Download Research Questions

Brandon Lovelace
3-21-14
6th
Research Questions
DNA Project
Genetics and Drugs
1. How does a gene become a protein ? DNA creates mRNA to send to ribosomes through
transcription , then ribosomes read the mRNA and convert the three nitrogen bases into an
amino acid. Which then are fixed together , more complex
2. In a given gene what kind of DNA mutation would not change the protein that is
made? Gene mutations can happen in two ways: they can be inherited from a parent or
be gotten during a person’s lifetime. Mutations that are passed from parent to child are
called hereditary mutations or germline mutations (because they are present in the egg
and sperm cells, which are also called germ cells). This type of mutation is present
throughout a person’s life in virtually every cell in the body.
When the DNA is transcribed and the RNA is processed by ribosomes, changes to the DNA
means that the proteins produced are going to be different, which will have a change in
phenotype.
A mutation technically only affects DNA, but changes to the DNA will sometimes mean a
different protein is produced.
3. What makes some amino acids hydrophobic and others hydrophilic? The
composition of amino acids depends on their -R groups or side chains . Hydrophobic
chains have 9 amino acids within them. The nine chains are glycine (Gly), alanine (Ala),
valine (Val), leucine (Leu), isoleucine (Ile), proline (Pro), phenylalanine (Phe),
methionine (Met), and tryptophan (Trp).Hydrophobic amino have side-chains that do not
like to reside in an aqueous environment. For this reason, one generally finds these amino
acids buried within the hydrophobic core of the protein, or within the lipid portion of the
membrane. Hydrophilic amino acids do not like aqueous enviroments and are polar. They
can also interact via ionic bonds, H bonds, and disulfide linkage.
4. Why is it important for pharmaceutical companies to test new drugs on a large
number? important to test drugs on large number of people because it is not a bias test. It
also shows how the given amount of peoples reactto the drug dependent of thier genes.
5. Why is non-coding important? describes components of an organism's DNA sequences
that do not encode for protein sequences. In many eukaryotes, a large percentage of an
organism's total genome size is noncoding DNA, although the amount of noncoding
DNA, and the proportion of coding versus noncoding DNA varies greatly between
species.
Brandon Lovelace
3-21-14
6th