Science: Genetic Disorders - why do they occur?

 Hi there!

Before lockdown, in Science class we were learning about Genetics and Evolution. Since we are now in lockdown, our learning is a little different. I decided I would make a post about genetic disorders. 

What is a genetic disorder?

A genetic disorder is a disease caused by mutation or change in a person's DNA sequence.

Why do genetic disorders occur? 

Genetic disorders don't just occur one way. You can actually inherit genetic disorders from your parents. Some don't show up right away when you're  born but instead appear when you are in adulthood. Most of the time, inherited genetic disorders show up when you are born. Some genetic disorders people inherit from their parents are: 

- Huntington's Disease 

- Cystic Fibrosis 

- Haemophilia

Some genetic disorders can occur because of errors in DNA replication, or environmental factors like: radiation exposure, cigarette smoke, some chemicals and ultra violet rays. These factors can cause changes in the sequence of DNA, the mutations can then lead to genetic disorders. 

A human's genome, or complete set of genetic instructions is like a recipe book. However, unlike a recipe book, our genome can change. The changes can affect the bases in DNA (adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine) or a chunk of DNA. Sometimes it can even affect chromosomes too.

Our DNA provides special codes to make protein or large molecules made from amino acids. These molecules are mostly responsible for controlling functions in our bodies. But, when a part of our DNA is changed, it can alter the protein code it makes too. This means the protein is affected and can sometimes stop functioning. 

Depending on where the mutations happen, they have little to no effect on the person, or they can greatly alter the makeup of cells in our body, leading to a genetic disorder.

Thanks for reading!

Science: The Ethics of Cloning

 Hi there! 

Today I will be writing about the ethics of cloning (as you can tell by the title). I will discuss how a clone is made, the ethics of cloning, and my opinions on some situations where cloning might be used. 

How do you make a clone?

To make a clone of any person, (let's use Leonardo da Vinci (L.d.V.) as an example) you would first need one of L.d.V.'s skin cells (all 46 chromosomes) and secondly, an egg cell (23 chromosomes) from a donor. Thirdly, the nuclei from both of the cells would need to be removed using a micropipette. Next, the nucleus of L.d.V.'s cell (with all 46 chromosomes) would be inserted into the donor egg cell, meaning the egg cell now has all the instructions to make Leonardo da Vinci. The egg is then surgically inserted into the same egg cell donor's womb. Finally, 9 months later a perfect genetic clone of Leonardo da Vinci is born. 

Ethics of Cloning

Ethics are behaviour's people have regarding right or wrong. Everyone has their own beliefs around ethics, take for example pineapple on pizza. Some people believe putting pineapple on pizza is wrong, whereas some people believe it's right. We could view this as an ethical dilemma. 

Personally, I think cloning is an ethical dilemma, some people think cloning is good, but when the thing being cloned is changed they might begin to think otherwise. This is also vice versa.

There are two sides to cloning, the positives such as being able to make copies of just about anything. But, there are also negatives, such as the reasoning behind a clone, for example, cloning strong, abled people for armies, knowing the people they clone don't have a say. 

Below, I'll put some cloning scenarios and my opinion on them. Just remember, people will all have different answers when it comes to cloning, no answer is right or wrong. Even scientists have been debating cloning for years!

Scenario 1: Cloning should be used to replicate extinct animals

I think that cloning shouldn't be used to replicate extinct animals. As much as it would be amazing to see Megalodons or Moa they wouldn't survive very long, as the environments they once lived in have completely changed. 

Scenario 2: Cloning should be used to staff armies

I think that cloning shouldn't be used to staff armies because it takes away the rights humans have. A person should not have the right to choose whether or not they join the army or any other defense force taken away from them automatically. 

Scenario 3: Cloning should be used to harvest organs for people who need them

I think that cloning shouldn't be used to harvest organs for people who need them. Like Scenario 2, people should be allowed to decide if they want to donate their organs. They shouldn't be 'bred' to give other people organs without consenting they'll do it first. 

Thanks for reading!

Science: Famous Scientist Research

 Hi there!

In Science, we were tasked with researching a famous scientist. After a long debate with myself, I have finally chosen to research about: Charles Darwin. 

Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England on 12 February, 1809. He died on 19 April 1882 in Kent, England.  

Darwin was famous for his book, 'On the Origins of Species' which he released in 1859. He gathered information to publish it after going travelling for 5 years across the world to different places. 

The book explained Darwin's ideas about evolution, however this caused a lot of controversy in the non-scientific community of the early 19th century. The evidence he gathered is seen as conflicting with some religious beliefs about creation of creatures on the world and the world itself. 

Darwin is also famous for studying the wildlife on the Galápagos Islands, a cluster of islands on the equator almost 1,000km west of Ecuador. While on the island, he noticed that the finches on the different islands were similar to each other, but not exactly alike. He noted that each bird had a variation in size, beak and claws. 

Darwin concluded that the islands were so distant from the mainland, that the finches which arrived previously to the islands had changed over time. Darwin ended up with almost 30 years of research and studied hundreds more plant and animal species. He made his theory of evolution by natural selection public in 1858. Nowadays, evolution by natural selection is the foundation of modern biology, accepted by scientists all across the world. 

Two random facts about Charles Darwin:

- He and Abraham Lincoln, former U.S. President were born on the same day.

- In Zimbabwe, there is a mountain named 'Mount Darwin', after him. 

Thanks for reading!

Lockdown Blog! Again...?

Hi there!

Last night at 11:59 p.m. the whole of New Zealand went into lockdown, as you probably already know. 

If you have been reading my blog since early last year (if you have, thank you!) you would know I had a lockdown blog about what I had been doing to keep myself from going stir crazy. 

That blog, even now, is still my most popular blog of all time, racking up 89 views and (for me) a very impressive 6 comments. I am very proud of this achievement,  I definitely don't check every once in a while to see how many views it has...

So anyway, I am going to do another lockdown blog, as it seemed like people loved it last time. Will I be able to do it again? I am hoping so, yes. Although this may not be as interesting as my original lockdown blog, I hope you will still find it interesting!

What have I actually been doing at home so far? 

After waking up stressing I was going to be late for school and then realising we're in lockdown, I started doing schoolwork from my English and Science classes. My goal is to stay on top of my schoolwork this lockdown, even if it is only for 3 days at the moment. I am doing this because when we do go back to 'brick and mortar' school I want to be ready and not ridiculously behind. 

I also am in a bit of a predicament; exercise. In short, I had surgery on my knee in April to replace a torn ligament. I am doing rehabilitation so I can go back to sports as soon as it is safe for me to do so. I need to go to the gym 5 times a week, 3 times doing circuit training to strengthen my muscles, and running on a treadmill 2 times a week. 

Here is my predicament: Gyms. Are. Closed. :(

I can go running throughout my neighborhood, no issue there. But, a lot of the equipment I need I don't have at my house, for example a barbell. I will try to innovate and create the best home gym I possibly can and hope we get out of lockdown soon.

I also have some sad news. My family's lockdown garden from last year has completely gone away. There are planter boxes outside with shriveled plants laying inside them. I am pretty sure there are no more plants that are left. Our pre-lockdown amusement greenhouse we bought has been packed down and retired to our garage. Luckily, it has a dual purpose! The structure of our former greenhouse can actually be used as a drying rack for clothes when it is raining outside!

Thank you for reading my blog, stay safe!

English Scholarship Pathway: What have I learnt?

Hi there!

Today I participated in an English Scholarship Pathway, or ESP. We learnt about Narratology Theory, Rhetoric Theory, Philosophy, and Shakespeare.

The class I enjoyed the most was Philosophy, although the other classes follow extremely closely!

I liked Philosophy because it made me think and question my morals and ethical beliefs and try to open my eyes to how others viewed things. I enjoyed asking 'Why?' to statements such as 'I bought food from the supermarket' and 'Lollies are good'. You would say your statement and other people would ask "Why did you buy food from the supermarket?", then you would answer. This would continue until there was no knowledge left at all which humans know about or until you ran out of knowledge. 

This activity made me think very deeply and it led well into the next portion of the class: Metaphysics. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy which asks questions like the following:

- Are we living in a simulation? What even is reality?

- Are you dreaming right now? Is your consciousness the only one to exist? 

- How did everything come into being? Why?

- What is the meaning of life, the universe and everything?

I found it fascinating that people ponder these questions for life, but each person will have a different answer and view, which can change over time too. 

After Metaphysics, we moved onto Ethics, specifically 'The Trolley Problem'. We looked at different perspectives of the trolley problem too, such as if there was a person large enough to push onto tracks. Our original ethical beliefs changed with each different scenario. 

Lastly, we focused on being human. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be a person? 

We watched a video of a robot being constructed as an introductory trailer for a PlayStation 3 game. In the video, we see a robot being constructed and being tested for tasks it needs to complete and gets named Kara. 

Kara passes her testing, but after being told she will be sold she says "I thought I was alive". After saying this she is disassembled, as she isn't supposed to think. She is able to convince the tester to stop and let her go and the video fades out. 

Personally, this video encouraged me to think about being alive and all the things people can experience, good or bad and how it can shape them. 

If the teachers who taught us are reading this post, THANK YOU! It was an amazing experience and I really appreciate everything you shared with us and the time you took out of your spare time!

Thanks for reading!

Social Studies: What have I learnt this week?

Hi there! 

Today I will be sharing what I have learnt this past week in Social Studies. We have been learning about different cultures/ethnicity that have faced discrimination.  

We read passages about The Dawn Raids of the 70's, and Asian Hate. 

I learnt that in the 1950's, Pacific people were encouraged to work in N.Z. as there was a shortage of workers. Flash forward to the 70's (when the economy fell), some people, including politicians of the time started saying the Pacific people had overstayed their visas and were staying illegally. The police force started raiding houses of Pacific people, bringing dogs frothing at the mouth and flashing lights in the faces of people who lived in those houses too, all early in the morning hence the name. Luckily, a couple of days ago, on behalf of the Government, Jacinda Ardern apologised for the Dawn Raids and took part in a ifoga, a Samoan forgiveness tradition. 

We also read a piece of writing from a student from Iraq at another school in Christchurch. She wrote about how she wanted to start embracing her culture. She used to straighten her hair, ask her mum to make 'English' food and be asked to 'say something in her language' but refuse, all because she was afraid of what others would think of her. Now, she wants to wear her naturally curly hair proudly, she tells her mum to make all the Arabic dishes she can and instead of refusing to say something in her language, she will. She says she shouldn't ignore culture, because it would be like erasing half of herself. 

The last thing we learnt about this week was Asian Hate. We read a post by an actor called Simu Liu. He expressed how the Asian community has been experiencing a lot of hate crimes, stemming from COVID-19 and the association that people who are of Asian descent are to blame for COVID-19. Hate crimes toward the Asian community skyrocketed up to 1900% higher than it was last year. He also mentions the misrepresentation of Asian people, including in the media. Although it is a problem being dealt with, Asian people are still stereotyped for 'being smart' or 'good at maths', some of the most common stereotypes Asian people face. 

Thanks for reading!

Science: DNA Extraction Experiment

 Hi there!

Today I will be writing about an experiment I conducted in Science.

Aim: 

To find DNA from Kiwifruit

Method: 

1. Mush half a kiwifruit (discard skin) in a ziplock bag with a splash of water and a small teaspoon of salt. 

2. Strain the solution through a cloth into a beaker.

3. Add a squirt of dishwashing liquid and stir.

4. Pour into a test tube.

5. Place the test tube in a beaker filled with WARM water.

6. Leave for 10 mins.

7. Slowly pour 5mL of methylated spirits down the side of the test tube. 

Results:

Discussion: 

Here is a diagram explaining:

An adult human can contain 50 trillion to 100 trillion cells, all of them (apart from red blood cells) contain a nucleus. A nucleus can be thought of as 'the control centre' of a cell, since it contains special instructions which tell that cell how to function. 

These instructions are positioned on chromosomes. Humans have 46 chromosomes in every cell in their body, one half (23) coming from the mother and the other half (23) coming from the father. 

DNA structure

Chromosomes are made up of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecules. A section of DNA gives instruction for specific characteristics. Hair colour is a good example of a characteristic, otherwise known as a gene. The scientific way of describing what DNA looks like is a 'double helix' however an easier way to remember is a twisted ladder. 

DNA is made up of simple repeating units which are called nucleotides. A nucleotide is made up of a sugar, a phosphate and a base.  Here is an example:

There are four different nucleotide bases which are found in DNA:

- Adenine (A)

- Thymine (T)

- Cytosine (C) 

- Guanine (G)

Since they are made up of different chemicals, not all of them are compatible with each other. An easy way to remember what bases go together is: Curly letters go together as do straight letters. This means that A and T go together and G and C go together. (Note: C and C cannot go together, same applies to G and G)

Conclusion:

I really enjoyed this experiment. I found it quite fascinating that the kiwifruit mixture separated into two sections after adding the methylated spirits to the test tube. Next time, something I think would be interesting to look at is the kiwifruit DNA under a microscope to see all the formations.

Thanks for reading!

Social Studies: Germany & The Great Depression

 Hi there!

Today I will be writing about Germany and The Great Depression, something we have been learning about in Social Studies.

Why was Germany hit the hardest during The Great Depression?

Germany was hit the hardest because of all the money they owed in reparations also, the contribution of the Wall Street stock drop in October 1929 added to Germany being hit the hardest, since they were already so low on money to fund their country. 

What did Germany agree to by signing the Treaty of Versailles?

Germany signed The Treaty of Versailles on the 28th of June 1919. The treaty only came into effect on January 10th 1920. The treaty held Germany responsible for starting WWI. They also were forced to comply with some harsh penalties too, including loss of territory, extreme amounts of reparations and lots of demilitarisation too. 

How was Aotearoa affected by The Great Depression?

Aotearoa was affected by The Great Depression, but the damage wasn't immediately apparent. From 1930, export prices started to plummet and by 1933 fell to 45%. To New Zealand, a country very strongly dependent on agricultural exports, this wasn't pleasant to hear or experience. Unemployment rose to 12% in 1933 and people who were lucky to still keep their jobs experienced wage cuts as much as 20%. Episodes of unemployment riots occurred throughout Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch over a six month period. The government tried to ease the effects of the Depression by putting in unemployment relief schemes. However this would require men to travel long distances for very little pay. 

Thanks for reading!