Mutations

On pages 129-132 in the "Jump into the Gene Pool" section (chapter 6) Dr. Moalem describes how mutations occur through errors in the production of the string of information that composes DNA or through radiation or powerful chemicals. Powerful chemicals include carcinogens such as particles in cigarette smoke. He also discusses how the sun can cause mutations globally and how it can even be connected to certain flu epidemics. These discussions can relate to the mutations we learned in the Protein Synthesis unit.This is in relation to Big Idea 3 (living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes) because mutations change the information in DNA and can change essential processes in various organisms.

Pick a carcinogen (asbestos, benzene etc.) and describe specifically how it can potentially cause mutations in our DNA. Then, give an example of a mutation that the sun causes and explain the effects of it. Look at the event that happened in March 1989 (page 130) and elaborate on why the sunspot activity caused the power surge. Afterwards, give the differences between antigenic drift and antigenic shift while giving examples of each one. Finally, propose why (or why not) sunspot peaks caused the massive flu outbreaks in 1918 and 1919.

(Tyler Hagen-thagen4@students.d125.org)