DNA+Structure+and+Functions

=**DNA and it's affects on Society **=

Under the headings below create a document that includes all the information learned __in class__ about the structure of DNA, nucleotides, how RNA and proteins are made that will provide you with a study guide. Each person will be responsible for contributing to a new section each day. Feel free to add picture, video, what ever you think is helpful. Don't duplicate information and keep it polite. Have fun.

The race for the DNA structure and affects of DNA on society will be a collaborative effort based on ideas and information provided by each of you.

**Nucleotides **
- have a nitrogen base, sugar, and phosphate group. - have 4 bases : thymine, guanine, cytosine, and adenine. -adenine and guanine are purines (with a double-ring structure), while cytosine and guanine are pyrimidines (with a single-ring structure) -RNA nucleotides are different in some ways. Instead of Thymine, RNA nucleotides have uracil which fills thymine's roll. Also, RNA has Ribose (has an OH) compared to DNA's Deoxyribose (lacks one OH campared to ribose) -make up the structural units of RNA and DNA -Erwin Chargaff figures out that samples of thymine always equal to adenine and samples of cytosine equal to guanine. That is why the bases A (adenine) and T(thymine) are always together and C(cytosine) and G(guanine) are always together. -A is unable to combine with C or G, and T is unable to combine with C or G. C cannot combine with A or T. G cannot combine with A or T. -Adenine and thymine are held together with 2 hydrogen bonds while cytosine and guanine are held together by 3 hydrogen bonds.

** DNA Structure **
-Stands for //Deoxyribonucleic acid// - has a double-helix structure. - the monomer of DNA is the nucleotide. - a nucleotide consists of a phosphate group, a sugar, and a base - there are four bases adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine - adenine can only bond with thymine and guanine can only bond with cytosine -adenine and thymine are held together by two hydrogen bonds, while guanine and cytosine are held together by 3 hydrogen bonds. - hydrogen bonds hold the bases together -the amount of adenine is equal to the amount of thymine, and the amount of guanine is equal to the amount of cytosine -DNA is made of 2 strands: A template (has the coding information) and a complimentary (is just built off of the template strand using the base pairing rules) -DNA in Prokaryotes is in a circle rather than in Helix's that eukaryotes posses. - The rungs of the ladder are made up of bases -once DNA unwinds and the bonds have broken mRNA copies the sensory strand's bases.

** DNA Replication **
- During DNA replication, the DNA helicase helps unwind the DNA. - The resulting split **Y** is called the replication fork - A DNA Polymerase then adds nucleotides to both of the separated strands of DNA until two complimentary strands are made. The result is two sets of DNA from one strand of DNA! This therefore means that DNA replicates exponentially. - The Polymerase also has a proofreading function that allows it to check the nucleotides for any errors. This therefore means that there is as few as one error per 2 billion DNA helix's.

-DNA replicates through a process called semi-conservative replication, meaning the new DNA has one old and one new strand. - Sometimes during replication a mutation takes place. - leading to a point mutation; that may cause effects that are drastic and those that are minor. dor example a point mutation can cause diseases like sickle cell anemia or taysachs disease -Mutations are a change in the DNA sequence. - A deletion mutation deletes one base. ex. The cat sat > the cas at -An insertion mutation is one that has a base added. -A missense mutation is one in which the reading frame has been shifted. -A point mutation is where only one nucleotide has been changed. - the polymerase checks for mutations

** The Race for the structure of DNA **
Using the Nova Video shown in class (Photo 51) as a starting point, provide a historical outline of the race to determine the structure of DNA. Be sure to include each of the scientists involved. media type="youtube" key="Ev-C5tmCJuc" height="364" width="445"

Do you think that this video is a fair picture of everyone involved in solving the structure of DNA? Was a certain viewpoint given at the expense of others involved? Provide a comment below.

-The movie //Photo 51// was too biased towards Rosalind Franklin. Though yes it's true Watson, Crick, and Wilkins stole Rosalind's data, it is implied too much that Crick, Watson, and Wilkins did nothing. So far, I'm not biased towards any side of the argument.

-This video portrayed people such as Crick and Watson in a negative manner by making it seem that they never did any work and were stealing Franklins discoveries constantly. Even though they stole her findings they were just trying to do the same thing she was. They worked hard and made discoveries too. If they had all worked together maybe they would have discovered the structure of DNA sooner. Instead of constantly being in competition with each other they should have combined ideas to make results happen. Because this really was a team effort they all should be recognized and awarded for this major accomplishment that has changed the society drastically.

-I agree that Watson and Crick should have been give more credit in the film for discovering the structure of DNA though at the same time I do agree that Franklin is not recognized enough by society of her findings and hard work. The film should be a little more open and state that both teams contributed to finding the structure of DNA.

-Again, Watson and Crick were not the evil villains. They also approached the problem of discovering the structure of DNA, but they went with the model making method instead. However, Franklin is not given due credit for her Photo 51, because it was from that picture that Watson and Crick realized how exactly DNA was structured. What was interesting was how different people who had different perspectives on the story were interviewed for the documentary, such as Crick, Wilkins and the Italian man who was Franklin's friend in France. Furthermore, Watson was asked to talk in the documentary but he declined. This shows that a) the producers put an effort into piecing together different people's opinions, and that b) Watson was evidently uncomfortable with addressing the whole Franklin story.

- //Photo 51// continuously vilifies both Watson and Crick in their effort to vindicate one Rosaline Franklin (also know by the less-than-pleasant sobriquet "Rosie"). While it is true that Watson and Crick seized her works without her knowing, it does not mean that they set out with malicious intent. They were simply her competition in the race to uncover the structure of DNA. The video portrays them as unconscionable men with a personal vendetta against Franklin, while vaunting her honor and innocence. No doubt she was treated unfairly in the Male-Centric society, and it goes without saying she was incredibly smart. I just think that the video overcompensates for her lack of recognition in the discovery or the structure of DNA. She should have gotten credit, but the other three men //did// contribute to the findings too.

-I believe //Photo 51// tries too hard to compensate for the lack of knowledge about Rosalyn Franklin and ends up distorting the truth about what really happened. Although it is true that the movie is about Rosalyn Franklin, it seemed as if everyone interviewed was on her side, not allowing the other side any voice. The movie also discredits Watson and Crick's discovery. Although they did use some of Rosalyn Franklin's most important findings, there was still a lot they had to do themselves.

-At many points in the video Watson and Crick are portrayed in a more negative light. However, it's not true that everyone who was interviewed was in favor of Rosalind Franklin. Maurice Wilkins spoke quite a bit, and he was the one who took Photo 51 to Watson and Crick without her permission, likely because of his personal difficulties with her. Watson himself was interviewed as well, and he was certainly not one of Franklin's biggest fans. //Photo 51//, since it focuses on Rosalind Franklin, does tend towards her side of the events. Nevertheless, it leaves its audience to form their own opinions of the people involved. I think Watson, Crick, and Wilkins deserved their Nobel Prize, but it's unfortunate that Franklin was already deceased at the time it was awarded, because she deserved it just as much.

-Most of the people have already said this but I think that like everyone else, the video gave too much credit to Rosalyn Franklin. Yes, she did discover most about DNA but they should have focused on Watson and Crick a little more. They made Watson and Crick sound like some sort of villain. But I did learn a lot about the history watching the video.

-Although I believe it was unfair that Franklin's data was shared with Watson and Crick without her consent, I think that their findings were extremely valuable in moving the field of molecular biology forward. The movie gave much deserved credit to Franklin, but it perhaps portrayed Watson and Crick in a more negative light than they deserved.

- I think that this movie was full of information but only on the side of Rosalyn Franklin. It needed the perspective of Watson and Crick. It was interesting to hear about the life of Franklin before she took photo 51 and how different technologies allowed her to do so.

-As nice as it was to help recognize Rosalyn Franklin in the discovery of the double helix, they may have been biased in the portrayal of Watson and Crick.

-this video was manly biased to Franklin which doesn't give me enough information to no which side actually did more work or if watson and crick had really done more work by stealing Franklin's ideas.

** Effects of DNA structure on society **
Starting with your own experiences, how has DNA affected the world around you. Enter a comment below. On the next day, pick another individuals comment to respond to and build upon each others ideas.

It has created many jobs for people who want to study DNA. DNA may bring up controversial topics like clowning and beneficial mutations.