dna and genetics + biotech 

Plasmid- small circles of dna, a genetic structure in a cell that can replicate independently of the chromosomes

     restriction enzymes - enzymes that cut DNA and specific restriction sites found naturally in bacteria

     sticky end - the same enzyme used on e coli is the same one used to cut DNA so plasmid and DNA have the same

     e coli cell wall - negatively charged and repels negatively charged molecules

     positive calcium - neutralizes the negative charge on cells outer membranes, allows DNA to cross the plasma membrane

     heat shock - a sudden increase in temp causing outside pressure to increase, allows plasmid DNA to enter the cell

     bacterial conjugation - a plasmid is shared between  bacterial cells

     Transformation - bacteria take up DNA, including plasmids directly from the environment

     ori site - where DNA polymerase initiates replication

     Luria broth - a medium that supports bacterial growth

     selectable markers - only bacteria having the gene will survive in presence of antibiotic

     Culture - isolated population of cells

     Colony - a clump of bacterial cells that have grown and divided

     P+ - competent cells with plasma

     P- - competent cells with no plasmid

         LB - nutrients

     LB/Amp/Ara - nutrients, antibiotics, arabinose

     PCR - used to quickly identify a specific DNA sequence and then make multiple copies

     DNA - becomes single-stranded at high temperatures because its two strands separate and denature

     Primers - short single strands of DNA stick to specific sequences of DNA and can only occur with complementary bases

     DNA polymerase - an enzyme used to replicate DNA

     taq dna polymerase - can function at higher temperatures

     denaturation phase - DNA sample containing the sequences to be amplified and splits at high temperatures

     annealing phase - single-stranded DNA primers annealed to denatured single-stranded DNA at a cooler temperature

     extension phase - taq polymerase replicates the region of interest by adding nucleotides to the  end of the primers

     Thermocycler - controls temp and length of time for reaction

     gel electrophoresis - a technique used to separate DNA fragments according to their size and charge

     Indentations - wells where DNA samples are loaded and pulled through an electric current to the other end of the gel

     DNA fragments - negatively charged moving towards the positive electrode, and have the same amount of mass charge

     Bands - A well-defined "line" of DNA on a gel

     Yardstick - DNA fragments of known sizes that help determine the absolute size of an unknown DNA fragment

     Agarose - a polysaccharide that makes gels to separate DNA, and comes in dry padded flakes

     Wells - pocket-like indentations where DNA samples are placed

     gel box

• where the gel is placed before DNA samples are placed

     Buffer - can conduct the current of the gel

     DNA ladder - contains known DNA length

     Lane - corridor through which DNA passes as it leaves a well

     genetic engineering - a branch of biotechnology that uses special procedures and techniques to change an organisms DNA

     rfp gene - the red fluorescent protein in sea anemones

     Proto-oncogenes - a gene that tells the cell to move forward in the cell cycle, will continue the cell cycle if mutauted

     tumor suppressor genes - slows down the cell cycle and tells a cell when to die, will cause the cell to live longer if mutated

     P15 - cell protein that commonly mutates to allow cancer, allows cells not to die when mutated

     benign tumors - slow growing, capsulated, noninvasive, do not metastasize, well-differentiated

     malignant tumors - fast-growing, nonencapsulated, invasive and infiltrate metastasize, poorly differentiated

     Cancer - a disease caused by uncontrolled growth of cells

     cell cycle - the process of cell growth and division

     Interphase - period of growth that occurs between cell divisions

     cell division - the stage in which the cell divides, and the cell grows, prepares for division, and divides to form two daughter cells

     G1 - cell grows in size and organelles are duplicated

     S phase - DNA replication occurs

     G2 - additional cell growth

     M phase - cell divides into two daughter cells

     dna ligase - reseals dna strands back together

     Mitosis - division of the nucleus within a cell

     Cytokinesis - division of the cell cytoplasm

     Prophase - spindles are formed, chromatins condenses into chromosomes

     Spindle - fan like structure that separates chromosomes

     Metaphase - chromosomes line up across the center of the cell, and microtubules from the spindle connect to each chromosome

     Anaphase - chromosomes are split in half

     Telophase - chromosomes gather at opposite ends of a cell, and the nucleus splits

     Cytokinesis - cytoplasm pinches in half to make  separate cells, and each daughter cell has an identical set of chromosomes

     checkpoint control system - indicates whether key cellular processes have been completed correctly

     G checkpoint - determines whether dna replication can begin

     G checkpoint - checks to see if dna synthesis had been done correctly, signals that mitosis can begin

     M checkpoint - checks spindle to make sure that they are all attached to a chromosome and makes sure that they can separate properly

     Replication - cell makes a copy of its DNA before it divides, occurs during the s phase and ensures that each resulting cell will have a complete set of DNA

     Helicase - an enzyme that unzips a molecule of DNA

     primer for DNA - a short sequence of DNA that allows for DNA replication to begin

     messenger rna - carries dna message from nucleus to cytoplasm and tells ribosomes which proteins to make

     ribosomal rna - makes up ribosomes which are organelle that assmebles amino acids into proteins

     transfer rna - attaches to mrna from a dna template creating a chain of amino acids that will form a protien

     Transcription - process of making mrna from a dna template, a single strand of mrna is formed by reading dna

     Translation - process of converting mRNA into a sequence of amino acids that build into a protein and happens in the ribosomes

     Codon -  mrna nucleotides code for an amino acid

     Nucleus - where the dna is located in the cell

     DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid, holds all of our cells information, instructions to make all the proteins in our bodies

     T - thymine

     A - adenine

     C - cytosine

     G - guanine

     body is made up of trillions of cells - each cell is a copy of a single cell that divided itself to make all of the cells in your body

     Cells - need instructions to create who you are

     Gene - specific part of dna that gives body instructions for making protein

     Chromosomes - structure in the nucleus that is made up tightly wound dna, humans have  pairs of chromosomes

     double helix - structure of dna

     Multipotent - can change into other kinds of cells but not all

     stem cells - a specific type of cells capable of evolving into many types of specialized cells within the body

     embryonic stem cells - supply new cells for an embryo as it grows and develops into a baby

     adult stem cells - supply new cells as organism grows and replace cells that get damaged

     Chromatid - half of a chromosome 

 Chromatin - strand of dna and proteins

    Centromere - where the chromosomes connect to the microtubules

     Pluripotent - can evolve into any cell type