Lecture, chapter 4 - Modes of inheritance and variations in gene expression

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Polydactyly and camptodactyly,
traits with incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity
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Today we finished chapter 4, on pedigree analysis.

We talked about the last couple of modes of inheritance: Y-linked traits and mitochondrial inheritance. Then we talked about variations in gene expression: Age-related phenotypic expression, penetrance, and expressivity.

By the end, we had a discussion about genetics in the news. People were passionate about it and it was fun and productive. We talked about the case of the California octuplets that was recently on the news (need an update/reminder? Click here!).
It was a good exercise and it may happen again. Should we do it every Friday? Should we call it "Genetics news Friday" or something along those lines? If you read this blog comment on this. If not... We may do it any way.

You could (should) subscribe to science podcasts and/or RSS feeds to keep abreast of the latest news...there is more out there than you think.

On Monday: We will start chapter 5 in our textbook.

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