In this project, our task was to in detail describe how a protein can cause a disease by going into detail what protein synthesis is, compare normal to diseases protein, and give a general background info of the disease. Our final product was an educational video describing what our disease was and the process of protein synthesis. The disease my group and I selected was Mad Cow Disease which is also known as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy.
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Example of a polypeptide chain the primary structure of proteins
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This a a transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative, fatal disease that affects the nervous system of adult cattle. Once the cattle have the disease humans can get it by eating meat from mad cows. It affects the brain of cows and humans. So this is both a cattle disease and a human affected disease but it is very uncommon in America due to our high meat processing standards. If this disease was to affect a human, it is called Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease. One of the challenges that we faced in this project was how we would present our information, as we were told not to use any form of slideshows (the more traditional and common way to present such information). We needed to show our understanding of the disease, the protein and the synthesis of proteins; but how? To solve this probelm, my team and I brainstormed what we could do that would be entertaining and informative, and a little outside of the box. We decided on the idea of creating a video for our final product, and used it to present our information in a clear format that is also, hopefully, entertaining/educational. Below is our video we created.
As seen above our final product was an educational video that explained Mad Cow Disease and what protein synthesis is and how it works. To keep all of our research organized and easy to access we created a shared living document on Google Docs. This allowed us to communicate our ideas and findings to each other after we split the work up. After completing our own section of research we were able to read the other members of our groups findings and ask any questions or comment on anything we found while reading over our notes. In the guide lines for our project we needed to research all of the following topics and include them somehow in our final product and notes:
Disease Information:
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Protein Synthesis Information:
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My group and I were able to complete and find all of these pieces of information for Mad Cow Disease and, as you can see below, incorporated it into our living document. Also, if you scroll to the very end you will see our source page or bibliography of all the websites that we used to find this information.
Just as a quick little note the difference between Mad Cow Disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob is that Mad Cow disease originates in cow while Creutzfeldt originates in humans. Mad cow can then spread to humans while Jakob is never related to animals. Jakob is spread by contact with the nervous tissue of humans and mad cow is through contact with the nervous system of cows. Humans can get both of these diseases but one originates in cows.
Moving on, one of he most pressing issues that I have faced in past projects with groups involving projects, such as this one, is time management. To avoid any problems for running out of time, I created a Gantt chart for my group and I that included all of the tasks that we needed to accomplish on a certain date. This idea helped immensely in the long run, because my group and I had more than enough time to complete our video and finish our research before we needed to present. Below is the Gantt chart that we kept referring to during this project to keep us on the right track.
To Better Understand Mad Cow Disease is a transmissible, slowly progressive, degenerative (progressive and some times irreversible loss of tissue/organ functions), fatal disease that affects the nervous system of adult cattle. Once the cattle have the disease humans can get it by eating meat from mad cows. It affects the brain of cows and humans. You get this disease when you consume meat from the brain, nervous system, or spinal cord. It is most common in other countries due to the health regulation in the US. As of 2017, only 231 people have been affected by mad |
cow disease and only four deaths in the US that can from outside meat. Scientists still do not know fully how this disease works, and as of now there is no cure or treatments against Mad Cow Disease. This relates our project because this was the protein disease that my group and I selected, and we made our video/presentation surrounding it.
Prions are misfolded proteins that cause brain related degenerative diseases in humans and animals (like Mad Cow Disease). Mad Cow Disease changes the protein called a prion and makes it abnormal. It then destroys nervous system tissues, the brain, and the spinal cord. Scientists are not sure why the disease alters the protein ( one or more chains of amino acids that are essential for all living things to function). This is how the protein Prion relates to our project and research because it is the protein that is affected by the disease.
Amino Acids are the building blocks of all proteins or the base of one. They are essentially what make polypeptide chains which are single amino acids bonded together into a chain and are what will fold to become a protein. This relates to our project because amino acids make polypeptide chains, which later become proteins (keep reading for further explanation of this process), Prions are proteins, and Prions cause Mad Cow Disease so understanding these concepts is very important to later comprehend the Central Dogma of biology.
Nucleotides are the code, or letters, that give instructions and makes the proteins. It is basically the basis of making the protein. Codons are a pair of three nucleotides that are brought the mRNA to be used in the making of the protein and Anticodons are brought by the tRNA and are also a pair of three nucleotides that match up with the nucleotides from the codons. These terms relate to our project because we learned and used these terms when researching about protein synthesis and how it works.
RNA stands for ribonucleic acid, and it is the primary role in protein synthesis. RNA is similar to DNA in a sense but it is only half of the double helix, like the DNA has been "unzipped". In protein synthesis the main RNA types used are mRNA and tRNA. The mRNA, or messenger RNA, has the job of delivering the nucleotide sequence to the ribosomes where it will be made. The tRNA, or transfer RNA, carries the appropriate amino acid sequence as directed by the mRNA which is known as the anticodon, along with the corresponding amino acids that will make some make up the polypeptide chain. These terms relate to our project because these are all major parts of the protein synthesis and allow this process to take place or direct it, and that was what the majority of my research was on.
A Polymerase is essentially a long chain of molecules that is made up of many monomers, or small molecules. Alpha Helix and Beta Sheet are the first forms that the polypeptide chains take during protein folding and depending on the chains characteristics and traits it becomes either a helix or a sheet. These terms relate to our project because polymerase are apart of making a polypeptide chain and alpha helix and beta sheet are the different forms in protein folding, which will be explained further down.
The "brain" of the cell is the Nucleus. This part of the cell monitors and directs a lot of the commotion happening in the cell. It also controls and directs most of what is happening during protein synthesis. Cytoplasm is a gel-like substance that holds all of the organelles in a cell in place, such as the nucleus. Ribosomes make proteins, and each cell contains thousands of them. They can be found floating throughout the cell in the cytoplasm and other on other organelles. These relate to our project because these are the three organelles that are involved with protein synthesis and allow everything to function properly.
Amino Acids are the building blocks of all proteins or the base of one. They are essentially what make polypeptide chains which are single amino acids bonded together into a chain and are what will fold to become a protein. This relates to our project because amino acids make polypeptide chains, which later become proteins (keep reading for further explanation of this process), Prions are proteins, and Prions cause Mad Cow Disease so understanding these concepts is very important to later comprehend the Central Dogma of biology.
Nucleotides are the code, or letters, that give instructions and makes the proteins. It is basically the basis of making the protein. Codons are a pair of three nucleotides that are brought the mRNA to be used in the making of the protein and Anticodons are brought by the tRNA and are also a pair of three nucleotides that match up with the nucleotides from the codons. These terms relate to our project because we learned and used these terms when researching about protein synthesis and how it works.
RNA stands for ribonucleic acid, and it is the primary role in protein synthesis. RNA is similar to DNA in a sense but it is only half of the double helix, like the DNA has been "unzipped". In protein synthesis the main RNA types used are mRNA and tRNA. The mRNA, or messenger RNA, has the job of delivering the nucleotide sequence to the ribosomes where it will be made. The tRNA, or transfer RNA, carries the appropriate amino acid sequence as directed by the mRNA which is known as the anticodon, along with the corresponding amino acids that will make some make up the polypeptide chain. These terms relate to our project because these are all major parts of the protein synthesis and allow this process to take place or direct it, and that was what the majority of my research was on.
A Polymerase is essentially a long chain of molecules that is made up of many monomers, or small molecules. Alpha Helix and Beta Sheet are the first forms that the polypeptide chains take during protein folding and depending on the chains characteristics and traits it becomes either a helix or a sheet. These terms relate to our project because polymerase are apart of making a polypeptide chain and alpha helix and beta sheet are the different forms in protein folding, which will be explained further down.
The "brain" of the cell is the Nucleus. This part of the cell monitors and directs a lot of the commotion happening in the cell. It also controls and directs most of what is happening during protein synthesis. Cytoplasm is a gel-like substance that holds all of the organelles in a cell in place, such as the nucleus. Ribosomes make proteins, and each cell contains thousands of them. They can be found floating throughout the cell in the cytoplasm and other on other organelles. These relate to our project because these are the three organelles that are involved with protein synthesis and allow everything to function properly.
Protein Synthesis
Protein Synthesis is the process of creating or making a protein. There are a lot of parts that go into making just one protein, and it is really fascinating that our bodies are able to do this so often and quickly. This is also called the Central Dogma of biology. All of the definitions above will help understand some of the concepts and words that are referred to below
The first step in protein synthesis is Transcription. Transcription is when the DNA sequence information is being converted to RNA, where a segment of DNA is copied into RNA. The double strand DNA molecule that is partially ‘unzipped’ has RNA polymerase copy the DNA’s nucleotides |
one by one turning it into an mRNA molecule. Unlike DNA, RNA has only a single strand, and is a more fragile and temporary molecule inside the cell. RNA is small and can easily exit the nucleus and go to the cytoplasm, where proteins are made. The mRNA leaves the nucleus to go to the cytoplasm and attach to ribosomes. This biology concept was used in our project because we had to explain what transcription was and how it worked, in detail, in our video as well as in class.
The second step of protein synthesis is Translation. This is the process where the RNA molecule (nucleotide sequence) is now decoded into an amino acid sequence (protein). Ribosome matches the mRNA code in sets of three bases called codons. This creates tRNA with matching anticodon bases. The ribosome moves the mRNA along matching 3 base pairs each time and adding to a polypeptide chain. When the ribosome reaches a stop code it will release the mRNA and the new polypeptide chain. The chain forms its nature shape and goes into the cell to serve its function as a protein.
The Steps:
The Steps:
- mRNA binds with ribosome
- Ribosome matches the tRNA anticodon sequence with the mRNA codon sequences
- Each time a tRNA is copied it is added to the polypeptide chain
- The chain is released from the ribosome and it forms it shape and goes into the cell to perform its functions
After there is a free-floating polypeptide chain in the cell it now will fold into the shape of its destined protein so it can perform its functions correctly, this is called simply Protein Folding. The protein will move and change until it has found its most stable state. It is guided by hydrophobic interactions and bonds between hydrogen molecules. The image at right is a simple example of what is happening when a chain becomes a 3-Dimensional and functional protein.
Below are the steps and parts of protein folding: |
- Primary Structure: It starts with the amino acid chain and the location of the amino acid determine where it will fold.
- Secondary Structure: Hydrogen bonds quickly fold parts of the protein and they help to develop stability within the protein. Alpha helix and beta sheets: rough ER
- Tertiary Structure: Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic reactions allow the protein to fold more towards the core that is hydrophobic.
- Quaternary Structure: Multiple polypeptide chains join together to form larger protein structures. Occurs in the Golgi body.
Now there is a three dimensional protein that can go throughout the cell or the body to perform its job. The process of protein synthesis relates to our project because this is how a protein is made. Prion, the protein affected in Mad Cow Disease, is made through protein synthesis. So that is how it relates to our whole idea of Mad Cow Disease, since this is the process that such a protein would have to go through before it functions properly or turns into a disease.
Reflection
Two skills that I utilized for the duration of this project were time management and organization. The first area that I preformed well in was time management. To keep my team on the right track we needed to come up with a device that will tell us what exactly we need to do everyday and when it needs to be finished; a Gantt chart. The first day of this project I shared a document with my group that contained the chart and all of a sudden we were ready to start the project and knew where to refer to if we needed to know what we had to do a specific day.A specific example of when using this chart came in handy was one day not all of our group members were at school so the chart we had shared with each other was still available to the kids not here and we were able to complete all the tasks for the day needed. The second skill that I used well in this project was organization. An example of when this was used/came in handy on my part, was the first day of this project. I immediately created a document that my group and I could add all of our information to and in the long run this kept all of our information in a neat and easy to access format. Going back to refer to something was extremely simple and took little to no time, because everything was labeled and in order.
Two skills that I still need to work on for our next project are collaboration and problem solving. The first skill that I still need to work on is collaboration. An example of when this became an issue was when it was obvious that the workload was not divided fairly within my group. One day a group member and I were working really hard to complete our video and edit it, while two other teammates were not being productive and just sitting around for the whole class. I got them to work after I realized what had happened the next day, but in a group everyone needs to pitch in for everything to run smoothly. Next time I will make sure that we are all collaborating and putting in equal work together. The second skill that I still need to improve upon is problem solving. An example of when this became an issue was on the last work day we had. We were trying to add voice overs to our video, so I looked up how to do it online, when I went back to our video editing software - our video was gone! None of us knew what to do and were all freaking out essentially, because our video was due either today or after class tomorrow. I went back into the software in hopes of finding the video, and there it was. While we were able to find the video and finish it, this incident showed me that I still need to work on solving and handling tough problems and situations that come my way on a group project. In the future I will make sure to stay calm in the presence of tough problems and keep the group together so we are not disunified.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this project! I had never worked with these group members before and I honestly enjoyed myself for the most part, we worked well together and I learned a lot about proteins and diseases related to them. I hope that my next project will be just as successful and fun!
Two skills that I utilized for the duration of this project were time management and organization. The first area that I preformed well in was time management. To keep my team on the right track we needed to come up with a device that will tell us what exactly we need to do everyday and when it needs to be finished; a Gantt chart. The first day of this project I shared a document with my group that contained the chart and all of a sudden we were ready to start the project and knew where to refer to if we needed to know what we had to do a specific day.A specific example of when using this chart came in handy was one day not all of our group members were at school so the chart we had shared with each other was still available to the kids not here and we were able to complete all the tasks for the day needed. The second skill that I used well in this project was organization. An example of when this was used/came in handy on my part, was the first day of this project. I immediately created a document that my group and I could add all of our information to and in the long run this kept all of our information in a neat and easy to access format. Going back to refer to something was extremely simple and took little to no time, because everything was labeled and in order.
Two skills that I still need to work on for our next project are collaboration and problem solving. The first skill that I still need to work on is collaboration. An example of when this became an issue was when it was obvious that the workload was not divided fairly within my group. One day a group member and I were working really hard to complete our video and edit it, while two other teammates were not being productive and just sitting around for the whole class. I got them to work after I realized what had happened the next day, but in a group everyone needs to pitch in for everything to run smoothly. Next time I will make sure that we are all collaborating and putting in equal work together. The second skill that I still need to improve upon is problem solving. An example of when this became an issue was on the last work day we had. We were trying to add voice overs to our video, so I looked up how to do it online, when I went back to our video editing software - our video was gone! None of us knew what to do and were all freaking out essentially, because our video was due either today or after class tomorrow. I went back into the software in hopes of finding the video, and there it was. While we were able to find the video and finish it, this incident showed me that I still need to work on solving and handling tough problems and situations that come my way on a group project. In the future I will make sure to stay calm in the presence of tough problems and keep the group together so we are not disunified.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this project! I had never worked with these group members before and I honestly enjoyed myself for the most part, we worked well together and I learned a lot about proteins and diseases related to them. I hope that my next project will be just as successful and fun!