pGLO Observations, Data Recording, & Analysis

Plate	Number of Colonies	Color of colonies under room light	Color of colonies under UV light
- pGLO LB	3	Clear yellow	Clear yellow
+ pGLO LB/amp	Unable to tell since they are in one big clump	Clear yellow	Clear yellow
+ pGLO LB/amp/ara	4	Clear yellow	Clear yellow with a green center

Two new traits the transformed bacteria have it that they glow under and UV light and have resistance to ampicillin. About 10 colonies about bacteria since there is already about 7 colonies and we can assume the amount in the +pGLO LB/amp tray has about three colonies since we put about the same amount on each plate. Arabinose triggers the GFP, so that it glows under UV light. GFP can help scientists determine whether a gene is being expressed. It can also be used to study the interaction of different proteins. Lastly, it can be used by scientists to get a broader of a gene. Another application for genetic engineering is giving plants the ability to be resistant against certain pesticides or pests themselves.

Candy Electrophoresis Lab

We did an experiment of candy dyes. We used Mike and Ikes and extracted the dye from them. Then we tested for what types of dyes they have. Two colors seemed to be have more diverse dyes than the others. The green dye is slightly smaller than the rest of the bands. The light red dye is slightly purple. These dyes could be made of different substances than the reference and experimental dyes. Carminic acid and betanin would most likely be as far out as the reference and experimental dyes that are red since they’re similar in color. Citrus red most likely would be as far out as the experimental light red dye since they’re similar in color. And fast green would be as far out as the experimental green since they’re similar in color.

Products that contains food dye include dog food, chips, like cheetos, doritos, and lays, juice, like apple, orange, and grape, and cereal, like fruit loops, lucky charms, and cinnamon toast crunch. This is most likely done so it looks more natural or colorful to people, grabbing their attention, and raising the chance of them buying the product, raising profit.

Two factors that control how far the food dye went in the gel was the size of the food dye molecules and the amount of charge that went through the electric current, which causes the dye to move since they have a negative charge and will travel towards the positive charge, which is on the other side of the gel. The electrophoresis system separates the molecules by size because the bigger the molecule, the slower it will move, and vis versa, in the electric current, causing the dyes to be separated by the size of their molecules. This process is often done with DNA though. If four DNA molecules with the weight of 600, 1000, 2000, 5000 daltons were put in the gel and traveled by the electric current, 600 would be the farthest out, 100 would be the second farthest, 2000 would be the second closest, and 5000 would be the closest to the negative side of the electric current.

New Year Goals

One of my goals for this semester is to try to sleep more. I didn't time manage very well last semester, leading to sleep deprivation. I will do this by doing my homework as soon as I get home from school, not going on my phone after 10 pm, and not drink tea at night because I usually grab a book and lose track of time. Following these steps will make me reach my goal.

Another goal of mine is to have a clearer understanding of labs. Last semester, I just went through the procedure in a timely manner but didn't really think about why we are doing a step and why we are using certain materials. I will do this by consciously thinking "Why are we doing this step?" or "Why are we using these materials?" throughout the lab process and answer these questions as thoroughly as possible. These steps will help me achieve my goal.