The Three Stories of DNA Synthesis

Geneticists that Changed Our Lives

Ruth Sager – February 7, 1918- March 29, 1997

A geneticist coming from America, Ruth Sager is known for her discovery in the 1950s-1960s of cytoplasmic genetics. A decade later in the 1970s, she investigated cancer genetics and the roles of tumour suppressor genes. In 1988, she was also awarded the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal “in recognition of excellence in published research on marine or freshwater algae.”

Barbara McClintock

Beginning her scientific career at Cornell University, American scientist Barbara McClintock discovered the study of transposable elements also known as “jumping genes” or cytogenetics. Her revolutionary discovery was made in the middle of the twentieth century and stated that an organism’s genome was not stationary, but rather subjected to rearrange. In 1983, she won the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medecine and this achievement started with a maize breeding experiment.

Rosalind Franklin- July 25, 1920- April 16, 1958

Surrounded by much controversy during the scientific chase at that time, X-ray crystallographer Rosalind Franklin discovered the “X” shape of DNA. This “X” shape led to the understanding of the helical structure of DNA. Unfortunately she was not awarded with the Nobel Prize for the double-helix model of DNA as a result of her death. She had ovarian cancer and died four years before the Nobel Prize was given.

James Watson and Francis Crick

This pair is infamous for their discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953. They were able to come up with this conclusion from the x-ray diffraction data Rosalind Franklin collected. Watson and Crick also deduced that nitrogenous bases were connected by hydrogen bonds.  They won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1962.

Gregor Mendel- July 20, 1822- January 6, 1884

Known as the “Father of Genetics” and the Augustinian friar, Gregor Mendel laid the basis to genetics with his experiment of pea plants. By examining his pea plants, he discovered the nature of genetic inheritance. The Mendelian inheritance came to be and described the method of hereditary characteristics passed down from parent to offspring. Although Mendel’s work was very controversial at the time, he was able to publish in 1865 and 1866 which was revolutionary later in life.  

Day One Facts of the Day!

Facts of the Day for Day Number One:

*Whales evolved from dogs.

*Dolphins and dogs have similar behaviour because dolphins also evolved from dogs. 

*Dinosaurs are birds. 

*Mitochondria have two layers of membrane to absorb as much nutrients(?) as they can because they are the powerhouse of the cell.  

*Cells reproduce by splitting because at one point, they will have too much inside their membrane for the membrane to absorb nutrients efficiently. By splitting one cell into two, more surface area is exposed allowing for a more efficient absorbing effect. 

*Plants make their own food and get nutrients from the soil. 

*Our kidneys are located at the back of our body by the spinal cord. 

*Adrenal- ad means "top", and renal means "kidney", therefore adrenal means "the top of the kidney".

Day Two

Hey guys! Ah, the day has finally come where we are ready to meet our first guest speaker of this course. To my surprise, there was no speaker at all! The realization only hit me when there was ten minutes left of class and that there was no way that Professor Relish would be able to talk to us today. No wonder my friends from first semester said the guest speaker was really "animated". One of them was anticipating my reaction as well, which all makes sense now because the guest speaker was make-believe! I was actually very excited to see him! Nevertheless, Mr. Chung introduced the Murder Mystery assignment with a very creative style. Right when I got home, I got right to work with the karotyping and along the way, I realized my strong interest in this subject area: Forensic Science! I found it hard trying to switch to my Calculus homework because I wanted to continue with the Murder Mystery until I found out who the suspect was! I don't know who the suspect is yet, but at the moment, I can say that Captain Relish seems to be Thomas Sandstone in disguise. I hope I didn't ruin that for anyone. Anyway, this is what I learned today.

Facts of the Day:

*Cells are frozen and then dropped to acquire their chromosomes. 

*Scientists become famous through publications.

*Mendel became famous through the publication of his diary.

*Having your work published in Nature magazine means that your work is worthy in the science world. You could also be famous in science history one day. 

I'll end off today's message with a note.

Note:

*DON'T ALWAYS BELIEVE WHAT MR. CHUNG SAYS. 

Day Number One

Hello readers! It is the first day of Mr. Chung's Grade 12 Biology class in second semester. I can tell that our class is going to have so much fun already based on how much we laughed in class today! In the duration of the class, we put ourselves into groups of five to six people and wrote down the topics in the grade 12 biology curriculum in which we had the most interest. Apparently there was a group of guys who were interested in learning the urinary tract and hormones. Hormones is part of the unit homeostasis where we talk about how sex works and the endocrines involved. I wonder why they were so interested, haha. :P Anyway, there will be a guest speaker this coming Monday and based on the comments of last semester's class, it will be one of the best speakers ever and one of the most memorable moments of this course! I'm excited! :D That's it for now. Ciao!