Sickle Cell Anemia Summary

Summary-
This article is about an alternative way to treat Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell Anemia is caused by an inherited genetic mutation. The mutation prohibits oxygen from being transported to tissues. Typically, hemoglobin is made up of two alpha-globins and two beta-globins, which can each take or remove a molecule of oxygen. If a copy of the mutation is given by both parents, only defective beta-globins will be produced. These beta-globins will latch onto each other instead of to oxygen, and the hemoglobin molecule will link up with other hemoglobin molecules that have the same issue. This will cause the sickle shape in the cell. This clump of cells will prohibit the passage of oxygen into tissues. Although this can be deadly, the
The secondary structure of a protein form when amino acids repeat within a certain range of polypeptides. If there is a mess up with the order of amino acids, there will be a mess up of the interactions between the backbones (secondary structure). If this is messed up, then the tertiary structure, which is the interactions of the side chains, will also be messed up. Ultimately, the quaternary structure, which is the overall shape of the protein, will also be messed up. If a protein loses its shape, it will lose its function. A genetic mutation, such as sickle-cell disease, means that there was a mess up in the genetic makeup of the protein by changing the order of amino acids, and the shape could not develop properly, which means it will not have the proper function. The sickle cell disease mutation is caused by a single amino acid substitution in hemoglobin. In a normal hemoglobin, molecules do not associate with one another and they each carry oxygen. In a sickle cell hemoglobin, the molecules interact with each other to crystallize into a fiber and therefore the ability to carry oxygen is greatly reduced. Some things that can cause genetic mutations are temperature, pH levels, and ionization. We also learned that although sickle cell disease is lethal, it is still passed on because people who are heterozygotes benefit in some instances, just like the article mentioned. We also learned that DNA stores information, such as the genetics of what make us ourselves. This is similar to how a barcode stores the information of the object it is responsible for. This relates back to the article because the DNA is what the researchers are planning on clipping in order to stop the specific gene from