Dowling College: ASC 128: Test 1 Review

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Dowling College: ASC 128
Dr. Christian Perring

Ethics in the New Genetic Era

First Test: Here is what you need to know.

You may bring in to the test a 3"x5" index card, prepared in your own handwriting, containing any information you like.

Part 1. The Science of Genetics

This part will be multiple choice questions

Terms you need to understand and be able to define: (taken from the Glossary in Exploding the Gene Myth.)

allele
amino acid
cancer
carrier
cell
cell division
chromosomes
codon
DNA
DNA-fingerprinting
dominant trait
Down Syndrome
enzyme
eugenics
gene
genetic counseling
genetic linkage
genetic monitoring
genetic screening

genome

genotype

germ-line gene therapy

Huntington disease

mutation

oncogene

oncologist

protein

recessive trait

reductionism

sex chromosome

sickle-cell anemia

sickle-cell trait

somatic gene therapy

Tay-Sachs disease

tumor suppressor gene

virus

X chromosome

Y chromosome

zygote

You need to know about the Human Genome Project and the National Center for Human Genome Research, as explained in Chapter 1 of Genetics in Clinical Practice (see Summary Points on pages 12-13). See also pages 16-17 of The Perfect Baby. In particular, you need to know, about each institution,

when it was formed,
why it was created,
how it is funded,
what its strategy is, and
what priority is given to the study of ethical and legal issues

You need to know about the Scientific Basis of Genetics, as explained in Chapter 3 of Genetics in Clinical Practice (see Summary Points on pages 61-62). You may find it useful to read Chapters 3 and 4 of Exploding the Gene Myth. In particular, you need to know the following:

Basic genetic principles

Genes: the units of heredity
DNA: the hereditary material, composed of sugar, phosphate, and nitrogenous bases and shaped in a double helix
Chromosomes: the packages of genes
Cell division: how the body grows
DNS, RNA, Protein: the central dogma

Classification of genetic disorders

Autosomal dominant

vertical transmission
fifty percent chance for recurrence
variable expression among family members
reduced penetrance

Autosomal recessive

horizontal pattern of inheritance
more common among certain ethnic groups and in the presence of genetic relatedness
25% chance for an affected child; 50% chance for carrier children; 25% for child without gene

Chromosomal genetic conditions

extra or missing chromosomes (e.g. Down syndrome)
effects on mental or physical development
chromosomal mosaicism

Other recognized patterns of inheritance (very general ideas) You need to know about the genetic basis of cancer, Chapter 7 of Genetics in Clinical Practice (see Summary Points on page 190). In particular, you need to know about the following points:

Cancer

a genetic disease at the cellular level
not always inherited
a multistep process
characterized by immortalization, transformation of cells, and metastasis

Causes of Cancer

acquired
inherited

Cancer-causing genes

oncogenes
tumor-suppressor genes
telomerase (aging) genes

Chromosomal and genetic abnormalities (very general ideas) Future Directions (very general ideas) You also need to know the four kinds of medical uses of genetic technology as listed in The Perfect Baby pages 19-20.

Make no changes to patient’s genetic makeup

technology that creates proteins (outside of the body) that the patient’s body does not make (e.g. insulin)
curing a condition with genes inserted into body that attack a disease

Make changes to patient’s genetic makeup

somatic gene therapy
germ-line gene therapy

Eugenics: Its history in the US and in Germany

Part 2: Genetic Testing and Counseling.

This part will be short answer/short essay questions.

For this part, I will give you a case study. I will want you to explain in a written answer how the counselor should approach the problem. You need to show an understanding of how the scientific issues are relevant to the tests that can be done, and also of the role of the counselor as a person who can have a good or bad effect on the person(s) she is counseling.