Medical genetics

introduced in order to fulfill our cultures supply needs for food. Genetically Modified Organisms can be crops that have a modified DNA sequence that is superior than naturally occurring plants. Abbie Goldbas states that, “Gmos are organisms whose genetic makeups have been changed by mutating, inserting, or deleting…

how much genetic variance can account for the variations of cognition that are observed in the human population (Plomin et al, 2013). Over the years, we have in some ways learned an immense amount about intelligence, yet when reading even the most recent reports it appears that we know hardly anything at all. One thing that most scientists can agree upon, is that fact that intelligence is a polygenic…

The “Pointless” Artificial Creation The matter of cloning reached a peak when CEO of BioArts International, Lou Hawthorne, announced to his company that they were no longer offering dog-cloning services by giving demand of cloning for a an uninterested market and unethical competition between international markets as one of the reasons for the stoppage. A similar situation of total disregard to organism creation through laboratorial procedures was observed in Ehrlich’s article talking about the…

Many people realize that sleep plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy body, but many times they put it at the bottom of their priority list due to the hectic life style of today’s society. It has been known that factors such as your health, age, gender, etc. have played a big influence on how much sleep you need in order to function well the following day. Scientist are now pointing at two factors that influence how much sleep you need: sleep need, the amount of sleep you need in order to…

We started off Wednesday, knowing we would be covering a topic that was completely new to pretty much everyone attending. We were covering transposable elements. These were first discovered by Barbara McClintock in corn kernels. She noticed that the corn kernels were either colored, or plain- but once in a while they were spotted. Most scientists at the time assumed that the chromosome for color had been repressed or had broken off. However, Dr. McClintock felt that if the chromosome had been…

Richard Dawkins is a well-known biologist and a writer who takes after Charles Darwin. Charles Darwin was the man who originally discovered the possibility of natural selection. Scott LaFee is a science writer who believes that Dawkin’s work proves that he is very similar to Charles Darwin. “Richard Dawkins, the 68-year-old English biologist and best-selling author, whose rousing defense and explanations of evolution have earned him international admiration, the enduring enmity of creationists…

choice” is a phrase that is often used by right-wing conservatives, but what if it isn’t so. Is it possible that the “gay gene” that causes humans to have same sex attraction exists in conjunction with pheromones? It is possible for there to be some genetic factor with pheromones that causes homosexuality at a minor scale compared to heterosexuality. Pheromones in humans have long been a mysterious concept with little evidence to prove, although it is present in other animals of the animal…

The famous discussion of nature vs. nurture was somewhat interrupted by the realization that both aspects, genetics and environment, have important input in individuals. By combining the studies of genetics and psychology it is possible to correlate results from the fields and search for possible, and hopefully specific, genes involved in the expression of certain traits. For instance, Poulin et al (2011) explored the relationship between receptor genes of oxytocin and vasopressin and prediction…

Heredity and Evolutionary Theory Charles Darwin, a naturalist and geologist held the belief that all living things share a common ancestor. This statement is in relation to his contributed Theory of Evolution that has greatly impacted the world’s view about the human originates. Evolution is defined as change over time and according to Darwin, this process of which all diverse kinds of living organisms have developed into their own branches is due to natural selection which grants the organism…

or similar characteristics that the owner wished for from past generations. The discovery of genetics was do to the extensive experimentation and studies of Gregor Mendel on various pea plants. Decades later after Mendel’s brilliant discovery, scientists continued to learn more about genetics and came to uncover the process of altering genes. This process became widely known as genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is the process of altering genes of an organism or mixing the genes of…