The fingerprint that’s inside your body!!!!!! DNA The fingerprint that’s inside your body!!!!!!

DNA Every cell has certain organelles to keep it alive Eukaryotic cells have a nucleus

Inside the Nucleus Inside of the Nucleus of Eukaryotic Cells you will find Chromosomes Chromosomes are made up of Genes which are made up of DNA which is made up of Nucleotides

Chromosomes Chromosomes are tightly wound strands of DNA

Genes Sections of that tightly wound DNA are Genes… which are the code for the traits you exhibit! What’s a trait? A characteristic!

Genes are made of DNA The genes are specific sequences of DNA that instruct the Ribosome to make a specific protein

DNA

DNA Facts! The shape of DNA is too small to see with your eyes, but under an electron microscope it looks like a twisted up ladder! DNA stands for: D: Deoxyribose N: Nucleic A: Acid DNA is locked away in the nucleus! Every living thing has DNA. That means that you have something in common with a zebra, a tree, mold, bacteria and a beetle!

Even though it codes for all the information that makes up an organism, DNA is built using only four building blocks, the nucleotides adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine. DNA Facts! Nucleic Acids are built using Nucleotides and they are stuck in the Nucleus! Every living thing has DNA. That means that you have something in common with a zebra, a tree, mold, bacteria and a beetle!

Every single cell in YOUR body has the EXACT SAME DNA! Double Helix DNA is called a double helix because the two strands (double) twist up into the “shape” of a spiral staircase (helix) DNA is two strands of complementary nitrogen bases, joined together like a ladder Every single cell in YOUR body has the EXACT SAME DNA!

(A Fertilized Egg is a ZYGOTE) GENES DNA makes up your genes… GENES are the instructions for the traits that you “express” (show) Your traits are locked in at the moment dad’s sperm fertilizes mom’s egg! (A Fertilized Egg is a ZYGOTE)

Normal humans have 46 chromosomes… Genes make up your Chromosomes… We have “mapped out” the Human Genome… So, we know which traits are found on which chromosome! Normal humans have 46 chromosomes… 23 pairs

But, the number of chromosomes has NOTHING to do with intelligence! The number of chromosomes differs for different species! But, the number of chromosomes has NOTHING to do with intelligence! And… a Fern has 1260!!!!

Meet our CLOSEST relative! Believe it or not… We share 98.5% of our genome with CHIMPANZEES! What’s a GENOME? All of the genes on all of the chromosomes have been mapped out…

Wait… What??? YUP! When scientists compared the sequence of nucleotides in our DNA (which make up our genes) on each chromosome… Chimps and Humans are 98.5% the SAME!

Tell me more about this crazy stuff Hmmm… I have to think about this… How can we have 98.5% of the same DNA and be SOOOO different? Seriously, just one or two “tweaks” in our DNA is enough to drastically change our traits!

What’s up with this DNA? Deoxyribonucleic Acid is a double stranded molecule made up of repeating nucleotides… A-T C-G It is the sequence of the 4 nucleotides that makes us different from a stink bug, a palm tree or an ape!

DNA is built like steps and rails of a ladder This is a rail – It is alternating sugars and phosphates This is a step – a nitrogenous base Adenine can only pair with Thymine Cytosine can only pair with Guanine

ALL THUGS CARRY GUNS! Remember this saying… Adenine can only pair with Thymine Cytosine can only pair with Guanine

You can tell people apart by their fingerprints… Because everyone’s fingerprints are different!

DNA is like a fingerprint because everyone’s is a little different (it is unique)!

It is the sequence of the 4 bases which codes for the proteins that make YOU into YOU!

Just like the letters of our alphabet… If you rearrange letters, you can spell out different words: CAT can be rearranged to spell ACT… or TAC…

Let’s get DNA from a banana!

Instructions Materials Banana Salt Dishwashing liquid Meat tenderizer Rubbing alcohol Label your cups “CONTROL” and “SOAP AND ENZYMES” Add banana juice to both cups Add dishwashing soap to cup marked “soap and enzymes” Add ½ teaspoon of meat tenderizer to cup marked “soap and enzymes” Stir gently, wait 10 minutes SLOWLY pour alcohol into each cup and DO NOT stir!

STEP # 1 The DNA gets cut up by special scissors!!!

The scissors can only cut the same colour!

All of the cut up pieces of DNA are different sizes. STEP # 2 All of the cut up pieces of DNA are different sizes.

STEP # 3 A special machine sorts the DNA by size. (Little pieces are fast, so they move faster to the bottom.) BIG TOP LITTLE BOTTOM

We are ALL a little bit different! Miss Ellis’ DNA BIG LITTLE Sara’s DNA

Soooo…. How do we tell people apart just by their DNA anyways???

Our DNA has different sizes of pieces so it makes a different pattern when it’s all cut up. Miss Ellis’ DNA Sara’s DNA

This is what it really looks like!!! Miss Ellis Sara                                                                                                   This is what it really looks like!!!

Can you guess which one is Sara and which one is Miss Ellis? Is the red box around Miss Ellis’ DNA or around Sara’s DNA?

Now let’s solve a mystery using DNA clues! (Just like they do on CSI!!!)

THE CASE OF THE VEGGIE STEALING BANDIT Miss Maize was returning from a shopping trip to the market, arms filled with groceries when a young man stopped her to ask for directions. She put down her groceries and was helping the man when another person snatched her bags from right beside her. She didn’t see the person’s face but managed to grab hold of his arm for a second and scratched his skin.

The Victim Full name: Miss Mary Matilda Maize Age: 26 years old Profession: Professional Sky Diver who knows that the best way to stay fit is to eat lot of vegetables.

Suspect # 1 Name: Tony Tuber Suspected because: Tony was caught at the local Safeway last year trying to sneak turnips out in his t-shirt.

Suspect # 2 Name: Randy Raddichio Suspected because: A witness saw Randy chowing down on some radishes just moments after the veggie snatching.

Suspect # 3 Name: Fanny Fennel Suspected because: Fanny is also a skydiver and the long time enemy of Miss Maize. She would like nothing more than for Miss Maize to not eat her vegetables and not be able to compete as well in the big competition next week.

Now solve the mystery! At each station there will be a question. If you answer the question correctly you will get a DNA clue. At the end, look at the clues and figure out who stole Miss Maize’s vegetables!

Activities Presentation about DNA (Time: 15 minutes) Extracting DNA from an onion (Time: 15-20 minutes) May be done as an experiment in front of the class rather than as an activity for everyone to participate in (as you need a blender, use of a knife, etc) Making a DNA molecule with candy (Time: 15-20 minutes) DNA molecule can be made with licorice as the backbone and mini marshmallows of different colours as the bases Can the kids have food in class? (Any allergies?) Playing a “CSI-style” mystery game (Time: 20-25 minutes) The class will be broken up into groups of 2-4 children. I will present the case, with suspects and the victim of the crime (I won’t choose a violent crime, something like a purse snatching!) There will be different stations where groups can get clues if they answer questions right about DNA.