Genetics

This week for AP Biology we reviewed and studied genetics. On Tuesday we went to Sam Ryan's genetic conference at Lubbock High. At the conference we went over genetics and the recent discoveries in the field. 

An interesting thing I learned about was Barr bodies. Barr bodies are little black dots in female cells. They're only in females because the bodies are a disabled X chromosome. When a cell begins to form it randomly picks an X to follow and then disables the other one. This lead to questions about fixing Down syndrome by taking the third chromosome at 21 and disabling it so that it would turn into a Barr body. 

A fun fact I learned was that our phenotype which is the physical representation of our genotype is actually expressed in all of our cells.  

Another concept that I was enlightened about was that you can take skin cells and turn them into stem cells by reprogramming the cell. This can lead to many things. Such as growing new organs and allowing blind people to see again. The stem cells that have been reprogrammed can form new organs by using scaffolds of organs. If an organ cannot be replicated perfectly they use a dead organ and drain the cells out of it. The stem cells can also be used to replace corneas that have become too cloudy for people to see out of and thus making it possible for the replacement of their vision. This procedure has already been done in a young boy. The procedure requires no stiches or blood and the patient is under local anesthesia and last around thirty minutes. 

I also learned about alternative splicing which allows our genes to code for different proteins and telomerase. 

 Telomerase is an enzyme that builds up the telomeres which are caps at the end of chromosomes. Every time a cell divides the telomeres get shorter and shorter until eventually there is next nothing there. At that point the chromosome stops dividing, unless it has telomerase. The shortening of the telomeres is a major component in age. Unfortunately telomerase is only found in testis, ovaries, and cancer cells. If researchers can discover a way to put telomerase in all areas there might be a chance to postpone aging. 

 The Genetics Conference was super interesting and I advise everyone to take the opportunity to go to it if they can.