Transgenics 1. Why are geneticists designing new organisms? 2.

Transgenic organisms produce much of our food and may eventually be a common source for our medicines. Do you know enough to choose if you want them in your diet or for a medical treatment? Biology and Society 3. Plants were the first transgenic organisms released to the market. As these transgenic plants are grown and harvested, do they threaten to contaminate the gene pool of wild populations? Should this be a concern? 4. Many private groups and a few governments want foods labeled if they are made using ingredients from transgenic organisms. Do you think this should be mandated? Why or why not? 5. Animals are being designed as organ donors for humans. Will recipients of transgenic tissues be susceptible to diseases of the animal donor? Internet Research Organ Farm (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/organfarm/ etc/faqs.html) This explores the debate over xenotransplantionusing animals for human organ transplants. What risks to our society must we consider? Designing Transgenic Cows (http://www.hematech.com/hematech/process/default.asp) This site discusses the work at Hematech to design transgenic cows for the production of human antibodies. Review Hematechs process to design cows for the production of polyclonal antibodies. Which is the most difficult step in the process? Transgenics: To Patent or Not to Patent

(http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v6n3/pdf/Lee(ce).pdf) This article offers a philosophical argument in favor of patenting transgenic organisms. This second article (http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/SPT/v6n3/pdf/Wishloff(ce). pdf) offers a rebuttal. Read both arguments and explain your position on the topic. Novelty Gene 1. Do you behave like your parents? Is there a connection between genes and behavior? 2. How often do you react impulsively? If genes do influence personality, does this bias your free will? Biology and Society 3. If you could test yourself for the genes that influence personality traits such as sexual preference, intelligence, aggression, extroversion, and novelty seeking, would you? Internet Research Behavioral Genetics (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/el si/behavior.shtml#4) This site offers an overview of many of the social implications of behavioral genetics research. A regularly updated summary article is provide on important topics as new information is reported. Read the summary article (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/dispomim.cgi? id=601696) on the novelty seeking personality trait. Are scientists confident that novelty-seeking is determined by genetics? Ethics and Behavioral Genetics (http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/publications/geneticsand hb/rep0000001105.asp) This site offers a report exploring ethical issues surrounding the growing science of behavioral genetics. Read the Summary and Recommendations http://www.nuffieldbioethics.org/publications/geneticsand

hb/rep0000001105.asp) portion of the recent report. What recommendations does the report make about legal issues such as criminal responsibility?

DNA Forensics
1. 2.

Is DNA evidence perfect? No If you were sitting on a jury hearing a case involving a DNA forensic technique, would you be prepared? no

Biology and Society 3. Should every prisoner have the right to reopen his or her case for DNA testing? yes 4. Would you vote to convict a person of a crime based solely on DNA evidence? It depends on the situation. every person can lie, even though there is an evidence. Internet Research Killers Trial (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/) From WGBH Boston, this is a collection of online resources that accompany a NOVA special investigating the Sam Sheppard murder case. The site includes a simple, interactive tutorial on DNA fingerprinting. Explain the process. Which forms of error or contamination is of concern to crime scene investigators when collecting and analyzing DNA evidence?.
They first arrange the sequence of the story or the thing happened on the crime. Here, you'll find out by solving a mysterya crime of sorts. First, youll create a DNA fingerprint. Then youll compare this DNA fingerprint to those of all seven suspects to nab the perpetrator. DNA profiles help forensic investigators determine whether two tissue samples -- one from the crime scene and one from a suspect -- came from the same individual. Fortunately, the genetic comparison doesn't require that investigators look at

all of the DNA found in the tissue samples. That would take months or even years. Instead, by marking a small number of segments of DNA in one sample and then checking for the presence or absence of those segments in the other sample, investigators can say with some assurance whether the samples are from the same person. Investigators use chemicals to cut the long strands of DNA into much smaller segments. Each segment has a specific length, but all of them share the same repeating sequence of bases. The chemicals cut the segments at the beginning and at the end of the repeating string of nucleotides, so one segment might be ATCATCATCATCATC, for example, while another might be ATCATC. (The DNA segments used in forensic investigations are, of course, much longer than this.)

What Jennifer Saw (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dna/) From WGBH Boston, this is an online resource for the PBS Frontline article exploring the wrongful conviction of Ronald Cotton by witness identification and his eventual acquittal by evidence gathered through DNA analysis. From what you learned, do you think that Ronald Cottons case might be atypical or common in our judicial system? Propose how we should train police, judges, lawyers, and the public (potential jurors) to understand and interpret DNA evidence. Describe how the judicial system might benefit from training in science and biotechnology.
It is common on our judicial system. DNA is generally used to solve crimes in one of two ways. In cases where a suspect is identified, a sample of that persons DNA can be compared to evidence from the crime scene. The results of this comparison may help establish whether the suspect committed the crime. In cases where a suspect has not yet been identified, biological evidence from the crime scene can be analyzed and compared to offender profiles in DNA databases to help identify the perpetrator. Crime scene evidence can also be linked to other crime scenes through the use of DNA databases. Our official should always be attentive and wide opened eyes for them to see and seek the truth and give justice to the victims.

DNA Forensics (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome /elsi/forensics.shtml) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the

Human Genome Project join forces to provide this comprehensive overview of DNA forensic techniques. Which forms of error or contamination is of concern to crime scene investigators when collecting and analyzing DNA evidence? Arrestees often are found innocent of crimes. The retention of innocent people's DNA raises significant ethical and social issues. If peoples DNA is in police databases, they might be identified as matches or partial matches to DNA found at crime scenes. This occurs even with innocent people, for instance, if an individual had been at a crime scene earlier or had a similar DNA profile to the actual criminal. Sensitive genetic information, such as family relationships and disease susceptibility, can be obtained from DNA samples. Police, forensic science services, and researchers using the database have access to peoples DNA without their consent. This can be seen as an intrusion of personal privacy and a violation of civil liberties. Studies of the United Kingdoms criminal database, which retains the DNA samples of all suspects, show that ethnic minorities are over represented in the population of arrestees and are, therefore, overrepresented in the criminal DNA database. This raises the concern of an institutionalized ethnic bias in the criminal justice system. Even the most secure database has a chance of being compromised. CODIS is a database used by the FBI to archive DNA profiles for criminals. Some individuals are fearful that the average citizen could one day be required to submit genetic information for databanking. There are proponents on both sides of this issue. Choose a side and then develop a logical argument to defend your position.

Practicality is a concern for DNA sampling and storage. An enormous backlog of over half a million DNA samples waits to be entered into the CODIS system. The statute of limitations has expired in many cases in which the evidence would have been useful for conviction. The primary concern is privacy. DNA profiles are different from fingerprints, which are useful only for identification. DNA can provide insights into many intimate aspects of people and their families including susceptibility to particular diseases, legitimacy of birth, and perhaps predispositions to certain behaviors and sexual orientation. This information increases the potential for genetic discrimination by government, insurers, employers, schools, banks, and others. Collected samples are stored, and many state laws do not require the destruction of a DNA record or sample after a conviction has been overturned. So there is a chance that a person's entire genome may be available regardless of whether they were convicted or not. Although the DNA used is considered "junk DNA", single tandem repeated DNA bases (STRs), which are not known to code for proteins, in the future this information may be found to reveal personal information such as susceptibilities to disease and certain behaviors. Colored Cotton
1.

Cultivated cotton fiber is white but your jeans are not. Are there benefits to growing naturally colored cotton?YES.

Biology and Society 2. Because cotton can be self-pollinated by wind-borne pollen, genetic contamination of white cotton fields by colored cotton is a significant concern. What steps can farmers take to prevent this?

3. From a commercial standpoint, a genetically identical crop is desirable. Why is this not desirable from an ecological or evolutionary standpoint? 4. BT corn and BT cotton are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that produce a pesticide that is harmless to humans. Should we be concerned that the gene pool of natural populations might be contaminated? Internet Research Sticky Cotton Sources & Solutions (http://ag.arizona.edu/crops/cotton/insects/wf/stickycss.pdf) Sticky cotton, caused by a pest infection, poses a significant problem to the cotton industry. Read the article and take note of the character of the problem as well as the proposed solutions. Would it also be reasonable to initiate a breeding strategy to increase the plants genetic variability? How would you design and execute such a strategy? Food and the Environment: Whos Right? (http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_environment/biotechnolog y/page.cfm?pageID=1315) This article discusses contamination of traditional crops by DNA from genetically modified organisms. Read the Executive Summary and review the report. Then compare the authors position to that advocated by AgBioWorld.org (http://www.agbioworld.org/), a GMO industry advocate. Which group offers the more scientifically reliable conclusions? What other information should you consider before you choose a side in the debate? Cloning 1. Sheep have been bred as livestock for millennia...so why are we now cloning them? 2. Imagine you've been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a progressive neurological disorder with a grim prognosis.

Do you know enough about therapeutic cloning to decide if it is a viable treatment option? Biology and Society 3. It has been proposed that cloning could be used to rescue species from extinction. Does one individual represent the genetic diversity and the evolutionary potential of an entire species? 4. Reproductive cloning produces copies of complete individuals. Therapeutic cloning produces stem cells. What ethical dilemmas does it present? Internet Research Cloning Endangered Species (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/10/1025_TV sheepclone.html) This article discusses the first clone from an endangered species. Proponents of cloning feel that it offers hope at securing endangered populations. Opponents suggest that cloning does not address the root cause that placed the animal in danger of extinction. After reading the article, list the pros and cons of using cloning technologies to preserve endangered species. Human Embryos Cloned (http://www.nature.com/nsu/040209/040209-12.html) A research team in South Korea has successfully cloned a human embryo for therapeutic research. A total ban on human cloning is not supported by many countries, and the UN is currently deadlocked. Given these conditions, isnt it likely that cloning research will continue without delay outside the countries opposed to cloning? With large numbers of surplus embryos being destroyed each year in fertility clinics, what is the argument put forth by those individuals opposed to therapeutic cloning?