User talk:Sunnys07/sandbox

Assignment #1
Mixotroph:

All references are from academic institutions, however a majority of the references come from papers that were published before 2010. One of the reference links also do not work properly. The papers which the wiki is based upon are outdated, there are most likely new research on mixotrophs since then. One recently published paper that can provide more insight on mixotrophs is by Mitra et al. (2016). This paper includes a comparison between the two older systems proposed by Jones and Stoeker, and establishes a new categorization scheme for mixotrophs based on photo- and phago- metabolic processes. Adding this information will provide a newer and different perspective on mixotrophs, contributing positively to the existing information.

The section on examples of mixotrophs have varying levels of detail. One example organism have a lot of explanation with 2 references, the other ones only have their names listed. Instead of listing examples of mixotrophs, it's more logical to give examples of mixotrophs which fall under a certain classification with the description of the classification itself. More metabolic information should be included with the organisms, such as the energy source, TEA and different environmental condition which it can occur under.

The wiki was neutral in stating the different categorization schemes, it did not discuss advantages and disadvantages of each scheme, and was not biased towards a particular one. The different categorization schemes should also have their own headings or sub-headings to make more clear to the reader. More explanation should be provided for the Plants section in order to balance out the information in other sections.

Sunnys07 (talk) 20:13, 27 September 2017 (UTC)

Assignment #2
Bioremediation:

The wiki article provides a detailed definition of bioremediation, including the methods and ways that bioremediation can work through (naturally on its own or with the addition of fertilizers, in situ or ex situ). It is supported by lots of technological examples with sufficiently detailed linked wiki articles. This shows its high importance and significant relevance in industry. There are also references to real life applications such as US Army Corps of Engineers, which shows high potential for applications in real life situations.

However the section on Genetic Engineering Approaches is particularly lacking and requires improvement. The article states the use of modified organism has great applications to bioremediation but only show one application in the bacterium Deinococcus rediodurans. One improvement is to discuss and compare a variety of genetically engineered organisms that are able to neutralize toxic wastes. Through scholarly research, one identified paper complied 21 genetically modified organisms published from various papers, and outlined their applications in bioremediation. This additional information would be able to give the reader a more accurate scope of the capabilities of modified organisms towards bioremediation.

The article talks about the issue of problematic tracking of released organisms in one sentence, which is insufficient. The article does not address the implications and limitations of releasing genetically modified organisms into the natural environment. Important aspects to discuss is the risk and consequences of these organisms, how the populations are controlled and how the transferring of modified genetic components (such as through horizontal gene transfer of plasmids) are considered. Providing neutral toned and unbiased information would give readers the liberty to evaluate for themselves the ethnics of modified organisms in our world.

Sunnys07 (talk) 21:04, 26 September 2017 (UTC)

Assignment #3
Original - "Bioremediation"

Genetic engineering approaches
The use of genetic engineering to create organisms specifically designed for bioremediation has great potential. The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans (the most radioresistant organism known) has been modified to consume and digest toluene and ionic mercury from highly radioactive nuclear waste. Releasing genetically augmented organisms into the environment may be problematic as tracking them can be difficult; bioluminescence genes from other species may be inserted to make this easier.

Edit - "Bioremediation"

Genetic engineering approaches
The use of genetic engineering to create organisms specifically designed for bioremediation has great potential. There are two category of genes that can be inserted: degradative (catabolic) genes and reporter genes. Degradative genes encode proteins required for the degradation of pollutants, and reporter genes are able to monitor pollutant levels. For example, genes of biphenyl dioxygenase has been transformed in E.Coli to degrade PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls). The bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans (the most radioresistant organism known) has been modified to consume and digest toluene and ionic mercury from highly radioactive nuclear waste. Biosensors based on bioluminescent for detecting the Hg2+ concentration has been inserted into E.Coli. The Pseudomonas genus has also had genes introduced, particularly for the detection of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon naphthalene via the lux gene, and a field test for the release of the modified organism has been successful on a moderately large scale.

Genetically modified organisms are classified and controlled under the Toxic Substances Control Act under US Environmental Protection Agency. Releasing genetically augmented organisms into the environment may be problematic as tracking them can be difficult; bioluminescence genes from other species may be inserted to make this easier. There are concerns surrounding containment of genetically modified organisms if it is released into the wild and potential horizontal transfer of genes. Measures have been created to target these issues. Modified organisms can be created such that they can only survive and grow under certain sets of environmental conditions. Outside of environmental conditions they were designed for, they loose their biodegradation ability or self destruct. To survival, a signal (the pollutant) is required. In the absence of the signal, the suicide gene is transcribed which will lead to cell apoptosis. To decrease the rate of horizontal gene transfer, transposon vectors can be manipulated so the genes can only be transfers once due to lack of transposes genes to facilitate more transfers. --Sunnys07 (talk) 05:54, 9 October 2017 (UTC)

Peer review
The edited part of the article is a concise and informed revision to the original section of the article. The revised section is backed up with ample reliable sources and is cited appropriately. The edit has a more detailed and explained version of the section when compared to the original, which was short and not self-explanatory the author chose the right section to edit but the edited section ‘’Genetic Engineering’’ is not a part of the current article “Bioremediation” on Wikipedia. Based on current version, all the other sections of the original article are well explained, in much more detail and contains a lot more information. The content added on to the edited section is reasonable and has no sense of bias toward just one particular point of view. The review is well structured, it terms of its content and the order in which the information has been put forward. However, there are a couple of grammatical errors as well as syntax errors in the article. Most sentences aren’t structured correctly and seem to be incomplete. There is no flow of information or ideas, with run on sentences and some incoherent ones. Most of the review seems to be just spewing out facts without a description that would tie in all the information together. The author can improve the article by rephrasing some of the sentences and structuring them in better way and correct the small grammatical errors. As the far as the facts or information in the review is concerned, it is well cited and reliably sourced, providing much more information with appropriate depth about the topic at hand to that of the original.

Raaghul1698 (talk) 03:52, 8 November 2017 (UTC)