Genetics

Introduction Nature is the genetic inheritance and biological influences, while nurture is the external factors, such as environment and life experiences. The nature-nurture debate concerned with the extent to which aspects of behavior are a product human, whether nature (i.e. genetic influence) or nurture (i.e., acquired learning or environmental factors). The debate allows psychologists to study various aspects of human development which include intelligence, personality, and mental illness.…

flow, genetic drift, and natural selection. Mutation is when a change happens during replication of DNA. It is when the copy of the original DNA is not replicated completely correctly. There are multiple types of mutation including substitution, deletion, duplication, insertion, nonsense mutations, missense mutation, frameshift, and repeat expansion. Another force of evolution, gene flow, also called migration is exactly that. When an individual moves or any of their genetic…

its importance was not realized until 1953 (DNA). Genetic testing, “a type of medical test that identifies changes in chromosomes, genes, or proteins” (What is Genetic Testing?), however, was first done in the 1910s with ABO blood typing (O’Neil). Today, testing is used for determining paternity, determining a person’s chance of developing or passing on a genetic disorder, and to confirm or rule out a suspected genetic condition (What is genetic testing?). There are currently over 100 different…

Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis is “a process whereby embryos are created through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), which are then screened prior to the implantation to identify any genetic defects; to further prevent certain diseases or disorders from being passed on to a child” [1] – these diseases include, but are not limited to: - Cystic Fibrosis - Down Syndrome - Huntington’s Disease - Hemophilia PGD is used for women who have had reoccurring miscarriages, infertility, and for people…

combination of both nature and nurture that shapes human outcome. I tend to look at it like this: we cannot escape our genetic predispositions, but we can change the psychology surrounding them. Thus, it is possible to raise a child who had an incredibly dire utero experience into a functional, happy person and vice versa. Paul gives explanation of this with regards to PTSD and how this genetic marker could be both a hindrance or survival testimony (Paul, 2011). So, I cannot say that I fall on…

Are you for or against genetic tests on children? In the articles,”Why we Should Think Twice About Giving Genetic Tests to Our Kids,” and “Genetic Testing for Kids: Is It a Good Idea?” They both give multiple reasons why it is a bad idea to test kids genetics. The first reason is that adults and children may worry. The second reason is that you may find unknown information. The third reason is that if you get diagnosed it may be incurable. One of the main reasons it is a bad idea to…

There is a saying that states that, “Biology and genetics are a scientific way of showing that people don’t actually change over time, instead time simply unfolds them.” This statement may be true to some extent but I do not agree with this statement. I think that over the time of our life span, we as humans, get influenced by our peers, parents, family and friends. Biology and genetics are just ways of showing how humans develop over time, but they do not show when someone will change their…

(Monosomy) or one or more extra copies of a chromosome (one extra is trisomy, two extra is tetrasomy). Most genetic disorders, however, are categorized as complex. Complex or multifactorial disorders are not a result of a mutation in one gene or a change in the chromosome, rather they result from “a complex interplay of mutated genes and the environment”. Genetic disorders are the cause of genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia is a severe hereditary disease in which “a…

Genetic modification is a widely debated subject since there is so much known about it yet so much that is still unknown. Some people don’t even know what genetically modified food is and how it came about. It was best said by John Donovan when he said “…nature has many unknowns, but one certainty is that tomatoes and fish do not have sex with each other” (Donovan). The experiment he is referring to is one of the most infamous early attempts at genetic modification. After Donovan said this quote…

While the clinical validity of genetic tests is growing, there emerges a concern that the disclosure of individuals’ genetic test results could lead to discrimination by health insurers and employers (Hudson et al., 2008). Federal legislation addressed the protection of individuals’ genetic information by passing the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) in May 2008. The law prohibits health insurers and employers from using an individual’s genetic information in making eligibility…