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This initial module from the GENIQUEST project introduces the dragons and the inheritance of their traits, then delves into meiosis and its relationship to inherited traits. Students examine the effects of choosing different gametes on dragon offspring, and learn about genetic recombination by creating recombination events to generate specific offspring from two given parent dragons. Students learn about inbred strains and breed an inbred strain of dragons themselves. Lastly, students investigate a mysterious new dragon trait and use the properties of linkage and inheritance to examine the trait's relationship to other, known dragon traits.

The life science/biology course is divided into 12 instructional segments grouped into four sections. In the first section, From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes, students develop models of how molecules combine to build cells and organisms (IS1 [Structure and Function]; IS2 [Growth and Development of Organisms]; IS3 [Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms]). In the second section, Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics, students zoom out to the macroscopic scale to show how organisms interact (IS4 [Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems]; IS5 [Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems]; IS6 [Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience]; IS7 [Social Interactions and Group Behavior]). Students return to the role that DNA plays in inheritance during the third section, Heredity: Inheritance and Variation of Traits (IS8 [Inheritance of Traits]; IS9 [Variation of Traits]). The class ends tying together interactions at all these scales by explaining evolution and natural selection in Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity (IS10 [Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity]; IS11 [Natural Selection]; IS12 [Adaptation and Biodiversity]). A vignette in IS12 illustrates the level of three-dimensional understanding students are expected to exhibit as a capstone of the course.

Blood Inheritance Activity:  Inheritance of Blood Types

de Villena and his colleagues counted the RNA molecules produced and found that genes from the father produced on average more RNA than genes from the mother. (And remember, RNA directs the production of proteins, which are the workhorses of the body's development and function.) The implication? "It's not only what you inherit, but from whom you inherit," he said.

ach of the four hallmarks of autosomal dominant inheritance are fulfilled. Each affected individual has an affected parent; there is no skipping of generations. Males and females are equally likely to be affected. About 1/2 of the offspring of an affected individual are affected (the recurrence risk is 1/2). Normal siblings (II-3) of affected individuals have all normal offspring.

Using a pre-drawn template can be helpful during a consultation to explain single gene inheritance. Our template shows one pair of chromosomes for each parent. Each chromosome has a single gene highlighted that can be coloured in to illustrate a gene alteration. You can then show which sperm and/or eggs contain the chromosome with the gene alteration and the different genetic combinations that could be present at conception.

This case study was developed to teach the topic of human ABO blood type and genetic inheritance in biology courses at the lower undergraduate level or upper high school level. It is suitable for entry level biology, genetics, and physiology courses. The case narrative tells the story of Kevin, a teenager who is puzzled by the fact that neither of his parents can donate blood to him. He and his best friend ask their biology teacher for help, and she explains human ABO blood types at the molecular and genetic level to solve the mystery. The case consists of three sections, which can be used sequentially or separately. After completing the case study, students will understand the molecular basis of ABO blood types and how genes control the phenotype and genotype of an individual. They will also have a better understanding of how human ABO blood type is inherited from generation to generation.

Learn to use Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man®, or OMIM®, a catalog of human genes and genetic conditions. OMIM is a foundational resource in genomics and is valuable for clinicians and biomedical researchers. OMIM links and data are found at sites all around the bioinformatics sphere, but understanding the full scope of OMIM's data and resources enable the most comprehensive understanding of human phenotypes and disease. OMIM contains full-text summaries of information from the scientific literature, and provides extensive links to the literature resources and other genomic resource tools as well. Use OMIM as a comprehensive first stop to find important information and gene links for human Mendelian disorders.

Published on Sep 18, 2013 A short animation detailing how autosomal recessive inheritance works. A resource from the NHS National Genetics and Genomics Education Centre. http://www.geneticseducation.nhs.uk/

Teacher site with many resources

An international group of scientists meeting in Washington called on Thursday for what would, in effect, be a moratorium on making inheritable changes to the human genome. The group said it would be "irresponsible to proceed" until the risks could be better assessed and until there was "broad societal consensus about the appropriateness" of any proposed change. The group also held open the possibility for such work to proceed in the future by saying that as knowledge advances, the issue of making permanent changes to the human genome "should be revisited on a regular basis."

3 minute video Each father and mother pass down traits to their children, who inherit combinations of their dominant or recessive alleles. But how do we know so much about genetics today? Hortensia Jiménez Díaz explains how studying pea plants revealed why you may have blue eyes.

This interrupted case study examines molecular genetic evidence reported in scientific literature to determine the fate of Louis-Charles, son of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette of France. Controversy and rumors surrounding the death of Louis-Charles suggested that either he died as a young boy while being held in captivity by the French revolutionaries or he escaped and was replaced by a substitute who died in his place. One individual claiming to be Louis-Charles was Karl Naundorff. Students begin the case by preparing pedigrees for the descendants of Maria Theresa and Francis I, the Holy Roman Emperor, parents of Marie-Antoinette. The pedigrees can be used to introduce the concepts of alleles identical-by-descent and cytoplasmic inheritance patterns. Students then compare mitochondrial DNA sequences and XY chromosome sequences from hair, bone, heart, and blood samples taken from descendants of Marie Theresa, Karl Naundorff and the heart of the boy who died in captivity to determine if the latter was truly Louis-Charles. An optional PowerPoint presentation with clicker questions is available to help guide the classroom activities.

In our first animation of this series we learned how point mutations can edit genetic information. Here we see how duplication events can dramatically lengthen the genetic code of an individual. As point mutations add up in the duplicated region across generations, entirely new genes with new functions can evolve. In the video we see three examples of gene duplications resulting in new traits for the creatures who inherit them: the evolution of a venom gene in snakes, the evolution of leaf digestion genes in monkeys, and the evolution of burrowing legs in hunting dogs.

While genes determine most of our physical characteristics, the exact combination of genes we inherit, and thus our physical traits, is in part due to a process our chromosomes undergo, known as genetic recombination.

Using a patient's own stem cells, researchers have corrected the genetic alteration that causes sickle cell disease, a painful, disabling inherited blood disorder that affects mostly African-Americans. The corrected stem cells were coaxed into immature red blood cells in a test tube that then turned on a normal version of the gene

Quick look: In its modern sense, epigenetics is the term used to describe inheritance by mechanisms other than through the DNA sequence of genes. It can apply to characteristics passed from a cell to its daughter cells in cell division and to traits of a whole organism. It works through chemical tags added to chromosomes that in effect switch genes on or off.

The external environment's effects upon genes can influence disease, and some of these effects can be inherited in humans. Studies investigating how environmental factors impact the genetics of an individual's offspring are difficult to design. However, in certain parts of the world in which social systems are highly centralized, environmental information that might have influenced families can be obtained. For example, Swedish scientists recently conducted investigations examining whether nutrition affected the death rate associated with cardiovascular disease and diabetes and whether these effects were passed from parents to their children and grandchildren (Kaati et al., 2002). These researchers estimated how much access individuals had to food by examining records of annual harvests and food prices in Sweden across three generations of families, starting as far back as the 1890s. These researchers found that if a father did not have enough food available to him during a critical period in his development just before puberty, his sons were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. Remarkably, death related to diabetes increased for children if food was plentiful during this critical period for the paternal grandfather, but it decreased when excess food was available to the father. These findings suggest that diet can cause changes to genes that are passed down though generations by the males in a family, and that these alterations can affect susceptibility to certain diseases. But what are these changes, and how are they remembered? The answers to questions such as these lie in the concept of epigenetics.

This case study introduces students to the structure and function of cellular organelles and seeks to show their importance by discussing diseases and disorders that can result when an organelle does not function as it should. The storyline follows a family whose joy at bringing home a new baby is soon altered by their child's sudden illness, which is eventually diagnosed as Leigh Disease. This disease occurs when defective mitochondria fail to produce energy needed by the cell, particularly affecting cells with high-energy needs like those in the brain, muscle, and gastrointestinal tract. The narrative also discusses some of the ways in which Leigh disease is inherited, treatment options, and the typical prognosis. The case was designed for an introductory non-majors biology course, but could also be used in other science or health related courses. Instructors also have the option of running the case in a "flipped classroom" in which students watch three recommended videos outside of class as a way of preparing for working on the case in class.

New research strengthens a potential strategy for treating fragile X syndrome, the most common inherited form of intellectual disability.