Human Genome Project

CNN Videos Topic:  "Mapping Chromosomes": Biology 5th Ed. CNN Ed 2001 (1:52)
The mapping of chromosome 21 surprised scientists by revealing a mere 225 genes.  As the human genome is mapped, estimates of the total number of human genes have been revised downward.  Chromosome 21 plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Down’s Syndrome.  By comparing the action of genes in normal individuals with that of genes in people with Down’s Syndrome, researchers hope to determine which genes cause the detrimental effects associated with this chromosomal disorder. (Student worksheet provided on CD)
 
Topic:  "Mining the human genome":  Genetics 1st Ed. CNN Ed 2003 (0:00)


Topic:  "Genetic sex":  Genetics 1st Ed. CNN Ed 2003.

Topic:  "Progeria gene":  Genetics 8th Ed. CNN Ed 2004 (0:00)


Case Studies

"When Twins Marry Twins".  DE Allen.  Thinking Toward Solutions:  Problem-Based Learning Activities for General Biology. Allen, D. E. and Duch, B. J. (1998).   New YorkSaunders College Publishing.
Students predict the phenotypes of twin couples’ offspring.  Probability of the genetic composition that could be the same is also researched.

Online Videos

Watson and the story of DNA
James Watson recalls building the first model of DNA.



Genetic Engineering
The first experiments in genetic engineering


Sequencing the human genome
See how the human genome was sequenced.

Articles

Articles found in resource cabinet outside SCIC #.  Filed by subject heading and topic.
"Understanding the Human Genome Project" Pallandino, Michael.  The Benjamin Cummings Special Topics in Biology Series. Pearson Education, Inc. 2002.
In this booklet they define the Human Genome Project, explain how it is studied, what has been discovered so far, explain how to use the Internet to learn about the project, an overview of genome issues, what is next in the genome sector, and resources for students and teachers.

“Why so many errors in our DNA?” Maya Pines.  Blazing a genetic trail.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 1991.
An average human undergoes 30 mutations in his or her lifetime.  The article explains the indirect copying of DNA during transcription and translation. 


“Treasures Await Those Who Study Our Closest Relative Among Model Organisms:  The Mouse” Stephen S. Hall.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001).   
Mus musculus is extremely similar to humans, genetically speaking.  The similarities to humans include having 40,000 genes, 3.2 billion base pairs of DNA, and are mammals with similar physiological systems. The article also introduces “knockout” mice. The usefulness of mice as model organisms discussed includes obesity, Hox genes, dopamine, memory, and other diseases of the human body also found in mice. 

“A Robot that Tracks All the Genes in A Cell Reveals Key Patterns”.
  Pines, Maya.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 

The research discussed in the animal is the difference in gene function in totipotent germ line cells and mortal cells of the soma. 

“The ‘Fly People’ Make History with the Fruitful Fruit Fly”.  Taubes, Gary A.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001).
The article briefly reviews the various mutations that can be expressed in the phenotypes of Drosophila, focusing on the usefulness of sequencing its genome.  The fruit fly has been a leading model system in biology for the exploration of genetic development, revealing biological processes that all organisms share.  The discovery of the homeobox is introduced to unite all organisms along with relationships Drosophila shares with the human brain.

“A Young Woman and a Billion Flies”.  Taubes, Gary A.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 
Jenica Chekouras is a young woman with Gorlina syndrome, or basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS).  This genetic disorder causes small skin cancers to cover the body.  The usefulness of fruit flies is once again discussed, introducing a segmentation gene called patched.  The gene in the fruit fly is linked to BCNS.  Using mice as model systems for carcinomas and tumors is also discussed.

“Drunken Flies Mimic Human Behavior”.  Taubes, Gary A.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001).
Unlike Heberlein endeavored to look for a genetic predisposition for alcoholism.  Using ethanol vapor, flies began to become hyperactive and then uncoordinated as the level of alcohol in their systems rose.  An inebriometer allowed Heberlein to discover that wildtype flies were unconscious in 20 minutes of ethanol exposure.  The experiment separated the flies into those that had mutations that allowed for longer exposure to ethanol without losing consciousness and “cheap date” fruit flies that lost consciousness quickly.  Genes that created an alcohol resistance were found .

“The Virtues of Cell Suicide”.  Pines, Maya.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001).
Caenorhabditis elegans provides a genetic window to the world of Alzheimer’s, stroke, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and other diseases in humans.  The nematode’s genome was fully sequenced in 1998, the first animals to have all of its genes sequenced.  Having approximately half of the number of genes of humans, the genes have revealed important parts such as presenilin genes, involved in Alzheimer’s, and the dynamics of apoptosis.  The article specifies the role of apoptosis.  A two-page diagram of the family tree of every cell in the worm also is featured.

“An Awesome Power”.  Pines, Maya.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 
The article reveals the usefulness of yeast as a model organism for the goings-on inside a single cell.  Having only 6,000 genes and few introns, yeast genes have been found to closely resemble those of mice and humans.  The wonders of yeast include the matching crystallography patterns of yeast proteins with human proteins.


“Shuttling Between Species to Make Sense of the Human Genome” Maya Pines, The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 
 The article discusses species that can be useful in research despite the historical reliance on model organisms such as Drosophila and C. elegans.  The zebrafish, skeletons of multiple species to research skeletal diseases, chimpanzees, the Fugu pufferfish are all discussed focusing on impact on genetics.

“A Leap Into the Whole-Genome Era”.  Pines, Maya.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 
Even though 19,099 genes of the C. elegans have been sequenced, the function of each gene has not been determined.  This article is linked in subject area to microarray technology, which can be found in “Discovering What the Genes in a Living Cell Do- Starting with Yeast”  Maya Pines.  The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 

"Relating enzyme function to concepts of dominance and recessiveness". Lanza, J.  and Cress, C. The American Biology Teacher, 67, 2005, p. 432.
This lesson helps students connect DNA molecules to phenotypes.  Students imitate functional and nonfunctional enzymes.  It looks at the difficulty related to some phenotypes in completing a task for which other phenotypes are better adapted. 

“How does a fertilized egg turn into a fly, a chicken, you, or me?”  Robert Kanigel.  From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Developmental biology is introduced as a  discipline made of questions.  Drosophila’s use in developmental biology is explored including the use of transposons to track gene location and function.  Historical research and current questions guide the article to explore how, what, and why of developmental biology. 

“The dialogue between egg and sperm” Robert Kanigel.  From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  
This may have spectucular effects for infertility treatment seeing that there is a positive correlation between the eggs that release the attracting fluid are the eggs most likely to become fertilized in a test tube.

“The homeobox:  something very precious that we share with flies” Peter Radetsky. From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Research involving placement of a human gene into a Drosophila genome proves that human and fruit fly genes are very similar.  The experiement showed that the effect of the human gene in the fly’s genome produced the same phenotype as the fly’s gene did in its own genome.  The homeobox was found in the genes, a segment of DNA, having 180 base pairs that had gone unchanged over millions of years.  

“Discovering the body plan” Peter Radetsky From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
In Drosophila, the body plan is largely influenced by the mother’s DNA.  Bicoid protein diffuses through the developing embryo.  Areas of greatest concentration become the head of the fruit fly.  The development of the fruit fly with regard to gene control is discussed. 

“Becoming a male, becoming a female”.  Maya Pines From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 
The article reveals the ins-and-outs of sex determination in a zygote.

“Building the world’s most complex system:  The brain”  Larry Thompson From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
The article discusses Kallman’s syndrome, a missing gene in the area of the embryonic brain cells that leads to olfactory cells and sex hormone cells.  Someone with Kallman’s syndrome will not be able to reproduce nor have a sense of smell.  The development of the brain is then traced.  

“Shuttling Between Species to Make Sense of the Human Genome” Maya Pines, The Genes We Share with Yeast, Flies, Worms, and Mice:  New Clues to Human Health and Disease.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2001). 
The article discusses species that can be useful in research despite the historical reliance on model organisms such as Drosophila and C. elegans.  The zebrafish, skeletons of multiple species to research skeletal diseases, chimpanzees, the Fugu pufferfish are all discussed focusing on impact on genetics.

“How does a fertilized egg turn into a fly, a chicken, you, or me?”  Robert Kanigel.  From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  <> 
Developmental biology is introduced as a  discipline made of questions.  Drosophila’s use in developmental biology is explored including the use of transposons to track gene location and function.  Historical research and current questions guide the article to explore how, what, and why of developmental biology. 

“The dialogue between egg and sperm” Robert Kanigel.  From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
  This may have spectacular effects for infertility treatment seeing that there is a positive correlation between the eggs that release the attracting fluid are the eggs most likely to become fertilized in a test tube.

 “The homeobox:  something very precious that we share with flies” Peter Radetsky. From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 
 Research involving placement of a human gene into a Drosophila genome proves that human and fruit fly genes are very similar.  The experiement showed that the effect of the human gene in the fly’s genome produced the same phenotype as the fly’s gene did in its own genome.  The homeobox was found in the genes, a segment of DNA, having 180 base pairs that had gone unchanged over millions of years. 


“Discovering the body plan” Peter Radetsky. 
From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
In Drosophila, the body plan is largely influenced by the mother’s DNA.  Bicoid protein diffuses through the developing embryo.  Areas of greatest concentration become the head of the fruit fly.  The development of the fruit fly with regard to gene control is discussed. 

“Becoming a male, becoming a female".  Maya Pines.  From Egg to Adult.  1992.  Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 
The article reveals the ins-and-outs of sex determination in a zygote.


"Does Race Exist".  Bamshad, M.J. and Olson, S. E.  Scientific American.  December 2003, pp. 22-31.
The article investigates the validity of the concept of race.  Diseases can correlate to race, which is determined mainly by location of origin on the globe.  Research has found that individuals from distinct populations are somewhat more similar than from different populations.  Scientists are looking for a reliable way to divide groups based on ancestry; geneticists rely on polymorphisms to do this.  100 Alus polymorphisms can be used to determine the country of ancestry.  Other studies have also been able to put people into ethnic groups based on polymorphisms.  Subgroups relating to ethnicity were deciphered as well.  The research shows that superficial characteristics, the way we typically divide people into races, is not reliable in comparison to the genetic divisions.  One important feature of understanding the relation of race and genetics is health factors such as sickle-cell anemia.  Relating to health care, some believe medicines will better be able to treat diseases if the race of the individual is known.  However, others believe that race, alone, is not enough information on which to base prescription decisions. 

"Understanding the Human Genome Project". Palladino, Michael. University of Massachusetts, 2003. -Located in PBL resource library in SCIC outside of room 207
This mini-book assists in understanding the basics of and behind the Human Genome Project.