The Project
For this project we learned about how a mutation in your DNA can cause proteins to stop working correctly. To do this, we researched a disease and how it effects a specific protein. Our group chose Parkinson’s disease, a disease that causes problems with your nervous system.
Our Poster
Content
protein SYNTHESIS
The process of transforming DNA into a protein.
Transcription
Transcription is the process in which the mRNA is copied from the DNA template in the nucleus.
Translation
Translation is the process in which a mRNA chain is translated into a polypeptide chain.
Protein
Large macromolecules that are made of long chains of amino acids. They fulfill almost all the duties in the body that the genetic code specifies.
Dna
The basic code of life. Formed from nucleic acid and provides the code for all life functions. Errors in the DNA or reading the DNA cause the diseases.
mrNA
mRNA is a subtype of RNA (messenger RNA). RNA is essentially a single strand of DNA, but has ribose sugars instead. An mRNA molecule carries a portion of the DNA code to other parts of the cell for processing. mRNA is created during transcription.
tRNA
tRNA is a form of RNA that is responsible for transporting amino acids. They contain anti-condons that match with the codons on the mRNA.
Rna polymerase
An enzyme that is responsible for making RNA from a DNA template. In all cells RNA polymerase is needed for constructing RNA chains from a DNA template.
codon
A codon is a set of three nucleotides on the mRNA, that code for a specific amino acid.
anti-codon
A codon is a set of three nucleotides on the mRNA, that code for a specific amino acid.
Protein Folding
The protein is folded when, the polypeptide chain is folded into alpha-helices and Beta-Sheets. Then, the domains are formed by combining alpha-helices and Beta-Sheet (3 structure). Last, all domains combine to form functioning protein (4 structure).
amino acid
Amino acids are the monomer for proteins. They are composed of a carbon atom, a carboxyl group, and a side chain that determines the function of the protein.
polypeptides
A linear organic polymer consisting of a large number of amino-acid residues bonded together in a chain, forming part of (or the whole of) a protein molecule.
polypeptide chain
A polypeptide chain determines the basic function of the protein, and is the primary stage of a protein. They are composed of amino acids.
Reflection
Overall, this project went rather smoothly. It was the same group as our last project so everybody got along great. Also, like last time, we came to agreements easily. For example, we all agreed to do Parkinson's disease and agreed to do a poster for our presentation. One thing that didn't go well was our research portion of the project. Because of this, I wasn't able to get a full understanding of protein synthesis. One characteristic I could work on is leadership I could work on this by contributing more ideas. One thing I gained is more experience making an informational science poster. Another thing improved on with this project is time management. For example, we used a gant chart to organize our schedule. In conclusion this lab was enjoyable and I learned a lot.