For question #1 you will need to review and reference both the reading and the Y
ID: 3507820 • Letter: F
Question
For question #1 you will need to review and reference both the reading and the YouTube video “The Story of You: ENCODE and the human genome.”
YouTube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwXXgEz9o4w
Discuss how genes and DNA provides the structure for living and in a social context our everyday experiences in the world. Do you think that advances in knowledge on genetics and DNA has changed or challenged your conception of what it means to be human? Explain why or why not by referencing specific examples.
Explanation / Answer
DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid makes up the genetic content of a human which determines traits like height,weight,and so on.
The DNA encodes for certain proteins which affect physiological developments in the body.
Duplication of DNA by using the original strand as template for producing complementary strand is used to pass on genetic information to next generation.
However, the growth of the human is also affected by environmental infuences such as prenatal programming where certain environmental events can shape the physiological parameters .
The environmentally developed traits which might include genetic modifications such as methylation can be passed on to the next generation through gametes.
The traits which can define our day to day living such as state of health including diabetes and cancer,obesity,aging, are affected by methylation and histone modifications.
The advances in knowledge of genetics has changed what it means to be human since concepts as old as the Hippocrates theory have been redefined by Mendel's experiments and Watson and Crick model of DNA.
For example, Hippocrates believed that if a person had developed an ailment that would be passed on to the next generation but observations by Aristotle also showed that it was possible to inherit healthy offsprings by physically challenged individuals.
The mechanism of inheritance has allowed medicinal research to be more exact , especially the Human Genome Project which has allowed the study of sequence and their link to disease and its possible cure which otherwise could not have been formulated by less specific theories such as the brick and mortar theory of genetics.
Related Questions
drjack9650@gmail.com
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.