UPDATE - STUDY GUIDE POSTED AT BOTTOM NOVA - Cracking Your Genetic Code If you could create a Utopia, what would it look like? How would people interact? Would there be a political structure? What about societal classes? Often times, when young students are asked to create their Utopia, they limit themselves to the geographical landscape and societal interactions or economy. Often overlooked,however, is medicine - would there be diseases? Would cancer still be as prevalent as it is in our society? What about other genetic disorders? Please watch the following brief clip from a 1997 movie titled GATTACA... The future of genetic research is an extremely interesting, yet extremely slippery slope. The legal and ethical discussions that are sure to unfold over the next 50-100 years will be extremely interesting. Just because science has the ability to do something, should it? For example - what if we could create the "perfect" human as alluded to in the scene from GATTACA... Is it ethical to pre-create someone through predetermined and preselected genetics? As we continue through Unit 7 - Genetics, we had discussions as we watched a NOVA special titled "Cracking Your Genetic Code". This documentary is extremely interesting and brings to light many positive and negative aspects of genetic research ranging from early detection of genetic disorders to helping find advanced treatment options for cancer. Your Unit 7 Celebration of Learning will be on Monday, April 5th! Please take advantage of the many resources available to you to best prepare for this assessment Also, use the information in the Extra Help tab to help aid in your studying! Unit 7 Presentation Slides (Click to view) Below are a couple extra practice worksheets that you can try as well...
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3-D DNA Double Helix Models are Complete! The students submitted their final DNA models today! They all looked great and it is clear the students spent a lot of time and effort assembling their models. After showing off the models, we then entered a discussion of DNA sequencing and genetic engineering - is it good or is it bad? What are the ethics involved?
After watching the above video segments, we discussed the implications of genetic engineering. Maybe learning about the probability of someone experiencing heart disease or diabetes could come in handy as a means of proactive and preventative health care. Maybe genetically engineering the "perfect" child could cause a huge societal rift and be deemed unethical. We also discussed the now famous BRCA gene (view link) as well as P53 (view link) and their connections to cancer research and treatment. Either way you looked at it, there was always an argument of - just because we can do something... does that necessarily mean we should do something?
What is cancer? Are all cancers the same? Cancer has been characterized as an "uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells in the body" and can impact almost any type of cell in the body. (National Library of Medicine) When our cells lack the ability to regulate or stop their growth and replication, a large collection of unneeded cells is created - also known as a tumor. Cancer is prevalent in many forms and impacts people of all ages. In 2013 alone, researchers anticipate 1,660,290 new diagnosed cases of cancer in the United States. This striking figure does not even take into account the high number of people affected by basal and squamous cell skin cancers! Over the next week, students will have the opportunity to research a cancer of their choice and create a "Cancer Calendar" following the instructions and rubric posted below. Today, students selected a wide range of cancers including breast cancer, leukemia, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, salivary gland cancer, Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia, and many more.
Treatment options for burn victims and other severe injuries... In the world of biomedical technology and engineering, researchers are trying to develop advanced methods for healing skin cells following burns and/or other severe injuries and infections. In Unit 5 - Cellular Division, we have been discussing the process of mitosis - or the way in which somatic cells divide and replicate. A skin graft utilizes mitosis by taking healthy tissue from another area of the patient and placing it over the damaged or infected area in hopes that it will grow and form new tissue. The class had an opportunity to watch two short clips about current biomedical research in the field of skin cell regeneration. Following the clips and discussion, Mr. Hulse presented about a skin graft treatment he assisted with while working in the surgical ward of a hospital in Mombasa, Kenya!
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Mr. Hulse
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