Molecular beam epitaxy

Introduction: The definition of Genetically Modified Organisms in the Britannica Encyclopedia is given as “Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is the organisms whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favor the expression of the desired physiological traits or the production of the desired biological products”. From the definition we can understand that the genome from the DNA can be altered or some sequence can be separated from the DNA and use it to enhance or mute (gene…

Identifying an Unknown Plasmid Through the Process of Gel Electrophoresis Introduction: Biotechnology requires certain techniques and methods that help identify plasmids, which can be used for forensics, DNA fingerprinting, etc. In this class, each lab focused on teaching the process of using the correct techniques used to identify a plasmid. Plasmids are pieces of DNA that are circular and relatively smaller than chromosomes. They aren’t important in the sense that they don’t carry out…

Advances in the field of genetic engineering have allowed scientists to generate genetically modified cells and organisms for research and biomedical purposes. During the past decade, numerous improvements have been made to better the world of agriculture. A few of these improvements are DNA isolation, disease resistance, and the ability to precisely locate genes. Agricultural performance rests on the interactions of genetics, management and the environment. Developing plant varieties expressing…

Introduction: Genetic transformation is used in many areas of biotechnology. In medicine, diseases caused by defective genes are beginning to be treated by gene therapy by genetically transforming a sick person’s cells with healthy copies of the defective gene that causes their disease. Genes can be cut out of human, animal, or plant DNA and placed inside bacteria, which could treat a person with that disease. For example, a healthy person’s gene for the insulin can be put into bacteria. Under…

PCR is used to magnify the 16S rRNA gene and is used in molecular biology to make thousands of copies of the magnified DNA. There are three main stages that the PCR carries out, the first is denaturing when the double-stranded DNA is separated into two strands. Second, annealing which enables the DNA primers to…

Origami, it has been around as long as we have been on this planet. Evidence of this has been around and in us all along. Origami can be used in many different ways. I think that origami has had a big impact on my life by making DNA, helping NASA build satellites, and helping bugs fly. Let’s begin! “Origami has had a big impact on my life by making making DNA”, let me explain. DNA is made up of a bunch of different proteins. Those proteins are also made up of a bunch of different particles…

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis Since the discovery of the four classes of macromolecules (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids), researchers and biochemists have fine-tuned methods that reveal structural information about each of them. Different structural properties determine different functions and chemical properties, and scientists have developed intricate techniques to observe, quantify, and isolate molecules based on their aforementioned properties. Agarose gel electrophoresis,…

Genetic transformation is a process by which competent bacteria intakes naked DNA from the surrounding environment and incorporates the foreign DNA into its own genetic code. Transformation only occurs in competent bacteria. A naturally competent bacterium is classified as a bacterium that can readily intake naked DNA. Fortunately, the bacteria that are not naturally competent can still undergo transformation by being treated with various agents to artificially induce competence. Also, another…

Purpose: To study the expression of the Vibrio fischeri luciferase operon in Escherichia coli (E. coli) by isolating and purifying a plasmid from E. coli, determining its orientation with respect to the plasmid backbone by restriction mapping, and transforming it into an alternate E. coli strain. Methods: Each individual received either E. coli A or B strain of pKN800 plasmid DNA. The plasmid was purified and isolated, then cut with PstI restriction enzyme to create a sample of PstI-cut and…

Experiment 9 “proteins” and the purpose of the lab is to become familiar with some reactions of proteins and some of the tests used to detect proteins. The activities for this experiment includes the following: selected reactions of proteins will be carried out, several tests for proteins will be performed including: biuret test, xanthoproteic test, and millon test. This lab is broken down into two sections: precipitation (coagulation) of egg albumin and color tests for proteins. For the first…