1.1 Identify and describe the major principles of biology.
Over the course of my years at Longwood in the biology department, I have taken many classes that pertain to genetics including biology 250 Introduction to genetics, biology 324 Genetics, and biology 425 Modern genetics. All three of these classes have obviously been connected, but I have really been able to grow in this field from the different topics covered in each one. In 250 it was mostly the cellular and molecular functions of the body and 324 was a deeper extension of those. Biology 425 was surrounding Covid-19 and the genealogy and proteins involved. All of these were extremely interesting to me and I believe very useful for the current state of the pandemic we are in.
In lab for biology 250 we looked into identifying types of yeast in soil taken from High Bridge Park. We collected multiple samples from different areas of the park and did a PCR and purification of the samples which then went through a FASTA testing in order to determine the species of yeast recovered. This was a more basic experiment, but a good introduction into one way genetics is used. This peaked my interest in discovering what bacteria, yeast, and other species that are in the environment and how they affect it.
For biology 324 conducted an experiment trying to isolate and knockout a gene in M. drosophila. My group worked with a gene associated with Lupus and how it could affect development. This was a much more in depth experiment with actually cutting the gene, extracting, and seeing if the knockout actually worked.
Biology 425 revolved around Covid-19 and determining the open reading frames of different variants of the virus. We looked in-depth at the protein folding and where mutations were located on the different receptors. It was incredibly interesting to see how such small changes in the sequence can cause such huge effects on the virus. Another part was connecting different variants and strands to each other and comparing where and what their mutations cause. It allowed me to learn a ton more about a very prominent problem occurring in our lives and being able to share that information with those around me.
Without taking the introductory courses of genetics I do not think I would understand the virus itself or the molecular aspects of it. This really peaked my interest in looking into the genetics side of biology and it allowed me to expand my career options and what I might like to do in the future. Using Coronavirus as an area of study allowed me to connect genetics to my own life and I think that made it a lot more interesting and easier to understand.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1W412lrdrm0rCKlCElTlOrDVGr9I1oaFa/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PPKPkMsan-JciTQg1VM8h7No5TlZ6SLM/edit
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ae_KNY57F4L8MySwhB7DyuYLGdjWEq7Y/edit