Bio help- Mitosis & Meiosis

Published

Specializes in Neuro ICU.

hi...

so im in this bio class that im having a lot of trouble with lately. we have at least four essays to write every week, which is fine, i can do that, its just the last paragraph, we have to write an application paragraph using the vocab from the section, demonstrating higher learning & showing how what we learned could be applied in a professional medical field. well, i dont work in a professional medical feild and never have, so i have no idea how to do this. i emailed my teacher explaining im having trouble (this is an online class..) and this is what she sent:

you are not alone. the application paragraph is difficult for many students.

i suggest that after you google to look for information, you stop and think about how the human body works.

the ideas for application paragraphs need to come from you- you cannot find original thoughts on the internet. what we are looking for are your thoughts and ideas regarding how you might use the information you gained from the lesson. you must demonstrate a higher level of thinking, a synthesis of the concepts presented in the lesson and your own thoughts regarding those same concepts.

i dont have any original thoughts on mitosis & meosis, i just understand how they work!! i wanted to know if any of you had any advice on this or any tips on how to figure this out, i would appreciate it tremendously!

these are the questions i have to write my essays on:

  1. describe the similarities and differences between the two types of nuclear division mechanisms that occur in eukaryotes (mitosis and meiosis). use a chromosome number of 46 in your explanation.
  2. why is it necessary for mitosis to result in identical "daughter cells?" what happens when the daughter cells are not identical to the parent cell? what is this called?

well i already answered these questions, i just dont know how to apply it to a medical backround and show "higher level thinking" ... maybe im not higher level, maybe im just average, but i am having so much trouble with this! please help

thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

first off, having gone though school and picked up a couple of diplomas, a couple of aas and a bachelor's degree over the years, i have to agree with your instructor. one of the major lessons you should come away from any college education with is the ability to think beyond your textbooks and apply the information. philosophy is probably a good illustration of this. as a kid we laughed when bill cosby came out with an album talking about "why is there air?" what good is it to know what all the properties are of some chemical substance? well, you start experimenting with them. this is the way the scientific community works. the minute they figure out how some process works, the scientists are then busy tweaking the process around to see how they can utilize it. once they figured out how dna was put together they were off and running on what could be done if they started playing around with it's construction. from that has come the synthesis of hormones, drugs and now cloning of life forms.

most pathological conditions (diseases and illnesses) come from normal body functions that have gone wrong in some way. this disfunction can be anywhere from mild to severe. it's no different with a car, or tv set or washing machine. as long as something is working properly, everything is ok. the minute something goes wrong, however, you've got problems. if it's a broken down car you go to a mechanic; you take a broken tv to a tv repairman; you call the maytag repairman to fix the washing machine; you go to a doctor if you are sick. these would all involve practical applications of an underlying scientific knowledge of how something worked in the first place.

what you are being asked to do is to think about the normal processes of mitosis and meiosis, what they do and accomplish. now, to apply this to the professional field, just imagine if humans intervened in these processes. what would happen if things go wrong anywhere along these cycles either normally or through deliberate tampering by some mad or well-meaning scientist? not all scientific tinkering turns out to be bad. much of it works out to the benefit of our society. however, it is also how some great science fiction stories have been born. when mitosis goes wrong in the early stages of a developing fetus some serious genetic problems can occur resulting in either the death of the fetus or a baby born with some serious problems. if meiosis goes wrong what would the resulting egg and sperm cells be like do you think? do you think they would be able to produce any offspring? and, if they did, what kind of offspring would they be? where do you think cloning might fit into either of these two processes?

these kind of questions that your instructor is asking you to answer are often not questions that you can answer off the top of your head. they are meant for you to cogitate on. sleep on them for a night or two. think about them. let some ideas roll around in your head. think about any science fiction stories you might have heard or seen on tv that might spark a thought (outer limits is a good example of presenting some stories of what can go wrong when you play around with science!)

also, the way i see it, your instructor is using the term "professional medical field" in a very broad sense. i don't think it literally means the word "doctor". there are many professional careers that involve the medical field that don't include being a doctor of medicine.

i have to commend your instructor for answering your questions. i am taking an online class and have yet to get a response from the instructor from any of the e-mails i have sent him. i have complained several times to his supervisor and still he doesn't respond. i've e-mailed with several others in the class and they are having the same problem. you can't imagine how frustrating it is to have an instructor who just shuts out everyone. not only that, but he posts weekly assignments late, they always have typos in them and the instructions are often not clear. we're being told by people who have had him in the past that we should be glad not to have to put up with him in a live class!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Neuro ICU.

wow that would definatley suck.. thank you so much for your tips, and i will think about this.. as far as what you said in meiosis, i dont know how that could really go wrong.. could the chromosomes not split at the right time and one of the eggs or sperm have two chromosomes instead of two? and I have no idea how cloning would be done.. would they just take the duplicated daughter cells and seperate those and have them start mitosis to create a new organism? Ok well thanks for your tips!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Why not? This is what your instructor is asking you do, muse about this, put some thought into it. Now, all you have to do is organize it and put it in writing.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Trauma.

IwannabeanRN,

I am taking this class at rio, and getting ready for midterm. how did you do in this class??? I am answering this question this week and came across this form. Any who I just wondered if you had any insight on the midterm for me... If you did take this at Rio that is!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Just wanted to share that I am taking this class through RIO right now....and it still sucks....Mid-term is Saturday!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in MedSurge/Tele/Observation.

Daytonite has given you really great tips to stimulate your thoughts. Do some search on genetic mutations, that would really help you come up with more hypothesis. :-)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion