#Sourcecode was our project for Festival Del Sol. The goal of our project was to get a random person's DNA map and figure out his ancestry. To figure this out, we had to create a code using the program Python. If we wrote the code correctly, it would give us the information that we needed. However, it wasn't that simple. Before we even began, we had to get knowledge of Python. To do this, we practiced on a website called Codeacademy. Codeacademy gave us the knowledge necessary for Python but it also gave us a lot of frustration. Python needs to be precise and even a misspell will set you back.
During the project, I was the biologist of the group. My role was to look at the person's genome and find diseases and symptoms that they have or potentially could have. However, it wasn't easy. The code was all nonsense and it was hard to find what I was looking for. Once I did found what I was looking for, I would compile everything I found and then research about it.
Some challenges I faced during this project was finding the diseases. It took me some time to find what I was looking for, but I eventually got it done. The main challenge for me was helping the bioinformaticist with his code. Creating the code was so much different from what we did in Codeacademy. We got this long set of instructions and we didn't know whether our code was correct at some points of the code. If we really got stuck, we would ask our teacher but mostly we were on our own. We did complete the code,but it was on the day it was due.
I would say the only lesson that will stick with me after high school is my knowledge of Python. If I choose to pursue a career that has to do with coding, then what I learned here will really shine otherwise it is going to be useless later on.
During the project, I was the biologist of the group. My role was to look at the person's genome and find diseases and symptoms that they have or potentially could have. However, it wasn't easy. The code was all nonsense and it was hard to find what I was looking for. Once I did found what I was looking for, I would compile everything I found and then research about it.
Some challenges I faced during this project was finding the diseases. It took me some time to find what I was looking for, but I eventually got it done. The main challenge for me was helping the bioinformaticist with his code. Creating the code was so much different from what we did in Codeacademy. We got this long set of instructions and we didn't know whether our code was correct at some points of the code. If we really got stuck, we would ask our teacher but mostly we were on our own. We did complete the code,but it was on the day it was due.
I would say the only lesson that will stick with me after high school is my knowledge of Python. If I choose to pursue a career that has to do with coding, then what I learned here will really shine otherwise it is going to be useless later on.
To help prepare for the exhibition, we wrote paragraph explanations explaining our project to various people. We wrote an explanation to a 8 year old kid, a high school student, and a Physics Ph.D. Graduate. My explanations are below:
8 year old kid.
For our project, we gave instructions to a computer telling it to do a task. However, the computer does not know how to follow directions, so we have to lead it step by step the entire way. If we do manage to succeed, we will get certain results. This result is a person’s race. If we did manage to do this, our teacher would be very proud of us.
High School Student
For our project, we had to do a lot of coding. We had one person go on a computer and write instructions that a computer would follow. This process was long and excruciating, taking around 2 weeks to accomplish. When the code was finished, it was ran through a program called Python. What Python would do, is that it would look at a random person’s genome and give us genetic information about that person. We would then use this information to determine the person’s ancestry and race.
Physics Ph.D.
For our project, we had to use a random person’s DNA map to figure out what ethnicity he is. In order to do this, we had to create a code in Python in order to accomplish this. What the code would do is it takes the information from the DNA map and look for certain lines and then print them in a new document. These lines dealt with the person’s genome and it would determine the race and ancestry. If the code was right, we would know right away, otherwise we would get the dreaded error. It took about two weeks before we got the code correct, but it was worth it in the end.
8 year old kid.
For our project, we gave instructions to a computer telling it to do a task. However, the computer does not know how to follow directions, so we have to lead it step by step the entire way. If we do manage to succeed, we will get certain results. This result is a person’s race. If we did manage to do this, our teacher would be very proud of us.
High School Student
For our project, we had to do a lot of coding. We had one person go on a computer and write instructions that a computer would follow. This process was long and excruciating, taking around 2 weeks to accomplish. When the code was finished, it was ran through a program called Python. What Python would do, is that it would look at a random person’s genome and give us genetic information about that person. We would then use this information to determine the person’s ancestry and race.
Physics Ph.D.
For our project, we had to use a random person’s DNA map to figure out what ethnicity he is. In order to do this, we had to create a code in Python in order to accomplish this. What the code would do is it takes the information from the DNA map and look for certain lines and then print them in a new document. These lines dealt with the person’s genome and it would determine the race and ancestry. If the code was right, we would know right away, otherwise we would get the dreaded error. It took about two weeks before we got the code correct, but it was worth it in the end.