Friday, March 9, 2012

Human Crom

  1.  What are the three main parts of a chromosome, as viewed under a microscope? The three main visible parts of the chromosome in the microscope are the long arm, the short arm and the centromere (which is the middle of the chromosome).
  2. List at least four human diseases that have been mapped to the X chromosome. The X chromosome are capable of many diseases. The four most commonly seen diseases include Menkes Syndrome, Alport Syndrome, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Adrenoleukodystrophy. The picture below shows the parts and peices to a human chromosome.
3.      When looking at the summary on genes show the functions, processes, and components it is thought to be involved in (what’s it do?). Looking at the information on genes, you can see different problems things such as how chromosomes are capable of having many diseases. In the Alport Syndrome, the different chromosomes are two recessive traits.
4.      What disease did you choose and what gene is/genes are associated with this disease? The genetic trait that I chose was deafness. The reason for me choosing this disease is the fact that these people never hear one sound all their life! The website listed is a good site to explain how the trait is passed down.
5. On what chromosome are these genes/is this gene located? the answer I found to this stated "
mutation in COL11A2 (DFNA13) (Leenheer et al, 2001). COL11A2 encodes a chain of type XI collagen."



Questions on clinical synopsis in the OMIM entry:
  1. When was the disease first reported in the scientific literature? This was first reported in 1992.
  2. What are some of the clinical symptoms of this disease? The only symptom is loss of hearing, that is what the disease is.
  3. What lab findings (gene function or biochemical data) are associated with the disease? One thing found in the lab is autosomal recessive disorders require a gene from both the mother and father.
  4. What type of inheritance governs this disease? There are four different types of inheritances: Autosomal Dominant Inheritance, Autosomal Recessive Inheritance, X-linked Inheritance,  and Mitochondrial Inheritance  

Thursday, March 1, 2012

chart on in sickness and in health

   This is a project that we created based on facts from two families.  This is a chart to show how the disease traveled through the family tree.


1.What would a pedigree of Greg and Olga’s families look like?
They are shown above.  There are differences in the charts that you see, such as different diseases but as you see in both charts, the diseases skip generations.
2. Do autosomal dominant disorders skip generations? It is possible if there is a recessive trait but it the traits are domanate it will not skip.
3. Could Greg or his mother be carriers of the gene that causes myotonic dystrophy? It is not possible because the gene is domanite and it would show up on them to.
4.Is there a possibility that Greg’s aunt or uncle is homozygous for the myotonic dystrophy (MD) gene? It isn't possible because the other two sibblings don't have the disease.
5.What is the possibility that Greg and Olga’s children could inherit the MD gene? No since Greg’s mom and Greg did not have the gene and Olga didn't show signs of it there is no way there kids could develope this gene.
6.What are the hallmarks of an autosomal recessive trait? The characteristics of autosomal traits are that they skip generations and are present when there are no other dominate traits to take it over or two parents withe recessive genes have a child.
7.What does consanguineous mean? Why is this concept especially important when discussing recessive genetic disorders?  The dictionary deffanition is "Relating to or denoting people descended from the same ancestor". This is so important because it can show us what diseases come through our families.  Many genes can be traced through a family tree.
8.What is it about the inheritance pattern of factor VIII deficiency seen in Greg and Olga’s pedigree that point toward it not being an autosomal recessive trait? Since factor VIII is not in all the families and siblings it shows it being autosomal recessive trait. It is not an autosomal trait because thechance of boys and girls getting factor VIII or Hemophilia is not equal.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Paper Testing Strip

This is a study that we did in science class to see if the tasting gene is dominate or recessive.  From my data I would say the tasting gene is most likely dominate.  Only in the case of my two sisters, which could have gotten two recessive traits, the gene showed up.  Everyone besides those two immediately spit it out, because of the bad flavor they taste.  This was an interesting test to chart because it breaks it down to show you what generations got what traits.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

EUGENICS

What is eugenics?
Eugenics is the theory that birth should be controlled to makea more perfect child. Improving the populations’ genes and this can cause a drop in birth rate.


What were the social origins of eugenics?
The social origins of eugenics started right after the civil war period.  Major things were changing in the U.S.  Industry was becoming bigger, this causing most country people to move to the big city were the jobs could be found.  Bankruptcies became a bigger issue during the time, this is when the idea of "survival of the fittest" came about.  This idea was thrown out because the wealthy stated having a declined birth rate, while the poor people's birth rate was rising rapidly.  This is when the whole idea of eurgenics came around.  Genetics seemed to prove the cause of peoples social problems.  Eugenics argued that by stopping the "unperfect people" from having a baby could save the country thousands and make the future people perfect. 


What research methods were used in eugenics, and what were their flaws?
The start of research on eurgenics was from Mendel's research paper in 1865 on the peas.  Mendel stated that with each visible gene, one had come from the mother and one from the father.  That genes are either domanate or recessive.  A recessive trait is only seen when two recessive taits join together.  If there is a domanite trait no matter what it is the one to show up.  The scientist studing eugenics forcused on two main things, 1.finding large families that would show the traits, and 2. "scoring" each family member to see the existance or absence of a tait.  One of the flaws with this was that the scoring was hard because the tried to get into to complex traits.  The scientist were to quick to put the trait in one of Mendel's templates.


How did eugenics reseach impact American society today.
Eugenics has ipmacted America dramaticly.  It has givin us a thought that we need to be perfect.  We all have that one person in mind that we wish to be like, or look like.  When really no one is perfect.  There are traits in that person that are not noticable that we may no wish oppon ourselves to have.  There are a few cases were eugenics can be right.  I believe that we could use it to control the amout of kids haven by someone that is on disability or wellfare.  My reasoning for this is, I know many peope who use the extra money for each kid for themselves.  They abuse the system, and cheat through it.  They are perfectly fine to find a job but choose not to because they think they can make it with others money.  So we should set a sertain amount of kids that they are able to have, in order to keep the money givin down.


All of my reaseach was found at http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/eugenics/list2.pl

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Making a Baby

   In our science class we learned about the different possibilities of baby genes.  Now a days people have many ways of being able to have kids.  This may seem weird, but now you can shop for your baby.  You can make him look just how you want.  This is possible by looking of the father and mothers genes.  What is dominate or recessive.  In the chart below it shows how the traits mix up, and what it will look like on the baby.  I had a computer wife to make a baby and through a picture, I was able to see the possibilities of what our baby could come out like.  This is not 100% because we don't always no for sure if we are pure genes or if we have a recessive trait stuck to the dominate trait.  These traits can later show up.


TraitParent 1′s GenotypeParent 2′s GenotypeBaby’s GenotypeBaby’s Phenotype
GenderXXXYXXgirl
Molemmmmmmno mole




Eyebrow texturekkKKKkbushy eyebrows





Eye ShapeOOooOooval eyes
EarlobesllLlllattached
Cheek frecklesffffffno freckles
Cheek dimplesDDDDDDdimples
Chin dimplePpppppno chin dimple
Chin shapeZzZZZZround chin
Mouth shapeCcCcccstraight
Hairlineqqqqqqno widows peak
Face shapeAAAaAAround
Mose sizennnnnnsmall nose
Lip sizeGgGGGGbig lips
Hair curlinessHhnnhhstraight hair
Eye separationLLLiLimedium set eyes
Eyelash lengthJJJJJJlong eyelashes
Hair colorRrSsRrSSsSrrlightbrown hair
Eye colorTtUUTTUUTTUUdark brown
Skin colorwWwWwwwwwhite
Eyebrow Sizeeeeeeedon’t meet
Eyebrow shapeBbBbBBarched eybrows

Monday, February 6, 2012

Prostate Cancer

The prostate gland is an organ that is located at the base or outlet of the urinary bladder.  The urethra is the passage through which urine drains from the bladder to leave the penis.  The main function of the prostate gland is to produce some of the substances that are found in normal semen.  In a young man, the normal prostate gland is the size of a walnut (<30g).


What is prostate cancer?

Prostate cancer is a cancerous tumor that consists of cells from the prostate gland.  Generally, the tumor usually grows slowly and remains confined to the gland for many years. During this time, the tumor produces little or no symptoms or outward signs.  



Symptoms


The PSA blood test is often done to screen men for prostate cancer. Because of PSA testing, most prostate cancers are now found before they cause any symptoms.
The symptoms listed below can occur with prostate cancer, usually at a late stage. These symptoms can also be caused by other prostate problems:
  • Delayed or slowed start of urinary stream
  • Dribbling or leakage of urine, most often after urinating
  • Slow urinary stream
  • Straining when urinating, or not being able to empty out all of the urine
  • Blood in the urine or semen
  • Bone pain or tenderness, most often in the lower back and pelvic bones (only when the cancer has spread)



Signs and tests

A biopsy is needed to tell if you have prostate cancer. A sample of tissue is removed from the prostate and sent to a lab.
Your doctor may recommend a prostate biopsy if:
  • You have high PSA level
  • A rectal exam shows a large prostate or a hard, uneven surface
The results are reported using what is called a Gleason grade and a Gleason score.
The Gleason grade tells you how fast the cancer might spread. It grades tumors on a scale of 1 - 5. You may have different grades of cancer in one biopsy sample. The two main grades are added together. This gives you the Gleason score. The higher your Gleason score, the more likely the cancer is to have spread past the prostate:
  • Scores 2 - 5: Low-grade prostate cancer
  • Scores 6 - 7: Intermediate- (or in the middle-) grade cancer. Most prostate cancers fall into this group.
  • Scores 8 - 10: High-grade cancer
The following tests may be done to determine whether the cancer has spread:
  • CT scan
  • Bone scan
The PSA blood test will also be used to monitor your cancer after treatment. Often, PSA levels will begin to rise before there are any symptoms. An abnormal digital rectal exam may be the only sign of prostate cancer (even if the PSA is normal).