Charles Darwin, a famous naturalist and geologist, who developed the theory of evolution and natural selection. Darwin concluded his work with observations of birds, but didn’t have strong evidence to prove his theory. As of a couple years ago, a group of scientist from the University of Utah did an experiment on DNA from pigeons. … Read more
The perfect baby might not have the stereotypical physical traits of blond hair and blue eyes; they have the perfect genes of a healthy person. Designer babies is an euphemism for genetic engineering. As a baby’s genes are genetically altered, the DNA itself in most cases is not altered, but rather parents are merely selecting … Read more
The miracle of life is a never-ending interest of study and very difficult to grasp. The complexity of how our DNA is inherited, duplicated, mutated, and expressed varies in uncountable ways. Leon and Diane Rosenberg (2012) state that gene expression can be modified by changes in DNA structure or chemical modification of DNA, which in … Read more
The fantasy of modifying human characteristics is not a fantasy anymore. In genetic modification or genetic engineering, scientists directly manipulate genes to change the genetic makeup of cells. From choosing the color of your baby’s eyes, to eliminating pre-existing conditions, genetic modification is a sure way of having a promising life. But with that being … Read more
Prader-Willi syndrome or PWS, is not a disease many people have knowledge about, or have even heard about it. Only about 1 in 25,000 children are born with this rare syndrome. In 1956, Prader-Willi was first described by Andrea Prader, Heinrich Willi, and Alexis Labhart. Prader and Willi, both Swiss pediatricians, and Labhart, an internist, … Read more
This is one of the most interesting genetic diseases in the world, and yet there is no cure for it. This disease can affect people drastically, or sometimes very little at all. Although there is no way to treat it, it can be helped, and there are many programs to help. This complex genetic disease … Read more
Before the famous Dolly the Sheep, cloning was not quite what it is considered today. The first example that could be considered “cloning” took place in 1885. Hans Adolf Edward Dreisch discovered that if he shook the two-celled embryos of sea urchins, the cells could separate and grow into two identical sea urchins. A couple … Read more
Sharon Bernardi has had seven children. All but one died just a few hours after birth, while the survivor lived with extreme defects until his passing at age 21. At first the doctors could not figure out what was causing the seemingly healthy babies to suddenly pass away, but after her fourth baby, they found … Read more
Do you believe in alternate world? What if you discover that there is another ‘you’ living in another universe? Have you ever thought what’s after our universe? There are Scientists, Cosmogonist, Astrophysicist and other people involved in science that believe that there could be another universe. That someone like you and I have a, what … Read more
The purpose of this experiment was to determine the F1 genotype of fruit fly traits using the phenotypic ratio of the F2 generation and to express these results of the unknown cross through a Chi-square model and Mendelian genetics. After the experiment, it was found that the parents held a heterozygous genotype through using the … Read more
Trisomy 21 is a congenital disorder when a person is born with an extra chromosome. Normally, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes; a Down syndrome baby has a total of 47 chromosomes. This extra chromosome changes the babies’ brain and body development, which may cause physical and mental delays and challenges for the baby. … Read more
The question of whether or not it is ethical to change the genes of a child before they are born, to rid them of a family disease or just simply to be able to pick their traits, has been going on for years now. Every year humans as a whole are getting closer and closer … Read more
The movie Gattaca starts with the birth of Vincent Anton Freeman whose genetics show him to be prone to many disorders. He is given an estimated life span of just above thirty years to live. Vincent’s parents then decide to use genetic selection to give birth to another child whom they name Anton. As boys, … Read more
Controversial themes have long been a component of memorable film. These particular films touch on topics audiences might have typically found taboo or litigious, often dealing with ethical and social affairs. A prime example of this is the 1997 sci-fi film Gattaca. In a nutshell, Gattaca is a tale about a genetically caste era featuring … Read more
People strive for progression in order to move forward with the changing times. As scientific technology progresses, people begin to move towards the bright idea of perfection. This could be seen in the concept of designer babies. A designer baby is a baby that has its genes specifically chosen in order to ensure that a … Read more
Drosophila melanogaster is a common fruit fly that has been useful for most experiments in the study of Genetics. The male and the female fruit fly are similar and different in regards to how they look, structurally. They are similar because both genders have a head, thorax, proboscis, antennae, eyes, and mouth parts. However, males … Read more
This year, Researchers introduced Americans to the first gene-modified rhesus monkey named ANDi. Andi, which stands for inserted DNA spelled backwards, was born at Oregon Regional Primate Research Center at Oregon Health Sciences University. For the first time, scientists have modified the DNA of a primate species, whose genetic coding varies from people by only … Read more
Adam and Eve were doomed for trying to be like god, this is the same damnation mankind is headed to. Everyones dream is to have absolute power and control of everything. The genome project and DNA engineering gives man the ability to create life and cu omize life to his specific needs of likes. So … Read more
The theory of being able to make a genetic copy (a clone) of another animal has been around for quite a while. In this section as the title reads I will show the history of cloning. 400 million years B. C. – Plants have been cloning themselves since not to long (as far as the … Read more
Only a small fraction of our total DNA makes us different from gorillas, chimpanzees and other primates. An even smaller fraction makes one person different from the next. It’s these differences that forensic DNA experts use to identify people and determine the source of biological evidence such as blood or semen found at a crime … Read more
Reproductive technology has come a long way in the last twenty years and continues to make expansive advances. The question “where do babies come from” is becoming harder and harder to answer. The response used to sound something like “when a man and a woman love each other very much…” now with in vitro fertilization, … Read more
Genetic engineering has developed and blossomed at a frightening rate in the last decade. Originating as merely an area of interest for scientists, genetic engineering has now become an area of which all people should be somewhat knowledgeable. DNA profiling has many uses, both positive and negative, in our society. Aside from its usefulness in … Read more
Cystic fibrosis is an inherited autosomal recessive disease that exerts its main effects on the digestive system and the lungs. This disease is the most common genetic disorder amongst Caucasians. Cystic fibrosis affects about one in 2,500 people, with one in twenty five being a heterozygote. With the use of antibiotics, the life span of … Read more
Regenerating extinct species, engineering babies that are born without vital body organs, this is what the use of genetic engineering brings to the world. In Greek myth, an chimera was a part lion, part goat, part dragon that lived in Lycia; in real life, its an animal customized with genes of different species. In reality, … Read more
The reason that we decided to research genome therapy was because we very interested in this project and had a lot of questions concerning this topic. Some of the questions that we had were: what is normal and what is a disability or disorder, and who decides? Are disabilities diseases? Do they need to be … Read more
Genetics is the study of the patterns of inheritance of specific traits (Poretto). This knowledge could be used to alter the course of a future human life. This knowledge could even be used to stop a potentially painful life before it starts. Genetic engineering, like any other science, is a tool. Like any other tool … Read more
Sensitive chromosome probes recently discovered by a University of Toronto geneticist will make it easier to detect certain types of genetic and prenatal diseases, as well as being used to determine paternity and provide forensic evidence in criminal cases. Probes are short pieces of DNA which bind to, and actually pinpoint, particular sites on a … Read more
From simple heredity experiments with garden peas, to cloning sheep, the field of genetics has come a long way. Now we are closer to mapping out the human genetic map due to advances in technology, and years and years of research. Perhaps the most influential and groundbreaking scientist, Gregor Mendel, he was responsible to provide … Read more
The Hardy-Weinberg theorem states that the frequency of alleles and genotypes in a populations gene pool remain constant over the generations unless acted upon by agents other than sexual recombination. For example, take a population of mice that consists of 1,000 members. A specific allele, albino allele, is recessive within this species. 80% of the … Read more
Introduction Genetic Disorders are medical conditions that are caused by an error in a person’s genes. Some of them appear as a birth defect, while others do not become distinct until later in life. Genetic disorders can range from those that cause death to those that produce only mild problems, such as color blindness or … Read more
The process of cloning is the process of using the genes of a being to create another being genetically identical to it. Cloning technology has been called the “forbidden fruit of biology” (Begley 54). For years, scientists have been trying to perfect the cloning technique. In Scotland, scientists at the Roslin Institute have finally succeeded. … Read more
