What Was This Project?
For our next STEM unit, we looked at the process of how certain diseases are spread and originate from mutations in proteins. To understand this, we looked at the disease Sickle Cell Anemia as a class and how it's effected by the body and its effects on the body. We then chose a disease in our group, (my group consisting of myself, Nico Hadiaras and Sophia Moreno) to answer the question, "What happens when a type of protein does not work?" We chose to look at the Parkinson's Disease, a degenerative disease that affects motor skills. During this, we also had to look into and incorporate protein synthesis into our project. As our end result, we made a website that details protein synthesis, answers questions about the disease, and explains the stages of Parkinson's. On this web page, you can find a link to our website, a slideshow made by our class about Sickle Cell Anemia (my group made the final slide, which my group at the time consisted of Tanner Spence, Sebastian Orellana, and myself), key concepts from this unit, and my reflection on this project.
Concepts Used In This Project:
Protein Synthesis: Protein synthesis is the process in which new proteins are created with DNA. The process is divided into two steps. First is transcription, in which a strand of DNA is copied to make a type of RNA called mRNA. This step occurs in the nucleus, with the mRNA leaving the nucleus at the end. The second step of protein synthesis is translation. In this step, the mRNA attaches to a ribosome. tRNA then comes into play and brings amino acids to the ribosome. The tRNA must read the mRNA to build the proper protein. When the protein is formed, it folds into a more complex structure in a process called protein folding (look below for the structure types.) This process is what spreads the diseased protein alpha-synuclein, which causes the Parkinson’s Disease. Additional terms relating to protein synthesis can be found below.
Codon/Anticodon: A codon is a group of 3 bases of the mRNA that is read by the tRNA. An anticodon is a group of bases used by the tRNA to connect to the corresponding codon.
Polymerase: An enzyme that make long chains of polymers, nucleic acids, DNA, and RNA.
Polypeptide Chain: A connected group of amino acids
Protein: A macro-molecule that helps facilitate most of the work in a cell, such as making enzymes and building and repairing tissue.
Protein Folding Structures: There are four different structures for protein folding. Primary, which is a chain of amino acids found in the cytoplasm, secondary, which has stark folding and moves to the endoplasmic reticulum. Next is tertiary, where the hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts dictate most of the folding and goes to the endoplasmic reticulum and golgi apparatus. Lastly is the quaternary which goes to the golgi apparatus and makes proteins such as the hemoglobin.
Alpha Helix/Beta Sheet: Both are protein structures that come about from the secondary section of protein folding.
Degenerative Disease: A type of disease that gets worse over time, such as Parkinson's.
Amino Acids: They act as the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 different kinds of amino acids. They are vital to the protein synthesis and help spread the Parkinson's disease by helping produce more of the protein alpha-synuclein.
RNA (types):The two types of RNA that are involved in protein synthesis are mRNA and tRNA. mRNA or messenger RNA transports a DNA sequence from the nucleus to ribosomes. tRNA or transfer RNA decodes the mRNA in order to make a protein.
Codon/Anticodon: A codon is a group of 3 bases of the mRNA that is read by the tRNA. An anticodon is a group of bases used by the tRNA to connect to the corresponding codon.
Polymerase: An enzyme that make long chains of polymers, nucleic acids, DNA, and RNA.
Polypeptide Chain: A connected group of amino acids
Protein: A macro-molecule that helps facilitate most of the work in a cell, such as making enzymes and building and repairing tissue.
Protein Folding Structures: There are four different structures for protein folding. Primary, which is a chain of amino acids found in the cytoplasm, secondary, which has stark folding and moves to the endoplasmic reticulum. Next is tertiary, where the hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts dictate most of the folding and goes to the endoplasmic reticulum and golgi apparatus. Lastly is the quaternary which goes to the golgi apparatus and makes proteins such as the hemoglobin.
Alpha Helix/Beta Sheet: Both are protein structures that come about from the secondary section of protein folding.
Degenerative Disease: A type of disease that gets worse over time, such as Parkinson's.
Amino Acids: They act as the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 different kinds of amino acids. They are vital to the protein synthesis and help spread the Parkinson's disease by helping produce more of the protein alpha-synuclein.
RNA (types):The two types of RNA that are involved in protein synthesis are mRNA and tRNA. mRNA or messenger RNA transports a DNA sequence from the nucleus to ribosomes. tRNA or transfer RNA decodes the mRNA in order to make a protein.
Reflection:
For this project as a whole, my group and I did a fairly good job. One thing that worked in my last project that also worked with this one was the division of labor. Using a divide and conquer strategy we were able to get work done fast and efficiently. This is especially seen in the questions we had to answer about our disease, which we easily did by dividing it evenly between the three of us. One thing that I improved upon from the last project is my time management. Throughout the entire project, my group and I were working on something. An example of this was at the end of the project, when even though the meat of the project had been done, I used to time to improve the smaller details of the website like adding pictures.
Next, I will be going into my shortcomings for this project. Something I didn't do quite well was thoroughly reading directions. For the first day or two of our project, we thought we were supposed to look into the stages of our disease and not the stages of protein synthesis. While my team and I realized this quickly, it still wasted some of our time. This will be something I will look out for next time. Another thing that I didn't do the greatest job on was understanding the material. For protein synthesis, it took me a bit longer than it should have for me to comprehend it. I will try to work on this in the future.
Next, I will be going into my shortcomings for this project. Something I didn't do quite well was thoroughly reading directions. For the first day or two of our project, we thought we were supposed to look into the stages of our disease and not the stages of protein synthesis. While my team and I realized this quickly, it still wasted some of our time. This will be something I will look out for next time. Another thing that I didn't do the greatest job on was understanding the material. For protein synthesis, it took me a bit longer than it should have for me to comprehend it. I will try to work on this in the future.