It's like turning off a switch for a gene to see what happens! Gene knockout is a method to "turn off" or make a gene inoperative.

Real-World Example: Think of a gene like a light in your house. If you're not sure what a particular light switch does, you turn it off (or "knock it out") and see which light goes off in the house. That's what scientists are doing with genes!

• Genes can be predicted by looking for special patterns called ORFs in a genome.

• These ORFs are sequences that start with the codon AUG, have a series of triplets coding for amino acids, and end with a stop codon.

  Real-World Example: Imagine you're reading a book and you want to identify where a story starts and ends. ORFs are like chapters in that book, beginning with a title (AUG) and ending with 'The End' (stop codon).

• Preparation: Scientists prepare DNA that can be inserted into mouse embryos, replacing (and hence deleting) a target gene.

• Selection & Growth: Cells where this DNA insertion worked are picked. They grow into adult mice, but with a twist: these mice have only one copy of the target gene.

• Breeding Time!: When a male and female, both with one gene copy, mate, 25% of their babies won't have that gene at all. They're the real knockout mice.

• Observation: Scientists then observe these knockout mice. They're looking for any different traits or behaviors that might result from missing that gene.

  Real-World Example: It's like baking cookies. If you leave out an ingredient (like chocolate chips) and the cookies taste different, you know that ingredient played a key role in the flavor.