For this mini-practical you are going to be conducting a virtual DNA microarray.  You will be using a simulation created by the University of Utah’s Genetics Science Learning Center, and you will need to answer questions within the simulation as well as several questions that appear below.

Virtual Microarray Lab

Before you start the lab, make sure that you read the information below the simulation: “Microarray Analysis” and “What is a DNA Microarray”.  Once you have finished reading those two sections, you can begin.  Make sure to answer all of the questions in the lab, as well as the questions that follow.

Virtual Microarray Lab: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/labs/microarray/

Questions
Write your answers to the following questions in a separate document.  Hand them in in your Dropbox folder when you are done.

1. Identify the benefits of microarray technology.
2. Identify the limitations of microarray technology.
3. Explain why a poly-A (poly-adenine) end of an mRNA molecule binds with a poly-T bead.
4. Explain the significance of a yellow microarray spot.
5. Explain the significance of a red microarray spot.
6. Explain how cancer cells express themselves differently from healthy cells.