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 York: Saunders
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.