Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Course List)
11th Edition
ISBN: 9781305251052
Author: Michael Cummings
Publisher: Cengage Learning
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Chapter 16, Problem 7QP
Researchers are learning how to transfer sperm-making cells from fertile male mice into infertile male mice in the hopes of learning more about reproductive abnormalities. These donor spermatogonia cells have developed into mature spermatozoa in 70% of cases, and some recipients have gone on to father pups (as baby mice are called). This new advance opens the way for a host of experimental genetic manipulations. It also offers enormous potential for correcting human genetic disease. One potentially useful human application of this procedure is treating infertile males who wish to be fathers.
- a. Do you foresee any ethical or legal problems with the implementation of this technique? If so, elaborate on the concerns.
- b. Could this procedure have the potential for misuse? If so, explain how.
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Chapter 16 Solutions
Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Course List)
Ch. 16.5 - Should fertility clinics be required to disclose...Ch. 16.5 - Prob. 2EGCh. 16 - Would ISCI be an option? Why or why not? Jan, a...Ch. 16 - Jan is concerned about using ART. She wants to be...Ch. 16 - List the common infertility problems in women....Ch. 16 - Prob. 2QPCh. 16 - Prob. 3QPCh. 16 - What is the difference between gamete...Ch. 16 - Why should women consider collecting and freezing...Ch. 16 - Prob. 6QP
Ch. 16 - Researchers are learning how to transfer...Ch. 16 - Prob. 8QPCh. 16 - Cystic fibrosis is an autosomal disease that...Ch. 16 - Prob. 10QPCh. 16 - Gene therapy involves: a. the introduction of...Ch. 16 - In selecting target cells to receive a transferred...Ch. 16 - The prospect of using gene therapy to alleviate...Ch. 16 - Is gene transfer a form of eugenics? Is it...Ch. 16 - A couple who wishes to have children visits you, a...Ch. 16 - A couple has had a child born with...Ch. 16 - You are a genetic counselor, and your patient has...Ch. 16 - Prob. 18QP
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- In contrast with the genomic manipulations of animals and plants described in this chapter, human genetherapy is directed specifically at altering the genomes of somatic cells rather than germ-line cells.Why couldn’t or wouldn’t medical scientists try to alter the genome of human germ-line cells?arrow_forwardFor each of the following scenarios, indicate YES (it is cloning) or NO (it is not cloning). 6. ___________ Sperm taken from a male goat is combined with a female's egg in a petri dish. The resulting embryo is implanted into the female's uterus to develop 7. ___________ A sheep embryo, composed of 16 cells, is removed from the mother's uterus and separated into individual cells. Each cell is allowed to multiply, creating 16 separate embryos, which are then implanted in different female sheep to develop to maturity. 8. ___________ A cow with many desirable traits is stimulated with hormones to produce a number of egg cells. Each of these eggs is fertilized and implanted into a surrogate mother. 9. ___________ Cell nuclei from a recently deceased dog are placed into enucleated egg cells from another female dog. These egg cells are then placed into the uterus of an additional female surrogate dog, where it grows into a puppy.arrow_forwardOne unexpected result of the sequencing of the human genome was the finding that mutations in a single gene can be responsible for multiple distinct disorders. For example, mutations in the RET gene can cause two different types of multiple endocrine neoplasias, familial medullary thyroid carcinoma, and Hirschsprung disease. How do you think mutations in a single gene can have such diverse effects?arrow_forward
- Two genes associated with breast cancer, BRCA1 and BRCA2, were discovered in 1994 and 1995, respectively, and shortly thereafter, were patented by Myriad Genetics, a company based in Utah. Under the patents, testing for mutations in these genes could only be performed by Myriad, at costs from 300 to 3,000. Myriad also patented the process of analyzing the results of such tests, preventing anyone who obtains the sequence of their BRCA genes by other means (which itself would probably be patent infringement) from interpreting the information. The idea that genes can be patented has been a contentious issue from the beginning. Patents are not granted for products of nature, meaning that genes inside the body are not patentable, but biotech companies successfully argued that by removing a gene from the human body, purifying it, and then obtaining its DNA sequence, they created something not found in nature, and which is therefore a patentable invention. The U.S. Patent Office found the argument persuasive, but opponents argue that genes are parts of our bodies and can be identified but not invented. Biotech companies argue that without the protection offered by patents, they would have no incentive for research and development of diagnostic tests. In Europe, patents for BRCA1 and BRCA2 were revoked in 2004 because they did not meet the standards for a patent. After more than a decade of legal disputes, the patents were partially restored in 2008 on a very restricted basis. In the United States, a lawsuit, focused on the patents for the BRCA genes, was filed in May 2009. The suit challenges the basic idea that genes are patentable. In November 2009, the judge ruled that the lawsuit can proceed, and the case is moving forward. In March 2010, a federal court invalidated Myriad Genetics patent on these genes. In August 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals reversed the lower courts decision and ruled that gene sequences isolated from cells are not a product of nature and are therefore patentable. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ordered the appeals court to reconsider the case. The Federal Appeals Court did not change its decision, and the case once again, went to the U.S. Supreme Court. A unanimous decision in June 2013 invalidated Myriads patents on the basis that isolating a gene from nature does not make it patentable. This is a landmark decision on gene patenting with widespread ramifications for the biotechnoloogy industry. Will this decision reduce the incentives for companies to invest in new diagnostic tests that would be used by cancer victims or those with serious genetic disorders?arrow_forwardAlthough it is well known that X-rays cause mutations, they are routinely used to diagnose medical problems, including potential tumors, broken bones, and dental cavities. Why is this done? What precautions need to be taken?arrow_forwardThe search for the BRCA1 breast cancer gene discussed in this chapter was widely publicized in the media (for example, Newsweek, December 6, 1993). Describe the steps taken by Mary-Claire King and her colleagues to clone this gene. How long did this process take?arrow_forward
- Fragile X syndrome, caused by a change in the FMR1 gene, is the most common form of intellectual disability. In patients with this syndrome, a small part of the gene is repeated several times in one area of the chromosome. This defect in the gene makes the body unable to produce adequate amounts of a protein needed for normal brain functioning. In males, this syndrome causes a moderate intellectual disability, and in females, a mild intellectual disability. A family that exhibits Fragile X syndrome is shown in the pedigree. In the pedigree, squares represent males and circles represent females. Shaded symbols represent a person with the disorder. Which of the following correctly predicts the outcome if offspring 11 mated with a homozygous normal female, based on the inheritance pattern shown in the pedigree? A - The male offspring would exhibit Fragile X syndrome because Fragile X is an X-linked recessive trait. B - The female offspring would exhibit Fragile X syndrome because Fragile…arrow_forwardFragile X syndrome, caused by a change in the FMR1 gene, is the most common form of intellectual disability. In patients with this syndrome, a small part of the gene is repeated several times in one area of the chromosome. This defect in the gene makes the body unable to produce adequate amounts of a protein needed for normal brain functioning. In males, this syndrome causes a moderate intellectual disability, and in females, a mild intellectual disability. A family that exhibits Fragile X syndrome is shown in the pedigree. In the pedigree, squares represent males and circles represent females. Shaded symbols represent a person with the disorder. Which of the following correctly predicts the outcome if offspring 11 mated with a homozygous normal female, based on the inheritance pattern shown in the pedigree? The male offspring would exhibit Fragile X syndrome because Fragile X is an X-linked recessive trait. The female offspring would exhibit Fragile X syndrome because Fragile X…arrow_forwardFor each of the following scenarios, indicate Yes (it is cloning) or NO (it is NOT cloning) _____________________Sperm taken from a mole goat is combined with a female’s egg in a petri dish. The resulting embryo is implanted into the female’s uterus to develop. _____________________A sheep embryo, composed of 17 cells, is removed from the mother’s uterus and separated into individual cells. Each cell is allowed to multiply, creating 16 separate embryos, which are then implanted in different female sheep to develop to maturity. _____________________A cow with many desirable traits is stimulated with hormones to produce a number of egg cells. Each of these eggs is fertilized and implanted into a surrogate mother. _____________________In vitro fertilization _____________________Cell nuclei from an extinct wooly mammoth are placed into enucleated cow cells.arrow_forward
- Woolly mammoths have been extinct for about 10,000 years, but we often find their well- preserved remains in Siberian permafrost. Research groups are now planning to use SCNT to resurrect these huge elephant- like mammals. No mammoth eggs have been recovered so far, so elephant eggs would be used instead. An elephant would also be the surrogate mother for the resulting embryo. The researchers may try a modified SCNT technique used to clone a mouse that had been dead and frozen for sixteen years. Ice crystals that form during freezing break up cell membranes, so cells from the frozen mouse were in bad shape. Their DNA was transferred into donor mouse eggs, and cells from the resulting embryos were fused with mouse stem cells. Four healthy clones were born from the hybrid embryos. What are some of the pros and cons of cloning an extinct animal?arrow_forwardPeople with genetic abnormalities should not be discouraged from having families. Doctors should attempt to treat every genetically related health problem and to keep people alive at all cost. If this proposal were initiated, there would be many effects on our societyDescribe three ethical medical technologies that would reduce the financial costs created by initiating this proposal. Evaluate the proposal from both a genetic and a moral point of view. Your response should include the following information : •A description of three medical technologies that are ethical and that would likely reduce some of the financial costs created by initiating the proposal. • A balanced argument for and against the proposal from the scientific perspective of a geneticist. • A balanced argument for and against the proposal from the perspective of a policy maker (ega politician or a religious leader etc.)arrow_forwardIn the reproductive cloning of an animal, what cell type is used as the source of the genome of the cloned animal? A sperm cell An egg cell Any gamete cell A somatic (non-gamete)) cellarrow_forward
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