Unit 4 Reflection

In the coin sex lab, we simulated gamete formation by flipping coins to determine which of the two in the allele pair would make it to the sex cell. Then, we simulated sex, by adjoining the results of the coins to determine the genotype of the offspring. The expected result in our double heterozygous dihybrid cross was two have two double homozygous babies. One of which would be double homozygous dominant and the other recessive. However, it turns out that in this dihybrid cross, we got none of these. We can attribute these results to the working of random chance; even as the expected result is for two, we still cannot predict what the genes of the actual outcome will be. This is the limit of using probability to predict our offspring's traits. We can determine the possible traits they will have and their likelihoods, but we can never know for sure. In life, there are many things which we can estimate the probability of, but in the end, we can never predict for sure.

This unit in general was about sex and how great it is. It creates offspring that are part of the new generation so that species don't die out and go extinct. Some essential themes included that alleles would randomly separate during meiosis and join during fertilization for recombination, making the genotype of the offspring completely random and unpredictable. However, it is possible to determine the possibilities and the probability of those possibilities. In a monohybrid cross, there are only four squares in the Punnet square, making the results very limited and easy to find the probability of. We also learned that there are two different types of inheritance: X-linked inheritance and autosomal inheritance. Since I'm pretty good at math, one of my main successes was being really quick at finding the probabilities of certain outcomes when there were crosses.

Before these previous experiences, I had always had built in impressions that inheritance was both straightforward and intuitive. However, after learning about the different possible complications, incompletions, and exceptions, it is not quite as straightforward as I thought. However, it feels like the possibilities with genetics are endless and this was definitely one of the funner units.

Even after this unit, I still have many questions. What are the causes behind these different mutations and complications? I was almost aborted because my parents thought I had Down Syndrome, but in the end, they still decided to keep me and I turned out to be a normal, healthy baby, which makes me wonder: Is it just by random chance that we are born? If everything is just random chance, what's the point. I wonder about this often and I have never found an answer.

Here is a link to an infographic I created on genetics: https://magic.piktochart.com/output/17957312-why-is-sex-so-great

Is sex important?

There are definitely many benefits to reproducing sexually. One of the benefits is that sexual reproduction shuffles the genes of individuals from those of their parents, making the entire species as a whole less susceptible to mass extinction by a disease or mutation, as stated by the armadillo. However, there are also some downsides to sexual reproduction as well. Trying to survive the dangers of predators in the while makes it hard for an organism to find a mate at the same time, as said by Olivia Judson. It is often hard to impress the opposite gender, making successful sexual reproduction quite difficult.

There are also some benefits and costs of producing asexually like the E. Coli. Producing asexually only requires female organisms, eliminating the need for males, argued Miss Philodina. Also, unlike in sexual reproduction, where it takes two children to balance the population, asexual reproduction only needs one offspring to equalize population. However, one of the downsides of asexual reproduction is that all organisms have the same DNA, so anything like a disease can wipe out an entire species, and also, mutations will be passed onto future generations, causing more and more of the population to be mutated.

I don't have many questions regarding this topic, but I guess my one burning question would have to be: What causes us to be so eager to mate?