...Chromosome Crossing Over Do you ever wonder why two people besides identical twins are not alike? Our genes determine most of our physical characteristics, the exact combination of genes we inherit, and thus our physical traits is in part due to the process our chromosomes undergo, known as genetic recombination. Biology online states, that during meiosis, when homologous chromosomes are paired together, there are points along the chromosomes that make contact with the other pair. This point of contact is chiasmata, and can allow the exchange of genetic information between chromosomes. This further increases genetic variation. Recombination can occur between any two genes on a chromosome. The amount of crossing over is a function of how close the genes are to each other on the chromosome. If two genes are far apart, at opposite ends of the chromosome, more crossing over is possible. If the genes are closer together fewer crossing over is possible (McClean, 1998). Two types of gametes are possible when following genes on the same chromosomes. If crossing over does not occur, the products are parental gametes. If crossing over occurs, the products are recombinant gametes. The allelic composition of parental and recombinant gametes depends upon whether the original cross involved genes in coupling or repulsion phase. It is easy to determine which gametes are recombinant because they are found in the lowest frequency (McClean, 1998). In the 1930’s Harriet Creighton and Barbara...
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...condemning? Essay 7: ‘Gattaca presents a world destroyed by the pursuit of perfection.’ Do you agree? Essay 8: ‘The society of Gattaca works to repress rather than to enhance the potential of human beings.’ Discuss. 22 27 31 36 40 45 50 Essay 9: “I belong to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the colour of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science.” Does Gattaca show discrimination to be a science? 53 Essay 10: ‘Gattaca depicts a world that seems totally scientific and rational, yet passion still prevails.’ Discuss. Practice topics 57 61 © Insight Publications 2010 Sample essays on texts Character map Antonio Freeman INVALID Disappointed and critical of Vincent due to his genetic flaws. Prefers Anton, his other, genetically...
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...Brenna Thiem Dr. Childs English 1301 31 March 2013 Hereditary blindness and a mother’s dilemma People are mistaken who believe that children are exempt from genetic mutation manifesting at any stage in their life, not all mutations show up at birth. My husband, John and I have now been married for eighteen years; and are blessed with three children all of which have been healthy. Could our lives be impacted by a disease that is listed as “rare” by the National Institutes of Health? A disease that affects 200,000 people in the US population seemed so far from a reality, this life changing event has and continues to shape who I am. This life event is our journey in receiving, learning, coping, and making the choice to accentuate the positive of a form of hereditary blindness; all while being faced with yet another dilemma. It was the spring of 2009, one March afternoon and we anxiously waited for Georgi’s Ophthalmology appointment. Up to this point I was not overly worried that she was sitting 8 inches at best away from the television or sitting in Grant’s car seat to see the television in the car until the resident picked up on something during her exam. I convinced myself as my palms started to sweat and I could feel my heart racing that he was just a resident and in training. My husband isn’t in the medical profession unlike me, so he wasn’t picking up on the non-verbal communication. I didn’t want to alarm him so I kept my thoughts to myself. I was having...
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...Liz Group Project Makeup 29 November 2012 Cri Du Chat Cri Du Chat Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by a deletion of genetic material in the small arm (the p arm) of chromosome 5. In most cases, this deletion occurs when the sperm or egg cell is developing. It is such a rare deletion that it is very unlikely for it to happen again if the parents were to have another child. The parent does not have to have the disorder in order for the child to get it, although it is possible for a child to inherit this broken chromosome from a parent with Cri Du Chat. The name is French for “cry of the cat,” in reference to the distinctive cry of children with this disorder. The cry comes from abnormal larynx development which is one of the many symptoms associated with this disease. Babies with this disorder are usually born with more problems such as a low birth weight and weak muscle tone. Individuals with Cri Du Chat have very distinctive facial features including a small head, an unusually round face, a small chin, widely set eyes, folds of skin over their eyes, and a small bridge of the nose. In rare cases, children may have heart defects, muscular or skeletal problems, and hearing or sight problems. As they grow, people may have problems with speech and walking. Behavior problems like hyperactivity, aggression, and mental retardation are common. Life expectancy is normal. There is no specific treatment for these problems. An ongoing support team made up of parents...
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...few examples of these traits. The environment is another factor in personality development. These include the place we live and the people around us. Our experiences in our day to day life, as well as the people whom we associated with such as our family, friends, people in the school, in the church and the community as a whole, all influences our personality. Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists include B. F. Skinner and Albert Bandura. Biological and Evolutionary Approaches to Personality suggests that important components of personality are inherited. Research on heritability suggests that there is a link between genetics and personality traits. One of the best known biological theorists was Hans Eysenck, who linked aspects of personality to biological processes. For example, Eysenck argued that introverts had high cortical arousal, leading them to avoid stimulation. On the other hand, Eysenck believed extroverts had low cortical arousal, causing them to seek out stimulating experiences. Some...
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...Home Page » Philosophy and Psychology Nature Versus Nurture In: Philosophy and Psychology Nature Versus Nurture Nature versus Nurture Psychology 101 The flight test director for Boeing and a drug addict living in a trailer have more in common than you might think; in this case they are siblings. The brothers are born from the same parents, raised in the same home, given the same opportunities, yet polar opposites of one another. Scenarios such as this pose the question of what makes a person who they are, their environment, or their genes. For centuries the controversy between nature and nurture has been argued among experts. The debate is whether environmental influences or genetic inheritance is responsible for our human makeup. History of Nature versus Nurture From the thirteenth century researcher to present day, the nature nurture controversy is anything but a new topic, although techniques and biases may differ throughout the centuries. In the Beginning In 1874, Francis Galton, published his book English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture, which “lays partial claim to the nature versus nurture phrase” (Groff, 1998, para.1). Galton states nature and nurture, “separates under two distinct heads the innumerable elements of which personality is composed. Nature is all that a man brings with him into the world; nurture is every influence from without that affects him after his birth” (Galton, 1874). However, in 1911 a manuscript...
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...Genetic Diversity Issues Genetic diversity can be seen everywhere we look. These differences give us variety whether we are talking about humans, animals, insects, or plants. These same differences can cause issues over time, however. When we discuss genetic diversity it involves mutations, sexual reproduction, migration, and population size. All four of these factors add to the variety we see every day and are deeply intertwined and can be problematic. Mutations occur when new genetic information is introduced to a population within a species and modify the alleles that currently exist. Some mutations can be harmful to one species and not affect the other. For example, if an insect is a carrier of a disease causing allele, the insect can transmit this disease to a human if stung. Initially, it may just be a few insects that are troublesome. Over time, mutations can occur that enable a significant number of insects to be carriers. This would now be considered a major issue for humans. Sexual reproduction is responsible for passing these alleles along through generations. It does not create new alleles but it does form different sets of genetic combinations due to varying partners. Looking at the insect mentioned earlier, sexual reproduction allowed for continuous breeding of the few insects that carried the disease trait. The mutated genes became stronger than the...
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...Kaylee Thelen Genetic Diversity Generally speaking, there are numerous issues related to genetic diversity which include mutations, sexual reproduction, migration, and population size. Genetic diversity, or the level of biodiversity, refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. To begin, a mutation is a permanent change in the DNA sequence of a gene. Mutations can be caused by many different things. They can be caused by radiation and can also be induced by the organism itself. This process is called hyper mutation. Mutations are changes in an organism's DNA that potentially affect the correct functioning of genes. Mutations happen naturally when genes have dysfunctions. Changes in DNA caused by mutation can cause errors mutations have damaging effects, and the remainder end up being either neutral or weakly beneficial. This happens sometimes when natural radiation was not able to be avoided. However, the mutation rate is increased by radiation, including ultraviolet light, and exposure to certain toxic chemicals. Mutations can be grouped in two types. One is Spontaneous mutations and the other is Induced Mutations. Then you have sexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction is the formation of a new individual following the union of two gametes. These gametes have specific needs. A gamete has to meet and unite together...
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...Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy were trying to figure out from this project were to identify all the gene in the human DNA, determine the sequence that make up the pairs of the DNA, store information in databases, improve tools for the analysis for the data, transfer related technologies to a private sector, and address the ethical, legal, and social issues that might arise from this project. Some of the ethical, legal and social issues were the fairness of who would be able to have access for genetic information, who owns the privacy and the confidentiality of this genetic information, the reproductive, clinical, health and environmental issues. The National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Energy has dedicated between 3-5% of the annual budgets to study the ethical, legal and social issues that surrounded the availability information for genetics. When it comes to gene patenting inventors have to follow; identify the novel genetic...
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...Outline and evaluate the Biological approach to abnormality The biological approach suggests that psychological disorders should be treated medically, as this model puts forward the idea that any psychological abnormality is causes by genetic factors and body malfunctions. The model as 4 different elements that may be the cause of psychological abnormalities; viral infections, biochemistry, brain damage, genetic factors. Several studies have been carried out by different researchers to investigate the theories of the model. Biochemical elements, is one of the highly researched parts of this model, where Weinberger in 2002 carried out research that suggested the 22nd chromosome doubled the risk of developing schizophrenia, another study carried out by Zubieta in 2000, where PET scans helped figured out that 30% higher levels of dopamine, serotin and norepinephrine were i9n people with bipolar disorder. On the other hand Janowsky carried out a study to show how biochemical imbalances lead to manic depression. While souse carried out a study in 2010 where genomes of 1000 autistics and 1200 non autistic participants, results showed that autistic participants carry 20% more copy number variation which suggests that this may be caused due to genetics. The viral infections elements were also researched by brown in 2000 where findings suggested that there’s a link between respiratory infections and the second trimester of pregnancy, which may results in the foetus developing schizophrenia...
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...Genetics H e a l t h f o r l i f e 1. What are Genes? What roles do they play? Genes give the directions for building protein that make our bodies function. They give instructions on how to make or operate all parts of out body. 2. Describe what dominant and regressive genes are. Give some examples. Dominant Gene- A gene which, when present on a chromos ome, passes on a certain physical characteristic, even when the gene is present in only one copy. Recessive Gene- A gene which must be present on both chromosomes in a pair to show outward signs of a certain characteristic. Examples Dominant Gene- Green or Hazel Eyes, large eyes, Dwarfism Recessive Gene-Blue or Grey Eyes, small Eyes, Normal Growth 3. What is heredity? How important is it in influencing who we are? Heredity helps define us from our parents and who we are. Heredity is the passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another. 4. Steve Rogers and Eric Grothe were outstanding Rugby League players in 1970 and 80’s. each has a son who has gone on to league at the ‘state of origin’ level. Should we be surprised by this? Give your reasons. Their sons have the ‘state of origin’ level because of their father’s genes and have been passed on to them. They have pass on their genes and they were very sporty and great at Rugby league, so their sons will also be great at a young age from the genes pass down. 5. What are the different options of the eye colour...
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...How Genetics Influence Down Syndrome PSY 104 Professor Vincent July 7, 2013 How Genetics Influence Down Syndrome Genetics play such an vital role in our development. Every individual carries genes from their mother and their father. Characteristics such as height, eye color, if we have curly or straight hair are all determined through the our genes and specifically our chromosomes. Many times, parents inadvertently pass genes on to their children through their DNA that may contribute to developmental disorders such as Down Syndrome. In this paper, I will explain the role of genetics and how it plays a part in development. I will also explain how the genes of two parents can influence the traits and characteristics of their offspring. Every person has genes and chromosomes located in every cell of their body. Those genes and chromosomes are what make us unique and different. Almost all of a person's traits, from their eye color to what type of hair they will have are coded in their genes (Beck, 2000). Genes and chromosomes come in pairs, with one member of each pair coming at conception from the father and the other from the mother. Normally, at the time of conception a baby inherits genetic information from its parents in the form of 46 chromosomes: 23 from the mother and 23 from the father (Skallerup, 2008). When a child has an extra chromosome for a total of 47 chromosomes instead of 46, they are believed to have Down Syndrome. The genetic material children carry play...
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...categorized under both micro and macroevolution processes. Microevolution refers to changes in the allele frequencies which occur overtime within a given population. For that reason, microevolution refers to the smaller evolutionary changes. For that reason, microevolution is gene pool changes of a population over a certain period of time that result in fairly small changes to organisms found in the population. A good example of such changes includes species’ size or coloring change. This change is essentially as a result of the four processes which in this case are mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, and selection both artificial and natural. Mutation is actually a nucleotide sequence change of an organism genome, extra chromosomal genetic element, or virus. These processes come as a result of unrepaired damage to the RNA genomes or to DNA, the deletion or insertion of DNA segments by the mobile genetic elements, or from the errors that result from replication process. Mutations therefore play an imperative role in both abnormal and normal biological processes. Natural selection is a process whereby the traits that...
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...human race, to reproduce and therefore will always be a topic of thought and discussion. The need and use of sex both in and out of marriage is determined and manipulated by genetic code. Genes have a way of working to either sabotage or safe-guard a relationship. Infidelity Marriage and sex go hand-in-hand and unfortunately infidelity often is part of that union. Both men and women cheat, but for very different reasons. It is these differences that contribute to the variances between men and women and their success or failure in relationships. Men and the Infidelity Gene Why do men cheat? The answer is simple: Reproductive output increases with the increase in sexual partners (Glass, 2000). There is an innate biological need to reproduce in order to pass on a man’s genetics to the next generation. Through the contract of marriage, promises are made to remain monogamous. This contract does not diminish the man’s genetic instinct to reproduce and therefore, depending on the man’s level of commitment and willpower, may result in infidelity. Women and the Infidelity Gene Why do women cheat? Again the answer goes back to the basics. Infidelity may be an opportunity to upgrade the genes of their offspring or find a more committed mate (Glass, & Wright, 1992). In the case of women, their genetics seem more opportunistic, and not just simply looking to multiply the number of their offspring. They are acting on the prospects of improving their chance of survival through...
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...try to end their lives. Biological theory researchers have relied on genetic studies and on investigations into biochemistry to help explain the causes of unipolar depression. Many theorists believe that some people inherit a predisposition to unipolar depression. Support comes from many sources – family studies, twin studies and adoption studies. Family studies select people with depression and examine their close relatives to see whether depression affects other members of the family. If a predisposition to unipolar depression is inherited then relatives should have a higher rate of depression than the general population. Research has supported this claim. If the predisposition is inherited it would also be expected that more cases of depression would be apparent in close relatives compared to distant relatives. Twin studies are used as identical twins share 100% of the same genes, therefore if one twin has the disorder the other should also. Twin studies have found rates consistent with this expectation. Evaluation which supports genetic theory of unipolar depression includes from Harrington et al, who found a 20% likelihood of developing depression in those with a relative with depression, compared to 10% of those with no depressive relatives. This shows that it is twice as likely to develop depression if the individual has a close relative who has or has had the disorder, suggesting a genetic link. Similarly, support...
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