Homework
Weekly homework submissions:
Week 1 HW: Principles and Practices
Lab Documentation Pipetting Lab Objective: Practice accurate pipetting techniques and proper laboratory handling. Procedure: Identified pipettes (P20, P200, P1000) and their volume ranges. Set desired volumes and aspirated/dispensed liquids correctly. Changed tips between samples to avoid contamination. Held pipettes vertically during aspiration and at a slight angle during dispensing. Challenges and Fixes:
Week 2 HW: DNA Read, Write and Edit
- First, I created an account on Benchling. Then, I uploaded the Lambda sequence and introduced the restriction digestive enzymes. By combining them, I obtained the following result: 2. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a laboratory equipped with all the necessary materials to perform the experiment. 3. 3.1 The human oxytocin (OXT) gene is located on chromosome 20 and encodes a precursor protein (prepropeptide) of 125–126 amino acids, which is subsequently processed into the active 9-amino acid hormone (nonapeptide: Cys-Tyr-Ile-Gln-Asn-Cys-Pro-Leu-Gly) and neurophysin I. The cDNA sequence for the human OXT precursor (NM_000915.4) consists of a 378-base pair open reading frame. I used UniProt to identify the oxytocin sequence:
I have completed the required sections in Python and structured the protocol for automation as requested. Post-Lab Questions Part I – Published Paper Utilizing Automation A notable example is Rauch et al., 2020 – Open-Source Robotic Platform for SARS-CoV-2 Testing Using the Opentrons OT-2. In this study, researchers used the Opentrons OT-2 to automate RT-qPCR testing for COVID-19. Automation enabled RNA extraction, sample transfer, and reaction setup in 96-well plates with high reproducibility and minimal human intervention. This approach demonstrated that low-cost robotic systems can perform clinically relevant diagnostics, increase throughput, and reduce variability, making automation accessible to laboratories with limited resources.
Week 4 HW: Protein Designe Part I
Part A. Conceptual Questions How many molecules of amino acids do you take with a piece of 500 grams of meat? Meat is approximately 20% protein. • 500g of meat $\times$ 0.20 = 100g of protein. • Average molecular weight of an amino acid $\approx$ 100 Daltons (g/mol). • 100g / 100 g/mol = 1 mole of amino acids. • Using Avogadro’s number, you consume approximately $6.022 \times 10^{23}$ molecules of amino acids.