My Dictionary #3

Treadmilling Effect - The process that occurs in a dynamic cytoskeletal filament where the rate of addition to the plus end is equal to the rate of removal at the minus end; the filament is constantly changing by it remains the same length.


Nucleation - The process when enough subunits come together to form a filament. 


Tubulin - consists of two protein subunits (alpha and beta tubulin) that make up microtubules. Alpha tubulin binds and maintains GTP, while beta tubulin binds and cycles between GTP and GDP.

Reflections #3

Last week was spring break, so we had a week off from Cello and Molecular Biology; I don't mean this as a good thing. I don't mean this "week-off" from the course as a good thing merely because we had an exam this week and I barely studied for the exam during my spring break.

This exam was the first written exam we had as a class, since the first exam was to make a model. Therefore, I didn't know what to expect from this exam, other than the fact that it was going to be tremendously difficult. With this in mind, I still didn't study that much during spring break. I studied when classes began the Monday after, including staying up late the night before (something that isn't advisable). 

Well, the exam was hard -- more than expected. 

Saying that, I think this was a wake up call for me to start spending more time every single day to prepare for this course. How I did on this exam has made me realize that I cannot expect to pass the exam or (even more) this class if I am not prepared and thus stay up late to study for exams.

Thanks, exam. I will now be a better student in this class.

Investigations #1

Schizophrenia is considered a neurological disorder. It affects the brain. An incurable disease, its symptoms are split into two types: positive and negative. Some positive symptoms include hallucinations and delusions, while some negative symptoms include social withdrawal or struggle with speech.

One of the causes of this disorder is due to an imbalance in the neurotransmitter release in the nervous system. Dopamine, serotonin, and glutamine are considered to be the neurotransmitters involved in the cause of schizophrenia. There is an influx of release of these neurotransmitters in the synaptic gap because of damage to receptors found on the post-synaptic membrane. This "damage" can mean the proteins (receptors) responsible for controlling the level neurotransmitter may be inhibited. Another reason for "damage" can mean that the receptors on the post-synaptic membrane will not obtain the neurotransmitter onto its neuron, but that there will only be reuptake occuring. This inhibits the neurotransmitter going to the next neuron.

Picture reference:

(1) http://static.psychguides.com/wp-content/uploads/schizophrenia2-215x300.jpg