Eighth Grade by Hana' Hayajneh https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex DNA en-us 2021-11-01 18:02:17 UTC 2025-11-14 01:20:24 UTC hello@padlet.com hayajnehhana https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859507908 2021-11-01 18:02:17 UTC https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859507908 hayajnehhana https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859509481 Hi, I am George Amato, and I'm a molecular biologist. Sometimes the government calls me to help solve mysteries, like this time in 1993. One of their officers told me he had spotted some suspicious packages at Kennedy Airport in New York City. These boxes contained handbags and shoes.

By looking at the pattern on the reptile skins, the officer had a hunch they were made from Yacare caiman, a relative of the crocodile and alligator.

My blood started to boil. "But the Yacare caiman is a protected species," I said into the phone. "Bringing skins of that animal into the U.S. is against the law!"

"Exactly!" said the guy at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "That's why the officer seized the shoes and handbags from the reptile skin importer."

"So, what's the problem?" I asked.

"The importer said it was not a protected caiman," he said.
The importer claimed that it's impossible to tell the difference between caimans just by comparing skin patters. This disagreement went to court. And that's where I came to the rescue.

First, I took samples of the reptile skins to my lab at the American Museum of Natural History. Then, I made lots of copies of the the DNA, so it was easier to study. Next, I used a machine to figure out the DNA's sequence, which looks like a long string of letters. Finally, I compared this skin's sequence with other crocodilian sequences in our DNA computer library. It was a perfect match to the Yacare caiman! Those shoes and handbags were definitely made from a legally protected species.

I gave this report to the judge. Based on the DNA evidence, the judge agreed that the skins were illegal. The skins were taken away and the importer had to pay a fine. 

Source: https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/genetics/dna-detective

]]> 2021-11-01 18:03:02 UTC https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859509481 Questions hayajnehhana https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859510045 1) I will scan the text for words/phrases written in bold and write them below. Next, I will write the definitions in my notebook. 

2) I will decide if each statement is true/false. If it is false, then I will write the correct information in my notebook.

a- The boxes at the airport were full of shoes and clothes. __________________________

b- The Yacare caiman is a relative of the crocodile and alligator. 
___________________________

c- Illegal means “with the law”. 
_______________________


d- A DNA's sequence is a like along string of letters. 
____________________________
]]> 2021-11-01 18:03:17 UTC https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859510045 Audio for Text hayajnehhana https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859510476 2021-11-01 18:03:30 UTC https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1859510476 Adam couldn’t wait for September when school would start. It was early August, and he was at the same summer camp he had been going to for the last five years. He wrote to his mom and asked her if she would pick him up early, but he didn’t want his mom to tell his dad. She responded in a letter which said, “I can’t do that. I am always honest with your dad. If you really want to leave, I will talk to him about it. ”Adam was too worried about disappointing his dad who liked the camp, so he wrote back to his mom that he would stay for the last week and try to make the best of it. He asked his mom if she would make his favorite meal when he got home. During that last week, Adam was looking so forward to the meal his mom would be making that every time he ate a camp meal he imagined he was eating his mom’s cooking. All of a sudden, the food didn’t taste as bad. Adam decided to be honest with his camp counselors. He told the head horseback counselor that he wasn’t comfortable with the horse he had been assigned. The counselor asked Adam which horse he might feel better riding. Adam was then assigned to Misty for the last week, and he started to like horseback riding. Adam never liked playing baseball because he didn’t like playing 1st base. He told the baseball counselor, and the counselor switched him to play catcher. Adam started to actually like baseball. When Adam’s parents came to pick him up from camp, he said to them in all honesty: “This was the best summer at camp ever.” He then added that he couldn’t wait for next year’s camp, and he might even want to stay for an extra week or two. Adapted from: www.k5learning.com hayajnehhana https://padlet.com/hayajnehhana/hsnp0rz7b8y1ojex/wish/1969708586
 
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