Yo yo friends. So, how do you feel about In vitro fertilization? I have recently been learning quite a bit about this. Infertility affects 6.1 million people in the the United States. When people are unable to have children, they can in vitro fertilization done. IVF is a process where the mans sperm and the womans egg are combined in a labratory in a dish. Sounds kinda weird huh? Then after the sperm combines with the egg and fertilization happens, the embryos are placed inside of the woman's uterus. 2-4 embryos are usually put inside the uterus at a time. Not all of them take however.

IVF cost a lot of money. It is $12,400 for one cycle alone. I thought it was interesting that before the process of putting the embryos in, the woman has to take a lot of hormonal drugs to prepare her body for the embryos. So she gets super emotional..haha. Anyways, I've read some blogs about the process and many woman say it's pretty painful but worth it. So the main concern that people have with in vitro fertilization is that there are a lot of embryos that get fertilized, but not all of them get used. Some say that this is like abortion. Many people wonder what to do with the extra embryos.

It's very intersting all of the things you can actually do with the embryos if you don't want to throw them away. If a couple wants to save their embryos and have the child later, they can keep them frozen in the IVF clinic. It costs $700 dollars a year to keep the extra embryos frozen in the lab. Crazy. But if you don't pay up, then they will "toss" your embryos. Yikes.

So, another thing that couples do is give their extra embryos to other couples that can conceive a child. Doctors simply place the extra embryo in the adoptive mother and she will give birth to the child. At first I thought this was super weird, but I guess it's pretty much almost like normal adoption except the adoptive mother actually gets to carry the baby in her womb.

Another option couples have is to donate their embryos to stem cell research. If you read my previous blog, you will note what stem cell research is. And the last option is to simply have the people at the clinic scientifically "throw" the embryos away. So, the question is like it is with many other scenarios, "when does life begin?" Many wonder if its okay to simply throw the embryos away.

If I can't have kids one day, and if I'm rich, I would totally get in vitro done. I think its a great thing for couples. I would donate my extra embryos to stem cell research or a couple that can't have kids. I think In vitro is an awesome thing.

Hey whats up my people? Happy April fools day! Okay, so today I'm going to teach you about Genetically Modified Food or Genetically Modified Organisms. woo hoo! GMO's are food that have been genetically modified in the lab to enhance desired traits. GMO's are thought to be very beneficial because they can resist pests, disease, tolerate herbicide and extreme weather, and GMO's can be enhanced to be more nutritious.
Soybeans and corn are the most common types of genetically modified crops. Many people don't like GMO's for a variety of reasons. It has been shown that GMO's cause harm to other organisms. For example, there has been a high mortality rate in butterfies and caterpillars because of the pollen from genetically modified corn. Also, people are afraid that these GMO's could transfer their pesticide resisting genes onto weeds and create "superweeds" that would take over the earth. Many people are also concerned with human health. GMO's could create new allergens that could be deadly to many people. Also, a lot of people are just weirded out by the idea of their food being messed with. There is a great amount of people that want their food to be all natural and "clean."
I personally don't care if my food has been modified or not. I don't care as long as it won't kill me immediately, turn my skin purple, and as long as it tastes good ( :

So how do you feel about cloning? Reproductive Cloning is a very controversial topic in the United States. But there are other types of cloning too such as Recombinant DNA Technology or DNA cloning and this is also called molecular cloning and gene cloning(DNA from an organism is transfered into a self replicating genetic organism like a bacterial plasmid. Then the DNA is put into a host cell)Reproductive cloning is when scientist take DNA from a adult cell and put it into a egg that has had it's nucleus removed. So obviously, that egg does not have anymore DNA. This egg undergoes electric current treatment and is subjected to chemicals so it will divide. Once it has divided enought and reached a certain age, the egg is put into the uterus of another animal to grow and develop.

The process of Reproductive cloning is very complicated and difficult to preform with success. There have been many unsuccessful attempts to clone animal but some have successfully been cloned. Some animals cloned are pigs, sheep, cats, monkeys, cows and mice. Of course you have probably heard about Dolly the sheep who was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. She was the only successful attempt out of 277 attempts. Dolly lived to be six when most sheep live to be 12. Some speculate that this is because her clone "mother" was six when they took the DNA. But, some just say that it is because she naturally contracted lung disease which is common for goats.


So, the question is, if we can successfully clone an animal, will we attempt to clone humans? Many people argue about this. Some say that it is a good thing because if a child dies, parents can use his DNA to get him back again. But would the child be the same? Do clones have souls? Is it ethical to even clone someone? This are all questions that have people wondering. Personally, I think human cloning is something that should stay in science fiction movies...I'm not ready for everyone to look the same.

Today I would like to talk about Stem Cell research. This is a very controversial topic in the United States. So what exactly is a stem cell? A stem cell is a cell that hasn't found its purpose yet. Stem cells are are like a blank canvas. They haven't formed into cells such as a heart cell, lung cell, skin cell, etc. They haven't got signals that tell them what to be when they grow up.

There are embryonic stem cells and adult stem cells. Embryonic are all brand new and don't know exactly what they will become yet. Adult stem cells are replacement cells for other cells of the body. So they are more inclined to become what they are supposed to replace. Embryonic stem cells are the favorite type of cells to use in stem cell research because they are more likely to become what scientists want them to be. And here in lies the controversy: is stem cell research ethical?

Many believe it is unethical because those embryos that are used could have developed into a living person. Then there are those who think stem cell research is a wonderful thing that can help cure diseases. People that have spinal cord injuries, diabetes, heart disease, alzheimers, and parkinsons would benefit from stem cell treatment.

Many of those who oppose stem cell research say that we should use umbelical cords which have stem cells or adult stem cells instead of embryonic stem cells. Many say, however, that these cells just aren't as good as embryonic cells because they are more capable of becoming whatever cell scientists tell it to be.

One activist for stem cell research was Christopher Reeve. He was injured in a horse riding accident and he was paralyzied from the neck down. He became a major activist for stem cell research. He passed away in 2004.


So the question is is stem cell research and treatment ethical? Is it better to use embryonic cells to help save those that are suffering from diseases? Or is it wrong to do so because those embryos have a chance at life? This issue is one that will be debated for years to come. What is your stance?

Hello everyone ( : Today I would like to talk about Pedigree analysis. We all have been born with certain traits and using a pedigree we can determine where our certain traits came from and how we may pass them on. This is a chart that shows the symbols in a pedigree chart that will be useful for you to look at-



Now, I would like to show you some of the ways traits are inherited.

1. Autosomal Dominant traits- Females and males are both able to have the trait. The trait will not skip generations, and effected children will have at least one affected parent. Here's an example-


2. Now we have autosomal recessive traits. This is when both males and females are equally likely to get the trait, but the traits do skip generations. Children can be affected, but not have affected parents. So the parents are carriers. Cystic fibrosis is a autosomal recessive disease.


3. X linked recessive traits are found mainly in men. This trait is passed from mother to son with the mother being a carrier. This trait will skip one or more generations.


4. X linked dominant- This mode of inheritance effects twice as many girls than boys and the traits don't skip generations. The affected mother will pass her trait on to half of her children usually and girls and boys are both capable of getting the trait. All daughters of an affected dad will be affected.


5. And now we have the Y linked traits. Obviously only males are affected because they are XY and girls are XX. Affected fathers always pass this on to their son's and it will not skip generations.


I would highly recommend going to this website and doing the activity-

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/genetics/pi.html

It helps you understand pedigrees and how traits are passed through generations and I thought it was pretty fun ( :

Hello!! So it's been awhile since I have said anything. So today I found a website called eyeondna.com. I found this cool list of things that you can do with your DNA. Here's a couple-

You can extract your own Dna! here's how-

1.Gather together sodium chloride, liquid soap, 2 glass beakers, bottled and distilled water, 2 test tubes, test tube stoppers, glass rod, a plastic cup and rubbing alcohol.
2.Place 8 grams of sodium chloride in one of the beakers and dissolve with 92 milliliters of distilled water.
3.In a second beaker, combine 25 milliliters of liquid soap with 75 milliliters of distilled water.
4.Pour 1 milliliter of the sodium chloride solution into a large test tube.
5.Pour 10 milliliters of the bottled water into a plastic cup and swirl the water in your mouth for 30 seconds.
6.Spit the water back into the cup and pour the contents into the test tube containing the sodium chloride solution.
7.Add 1 milliliter of liquid soap to the test tube.
8.Cover the top of the test tube with a stopper and gently mix the contents by turning the test tube upside down and right side up.
9.Add 5 milliliters of the rubbing alcohol to the test tube making sure to pour it at an angle down the side of the test tube.
10.Wait for about 5 minutes and watch as the DNA floats to the surface.
11.Pour 1 milliliter of alcohol into the second test tube.
12.Use the glass rod to remove the DNA from the first test tube by twirling the rod in a circular motion.
13.Place the DNA into the second test tube containing the alcohol.



Other things this website suggests are kind of silly but I like them anyways. You can also make a portrait or painting of your dna


I thought that was pretty cool. Also, the website suggests a bonus idea of what you can do with your Dna- pass it into the future by having children ( :

So today I want to talk about some of the dominant and recessive traits that humans have. So first, lets talk about earlobes.



Having attached earlobes is recessive and having detached earlobes is recessive. Which kind do you have?

Next is tounge rolling.


being able to roll your tongue is a dominant trait and not being able to is recessive. Can you roll your tongue??

Do you have dimples? having dimples is a dominant trait and a lack of dimples is recessive.