Unit 5 Reflection

This unit was focused on DNA and replication of it. Themes and essential understandings were centered on what mutations are (a change in the DNA codes) and how they were caused (substitution and framshift mutations). They were also centered around transcription (the process where RNA polymers read and copy the DNA code for a protein as mRNA copy) and translation  of DNA.
Gene expression, which is the process of a gene being used to produce a gene product, and gene regulation, a mechanism used by cells to increase or decrease the expression of a gene, were my strengths because they made a lot of sense to me and I could picture these very well. It was hard remembering the what exons, sequences that are "expresses," and introns, sequences that are cut out, are because they sound very similar. Also, not getting promoter, the location on DNA where RNA polymerase attaches, operon, a series of genes used to control the expression of a single gene, and operator, a "switch" or segment of DNA at the start of a gene that prevents or allows RNA polymerase from attatching and reading the gene, mixed up is pretty difficult. The pictures below help me imagine them so I can remember them more easily.
Because I learned a lot more about the interworkings of DNA, I understand chromosomes, cells, and organisms a lot more now, and going back and reviewing those topics will be a lot easier.
I want to learn more about how mutation pushes evolution further and faster.


https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Gene.png

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Lac_Operon.svg/2000px-Lac_Operon.svg.png