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Hello, my name is Lisa.

I have to make a plant cell 2-3 dimensional. Do you think you could give me some ideas? I don't want to make it out of food. Thank you your website is wonderful.
Bye, Lisa

Hi Lisa,
I have heard of students making a cell model out of items that suggest the purpose of the organelles -- such as a battery for a mitochondrion. Another approach has been to cut into a big styrofoam ball and paint on the organelles you would see in a cross-section of the cell.
Hope these help. And, thank you so much for your kind comments.
Dr. Pat

Hi,
I have to do a project of a cell model and I need to know if you can give a idea on what the parts could be if they have to be candy?
Thanks, Michael

Hello Michael,
You might pick candy that is the same shape as the organelle. For instance, licorice for the chromosomes and candy dots still on the paper for the endoplasmic reticulum dotted with ribosomes.

The best to you. I just know you will do a great job !
Dr. Pat

Hi Eureka Science ppl,

I have got some science homework and the question is :name some forces that we use in everyday life. I have put one force down and that force is 'Gravity'. Is this right? Please write back and help me with my homework I AM STUCK !
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE write back as soon as possible.
from one of your stuck on science fans!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Science Fan,
I hate to just give you the answers straight out, but...

Gravity is an excellent choice. We certainly do use it every day. How about magnetic force? How about electricity?

How about thinking of this: A force is anything that can be used to do work (work being to move something, for instance). And in the case of your homework, I expect the teacher means a naturally occurring force. So, you are thinking in the right directions. Good luck. I just know you will do well.
Dr. Pat

Hay- My name's Jim,
Wondered if you can give me a hand? I'm doing a assignment at college and am a bit confused (well a lot confused :-/ ). Its about, THE ROLE OF DNA IN PROTEIN SYNTHESIS. I'm not so good at this subject and wondered if you could help me with it! Its driving me crazy. please, please, please email me back asap
Thanx a lot, Jim

Hi Jim,
Sometimes we overcomplicate science. But, it is a little complicated.

I will give you two analogies -- one books and the other computers to describe the two transformations that lead to a particular protein being made.

Books: DNA is often described as books in a library, holding all of the directions for creating all of the proteins of the organism. If you wanted to make a particular protein, you go to the library and copy the directions for that one protein onto a sheet of paper. That would be the analogy for making a copy of the 'gene' that codes for the protein -- and the copy is messenger RNA. You then take the sheet of paper out to the construction site and follow the directions step by step. This is the analogy for the mRNA leaving the nucleus and traveling to the endoplasmic reticulum. That is where the ribosomes latch on to the mRNA and add one amino acid to another in the exact sequence called for by the mRNA nucleotide sequence until the particular protein you wanted to make is finished.

Why go to all this trouble? Why not just use the nucleotide sequence of DNA to make a particular protein right there in the nucleus? Because you can make many hundreds of copies of the sheet of paper and get all hundreds being used at the 'construction sites' to make lots of the particular protein simultaneously.

So, DNA permanently archives the instructions, RNA temporarily serves as the instructions actually used in the construction of the protein.

Computers: DNA is analogous to the hard drive where all of the programs are permanently located. RNA is analogous to the RAM instructions loaded when you 'open' a program and what you see on screen is analogous to the 'particular protein', assembled according to the directions held in RAM.
Dr. Pat

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