Unit 2 Paper

Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia is a disease that is caused by an allele involved in producing hemoglobin (Johnson). I find this topic interesting because of the origination of the carriers of the disease; and that in being that a carrier of the disease one is protected against malaria, a deadly parasitic disease of tropical climates (Johnson). I chose to research it further because it is interesting to me that the allele for one disease is a natural defense for another. Worldwide Malaria kills one million people yearly and where it exists it is easy to see where this trait would be an advantage (Johnson). In East Africa sickle cell anemia is common enough that almost 40% of the black population carries the trait for the disease while only 1 in 500 African Americans are born with the disease with less than 8% carrying the trait (Johnson).

            Some interesting things that I learned about the disease and trait through this research were that a sickle shaped cell only lives 10 to 20 days, unlike a normal red blood cell that can live up to 120 days (Web MD). A person born with sickle cell anemia only had a life expectancy of 14 years old in 1973(Interesting Facts about Sickle Cell). For a white person to get the sickle cell trait they must have a genetic mutation that is “1 in a trillion” because there is no genetic history of sickle cell in white people (Answers.com). The origination of sickle cell can be traced to three independent blood lines in Africa and one blood line in India about 70,000-150,000 years ago so if you have sickle cell it means you are probably a descendent of one of these blood lines (Answers.com).

            I find the sickle cell trait to be an interesting example of evolution and natural selection as well as adaptation to environment. In tropical climates where malaria is present it would be a distinct advantage to have the sickle cell trait.

Sources

Interesting Facts about Sickle Cell.<http://sickle-cell-disorder.greenwich.wikispaces.net/Interesting+Facts> accessed March 26 2013

Pain Management: Sickle Cell Disease. Web MD <http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/pain-management-sickle-cell-disease> accessed March 26 2013

Answers.com <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_white_people_get_sickle_cell_disease> accessed March 26 2013

Johnson, Michael D. Human Biology Concepts and Current Issues, Sixth Edition. Chapter 19 pages 455- 456. Benjamin Cummings 2012

Part 2. Thinking About the Course

1.       The assignment or activity that I performed in this unit that I am the most proud of is the genetics/ flip a coin lab.

2.       What I now understand best about the information in this unit is how dominant and recessive traits are passed.

3.       The actions that I took to enhance learning or enjoyment of the material was to approach the material slowly and give myself time to understand it.

4.       I felt the most connected with the course while performing the virtual labs because it was a chance to actually apply the things that I was learning to a task.

5.       To help my understanding or enjoy the materials I would like to do more labs and less quizzes and tests/test preparation.

Discussion 2

The Value of Reproductive Cloning

Reproductive cloning means to create a duplicate of another organism genetically.  The most common method used to create a clone of an organism is somatic cell nuclear transfer or SCNT, more than eighteen cloned mammals have been created this way though as far as we know none of these have been humans (Center for Genetics and society). In this process the nucleus is removed from a fertilized egg and a somatic cell from the DNA donor is then inserted (Johnson).  This fairly new science has brought about its own ethical debate mostly revolving around what it is to be human and at what point in development should we be recognized as such.

The advocates of reproductive cloning insist that it is a viable option for couples that would like to have a genetically related child but are unable to produce one naturally or with the help of fertility treatments. There is also the possibility that a parent who has lost a child could benefit from creating a clone or a genetic replacement of the deceased child. Both of these arguments are highly controversial and have been met with strong opposition especially from fundamental religious organizations. There are more practical possibilities though for reproductive cloning that include helping bring back a specific animal species from the verge of extinction to possibly bringing back an animal that has been long gone like the woolly mammoth(Library Index). There is also the idea that if your favorite pet dies you could create a genetic replacement as well.

The opponents of reproductive cloning argue that it is unethical because a fertilized egg has to be essentially destroyed in order to create a suitable environment for the DNA to be cloned. It is also not hard to see that a human cloned to replace one that has died by essence devalues their existence. Then there is the safety involved of the person being created as there is a high failure rate in animal cloning and a greater chance for cellular anomalies like cancer and disease (Center for Genetics and society).  So at what point they might ask are we going to draw a line before the science becomes an inhumane experimentation on human beings?

My opinion on the topic of the value of reproductive cloning is probably a bit more on the liberal side than the average person as I do not see a fertilized egg as much more than a group of cells. If it is potentially possible to clone someone like Albert Einstein than wouldn't we be doing the human race a favor? If there was not such a health risk for the cloned individual I don’t think that I would oppose human cloning. I just don’t see it becoming something that would be easily accessible to most people, you would most likely have to invest a great deal of money into having a clone created so I am not sure that it would be abused in the dramatic ways that can be imagined. But it would not be unwise to pass strict regulations protecting the basic human rights of cloned individuals.

Works Cited

“About Reproductive Cloning.” Center for Genetics and society.<http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/section.php?id=16> . Accessed March 1, 2013.

“Cloning-Reproductive Cloning.”Library Indax.<a href="http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/2263/Cloning-REPRODUCTIVE-CLONING.html">Cloning - Reproductive Cloning</a>. Accessed March 1, 2013.

Johnson, Michael D. Human Biology Concepts and Current Issues, Sixth Edition. Chapter 17 page 421. Benjamin Cummings 2012.