Extinct Animal Cloning

Genetics

By: Meaghan McKiernan

What is Genetics?

• Did you ever wonder where you got your hair color or your eye color? It’s all scientific and based on genetics. Genetics is the study of how traits are inherited through the interactions of genes. A gene is the material that controls which traits will be expressed in an organism. Genes come in pairs and offspring inherits one copy of each gene from each parent.

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How are traits passed on?

• Recessive traits are covered by another form of that trait (dominant) and partially disappear. They are hidden when the other gene contains the dominant allele.

• A recessive allele only shows up when there is no dominant allele present. Recessive alleles are identified by a lower case letter.

• A trait that covers over or dominates another is dominant. This trait always shows up and is identified by a capital letter.

How is genetic material passed on?

• Punnett Squares are tools used to predict the probability of certain traits in offspring. It shows the different ways alleles can combine.

• Traits are controlled by alleles on chromosomes. Chromosomes are a doubled rod of condensed chromatin that contains DNA and carries the genetic information.


Dominant or recessive

• Alleles are either dominant or recessive. When a pair of chromosomes separate, the different alleles for a trait move into separate sex cells.

Examples

• Example: Widows Peak.• WW,Ww would be a widow’s peak. However, ww would be a

straight hairline. W would be a dominant allele while w would be a recessive allele.

• Other examples would be earlobes attached or detached, dimples or no dimples or freckles or no freckles. Color blindness is due to a recessive allele located on the X chromosome. Men are XY and women are XX. Few women get color blindness because they have an extra X to back it up if something went wrong.


• A child may inherit 2 identical or 2 different alleles from their parents. When two different alleles interact, their result is either dominant or recessive. The dominant trait always shows up even if the recessive allele is present.

Human Genome Project

• Genetic testing is available for infants, children, and adults. Genetic tests can be used to diagnose a disease in an individual with symptoms and to help measure risk of developing a disease.

• The U.S. Human Genome Project is a multi year effort to find all the genes on every chromosome in the human body and to determine their “biochemical nature.”

Cont’d

• The project began in 1990. The projects goals were to :

• Identify all genes in human DNA (there are 20,000 to 25,000).

• To determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA.

• Store the information in a database.• Improve tools for data analysis.• Transfer relater technologies to private sector.• Address the ethical, legal and social issues that may

arise from the project.

Implications for Ethical, Legal and Social Issues

• Many issues arise when it comes to genetic testing. People worry about who will use their private health information and how will it be used?

• Fairness in the use of genetic information by insurers, employers, courts, schools, adoption agencies and the military.

• Who should have access to the personal genetic information, and how it will be used?

• Privacy and confidentiality of genetic information, who owns and controls genetic information?

Psychological Impact & Stigmatization due to an individual’s genetic differences.

• How does personal genetic information affect an individual and society’s perceptions of that individual? How does genomic information affect members of minority populations?

GINA 2008Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

• This law prohibit US insurance companies and employers from discriminating on the basic of information gained from genetic testing. It forbids insurance companies from discriminating through reduced coverage or pricing and prohibits employers from making adverse employment decisions based on a person’s genetic code. In addition, insurers and employers are not allowed to request or demand a genetic test.

Cont’d

• Most companies require a medical exam of their new employees. “Americans will feel free to undergo genetic testing for diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes an Alzheimer's without fearing for their job or health insurance.”

• Increased genetic testing makes it more likely that researchers will come up with early lifesaving therapy for a wide range of diseases with hereditary links. Genetic testing also will help doctors catch problems early, and may lead to preventive treatment and lower costs.

Genetic Disorders

• A genetic disorder is a disease cause by abnormalities in an individual’s genetic material. Three different types of genetic disorders are single gene disorder, chromosomal abnormalities, and multifactor disorders.

• The graph below shows the increase rate of people who will be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s by the year 2030.


Single Gene Disorder

• Single gene disorders is cause by a change or mutation in the DNA sequence of a gene. A gene is the basic physical unit of heredity. When a gene is “mutated”(changed or altered) it can’t carry out its normal function and a disorder can result. There are more than 6,000 known single gene disorders. Examples are Huntington’s disease, sickle cell anemia and cystic fibrosis.

Chromosome Abnormalities

• Chromosomes are located in the nucleus of a cell. They carry genes genetic order. Every human has 23 pairs of chromosomes. Sometimes a chromosome can be missing or there can be too many. Examples of Chromosome Abnormalities are Down Syndrome and Trisome 21.


Multifactor Disorders

• This disorder is cause by a combination of environmental factors and mutations in multiple genes. For example, many diseases such as heart disease and cancer are multifactor. The mutations are found on more than 1 chromosome.


How do I know if I carry a gene for a specific disorder? Genetic Counseling

• Is the process when 2 parents can evaluate their family history,medical records and genetic tests. They can make a punnet square that shows the possibility of their offsprings having genetic disorders. Examples are Down Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, Sickle Cell Anemia and Spinal Bifida. The genetic tests tell the parents if their offspring will inherit the disorders. Counselors help parents understand their genetic history and reach decisions on what to do next.

Karyotypes

• To find genetic disorders scientists use a technology called karyotyping. Karyotypes is an organized profile of a person’s chromosomes. In a Kayotype the chromosomes are arranged and numbered by size, from largest to smallest. This arrangement helps scientists to quickly identify any alteration that may result in a genetic disorder.


Science Advancement in Cloning

• Cloning is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals. In reproductive cloning, clones are exactly the same genes. They are identical twins. Scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a cloned adult cell to an egg whose nucleus has been removes.

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Cloning of Animals

• The first animal cloned was in 1952 was a tadpole. Other animals that have been cloned are sheep, goats, cows, pigs, cats and rabbits.

• Who would want to clone animals? Many people would love to have a clone of their deceased pet. Race horse owners would love to clone their prized animals.

• Current issues opponents say that we should ban cloning and say its unethical. Scientists say we can rebuild nerve cells.This is why proponents agree because it can treat many disorders.

Genetic Engineering

• Genetic Engineering is the scientific process of manipulating or changing genetic material. It involves replacing or transferring genes from one organism to another for a specific purpose. The genes are transplanted to import some characteristics of the original organism.

Arguments:

• I am against cloning extinct animals. First, how can we be sure that there are not any flaws in the DNA used to create the clone. Extinct animals from thousands of years ago, like the dinosaur or the Woolly Mammoth could have lost some of the important information in the genetic material that scientists take from their remains. If we brought them back and this problem occurred it would be pointless and the animals wouldn’t be the same as they were in the past.

• Secondly, bringing back extinct animals could also bring back unwanted diseases. This could threaten humans and animals alive today. Back then, there were many diseases and nobody had treatment to cure it. How do we know what the diseases are and even if we have a cure for it today? If we clone an animal and they reproduce with an unwanted disease, nobody would want them around and they would just become extinct again.

• In addition, we should not interfere with the natural course of the earth because of evolution. We should just let nature take over. If the animal is extinct, we should just let it be.

• Finally, cloning extinct animals might cause a financial hardship on our society. There are no modern environments suitable for these creatures. We will have to pay for the cloning which will cost money. Also, society would have to spend money to keep the animal alive, safe and healthy. This could be very costly.

Work Cited

• Heredity and Traits." Learn.Genetics ｪ . Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/>.

• Science News for Kids: Home Page. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/>.

• Chivers, Tom. "Cloning." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science>.

• KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://kidshealth.org/>.

• "Genome.gov | Specific Genetic Disorders." Genome.gov | National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) - Homepage. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.genome.gov/10001204>.

• "Human Genome Project." Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ornl.gov>.

Extinct Animal Cloning

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