​Today we will learn

• Describe genetic engineering, cloning, and their positive and negative effects.

• Identify newer technologies in medical research, their impacts on quality of life, and their effects on human society.

• Gather and synthesize information about technologies that have changed the way humans influence the inheritance of desired traits in organisms.

• ​

• ​This covers Apex lesson 5.3 , but don't worry if you are not there yet.

​Fill out this Punnett square

​Remember, each box represents a 25% chance the offspring will have that trait.

​Selective breeding

​For centuries, humans have

controlled which animals breed

with each other to get desired

traits.

​

​When my dad was growing up,

dark meat chicken was popular,

so he bred his chickens to have more dark meat by picking a hen and a rooster with large legs and thighs (dark meat) and putting them together.

​These days...

​Humans have been controlling genetics

by selective breeding for centuries.

(see watermelon)

​

​Now, we can do things faster and more directly in the lab using genetic engineering.

​

​Genetic engineering is taking chemicals that cut and paste DNA and using them to choose what DNA we want to put together.

​Genetic engineering...scientists changing genes

​One example of genetic engineering is making insulin.

​

​The green is bacteria

​

The yellow is bacteria DNA

​

​The red is DNA instructions

​ to make human

​ insulin

​

​Scientists use chemicals to cut and paste DNA so that the bacteria now has the DNA instructions to make insulin.

​

​

​ When the bacteria grow

and reproduce in the lab,

they make human insulin

for diabetics!

​GMO s ...genetically modified organisms

​Since scientists can cut and

paste genes, they can use this

technique to change plants we

grow for food.

​

​We can make rice healthier,

corn repel bugs, and tomatoes

last longer for shipping.

​

​There are many fears about GMOs, but most of us eat GMOs all the time with no ill effects.

​Cloning

​

​A clone has the exact same DNA.

​

​There are many natural clones, such as:

​ identical twins

​ plant cuttings

​ anything asexually reproduced

​

​If you make a clone in a science lab, it would have to start as a baby.

​

​on youtube, search for Mr W I want a clone, listen to the song and take notes

​Dolly

​Dolly is a sheep that was cloned in 1996 ( I know that seems long ago, but this is actually really modern for science)

​

​They took an egg from a blackface sheep and took out the DNA. They then put in the DNA from an all white sheep, electrocuted it, put the egg into a blackface sheep to grow and be born.

​

​Genetic testing

​

​These days, you can

​get your genes

​tested for info about

​your ancestry or

​diseases you may

​have or may pass on

​to your biological

​kids.

​Research

​Choose one topic that you want to learn more about from these:

​

​ cloning

genetic testing

genetic engineering

​

​

​research that topic using reliable websites for about 10-15 min

​

​Gene therapy

Viruses naturally insert DNA into your DNA as part of their infection process.

​

​We can use this to choose a part of DNA we want in an organism and get the virus to insert it.

​CRISPR

​Why use viruses when we can

actually build a custom DNA

sequence and use chemicals

to cut and paste that DNA

into ours?

​

​This was first used on humans

in 2013 (super recently)

​

​The problem is that it was not fully tested yet and you can even get at-home kits to change your DNA in funky ways. NOT SAFE !

​CRISPR

​The dude who did illegal experiments with CRISPR is in prison, but scientists are just now (2019) starting to do long term research on CRISPR so that it may someday be safely used to help humans and other organisms.

​

​On youtube, listen to The Immortal Rap of Henrietta Lacks for another example of illegal science.

(good outcome, but done without permission)

​The future...

​While genetics can

be scary, it can

also be really cool

and helpful.

​

​One thing

bioengineers are

working on is taking your human cells, turning on all the genes, and then using those cells in a 3-D printer to print new organs and body parts for you!

​

​No more organ transplant waiting lists!