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Central Dogma: Connect the Dots...DNA to DISEASE

The goal of this activity is to allow students to discover that DNA sequences, while the A, T, G, and C’s seem like non-sense, do in fact encode very important proteins that help us sustain life. They will also discover that some of these proteins are involved in causing diseases. The program used to search the available database of proteins is called BLAST (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST/). It is provided by the National Institutes of Health and is widely used by research scientists to search for DNA and protein sequences. Students will transcribe and translate a given sequence of DNA and perform a BLAST search against a database of known proteins to determine which protein their sequence encodes. They will than do a web search to find the diseases related to these proteins. This a great activity where students discover how the DNA sequences determine proteins and how the proteins may be connected to a disorder. The web site includes wonderful teachers notes and student directions downloadable in Word. This activity (DNA to Disease) is the eighth acitvity on this web site.

Microsoft Office document icon Central Dogma Document

Standards & Objectives

Learning objectives: 
  • The goal of this activity is to allow students to discover on their own that the seemingly “nonsense” DNA sequences they often hear about actually encode for meaningful proteins which have vital functions in the body. 
  • They will learn that defective proteins are usually the cause of most diseases.

Experimentation Objectives:
Students will be able to:

  • Transcribe and translate a DNA sequence
  • Use the internet and a specialized database search engine to identify the protein encoded by a certain DNA sequence.
  • Research a certain protein and the disease that can result from an abnormality in the protein.

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level: 
Applying

Helpful Hints

Materials:

  • 1 DNA sequence per group
  • 1 computer with an internet connection per group

References

Contributors: 
Dale Rudolph
Originator: 
Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation