A 45-year-old woman undergoes genetic testing and discovers that she is at high risk for developing colon cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Because her children have 50% of her genes, they may also be at an increased risk for these diseases. Does she have a moral or legal obligation to tell her children and other close relatives about the results of her genetic testing?

Choose one of the ethical or social issues in parts a through e and give your opinion on the issue. For background information, you might read one of the articles on ethics marked with an asterisk in the Suggested Readings section for $\text{\blue{Chapter 1}}$ in your Sapling Plus.
a. Should a person’s genetic makeup be used in determining his or her eligibility for life insurance?
b. Should biotechnology companies be able to patent newly sequenced genes?
c. Should gene therapy be used in people?
d. Should genetic testing be made available for inherited disorders for which there is no treatment or cure?

Which of the following is NOT a function of proteins?

A. store and transmit genetic information

B. help to fight disease

C. control the rate of reactions

D. move substances into or out of cells

Give at least three examples of the role of genetics in society today.

Do you support or oppose the development of genetically engineered foods (genetically modified organisms, or GMOs)? Find someone who takes the opposite position and discuss this question with them. Think about the economic and environmental benefits, health risks, ecological effects, and social impact of their use. List some reasons for and against genetically engineering the foods we eat.

On average, what proportion of the genome in the following pairs of humans would be exactly the same if no crossing-over took place? (For the purposes of this question only, we will ignore the special case of the $\mathrm{X}$ and $\mathrm{Y}$ sex chromosomes and assume that all genes are located on nonsex chromosomes.)
a. Father and child
b. Mother and child
c. Two full siblings (offspring that have the same two, biological parents)
d. Half siblings (offspring that have only one biological parent in common)
e. Uncle and niece
f. Grandparent and grandchild

Suppose that life exists elsewhere in the universe. All life must contain some type of genetic information, but alien genomes might not consist of nucleic acids and have the same features as those found in the genomes of life on Earth. What might be the common features of all genomes, no matter where they exist?

Suppose that life exists elsewhere in the universe. All life must contain some type of genetic information, but alien genomes might not consist of nucleic acids and have the same features as those found in the genomes of life on Earth. What might be the common features of all genomes, no matter where they exist?

We now know a great deal about the genetics of humans, and humans are the focus of many genetic studies. What are some of the reasons humans have been the focus of intensive genetic study?

The type of albinism that arises with high frequency among Hopi Native Americans (discussed in the introduction to this chapter) is most likely oculocutaneous albinism type 2, due to a defect in the OCA2 gene on chromosome 15. Do some research on the Internet to determine how the phenotype of this type of albinism differs from the phenotypes of other forms of albinism in humans and to identify the mutated genes that result in those phenotypes. Hint: Visit the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man Website $\text{\blue{(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim/)}}$ and search the database for albinism.

Compare and contrast the following terms:
a. Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
b. Gene and allele
c. Genotype and phenotype
d. DNA and RNA
e. DNA and chromosome

Briefly explain why each of the following theories is incorrect:
a. Pangenesis
b. Preformationism
c. Blending inheritance
d. Inheritance of acquired characteristics

Match each of the descriptions (a through d) with the correct theory or concept listed below. Preformationism Pangenesis Germ-plasm theory Inheritance of acquired characteristics
a. Each reproductive cell contains a complete set of genetic information.
b. All traits are inherited from one parent.
c. Genetic information may be altered by the use of a characteristic.
d. Cells of different tissues contain different genetic information.

Genetics is said to be both a very old science and a very young science. Explain what is meant by this statement.