1. If I were a researcher in developmental genetics/genomics, two thing that I would investigate would be:
1) What goes wrong in development of some blood cells that can lead to the Philadelphia chromosome forming during cell replication, and can this be prevented?
2) Could miRNA from species capable of regeneration (axolotl, zebrafish) that seem to control gene expression in the regeneration process be useful in wound healing/tissue regeneration in humans?
2. The potential impact of the second investigation would be paramount if the miRNA could in fact assist in wound healing, or human regeneration. Axolotls can infinitely regrow limbs, and it’s been found that there are 10 microRNAs that they have in common with with other species capable of regeneration that are all active in the same ways during limb/fin regeneration. Humans could find a way to heal injuries more naturally and fully than before if these miRNA, or their human equivalents could be found and activated, and it would open up a whole new field in gene therapy research involving regeneration.
For Assignments:
I wanted to include this because it shows how far I’ve come throughout this course, when taken in context with my final project. It shows how I was able to take something I had a casual interest in, and turn it into a complete final project, further developing it as I went. From this assignment, I learned what type of questions are being asked in developmental biology, and by looking back at it now I really know how far I have come throughout this semester.