Lecture: GFP and RNA analysis

Todays' lecture was about non-genetic analysis involving GFP and RNA formation.

What I found interesting was the amount of regulation and variety that is achieved from RNAs! it's so fascinating! With the example of the drosophila, how sex is determined by how the same gene is spliced. If it is spliced in one way, the embryo is male and if it is spliced in another, it is female. There are other regulatory pathways involved that promotes a specific form of splicing. Another interesting phenomenon that is seen in biology is the use of a single molecule to promote different behaviour ex. cytoplasmic iron levels and the formation of ferratin or transferrin.

I implemented the idea that I would write cue words along throughout the lecture and then constantly review them. This worked and help in recall and I realized that when I recalled I actually thought I covered everything. However, when I check, I realize that there are lots of details I missed. This is helped me become more aware of the details that is needed in BMS. I found that it is way more effective to listen to what the lecturer was saying, then read the slide and then write. This helps compact the information into what I understand and I remember it for a long time. My rate limiting step is my typing speed. Thus, this needs improving. My aim is to reach 60 wpm. I am aiming to achieve this before the next lecture. Another area of improvement is my sleep cycle, I need to maintain a strict sleep cycle otherwise I wake up late and my mind is not optimally active. The last area of improvement is seeing the connections within the topic and cross-modular.

The future
This is my favorite part because I get to see the relevance of the information to a bigger picture.
GFP is something that is used in anything and everything. Is there a way of introducing spliced eIF-4G in cancerous cells, inhibting them from producing growth factors etc. According to a study by Bauer et al. 2002, eIF-4G overexpression is associated with cancerous cells. There are other eukaryotic transcription factors that are associated with cancer. They could also be used as a diagnostic tool.


Bauer et al. 2002: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11857405
Veremieva et al. 2014: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25472873