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Software Engineering Course Project Virtual Biology Lab for Mitosis Project designed by Ivan Marsic Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Rutgers University Project website: http://www.ece.rutgers.edu/~marsic/books/SE/projects/This project develops a Web-based application for biology students to explore the process of cell division in preparation for an actual lab exercise. It is intended to be done by a team of 4-6 undergraduate students during an academic semester, in conjunction with lectures and other class activities. Other related projects and a software engineering textbook are available for download at this website: http://www.ece.rutgers.edu/~marsic/books/SE/1. Project Description “Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done.” —Andy Rooney The purpose of this project is to create a virtual laboratory in which students learn the mechanics of mitosis, or cell division, through computer simulation. This virtual lab simulates lab exercises that are performed by students who are taking general or upper level biology courses. Mitosis is the continuous process that a parent cell undergoes to divide and create two identical cells, which are often called daughter cells. Scientists have divided the process into several discrete phases (usually four to six), each characterized by important events. Although this process captures many cells in different phases of the cell cycle, keep in mind that the cell cycle is a continuous process.
Ivan MarsicRutgers University 2The key challenges in this project are: 1.Realistic simulation of the actual lab: The design described in Section 1.2 shows only a “success scenario” for developing the virtual lab. This design rigidly drives the student through a sequence of steps to a successful completion of the lab. However, in a real lab the student can make mistakes or follow “blind alleys.” To support student learning, the virtual lab should mimic the real world, allow the student to make the same mistakes and then recover from the mistakes and successfully complete the lab. 2.Grading based on tracking the student’s performance: All student actions should be tracked and summarized in a single number that reflects his or her understanding of the lab material. This number will be presented to the biology course instructor for grading. The developers should look for ingenious ways to tackle these challenges. Before the developer will be able to do so, the first step is to learn a bit about the problem domain. Here is a brief summary, but the developer should seek other sources on the Web and in the local library. Ideally, the developer should visit the local biology department and talk to the instructors and students to better understand the problem (see Section 1.3). 1.1 Domain Description: Cell Mitosis The state between two successive divisions is called interphase. In interphase, the cell is engaged in metabolic activity and performing its duty as part of a tissue. The DNA duplicates during interphase to prepare for mitosis (the next four phases that lead up to and include nuclear division). Chromosomes are not clearly discerned in the nucleus, although a dark spot called the nucleolus may be visible. During mitosis, the chromosomes in the dividing cell’s nucleus go through the following series of stages (see Figure 1): 1.Prophase—Chromatin in the nucleus begins to condense and becomes visible in the light microscope as chromosomes. The nuclear membrane dissolves, marking the beginning of prometaphase. Proteins attach to the centromeres creating the kinetochores. Microtubules attach at the kinetochores and the chromosomes begin moving. 2.Metaphase—The spindle fibers align the replicated chromosomes at the center of the cell (equatorial plate). This organization helps to ensure that in the next phase, when the chromosomes are separated, each new nucleus will receive one copy of each chromosome. 3.Anaphase—The paired chromosomes separate at the kinetochores into two daughter chromosomes, which are moved by the spindle to opposite ends of the cell. Motion results from a combination of kinetochore movement along the spindle microtubules and through the physical interaction of polar microtubules. 4.Telophase—New membranes form around the daughter nuclei while the chromosomes disperse and are no longer visible under the light microscope. Cytokinesis or the cytoplasmic division of the cell occurs at the end this stage. The reader should understand that this is a very complex process and the above description highlights only the key stages. Here I present a simple model of the mitotic process that is inspired by the laboratory exercises performed by biology students. In the real lab, the students