Gene Term Papers Samples For Students

Choose a gene that has been implicated in a human developmental disorder

FOXP2 is a gene that codes for a member of the transcription factors’ forkhead /winged-helix family, FOX. It is situated from base pair 114,086,309 to base pair 114,693,771 on the chromosome 7’s long (q) arm at position 31. The gene has 42 distinct introns, which include 41gt-ag and 1 other. The first FOXP2 report depicted 19 exons, of which two, namely 3a and 3b, are variably spliced into transcripts that cover about 300 kb on the chromosome 7q31 (Lai, Fisher and Hurst).

Several alternative transcripts, as well as protein isoforms, have been predicted on the ...

Summary of the Popular Source

The popular article attempts to report on a study that links people’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction in marriage to their gene composition. The article bases its arguments on this study to try to explain the reason why some people happen to enjoy their marriages while others do not. It also explains why the prevailing emotional climate affects people’s ability to enjoy or dread marriage as associated with their respective DNA characteristics.

The article argues that a gene variant called 5-HTTLPR has been discovered to be linked with the influence of certain emotions on marital satisfaction. The specific strain of this ...

Introduction

Blood consists of erythrocytes and leucocytes suspended in it. Blood is pumped from the heart to the body through the arteries and it enters back in the heart through the veins. Blood without cells is known as plasma while serum is the straw colored liquid obtained after the removal of the clot. Plasma contains different proteins, nutrients and waste materials. There are different cases of blood disorders observed in humans.

Blood cells and platelets

The most abundant cells in the blood are the anucleate, biconcave erythrocytes. They contain a red pigment known as hemoglobin (Hb) that carries dioxygen (O2). Hb contains four subunits each ...

#1 MAKE OBSERVATIONS
Some genetic diseases are very common in people with certain heritages. Examples include sickle cell anemia in persons from African descent, Tays Sachs in Jews from Germany or Eastern Europe, and cystic fibrosis in Caucasians.
#2 ASK QUESTIONS

Is there a way to narrow down genetic issues specific to certain heritages?

#3 HYPOTHESIS
There are factors within a person’s genetic code (DNA) and factors within the way persons of a certain heritage live that concentrate genetic issues within a particular heritage.
#4 PREDICTION
Genetic issues will be the result of changes within the affected individual’s DNA that mean they have differences in the way their ...

Introduction

An article published by the Cochrane Collaboration and posted in the Cochrane Library in 2012 caught my attention. The article stated that no quasi-randomized or randomized clinical trials of gene therapy for sickle cell disease have been documented. The article further stated that no conclusions and recommendations are attributed to the application of gene therapy on sickle cell disease (Olowoyeye & Okwundu, 2013). This statement inspired me to evaluate the current developments in gene therapy that targets sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is one of the oldest genetic disorders and yet few attempts have been made to develop gene ...

Mental disorders are a common illness in the society. Scholars and medical practitioners have taken time and effort in attempting to understand the causes and treatment methods for these conditions. However, since the biological processes that leads to mental illnesses are quite difficult to understand, several hypotheses have developed to assist studies. Genetics and other environmental factors have been associated with numerous mental disorders. This paper first evaluates the issues of mental disorder such as depression and provides review into the genetics involved. Then the paper reviews studies into twin cases, association and neurodevelopment disorders. The research will then argue ...

Introduction

Genetic evolution refers to change(s) in inheritable traits occurring across succeeding generation of organisms. The change (evolution) is responsible for the diversity at all levels including the molecular level e.g. genetic variations, individual organisms in the same species (intra-species variations) and among species (interspecies variations). It is believed that all organisms emanated from common ancestry about 3.7 billion years ago and then evolved over time to the present biodiversity. Therefore all organisms have some shared traits at the morphological and molecular level with the species sharing a more recent ancestry having more similar traits. The process of evolution involves ...

Description

The Rett syndrome is originally known as cerebroatrophic hyperammonemia. It is a rare genetic disorder which commonly affects women although there are cases where it could be found in male patients. It is considered as a postnatal neurological disorder which affects the grey matter of the brain. Rett syndrome is also considered as a progressive disorder which affects the development of the brain. It is also considered as one of the common cause of mental disorders among women. It occur about 1 in 10,000 births and it typically develops at age 6 to 18 months. The signs or ...

In 1872, the 22-year-old George Huntington presented a paper describing an elaborately outlined inheritance pattern of a disease, which during the time was referred to as "chorea." In his paper, which was presented at the Meigs and Mason Academy of Medicine at Ohio, George described all the features of the adult-onset form of the disorder and outlined the disease’s autosomal-dominant pattern of inheritance. Although the mechanism underlying the inheritance pattern of the disease was not understood until the rediscovery of Mendel’s works, his paper was so comprehensive that George Huntington quickly became widely acclaimed. In fact, he ...

Introduction

Handedness can be considered as the use of the hand for better, faster and more precise performance or control in certain tasks. In the concept of handedness, right and left hands are considered, and generally the use of one hand more than the other is considered. However, there are four kinds of people in terms of handedness: right-handed people, left-handed people, mixed-handed people, and ambidextrous. Left-handedness is less frequently found than right-handedness. Researchers have found that left-handedness is fairly more common in men as compared to women (Papadatou-Pastou, Martin, Munafo, & Jones, 2008).

Theories of left-handedness

Several theories have been presented in order ...

Introduction

Firstly, the rules of competition required that there be no competitor with an undue advantage over the other. This was simply the case when it was rumored that some men competed disguised as women so that they could win in athletic competitions. It was also alleged that intersexed individuals competed as women in order to gain an upper hand. It was for this reason that gender verification was started. The eligibility of a competitor to compete in any sporting event is decided solely on sex.
Previously, women paraded nude in front of a team of gynecologists in order to have ...

Introduction

This is a hereditary disease that has slow brain striatum atrophy (Gil and Rego). For several years, a Huntington’s disease patient may go through unrestrained movements, mental impairment and behavioral commotions. Finally, Huntington’s disease patients get totally reliant on a caregiver. The disease is an autosomal dominant condition that affects the equally two genders.

Statistics

The statistics of the Huntington’s disease indicate that out of 100,000 individuals globally, 5 to 10 will have the condition. The disease can attack males and females of every ethnic background (World Health Organization). It is prevalent globally, but, there are geographic regions where ...

Introduction

The secret to a long life has always been a fascinating topic and an appealing scientific inquiry. People are interested with the elixir of life. This is because everyone wants to die old and extend their stay on earth. The whole of humanity embraces youthfulness and life, in general. The manner by which people live is also paramount. Most people anywhere in the world are interested with health and wellness. Public health has also become a necessity while modern medicines and several technologies are trying to slow down the natural processes of ageing (Manning, et. al., 2012).
Most popular longevity factors ...

- Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins is a protein that comprises of RNA binding proteins. It is a complex made up of RNA & proteins that is characterized by binding of premRNA. This occurs in the nucleus during the transcription and post transcriptional stages of preMRNA. The protein has different roles which include; prevent formation of secondary structures by preventing folding of pre-mRNA, inhibit the interaction with other proteins, usually has a link with the splicing apparatus and transportation of the mRNA away from the nucleus. This type of protein is a multidomain protein with multiple RNA binding proteins. RNA recognition Motif which is the commonest ...

Introduction

Schizophrenia is a disabling brain disorder which has severe and chronic symptoms. Study has shown that 1 percent of American citizens suffer from this disorder. People suffering from this disorder often believe that other people can read their minds, control their thoughts or they are planning to hurt them. People suffering from this illness get extremely agitated causing them to get withdrawn. Patients suffering from this mental disorder seem okay, until they talk and one realises that they are not making sense. The patients are unable to concentrate, making them unable to care for themselves. They have to rely on ...

Introduction

The process of learning in animals and humans come through a series of situations that come together to motivate, and ignite the brains and enable them to repeat specific actions in the face of certain circumstances. The basic logic presented by psychologists and biologists is that there is intrinsic motivation based on the brain which controls the nerves and models of an animal or human being. This implies that an external variable triggers an extrinsic motivation that gets the organism to ignite the internal or intrinsic motivation in order to undertake certain actions and internalize it in order to ...

Introduction

On the quiet morning of August 6, 1945, the United States shocked the world by dropping an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Hiroshima was a main industrial city with that had a projected population that was somewhere around 400,000 individuals. On a bright day, A B-29 bomber was loaded with the Atomic Bomb and shipped out of the air base at 2:45 a.m. local time and the next thing people knew, an entire city went up in smoke at exactly 8:15 a.m. This essay will examine the atomic bomb and the devastating effect it had on the Japanese ...

The introduction of biotechnology in the field of crop science has seen vast development of useful processes and products over the years. Biotechnology has already been applied in the fields of medicine, agriculture and animal science as stipulated by (Taylor). A genetically modified crop entails the transfer of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from a bacterium or gene to another specimen. Characteristics are contained in the gene and are germinated to enable the crop to copy the characteristics (Halford). Genetically modified foods have existed since the early 1990s and attracted various nations to employ this technology (Gura). However, the field is still ...

The rediscovery of Mendel's works on heredity in 1900 became the foundation to investigate more on genetics. However, the acceleration of the study of genetics was slow, taking more than half a century later for Watson and Crick to crack the chemical basis of heredity. In fact, their proposal, the double helical structure of DNA, became the beginning of modern biology. Over the next 30 years, the advent of recombinant DNA technology allowed us to sequence specific DNA segments (Collins & McKusick, 2001). Note that mapping specific regions of a particular DNA offers explanations to many traits, including behaviors, disorders, ...

Definition and reaction to video

Epigenetics refers to the study of changes in organisms where those changes are caused by modifications of gene expression and not alterations of the genetic code. The video on “PBS Nova ScienceNOW Epigenetics” from YouTube, gives the numerous ways in which epigenetics is manifest in the lives of identical twins. It uses real life cases of numerous twins from diverse ages to assert that differences that exist between identical twins especially on behaviour and mannerisms are a result of epigenetics.

Discussion of epigenetics article

The article titled “Epigenetics: The Science of change” by Bob Weinhold discusses the core issues about epigenetics and why ...

Introduction

Autism is considered a neurodevelopmental problem. The disease comprises problems with language skills and social communication, and relevant repetitive behaviors. The total number of children in the United States affected by autism is 1 in 88 children, and the ratio of 4:1 males versus females exists.
There is a saying about autistic children that if you are able to know ONE child with autistic symptoms, you only know ONE child with autism. That is to say that each child with autistic symptoms is unique and rarely shows similarities in symptoms amongst them. However, where from do the symptoms of ...

DNA, the basic unit of inheritance, has a long history which takes us thousands of years back into the past. It is highly important to have apt knowledge of DNA. In its truest sense, our knowledge of DNA begins with the results of the experiment conducted by Gregor Mendel in the year 1857. He is known by the name of “Father of Genetics”. The study of genetics was further taken ahead by Friedrich Miescher upon his discovery of a substance which he called as nuclein in the year 1869. Later on, he progressed with his experimentations and discovered another ...

Introduction

The thyroid gland is an essential gland found in various vertebrates, and has thyroid follicles (comprised of thyroid epithelia cells), which are supplied by a dense network of blood capillaries. The thyroid tissue’s main function is the biosynthesis and secretion of the thyroid hormone, which is an essential biological molecule existing in either of two forms, T3 and T4. The activity of the thyroid gland is controlled through the neuroendocrine system, which involves the hypothalamus and the secretory actions of the pituitary gland. TSH plays a key role in stimulating the thyroxin-binding globulin (TGB) and the uptake of blood iodine ...

Introduction

This is a rare birth defect whereby the joints between the bones of an infant close prematurely before the brain is fully formed. It is a condition where a baby is born with an abnormal shaped skull. The premature closure of the baby’s bone sutures changes the skull’s growth pattern and this leads to abnormal head shapes and facial features. This condition causes a baby to be born with a deformed or an abnormal shaped skull. This skull deformity needs to be attended to since it causes problems with normal brain and skull growth in infants.

There are four main types of ...