RNA polymerase

Epigenetics, a contemporary and often misunderstood topic in the field of biology, was first defined in the early 1940s as “the branch of biology which studies the causal interactions between genes and their products with bring the phenotype into being” (Dupont 2009). Since then, as understanding of the human genome has developed and grown, a complex array of errors and dysfunctions in the processes of gene regulation, expression, and replication have been shown to cause, or correlate strongly…

Before we can talk about what a polymer is, we need to know about ATOMS and ELEMENTS and MOLECULES. To learn about atoms and elements and molecules, click here. Paul Lemur This is PAUL LEMUR. He's a lemur named Paul. Polymers are made up of many many molecules all strung together to form really long chains (and sometimes more complicated structures, too). What makes polymers so fun is that how they act depends on what kinds of molecules they're made up of and how they're put together. The…

Mitochondria was first discovered in 1856 by Swiss anatomist Van Kölliker. Dr. Kölliker while he was conducting a study on muscle tissue (Giezen, Page 1). He found these “sacrosomes” which would later become known as mitochondria. When scientist first started discovering mitochondria they were extremely fascinated with all of the various structures of the mitochondria (Giezen, Page 1). Early scientist posted numerous theories of the origin of mitochondria. One of these theories was that…

In the spring of 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the true structure of deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) utilizing theoretical chemistry and borrowed X-ray crystallography images. They postulated that the structure of DNA contained two helical chains that run in opposite directions of one another. They also stated, in contrast to Linus Pauling’s structure, that due to the repulsive forces between the negatively charged phosphate groups the nitrogenous bases would be located on the…

Previously we were taught that our DNA is what make us unique. But what if I told you that our DNA didn’t do all the work? There is a protein in our bodies that makes our DNA coding complete and it’s called an epigenome. There are two proteins that make up one protein of a epigenome and they are histones. They are wrapped around the DNA and the Methyl group that are attached to it. Of course we are taught that our DNA makes up who we are as far as characteristics; However, epigenetics explain…

The RNA worlds together with the DNA world are known to have numerous differences as well as similarities with the cell nature as well as the varied virus character demands pointing to the viruses coming first. To a degree, the theories that designate this phenomenon have contended on the dissimilar nature of viruses, as a crucial factor that illustrates the viruses coming first (Woese, 1987). In the biosphere of microbes, whereas viruses are regarded as minuscule in size, the Pithovirus is…

Chromatin, chromatids, and chromosomes have different transformations in terms of mitosis and meiosis. Chromatin in Meiosis and Mitosis are shown differently in Interphase. In Mitosis, the chromatin is made up of DNA and proteins. The DNA coils around the protein and that structure is called a nucleosome. Each chromatid in Mitosis is made up of many strings of the DNA and proteins (nucleosomes) to form a half X. The chromosome is made up of two of the chromatids (DNA and proteins-nucleosomes)…

CRISPR Cas9 CRISPR Cas9 is a gene editing tool that can be used to edit, delete, and change parts of the genome. What makes CRISPR Cas9 different from other gene editing techniques such as Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) or Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALEN) is its targeting efficiency ability. For example, ZFNs and TALENs could only reach targeting efficiencies from 1% to 50% in human cells. On the other hand, CRISPR Cas9 had a much higher rate at greater than 70% in Zebrafish…

Genetic disorders may affect millions of people every few seconds around the world, and it’s our job to understand how they work or occur in order to try and prevent them or cause them from getting worse. With how far research has come over the years, we now know how genetic disorders occur. They occur from something called mutations, which I am sure mostly everyone has heard about. Most people just don’t understand exactly how mutations work, occur, or how they cause millions of different…

proteins cannot form without the information stored in DNA. The solution to the problem seemed to lie in RNA, the mediator between DNA and proteins. It has been discovered that RNA can catalyze many reactions, and RNA might catalyze its own replication. If RNA could self-replicate natural selection or some other mechanism could act to create a more complex RNA. If this were the case than RNA might have increased in complexity until it could code for a viable life…