Reproductive Technology videos

Overview on amniocentesis:


In vitro fertilization:

Meiosis Videos

Meiosis overview:


Another one:

Asexual Reproduction

Here's some good stuff:

Paramecium with binary fission:



Puff balls:


Spores and Insects (Not for the faint of heart! Fast forward to 1:09 to see it growing....)


Budding in Yeast

Honors Bio - Break Assignment Solutions

Solutions to use in studying for the exam tomorrow:

1. (4)
2. (1)
3. (4)
4. (1)
5. (1)
6. (2)
7. (3)
8. (1)
9. (2)
10.(4)
11.(3)
12.(4)
13.(1)
14.(1)
15.(1)
16.(1)
17.(1)
18.(2)
19.(2)
20.(1)
21.(3)
22.(4)
23.(1)
24.(4)
25.(2)
26.(a)
27.(a)
28.(d)
29.(a)
30.(4)
31.(3)
32.(d)
33. doesn't exist!
34. doesn't exist!
35.(b)
36.(d)
37.(a)
38.(a)
39.(d)
40.(a)

Polymerase Chain Reaction and Gel Electrophoresis - What a mouthful!

Today's lesson focuses on the process of gel electrophoresis, which is a process typically used to compare different DNA samples to each other. The basic idea is as follows:

1. A sample of DNA (from a postage stamp, blood sample, skin cell, etc) is combined with restriction enzymes, which cut the full DNA sample into pieces at specific base pair sequences.

2. The sample of pieces is used in a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. This takes the small pieces of DNA in the sample and creates MANY copies of each piece so that there is enough DNA that the sample can be analyzed.

3. This larger sample of cut DNA pieces is combined with a dye and placed in a gel electrophoresis set-up. By applying a voltage across the gel, the differently sized pieces of DNA are pulled towards the positive side. The smaller pieces move more quickly than the larger pieces. As a result, the different sizes of pieces spread out like runners in a race.

4. The pattern of colored bands is unique and is related to the number of pieces of each size in the original sample of DNA. The number of pieces of each size (and therefore a particular gel pattern) is unique to an individual. By comparing a gel made of an unknown person to gel patterns made of known identities, it is possible to determine the unknown identity.

Here are some videos to help you get it:
The Power of DNA:


Applications of DNA Fingerprinting:



PCR reaction:


DNA fingerprinting again:

Genetic Engineering!

The videos from class:

This video talks about how a bacterial plasmid is cut by restriction enzymes, allowing a gene to be inserted into the bacterial DNA. The bacterium then produces the proteins encoded in the DNA of the inserted gene.



An animation showing the DNA being cut by the restriction enzyme EcoR1 - look out for the enzyme searching the DNA for a specific sequence.


In this video, the nucleus of an egg is removed, and is replaced by the nucleus of a body cell (such as a skin or muscle cell). Using the nucleus, the egg then divides and develops into an embryo using the instructions encoded in the DNA. The cells in this egg are exact clones of the skin cell used to create it:

Happy Snow Day

As great as biology can be, today we have physics to thank for a day off.



Check out this site for information on snowflakes.

As a result of the extra day off, we will plan to push the honors exam to after break. Enjoy the day!