Thursday

The fourth seminar is on this afternoon. This time we have an evolution topic looking at the origin of kelp species in the southern oceans. All the hand outs are available in the link list on the right.

Research Assessment

The internal assessment about the effects of climate change upon bio-diversity is beginning this week. There is a link to the instructions handout here and also in the link list on the right of the blog.

Busy Weeks

Zoo trip over now and well through the Biotic responses material. Seems like we are taking big jumps from the molecular view of genes in cells to the behaviours exhibited by complex mammals in a captive setting. Still, just getting to see the exotic strangeness of our world's wild animals and especially our nearest relatives never ceases to impress me. I suspect a large number of Biologists choose their path because of the wonderous incredibility of the world we live in.

Topic test coming up very soon.

Protein Synthesis

Monday Week 4

Course notes for animal behaviour and plant responses:

Course notes 3.4

Monday Week 3

Revising genetics this morning using this question sheet. The question about FH was a bit tricky has now been edited to make things clear.

Here is a link to some more info about the disease

Seminar two

This afternoon's seminar was about breast cancer and introduced a number of contemporary biological techniques that we will be considering in the bio technology section of the year thirteen course. The discussion questions for seminar two are in the link box on the right.

Monday 26 April

Week two term two, in the closing stages of our gene expression topic looking at interactions of genes. You need to be reviewing the work from the previous term in preparation for the common test.

I find it strange how every so often you will hear a word and then shortly afterwards come across the subject in many different articles. Epigenetics has been such a word for me after the first lenscience seminar. Here are links to some of them:

• Time magazine article
• Epigenetics audio article
• Diagram of epigenetic effects

Wednesday 21 April

This morning we continued with genetics looking at the following activities from the Biozone manual:

• Multiple alleles in blood groups
• Sex linkage
• Sex determination

Monday 19 April

Term Two has begun and in class this morning we looked at linkage and recombination. Tomorrow will be chromosome mapping before carrying on to the genetics problems.

The seminar paper for next week is now out and it is in a link on the side of the page or connect to the Lenscience page.

There are other scholarship related links in the link list on the right.

Monday

Continued with Gene expression topic today. looked at polyploidy as well as completing a revision question about genetics on the monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. Next lesson will follow up the genetics with a review of the process of meiosis.

Wednesday

Looking through the LenScience seminar paper the term Epigenetic comes up a number of times. I followed a couple of the links to scientific papers but the clearest information I found was on Wikipedia. Here is the link: Epigenetics It fits right into the picture we have been developing about control of gene expression and looks like the science behind the extract I read to you from the book: Nature Via Nurture, Matt Ridley on Monday morning.

Even after looking through the background reading I'm not sure I can answer the question. What are some environmental situations that cause epigenetic responses? ( I'm thinking being infected with Prions may be one)