Roundup: Genetics and Review

Finals are next week (it’s crazy how fast the semester has gone!) and the AP Bio team has been working hard at finishing up our genetics unit and beginning review. We jumped right in after a relaxing Thanksgiving break with a class discussion about Cracking the Code of Life, a PBS documentary we watched about the progress we have made in genetic research. The movie talked a lot about the human genome project, which was an effort to map the entire human genome using new technology. Instead of talking only about the science of genetics, we got more into ethics and our opinions about DNA technology. We came up with some discussion questions to guide our talk, they were:

·     1) Is it possible/ethical that the U.S. would ever have a DNA database of citizens available to doctors or researchers?

·     2) Is it smart to genetically test people- should the president be tested? Do we want to and should we know if others or we have a disorder?

·     3) If parents could choose a child’s DNA, what would be the social consequences?

Each of us wrote blog posts about our thoughts on the film – here’s what Bharathi had to say on the prospect of parents choosing their child’s DNA:

"There has been a lot of controversy on this subject. I believe that parents should not be able to choose their baby’s DNA because it will make everyone perfect. The world is based on imperfections and imperfections are what create diversity and uniqueness in our lives." 

Abi shared her thoughts on the ethics of DNA technology, speaking about the medical records in Iceland, which were public to researchers:

“…There is an ethical issue with as to whether the family history from everyone was appropriate to release to the public. Personally, I think that if the DNA can help scientists figure out how genetic illnesses work, looking at an entire population’s DNA is acceptable.”

Finally, Shauna shared her opinion on whether she would like to know about possible genetic disorders:

"If there was a chance I could have a gene such as a cancer gene, I would want to know in order to do what I could to prevent it. I think it is better to know and be prepared than for it to just happen.” 

Whether we want to know all of this new genetic information or not, advancement in DNA technology is happening! This became clear later in the week, when we split up into groups and researched emerging DNA technology in fields such as medicine, pharmaceuticals, forensics, the environment, and agriculture. The presentations were very interesting – I had no idea of the breadth of subjects that DNA could be applied to, and I had no idea of the number of technological advancements that have been made recently. The information in our genome has the power to cure diseases, congeal copper, catch criminals, and even yummier cucumbers! One of the most interesting tidbits I learned was during the agriculture presentation, when Simran shared that researchers at UC Davis have found a way to genetically engineer and “domesticate” wild cucumbers. When each of 9 genes in the cucumber is turned off, the bitter taste characteristic of wild cucumbers disappears.

This past week, we focused on our genetics symposium, where individuals and small groups delved into various genetic disorders. We learned about the internal, external, psychological and biochemical characteristics of everything from Celiac disease (which affects about 1 in 100 people) to Progeria (which affects 1 in 3-5 million). Since genetics encompasses so many other topics that we have studied, our genetics symposium ended being a great review of things like cell signaling, cell structure, and meiosis/mitosis.  Both Amanda’s Voicethread (on Angelman’s Syndrome) and Rebecca’s Voicethread (on Hemophilia) are posted on their blogs, so check them out!

Thanks for reading and wish us luck on our final!

Picture from:

Gruepig. Pickling Cucumbers. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki, 12 Nov. 2005. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.