Classical genetics

Think of the last time you purposely inflicted a bodily harm upon yourself, or a time when you put your own body at risk. Chances are you can’t think off a time when that happened, but what if that was false? Research shows that you may be harming your body by simply eating food. What are these foods you might ask? These harmful foods go by the name of Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMO’s. These relatively new organisms produced by mutating the natural genes are understudied and are in most…

glucose in the body. As it stands now, their are two main methods to combat the zombie epidemic, recombinant DNA or CRISPR. Recombinant DNA or rDNA for short, is the method of genetically recombining (such as molecular cloning) to bring together genetic material from multiple sources, creating sequences that would not otherwise be found…

Often, when on the subject of whether or not animals should be used in animal research, it generally sparks up a debate. Some argue that animal testing does not work and the practice is cruel to animals while others argue that the use of animal research has produced tremendous medical breakthroughs and should not be stopped. Yes, animal testing has resulted in great medical discoveries and could be used to potentially discover more, however, new technological advances in medicine such as the 3D…

been present since the invention of in vitro fertilization in 1978. Baird (2007) examines reasoning behind both sides regarding the ethics of reproductive technology, a debate which progressed with the invention of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis…

sections in which the repeats vary in number per individual, here the VNTR’s chosen were D1S80 and D3S1358. The second centred on Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis and how the technique lends itself to the identification of genetic diseases. Each experiment…

Not only can genetic databases be of use in the medical field, but also for FBI purposes. With the help of a national genetic database, the FBI would be able to quickly identify missing persons, cadavers, and criminals. The intention of obtaining a genetic database is to solve murders and identify other victims that could only previously be identified as Jane or John Doe. The International Homicide Investigators Association claims that nationally there are more than 40,000 unidentified cadavers.…

Speciation is how new species are made which involves a form of isolation (Lewis et al., 2013, p. 103). It also is about the divergence of genetic information between two species that once were the same but they separated and were unable to reproduce with one another and over time as they evolved they become genetically different due to these conditions (Lewis et al., 2013, p. 103). An important…

smallest of sea creatures. Since then, there have been many waves of evolution, and with genetic engineering, humankind will be able to remain adjustable to lifestyle and environmental changes. It may potentially be the peak of the “fittest” that Darwin proposed in 1869. Genetic engineering is not a science fiction fantasy anymore either- is it legitimate and it is growing. Will you grow and adapt with genetic engineering, or will you be destined to natural selection as the world around you…

A genotype is known as the complete genetic makeup of a given organism. Consequently, a genotype is the one responsible for the phenotype of an individual. In eukaryotes, a single genotype is capable of expressing more than one phenotype (observable characteristics). This possibility is because genes can go through lots of differentiation processes like mutation, changes in gene expression and frequency. So, mutations play a significant role in variation. For example, DNA can be affected by the…

status by technology. Though we are aware of the progress in certain fields of technology such as communication, transportation, and healthcare, there are new advancements that could alter the course of human evolution as we know it. The study of genetics first began in the mid 1800’s and in only a hundred and fifty years it has opened up possibilities beyond anything its discoverers could have imagined. The term ‘designer babies’ was originally coined by journalists with a simple and somewhat…