1. Searching the Genome
Brian Cain

2. Computer Science and Biology
Bioinformatics
Develops and improves upon methods for storing, retrieving, organizing and analyzing biological data
Huge help for processing large amounts of biological data
Sequence Analysis
The process of translating a DNA sequence to mRNA, then to amino acid (or protein sequence)
Comparing new sequences to known sequences a way of understanding the biology of organisms from which the new sequence comes
Algorithms help speed up the process

3. Computer Science and Biology
Algorithms to replace work done by hand
Algorithms is a step-by-step procedure
Example: Following a recipe while cooking
Programming helps speed up this process
Converts algorithms on paper into computer programs
What use to be done by hand can be automated by computers, which speeds up the process greatly

4. Translating DNA encoding into proteins
A portion of DNA is transcribed into messenger RNA using the following mapping:
Guanine pairs with Cytosine
Cytosine pairs with Guanine
Thymine pairs with Adenine
Adenine pairs with Uracuil
The Messenger RNA exits the nucleus and attaches to a ribosome. The ribosome “reads” the message code and assembles amino acids into the “requested” protein using this process:
messenger RNA is paired with transfer RNA
transfer RNA fetches an amino acid
amino acids are assembled into the protein

5. Scratch Program
This completed has been created in scratch

6. Background Info on Scratch
If-Statements in programming
if weather == "sunny"
mood == "happy"
if weather == "snowy"
mood == "angry"

7. If-Statements in Scratch

8. Task to Complete Fill in the logical if-statements for mRNA
More information on handout
Once completed, test it against a DNA sequence

9. References
thinking/lessons.html