little nanobots that can test to see whether a certain protein that only exist in cancer cells is on the outside of the cell and if the protein is there the robot injects fragments into the cell with instructions to destroy themselves. DNA is used for these nanobots because the structure of the DNA's base pairs makes it possible to create many different shapes of extremely small structures. The insides are very complex but they basically function by having a lot of AND and XOR gates to test whether the bot should open and dispense the cell-killing insides. Soon a patient with leukemia who is expected to die this summer will be given DNA nanobots. If this experiment works it could revolutionize the search for the cure to cancer, as it kills all the cancer cells without harming the regular cells. 

This is relates to what we learned about the DNA structure. The nanobots can be made only because of the small size of the DNA and the base pairs. With the structure of the base pairs scientist can make the strands stick to themselves to make structures. The DNA can be made into a container with one opening that is tied together with two strands of DNA that untie if a certain protein is nearby, making a AND gate. Also, using four different nanobots they made a XOR gate, one to tell if both proteins are nearby, forcing the gate closed and two for the separate proteins to open the gate. With both the AND and the XOR gates, scientist are able to make something as complex as a computer, all at the scale of DNA. Only DNA, with it's base pairings, it's size and it's ability to store knowledge would be able to make this possible.

Epilogue: Cystic fibrosis doesn't slow athlete or family

By: Chris Dunker 12/21/14

http://journalstar.com/news/local/epilogue-cystic-fibrosis-doesn-t-slow-athlete-or-family/article_b207c57d-692b-51bd-95ad-0dafaf1a84a2.html

Dunker, Chris. "Epilogue: Cystic Fibrosis Doesn't Slow Athlete or Family : Lincoln, NE Journal

         Star." JournalStar.com. JournalStar.com, 21 Dec. 2014. Web. 08 Jan. 2015.\

        David Jennings, a Nebraskan defensive lineman was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at a young age. Everyday, he has to take 60 pills and has to go through many different treatments just to get through a regular day. This includes having to use an inflatable vest that pounds his chest and back to loosen up the muscus that could trap up his lungs. Jennings hasn't let his disease get to him, however and continues to play just as any other football player would. Some of the coaches aren't even aware of his condition. Even with the amount of processes David has to endure every day, he is considered lucky compared to his two siblings who combined, are blind, have autism, are paralyzed, and are paralyzed.The average lifespan of someone who has cystic fibrosis is 18 years and yet David Jennings has been giver 40 years to live now and he claims that he will use every minute to its fullest potential. He also says that its not the wins and losses that matter, its the ability to play a sport he loves when there are thousands of people with his condition who can't even walk.

      This article relates to our curriculum in unit 5 having to do with mutations. Cystic fibrosis is caused by gene CFTR located on chromosome 7. We learned about how chromosomal mutations can affect long strands of DNA and can cause a lot of damage in the long term. Every year there are about 1,000 new cases of cystic fibrosis adding up to about 30,000 cases in the United States. This disease causes mucus to build up in the lungs and harden making it hard to breathe and in a lot of times can kill the person. As said in the article, most people who have cystic fibrosis are only given 18 years to live. The buildup in the lungs can also make it hard to eat food so some people with this condition are required to be fed through a tube because they cannot swallow.