Gel Electrophoresis

In the Gel Electrophoresis lab we learned many new lab techniques in the process of it.  The goal was to put different colored dyes into the gel and then put electricity through it to see how the dyes are charged.  The first step was to make the gel plate.  We did this by making a mold that was square and had small holes in it to put the dye.  Then we poured in the hot gel liquid and let it cool.  After that we sat the hardened Gel in the gel rig.  We then learned how to use the micro pipets.  We first sucked up the dyes with the pipets and squirted the liquid into the slots made in the gel.  This part was tough because the slots were small and it was hard to be steady and squirt it all in the slot.  When using the pipets we had to get a new nozzle every time so that we did not contaminate the other dyes.  Once we had all of the dyes in place we started the electricity in the gel rig.  We let it sit for about fifteen minutes.  Then when we came back the dyes had moved.  The negative dyes moved to positive side like DNA would, but there was one positive dye that moved to the negative side.  They all had gone a different distance too, depending on how charged they were.  In all it gave me a good understanding of how Gel Electrophoresis is used to sequence DNA.

Gattaca

Questions about GATTACA!

1. The following terms were used in the movie. How do they relate to the words we use: degenerate and invalid?

         De-gene-erate= what a god child is called

         In-valid= the type of person that wasn’t made

         Borrowed Ladder= a person that you disguise yourself as

2. Why do you think Vincent left his family, tearing his picture out of the family photo, after winning the swimming race against his brother?

            I think he left the family so that he could start over and he wanted them to remember him as being just as good as his brother.

3. Describe the relationship between Vincent and Anton.

            Vincent and Anton had a competitive relationship because Anton was supposed to be better but Vincent was determined to prove people wrong.

4. When Jerome Morrow said to Vincent/Jerome, “They’re not looking for you. When they look at you, they only see me,” what did he mean? Can you find any parallels to this type of situation in real life?

            He meant that people aren’t going to accuse him of anything because he is recorded as someone else.  I can see the parallel when someone changes their identity, but are scared when something comes up about them.

5. Choose your favorite character from the film. Explain why you choose that person. Would you want to be that person? Why? Why not?

            My favorite character was Vincent be he is driven and knows what he wants to accomplish.  I would not want to be him though because he had to hide his identity and live as someone else.

6. At the end of the film, you are told that the Doctor knew about Vincent all along. Why did the Doctor go along with the fraud? What would you have done if you were the Doctor?

            The doctor went along the whole time because he wanted Vincent to succeed.  I would let him go because its good to see the underdog win.

7. The technology to do what was done in the movie is definitely possible within the next fifty years. Do you think that Vincent’s world could eventually happen in America? Why?

            I don’t think it could ever happen because we have rights living in America.

8. What do you think is wrong with the society portrayed in "GATTACA"? What is right?

              I think its wrong that people are ranked before they are even given a chance to prove themselves.

9. What were the screenwriters trying to tell us through the episode of the 12-fingered pianist? Is anything wrong with engineering children to have 12 fingers if, as a result, they will be able to make extraordinarily beautiful music?

            The screenwriters were trying to say that people would start making kids for certain things.  It’s wrong because the kids may not want to do what they are made to do.

10. You and your spouse are having a child and are at the Genetic Clinic pictured in the movie. What characteristics would you want for your child and what would you ask to be excluded? Why would you make those choices?

            I would have the child tall, and have athletic ability. I would want them to exclude my acne gene from the sequence.

11. Picture yourself as either Vincent, Jerome, or Anton. Would you have acted the same or done things differently if you were in the same world as them?

            I would have acted like Vincent.  If I was Jerome I would not have committed suicide.  If I was Anton I would not have tried to frame my brother.

12. How does the society in GATTACA resemble the type of society America was during the height of the eugenics movement?

            It is the same because people were judged by what kind of family you came from.