What is the best way to genetically modify bacteria to be sensative to distinct voltages of electricty?
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Do not go there.\nLeave the microorganisms in peace.\n\nIf you have not got the entire DNA structure mapped and well understood, you are asking for nothing but trouble.  You might end up with a pathogen which targets human nerve cells or muscle nerve discharges.  Write a sci-fi book about your idea and leave the experiments until you finish a college degree and have a much better idea of just how complicated the Big Picture really is.
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www.wikipedia.org\n\nEnter the term "electrostimulation"
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Ok break it down:\n1) A power supply converts AC power (110 in the states) to some other required voltage. For this (lab) project I'd presume a DC regulated voltage from, say 1.5 to 15V something like that.\n\n2) Digital and programmable means you'd control the output voltage with some sort of digital signal like up/down buttons, a keypad, or a PC hookup.\n\n3) You are supposed to use an 8051 to accomplish this.\n\nSo there are several ways to do this. One way would be to have the 8051 accept a command to set the voltage and produce a PWM signal. Let's say the PWM signal is a 5V output switched from 0 to 100%. You can use an RC filter to produce 0V to 5V from this signal. If your instructor is nice, you could argue that this meets the criteria -- especially if you use it to drive a pass transistor to develop some serious current (but your voltage is now 0V to 4.3V because of the BE drop).\n\nBut I'd instead use an op amp with gain X3 (plus a little extra) so that I got from 0 to 15.7V and then use the pass transistor. Another idea would be to use the voltage to drive a simple current source which would program a LM317 voltage regulator.\n\nWeb searches on things like LM317, PWM, and "pass transistor" are your friends here.
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In this time of environmental crisis, genetic engineering and other new technologies should be examined for possible flaws that indicate they might be environmentally hazardous or disruptive. On an ecological balance sheet, genetic engineering should be credited with both assets and liabilities. Consider these hits and misses in biotechnology's history:\n\n* Toxic-waste cleanup -- a hit (potentially): Genetic engineering is now addressing the problem of toxic waste site cleanups by, for instance, modifying the genes of chemical-eating bacteria in order to improve their ability to detoxify waste. With many GM bacteria at work, a toxic site might be cleaned up less expensively than by using conventional treatments. Of course, field tests must be monitored carefully to detect unforeseen problems. The GM bacteria may be shown to be excellent performers, but it is also possible that natural bacteria may have the edge over their modified brethren.\n\n* Nitrogen fixing -- a miss: Finding a way to use nitrogen-fixing bacteria more extensively has been a dream shared by many biologists. The bacteria colonize near the roots of alfalfa and other legume plants, and they provide their hosts with nitrogen obtained from the air. Corn, wheat, and other crops that do not have a symbiotic relationship with bacteria require applications of nitrogen fertilizer. Using genetic engineering, scientists tried to develop nitrogen-fixing bacteria that would live contentedly with non-legume host plants. Some experimental trials in the laboratory were somewhat promising, but field trials failed. The research was discontinued.\n\n* Safer pest control -- hits and misses: Insecticides used to protect field crops are expensive and environmentally hazardous. Geneticists have succeeded in helping plants produce their own insect-killing toxin. From the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, they obtained a toxic gene, which they cloned and then transferred to plants. Cotton and corn genetically engineered with the Bt toxin genes are able to produce their own insecticide.
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Hi, i've read of an article about microbiology and genetic engineering; to sum it up, here goes:\nIn recent years, bacteriology has been greatly expanded from its concentration on bacterial disease. The discovery that bacteria fix nitrogen in the root nodules of leguminous plants (see Nitrogen Fixation) has led to attempts to inoculate the roots of other plant strains and thereby increase soil fertility and the productivity of food crops. Some bacteria are able to digest petroleum and other hydrocarbons; others absorb phosphorus. These bacteria are being intensively investigated as possible aids in cleaning up oil spills and removing phosphorus from sewage sludge. Other bacteria may be more efficient than yeast at producing alcohol and are being explored in the search for new energy sources. Escherichia coli, a normal inhabitant of the human intestinal tract, is the most thoroughly studied of all organisms. Studies of the mechanisms of genetic exchange and the biology of plasmids and bacteriophages (see Bacteriophage) of E. coli have been crucial in understanding many aspects of DNA replication and the expression of genetic material. These studies have led to the ability to insert DNA from unrelated organisms into E. coli plasmids and bacteriophages and to have that DNA replicated by the bacteria, with the genetic information it contains expressed by the bacteria. It is thus possible for bacteria to become living factories for scarce biological products such as human insulin, interferon, and growth hormone.
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hi,\n\ntransformers you can buy for pretty cheap at any decent electronics or  hobby stores (radio shack sucks these days, but they probably still have them).  \n\nhowever you can make them really easily.  all you need is a hunk of steel or iron (some kind of rod-shaped thing would work, as would a donut-shaped loop).  take one wire and wind it around the piece of steel N times.  take another wire and wind it around a different part of the steel M times.  congratulations, you have just built a transformer that will step up/down voltages by a factor of M/N (or N/M, if you hook it up the other way.)\n\ncheers-
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sure. go to a science store or look up schematics on the web.
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One way that transformation can be helpful for bacteria is that this is a main way for the bacterium to gain genes for antibiotic resistance, environmental stress resistance (like heat or pH), or an advantage against the host's immune system.  Think of it as a big "fruit basket turnover" where one bacterium's DNA (along with its advantages) can be trasferred to another bacterium simply by the cells making contact.\n\nAnother example is that scientists use transformation as a tool in molecular biology.  We can put our DNA of interest into a bacterial cell (usually E. coli) and basically make it do whatever we want it to do.  It's a pretty handy trick, actually.
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I generally follow the recommendations provided by our safety officer at my academic lab.\n\nIf your liquid cultures can afford the extra volume, you can just add a lot of deionized h2o, that should stop the growing (by lysing the cells).  Then toss in the bio-hazard bag, for the autoclave.  \n\nOr, if you have access to an autoclave, then autoclave the culture, and you can probably dump down the drain.\n\nCheck with your safety officer!!\n\nIt was fun thinking about your question.  Pass on the good Karma!
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Electrical Tests on Dead Frogs:\n\nhttp://campus.murraystate.edu/tsm/tsm118/Appendix/galvani.htm\n\nhttp://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/sci/chemistry/ContactElectrificationAndTheElectricalCurrent/chap1.html\n\nhttp://galileo.phys.virginia.edu/classes/109N/more_stuff/E&M_Hist.html\n\nhttp://chem.ch.huji.ac.il/~eugeniik/history/volta.htm
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Here's a way to turn a common household chemical reaction into some fun.\n\nhttp://www.torgo.org/bpsubs/
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Genetic Engineering can be used in the production of microbial strains that can synthesise insulin - the protein pancreatic hormone, commonly whose deficient production is the reason for Diabetes. Thus commercial availability of this hormone is made possible. Insulin injections have proved to be a life saver for millions of diabetics worldwide. \n\nFor example, a genetically engineered (transgenic) strain of Escherichia coli (the colon bacterium) is used now for insulin mass production.
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I would probably use Light Emiting Diodes connected to a low voltage dc source using very small gauge twin-lead wire.
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keep it far from electrodomestics\n\n:> peace\n.
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You could start here:\nhttp://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staff/jacob/teaching/sensory/taste.html\nhttp://md1.csa.com/crw/home.html
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1. Isolate the genome of organism on which the desired gene sits.\n2. Cut it with restriction enzyme with the desired recognition site.\n3. Perform polymerase chain reaction procedure with oligomer primers which have the suspected complimentary sequence with your gene\n4. Perform agarose gel electophoresis to isolate the multiplied sequences\n5. Separate the duplex structure of primer:DNA in alkaline medium.\n6. Perform Southern Blot Transfer (could be found in any molecular biology laboratory manual)\n7. Transform the target organism with the resulting gene fragments from the southern blot. (transformation procedure vary with the varying target organism)
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the effect of electric fields on plants or other organic species