Cases - Case It!

Sequence data for these cases are included with the Case It! v7.0.5 download, along with enzymes, probes, primers and other resources necessary to run procedures for case analysis. Links in the rightmost column are also listed on the Tutorials page. Ignore any comments in these videos about using the ‘photo’ feature of Case It to capture images of gels, blots, etc. That feature is no longer supported, so you will need to capture images using screenshots. Contact mark.s.bergland@uwrf.edu for an Instructor’s version including keys to cases.

Update 3/28/23: Mobile versions of selected cases are being added to the table below with screen-capture videos of the software in action, showing results of analyses. Mobile versions are suitable for use on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones since they do not require downloading Case It software for case analysis. Mobile versions marked with an asterisk (*) include additional exercises to explore the nature of mutations associated with genetic disorders, using online NCBI and Protein Data Bank tools.

The table below is sortable and searchable (e.g., try entering ‘micro’, ‘ELISA’, ‘tree’ or ‘qPCR’ in the search box).

Cases / Excercises	Type	Procedures
Important notes on program use
Cas9 as a programmable restriction enzyme (Recreate Nobel Prize-winning experiments) *Mobile version of Part 4	CRISPR	Digestion of plasmids and oligonucleotides, DNA electrophoresis, and 5' labelling
CRISPR gene editing for transthyretin amyloidosis (First successful use of CRISPR for in vivo therapy)	CRISPR gene editing for transthyretin amyloidosis (First successful use of CRISPR for in vivo therapy)	Gene knockout using CRISPR/Cas9, use of NCBI tools including Genbank, Genome Data Viewer, Variation Viewer, mutation analysis, BLAST
Analyzing pioneering mRNA vaccine experiments (Recreate Nobel Prize-winning experiments)	mRNA	cytokine ELISA, flow cytometry (procedures explained in body of exercise)
Introduction to genetic disease cases	Genetic
Introduction to genetic disease cases	Genetic	Southern blot
Huntington's disease *Mobile version	Genetic	Southern blot or PCR (triplet repeats), sequence alignment, BLAST
Duchenne muscular dystrophy *Mobile version*	Genetic	Southern blot (missing exons)
Alzheimer's disease *Mobile version	Genetic	RFLP
Phenylketonuria (PKU) *Mobile version	Genetic	PCR, Dot blot
Fragile X syndrome	Genetic	Southern blot (triplet repeats)
Cystic fibrosis *Mobile version	Genetic	PCR, RFLP, or Dot blot
Tay-Sachs disease *Mobile version*	Genetic	PCR, Dot blot
Breast cancer	Cancer	PCR, Dot blot
Colon cancer	Cancer	Western blot, PCR, Dot blot, sequence alignment
Introduction to infectious disease cases
HIV / AIDS: U.S. and Africa	HIV / AIDS: U.S. and Africa	ELISA, Western blot, 96-well PCR, sequence alignment, tree building
Human influenza	Infectious	ELISA, 96-well PCR, sequence alignment, tree building
Avian influenza	Infectious	ELISA, 96-well PCR
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)	Infectious	ELISA, 96-well PCR
West Nile virus	Infectious.	ELISA, 96-well PCR
Ebola	Infectious	ELISA, 96-well PCR
Salmonella	Infectious	RFLP, PCR, BLAST
Sexually-transmitted infections	Infectious	PCR (multiplex), 96-well PCR
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) *Mobile version	Infectious	PCR, tree-building
Vibrio (cholera)	Infectious	PCR, BLAST
Malaria	Infectious	PCR (nested, multiplex), sequence alignment
Introduction to microarray cases	Microarray
Prostate cancer	Microarray	SNP
Pharmacogenomics	Microarray	SNP
Cardiac disease	Microarray	SNP
HIV resistance	Microarray	SNP
Breast cancer	Microarray	Expression
Melanoma	Microarray	Expression
Herpes simplex	Microarray	Expression
Pesticides and viruses	Honey bee ecology	PCR (multiplex)
Mites and virus diversity	Honey bee ecology	Sequence alignment, tree building
Comparison of viral DNA in relation to mite loads	Honey bee ecology	Quantitative PCR (qPCR)
Determining absolute amounts of DNA	Honey bee ecology	Standard curve
Bt Corn	Plants	PCR, BLAST
Cannabis - hemp vs. drug	Plants	PCR (STRs)
Solving a murder case	Forensics	RFLP
Thomas Jefferson / Sally Hemmings case	Forensics	PCR (STRs)
Primate relationships - human, chimp, gorilla	Phylogenetics	RFLP, tree-building
Squirrel taxonomy	Phylogenetics	RFLP, tree-building
Color vision in primates and other animals (research project)	Phylogenetics	Search analysis, tree-building, undergraduate research
Digestion of bacteriophage Lamda DNA	Wet lab simulation	Restriction enzyme digestion
Mapping of bacteriophage T7 DNA	Wet lab simulation	Restriction enzyme digestion
PV92 Alu detection	Wet lab simulation	PCR
Build your own case

How to make screenshots of gels and other images:

Older versions of the Case It simulation had a ‘photo’ feature enabling users to take photos of gels and other images. This feature is no longer supported, so it is necessary to use other screen capture applications, such as those that come with the Windows and Mac operating systems. Snipping Tool (and the newer Snip & Sketch) allows you to capture portions of your screen on Windows computers. Open one of these applications, click ‘New’, and drag the screen to capture an image. The image can then be saved in various formats, although .png is preferred.

For the Mac, one way to capture the screen is to use the Preview application. Open Preview, then select ‘Take Screenshot’ from the File menu. There are three options: From Selection, From Window, and From Entire Screen. The first option is the easiest way to capture an image. The image can then be saved as a .png file. The Screenshot app (formerly Grab) can also be used to capture the screen.