Lecture, chapter 14

Today we finished chapter 14, on biotechnology, the applications of recombinant DNA technology.

We focused on the use of tandem repeats, especially STRs on DNA profiling...

(I can't believe we spent a whole hour talking about STRs!)

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Lab 09 - Bioethics projects

Today we had the presentations/debates on a variety of genetics-related topics that present ethical issues. The presentations were lively and for the most part involved most of the students in the audience, making it clear that the topics that were chosen sparked interest and in some cases touched people in a very direct way.

The following topics were discussed:

• Designer babies
• Human cloning
• Human-animal chimeras
• Genetically modified plants
• Gene therapy
• Eugenics
• Stem cell research
• Forced sterilization
• Prenatal diagnosis

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Lecture, chapter 14 - Biotechnology

Today we covered some of chapter 14, on the applications of biotechnology.

We talked about how to use transgenic animals, especially mice, in the study and experimental treatment of human genetic diseases. We also covered the basics of genetic screening and genetic testing, focusing on some of the techniques.

The use of DNA microarrays ("gene chips") on genetic testing was featured.

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Lecture, chapter 14 - Biotechnology

Today we started covering chapter 14, on biotechnology and genomics.

We defined the concept of biotechnology and discussed some of its applications, like biopharming (the use of living organisms to produce pharmaceuticals) and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). When discussing GMOs we discussed some of the ethical issues around their use.

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