DNA and a little moreIvar Giaever

Rensselaer Polytechnic Instituteand

Applied BioPhysics, Inc.Troy, NY 12180

andOslo Universitetet

Blindern, Oslo

Cloning

Cloning is not a very precise term. It used to mean: take DNA from an adult cell, now when you read about it, stem cells are often used.

Some plants are easy to clone, for example potatoes.

McIntosh apples are grafts from ONE Canadian tree

Jim Watson 1928- Francis Crick 1916-

Nobel Prize 1962

On April 25, 1953,

Crick and Watson

published in Nature the famous paper: "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids“

Now know as: The Double Helix

The length of DNA in each cell is ~ 1 meter. A person has 1014

cells. The length of DNA in a single person:~1014 m Distance to moon is ~108 m, to the sun ~1011 m and to nearest star ~1016 m

Probably the most famous sentence in science:

“It has not escaped our notice that the specific pairing we have postulated immediately suggests a possible copying mechanism for the genetic material"

Please note that there are no small men who put the parts together, it happens all by random diffusion. It is a self organizing system

K. Eric Drexler describes the “assembler”

An “assembler” can make everything, atom by atom, including making a copy of itself

Bill Joy, founder and chief s scientist at Sun Microsystem, worries in the magazine WIRED about the “gray goo”, how robots could ravage the earth

Cells are such machines, cells have ravaged the earth, changed the atmosphere to contain oxygen, and put “green goo” all over the surface

e.coli

Can we make cars this way?

Big box full of parts that fit into each other. Shake it vigorously and…..

Completed cars come out

Double stranded DNA from a small virus.

Individual molecules are not visible, and the double helix appears as a long thread

GAGTTTTATCGCTTCCATGACGCAGAAGTTAACACTTTCGGATATTTCTGATG

AGTCGAAAAATTATCTTGATAAAGCAGGAATTACTACTGCTTGTTTACGAATTAAATCGAAGTGGACTGCTGGCGGAAAATGAGAAAATTCGACCTATCCTTGCGCAGCTCGAGAAGCTCTTACTTTGCGACCTTTCGCCATCAACTAACGATTCTGTCAAAAACTGACGCGTTGGATGAGGAGAAGTGGCTTAATATGCTTGGCACGTTCGTCAAGGACTGGTTTAGATATGAGTCACATTTTGTTCATGGTAGAGATTCTCTTGTTGACATTTTAAAAGAGCGTGGATTACTATCTGAGTCCGATGCTGTTCAACCACTAATAGGTAAGAAATCATGAGTCAAGTTACTGAACAATCCGTACGTTTCCAGACCGCTTTGGCCTCTATTAAGCTCATTCAGGCTTCTGCCGTTTTGGATTTAACCGAAGATGATTTCGATTTTCTGACGAGTAACAAAGTTTGGATTGCTACTGACCGCTCTCGTGCTCGTCGCTGCGTTGAGGCTTGCGTTTATGGTACGCTGGACTTTGTGGGATACCCTCGCTT

THE SEQUENCE IS ALTOGETHER 5386 BASES (OR LETTERS) LONG

IT CONTAINS 10 GENES, I.E. THE PHAGE MAKES 10 DIFFERENT PROTEINS

TCCTGCTCCTGTTGAGTTTATTGCTGCCGTCATTGCTTATTATGTTCATCCCGTCAACATTCAAACGGCCTGTCTCATCATGGAAGGCGCTGAATTTACGGAAAACATTATTAATGGCGTCGAGCGTCCGGTTAAAGCCGCTGAATTGTTCGCGTTTACCTTGCGTGTACGCGCAGGAAACACTGACGTTCTTACTGACGCAGAAGAAAACGTGCGTCAAAAATCACTTTATGCGGACACTTCCTACAGGTAGCGTTGACCCTAATTTTGGTCGTCGGGTACGCAATCGCCGCCAGTTAAATAGCTTGCAAAATACGTGGCCTTATGGTTACAGTATGCCCATCGCAGTTCGCTACACGCAGGACGCTTTTTCACGTTCTGGTTGGTTGTGGCCTGTTGATGCTAAAGGTGAGCCGCTTAAAGCTACCAGTTATATGGCTGTTGGTTTCTATGTGGCTAAATACGTTAACAAAAAGTCAGATATGGACCTTGCTGCTAAAGGTCTAGGAGCTAAAGAATGGAACAACTCACTAAAAACCAAGCTGTCGCTACTTCCCAAGAAGCTGTTCAGAATCAGAATGAGCCGCAACTTCGGGATGAAAATGCTCACAATGACAAATCTGTCCACGGAGTGCTTAATCCAACTTACCAAGCTGGGTTACGACGCGACGCCGTTCAACCAGATATTGAAGCAGAACGCAAAAAGAGAGATGAGATTGAGGCTGGGAAAAGTTACTGTAGCCGACGTTTTGGCGGCGC

AACCTGTGACGACAAATCTGCTCAAATTTATGCGCGCTTCGATAAAAATGATTGGCGTATCCAACCTGCA

Bacteriophage phi-X174 Genome

The genome can be sequenced chemically:

Electrophoresis: the most used method in biology

Restriction enzymes (Magic scissors)

Example of restriction sites

Everybody has a PERSONAL “barcode”

According to DNA analysis, OJ’s blood was all over the crime scene and further more his finger was cut. But the jury did not understand science and he was found not guilty.

300.000 Generations since we split from chimpanzees.

We are all descendants from a woman who lived in Africa 10.000 generations ago

Women and men are not alike, no matter how much we pretend that they are

You are not what you eat, you are shaped by your genes, both physically and mentally

Charles Darwin 1806-1889

Survival of the fittest

Dinosaurs are extinct because they could not compete.

The real competition is not between various species but between DNA sequences, the lucky ones survive.