Human Impacts Lab

Human Impacts Lab

Part 1 Ban Plastic Bags or Not 

A. "Articles in Favor of Ban on Plastic Bags"

1. I think that the use of plastic bags are just as bad on the enviorment as paper bags. I have not read any scientifc facts that support my decision. 

2. The bags I prefer are the reusable bags that some stores give you to carry your groceries. These bags are usually recycled cloth material and can carry a lot more weight than both plastic and paper bags. These bags can be washed and also have a small discount for an incentive.

B.

1. a) Muskegon County- A man named Terry J. Sabo brought fourth a contract for the city to pay a company for the clean up of plastic bags at the county solid waste disposal. b) Issaquah Washington- City council adopted an ordinance that ban single-use plastic bags for both large and small retail stores. They than pushed the issue of how plastic bags are harmful to the environment and how reusable bags will benefit the environment. c) Austin- Put in effectthat plastic bags be made thicker to be able to carry more weight to cut down on plastic bag quantity. Paper bags must contain 40% recycled material beginning on a certain date and 80% recycled material one year later.

2. The reasoning is supported scientifically through research. a) Austinites use 263 million bags a year b) Plastic bags made thicker to cut down on waste.

3. Two exceptions to the plastic bag ban in Austin are: a) Plastic bags be 4ml in thickness or greater with handles. b) Paper bags made of 40% recycled content with handles.

C.  " Articles Against Ban on Plastic Bags"

1. a) Scientific research shows plastic bags are better than paper for the environment. b) It's been proven that people recycle plastic bags better. c) Some plastic bags are considered greener for the environment than paper bags.

2. Two examples of reasoning supported scientifically are: Plastic bags have a much lower carbon footprint. Small amounts a energy and raw material are needed to make plastic bags.

D.

1.The two findings I found in the research paper of the United Kingdom environmental agency were simple concepts. a) The environmental impact of all types of bags dominated by resource use and production stages b) Whatever type of bag being used, the key was to use the back multiple times and find different ways to recycle that back such as replacing it has a liner in the trash.

2.  there were two items in the article that surprised me. First, the starch reusable bags actually had a more negative effects on global warming and Second, how significant it is using recycled bags in contrast to global warming.

E. 

1. In Japan retailers will actually charged fees for using bags. But, Japan has one of the highest recycle rates in the world at 77%.

2. Italy band the use of non-biodegradable bags to support the movement for biodegradable plastic.

Part 2 Greenwashing

A.

The Coca-Cola Company

B.

Coca-Cola is being accused of "greenwashing". The company released an advertisement stating that they're going green by packaging their new plastic bottle in a plant base material rather than using petroleum or other fossil feels. Sources say that the giant soft drink company marketed the new Eco friendly bottle without the full life cycle assessment. Coca-Cola simply had no proof that its product has positive effect on reducing CO2 emissions.

C. 

The ad misleads with words - "PlantBottle Marketing Exaggerated Environmental Benefits, Says Consumer Report". I believe this ad did mislead the truth. The words sis make you think that the company was green. it said in the actual advertisement they were being greener. The ad is saying they are packaging their bottles to benefit the environment.

The ad misleads with visual and/or graphics- There were only a couple images in this add. One didn't show any direction of going green. The other ad picture just showed the facts about the new bottle being 100% recycled. This makes you think as a reader the company cares about the enviorment.

The ad makes a green claim that is vague or seemingly not provable- The ad claims that the new bottling materials are a benefit. But on the other hand the new bottle material was not tested completely through the cycle. The claims does refer to the company in a appropriate way.

The ad overstates or exaggerates how green the product/company/service actually is- I believe the advertiser is overstating how green the company is. The green claims in the ad are believable to people that don't know better. I think it's possible for the company and product to make good on the green aspect. Coca-Cola has the money and resources to go green.

The ad leaves out or masks important information, making the green claim sound better than it is- I think this ad defiantly diverts the attention from the real problems of the company. The company uses harmful materials for their bottles. So This was a quick fix idea to divert the attention away from the fact. I think there is things missing from the ad. It shows the bold important green information but it hides the truth.

D.

"Coca-Cola Company (KO) Busted For 'Greenwashing': PlantBottle Marketing Exaggerated Environmental Benefits, Says Consumer Report." International Business Times. 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.

Genetics and Inheritance lab

Genetics and Inheritance Lab

Part 1. Flip-a-coin

	Allele(s) from Mother	Allele(s) from Father	Genotype	Phenotype
Sex of child:		Girl
Face shape	r	R	rR	Round
Chin Shape (I)	v	V	vV	very prominent
Chin Shape (II)	R	R	RR	Round
Cleft chin	A	a	Aa	Absent
Skin color	AaBbccdd			very light brown
Hair type	c	c	cc	straight
Widow’s Peak	w	W	wW	present
Eyebrows (I)	B	B	BB	bushy
Eyebrows (II)	N	N	NN	not connected
Eyebrow color	H	h	Hh	same color as hair
Eyes distance apart	e	E	eE	average
Eyes size	E	e	Ee	medium
Eyes shape	A	A	AA	almond wide
Eyes slant	h	H	hH	horizontal
Eyelashes	l	L	lL	long
Eye color	aaBbcc			blue
Mouth size	M	m	Mm	average
Lips	l	L	lL	thick
Protruding lower lip	H	H	HH	very protruding
Dimples	d	d	dd	absent
Nose size	n	N	nN	average
Nose shape	r	r	rr	pointed
Nostril shape	r	r	rr	pointed
Earlobe Attachment	F	F	FF	free
Freckles on checks	f	f	ff	absent
Hair color	aaBbccdd			light blond

My child ended up being a daughter of course. Since I already have four of them why wouldn't it be! According to my data sheet the image below represents my daughter at about the age of sixteen.

Part 2. Genetics problem Calculator 

1. For each of the diploid genotypes presented below, determine the genetic make up for all of the possible gametes that would result through the process of meiosis. Remember, each egg or sperm must have one of each letter. That letter can be upper or lower case.

a.    Rr

b.    RrYy

c.    rrYy

d.    RrYY

2. For each of the following, state whether the genotype of a diploid or haploid cell is represented.

a.    D- Haploid

b.    GG- Diploid

c.    P-Haploid

d.    ee-Diploid

3. Yellow guinea pigs crossed with white ones always produce cream colored offspring. Two cream colored guinea pigs when crossed produced yellow, cream and white offspring in the ratio of l yellow: 2 cream: l white. Explain how are these colors inherited?  No calculations needed! Name the type of inheritance this represents.

Cream colored guinea pigs are heterozygous, therefore they contain one allele of yellow and one allele of the white gene. when they reproduce they can either have a white,yellow or cream offspring, depending on which allele they get from each parent. This is incomplete dominance, due to the heterozygous is expressed as an phenotype.

4. In sheep white is due to a dominant gene (B), black to its recessive allele (b). A white ewe mated to a white ram produces a black lamb. What are the genotypes of the parents? You might need to construct Punnet squares experimenting with different crosses to come up with this answer. Name the type of inheritance this represents.

This is homozygous recessive inheritance and both parent would have to be Bb heterozygous.

5. In peas, yellow color (G) is dominant to green color (g). A heterozygous yellow is crossed with a green. What is the expected phenotype ratio of the offspring? Name the type of inheritance this represents.

The expected phenotype ratio would be 50/50 green to yellow. This is both inheritance heterozygous and homozygous recessive.

6. White color (Y) is dominant to yellow color (y) in squash. A heterozygous white fruit plant is crossed with a yellow fruit plant. What is the expected phenotype ratio of the offspring? What is this type of inheritance called?

The expected ratio would again be 50/50 white to yellow squash. This is both heterozygous and homozygous recessive inheritance.

7. In certain flowers, a cross between homozygous red and a homozygous white will always result in a pink flower. A cross is made between two pink flowers. What is the predicted phenotype ratio of the colors red, pink and white appearing in the offspring? What is this type of inheritance called?

The predicted phenotype ratio would be 1:3 (25%) for white or red flowers and 1:1 (50%) for pink flowers. This is incomplete inheritance due to heterozygous genotypes (unlike phenotypes).

8. In humans, the condition for normal blood clotting dominates the condition for non-clotting or hemophilia. Both alleles are linked to the X chromosome. A male hemophiliac marries a woman who is a carrier for this condition. In this respect, a carrier is a woman who has an allele for normal blood clotting and an allele for hemophilia. What are the chances that if they have a male child he will be normal for blood clotting? What is this type of inheritance called?

The chances that their son would be normal for blood-clotting would be 50%, and this would be sex linked inheritance.

9. A person with an allele for type A blood and type O blood marries someone with an allele for type B blood and type O blood. List the types of offspring they could have and the probability for each blood type in the offspring. (A allele = IA, B allele = IB, O allele = i) What is the expected phenotype ratio of the offspring? What is this type of inheritance called?

The expected phenotype of the offspring ratio would be 1:3 (25%) for AB blood type. It would also be 1:3 (25%) for O blood type, 1:3 (25%) for type A blood type , finally 1:3 (25%) would be B type. This is called codominance.

10. Skin color in humans becomes darker by the number of dominant alleles; AABBCC have the darkest skin and aabbcc have the lightest skin. Place these genotypes in sequence according to the color of skin expected for each. Place the darkest skin first. What is this type of inheritance called?

Genotypes: AaBbCc, AAbbcc, aabbCc, AaBBCc, AaBBCC.

The sequence according to skin color form darkest to lightest goes: AaBBCC, AaBBCc, AaBbCc, AAbbcc, aabbCc. This is called polygenic inheritance.

References

Johnson, Michael D. Human Biology: Concepts and Current Issues. Seventh ed. San Francisco: Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2014. Print.

Lab 11 DNA Technology

LAB 11 

DNA Technology

Part 1. DNA Extraction

This exercise was the removal of DNA from a cheek sample. This process can be used for genetic testing,body identification, and analysis of forensic evidence.

1. Swab the inside of your subjects cheek. Cheeks shed thousands of cells a day. 

2. Cut the end of the swab off into a test tube with a lid and add lysis solution. Lysis means to separate. Then add the tube to warm water.

3. Remove liquid from water then add concentrated salt solution with a micropipettor. This causes cells and proteins to clump together.

4.Place the sample into a centrifuge with a counter balance water sample and spin the sample. This action will cause the proteins and cell debris to sink to the bottom of the test tube.

5. Remove top liquid with micropipettor and add isopropyl alcohol. Invert the tube several times to mix alcohol. Since DNA is not water soluble the DNA will clump together.

6. Spin the sample again- remove liquid and allow DNA to dry. This DNA sample can now be mixed with any solution and frozen for many years. 

Question: What specific type of tissue is that inside the mouth? 

Answer: The specific type of tissue is called: "Stratified Squamous" this tissue is thick and has multiple layers to provide protection. It's found lining body cavities like the mouth and outer layer of the skin.

 Part 2. Electrophoresis 

Gel Electrophoresis is a process that separates DNA stands according to lengths. The Gel is a Jell-o like material that has tiny holes that allow strands of DNA to move through it with the addition of electric current.

1. The gel needs to be made using powdered agarose, buffer,flask,microwave,and a gel mold and gel comb. The end product will be a gel mold that has empty wells on one end of the mold to allow for DNA samples. The gel mold will then be placed into a electrophoresis box with another buffer. The buffer will conduct a electrical current from one end of the gel to the next. Now the DNA sample is ready to be placed in the gel.

2. There will be three different samples to be loaded into the gel. Loading buffer, DNA sample to separated into lengths , and DNA standard size which contains long DNA stands of determined length. The unknown DNA sample with be compared later to the standard size to determine length of unknown DNA sample.

3. The DNA sample is sucked up with a clean micropipettor tip and placed into the first empty well in the Gel mold.

4. Anew clean pipet tip is used to suck up the DNA standard sample and placed into the second empty well in the Gel mold. This will be used to compare DNA strand lengths.

5. It's now time to add electricity to the Gel. The Gel mold is placed into a Gel box and the negative charge wire (black) is connected to the black post and the positive charge wire (red) is placed on the red post of the power supply box. Together an electrical current is ran through the gel. Since DNA has an negative charge the gel mold with the wells will be placed at the same end the negative (black) wire is connected. This will allow the DNA to move through the gel.

6. The electricity is introduced to the gel and electrophoresis is in progress. Tiny bubbles on both ends of the gel will indicate that current is moving through the gel.

7. This process is where the DNA strands are separated. This will explain why DNA fragments separate out in bands in the gel. As mentioned DNA have a negative charge which means they will move towards the positive charge on the other end of the gel mold. Again, this mold have tiny holes all through it to allow DNA movement. Short DNA stands will move through the gel faster than the long strands. Over time the short strands will move further away from their starting point. we can't see this process with the short strands but with the added buffer we can see the long strands as they move.

8. At this point the gel mold is removed from the electrophoresis box. The samples are ready to be analyzed and the DNA strand lengths can be determined.

9. The DNA now needs to be stained using ethidium bromide which binds to DNA and provides color that will show under a florescent light. Under this light we will be able to see large groups of DNA strands that show up as bands in the gel.

10. Lastly, the gel mold is moved out of the staining solution and placed over a Ultra-UV light box.

Now the lengths of the unknown DNA sample can be determined by comparing the results to the standard DNA sample with the determined lengths.

These were the results

 

 These were my predictions

 My predictions were correct.

 

       An application for electrophoresis can be used for many things. DNA analysis, Protein analysis, antibiotics analysis, and vaccine analysis.  Although I liked the application for vaccine electrophoresis the best because it gave great examples of vaccines that have been created by electrophoresis like the FLU, hepatitis, and polio the process cannot be provided due to confidentiality reasons so I would be done!! 

     Antibiotics electrophoresis is the next thing I liked. I found a process that uses paper electrophoresis to find new antibiotics. This has been used for some time in laboratories. This technique involves putting a culture on a piece of paper and then soaked in a buffer. The strips are tested by electrophoresis by the technique of Kunkel and Tiselius: "A simplified procedure for filter paper electrophoresis is described in which disturbing factors such as evaporation, heating, buffer concentration gradients, and pH changes in the electrode vessels were reduced to a minimum." In this instance the antibiotic chloromycetin was used. Chloromycetin was placed on the paper and on both sides of the culture and after migration the position of this antibiotic was reveled. This process helps in determining if the antibiotic is acidic, basic, or amphoteric to the culture.

References

"Applications of Electrophoresis in Studying New Antibiotics." 1953 Nature Publishing Group, 16 May 1953. Web. 15 Nov. 2015. 

 

 

"ELECTROPHORESIS OF PROTEINS ON FILTER PAPER." ELECTROPHORESIS OF PROTEINS ON FILTER PAPER. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.