Biology Week 3

1. Which of the following is not alive, but requires life to be able to reproduce?

 Yes, a virus requires a living cell for reproduction, and cannot reproduce by itself.

2. Which statement best describes the function of the rough endoplasmic reticulum?

 Rough ER is covered with ribosomes (causing the "rough" appearance) which are involved in the process of synthesizing proteins for secretion or localization in membranes.

3. Which statement best describes the function of the Golgi apparatus?

 The Golgi apparatus processes proteins after they leave the endoplasmic reticulum.

4. In some diseases like cystic fibrosis, a cell membrane receptor fails to function. In the majority of cases, the problem comes from a change in the receptor so that it cannot reach the cell surface. The site in the cell where membrane proteins are synthesized and assembled builds up with the abnormal protein. This site would likely be the: 

 The site of synthesis and assembly of membrane proteins, the ER also seems to be able to detect proteins that cannot fold correctly. These accumulate and are degraded. For CF, 70% of the patients have a form of the disease where the receptor accumulates in the ER.

5. The following organelle is found in prokaryotic cells but not eukaryotic cells of animal origin.

 Animal cells in contrast to the majority of bacteria lack a cell wall.

6. Mitochondria and chloroplasts both:

Contain DNA, are present in plants and function to provide the cell a source of energy. 


  “99.4% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in human and chimp genes”

Six tenths of a percent is not very much difference if we can assume that we indeed have calculated correctly. Then again there may be a lot that we still don't know. Though the percentage may be small it is significant when you consider the differences in the way that humans and chimps express themselves. That being said we do show our primate color when living in densely populated urban areas. I am reminded of Desmond Morris' book the "Naked Ape", when I at loss to explain the way I feel or behave whilst living in the human zoo.
It could be that there are other mechanisms at play here, concepts that we have attempted to explain away with genetics and DNA. I would have to say that the similarities are profound but the differences are staggering when we consider the potential that human consciousness holds. 

Stem Cells
It is interesting to know that new ways to collect stem cells has been developed. I remember when this was a hot button issue when human embryos were the source of stem cell collection. It will be interesting to see what sort of developments will come along because of this new technology. Not so sure I am crazy about the idea of synthetic meat, but I am willing to stay open to the idea.