Thewar

RNAi is a more fine-tuned regulation system. It probably evolved as an anti-viral response, but cells later used it for their own regulation (too lazy to pull up the references). For example, it'll be easier to slow down regulation by producing a specific amount of RNAi rather than adjusting ribosomal level or etc. This fine-tuning of translation is the likely reason for the use of RNAi.

This is a quick answer. I'm not entirely sure of the project background but based on my genetics studies I can provide the following suggestions: 1. choose the model of study- mouse, human (this is too tricky since you cannot do experiments on humans obviously ), rat, .... ( i don't think drosophilia is a good model for cytochrome studies bcs it's too small and its physiology might be different (i might be wrong)) 2. show that cytochrome is actually related to oxidation of carcinogens in the model (unless it's been shown before, but it's always good to show it again) 3. test the mutation 2e1. by restoring wild-type, are you able to see any difference? 4. purify the protein and show what kind of mechanism is involved in oxidation 5. try to show that this protein can also be involved in oxidation in other organisms (perhaps rat, hamster) 6. what role does the protein play in cytochrome aside from oxidation? 7. try to identify potential binding partners for the protein of study and see if these proteins are also involved in oxidation. These are just some tips. Of course, it's hard to get started but once you get it rolling...it'll be easier to find questions, not necessarily answers though

Okay....first of all the central dogma of biology: DNA -> RNA -> protein. DNA is where information is stored. How the information is stored in the DNA is known as genotype. Protein is used to express this information. What information is expressed is known as phenotype. Basically, you can think of the genotype as a program codes in the computer (you can't see it)...the phenotype is the output of the program which is the program itself. The DNA is one of the most important parts of the cell. It needs to protected well. Cancer is one of the results if DNA is damaged and the cell loses control of its replication rate. But that aside, RNA is made from DNA and transcribed into the protein using what are known as ribosomes. The genotype of an individual decides what kind of protein is expressed. The gene coding for the eye is a polymorphic allele (an allele that has 2+ types, so we get a wide range of colors). If you continue in biochemistry, you will learn that by changing the protein is small ways, you are able to change the phenotype. I'm going too in-depth for a 5th grade genetic answer, but basically each eye color is a slightly different version of a protein.

In one genetics book, the definition of polymorphism is listed as 'the existence of two or more discontinuous, segregating phenotypes in a population'. what exactly do 'discontinuous' and 'segregating' mean in this context? I understand the basic definition of polymorphism as the presence of 2+ alleles in a population that gives rise to 2+ phenotypes.