Genetics Brochure
This project is in lieu of a final chapter exam and counts as heavily as an exam would!!!
Adapted from http://www.biologycorner.com/bio4/human.html and http://www.sd44.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=10607
Introduction:
There are literally thousands of human genetic disorders. These disorders have a wide range of symptoms and affect people in a variety of ways. Genetic disorders are passed on from parent to offspring through chromosomes. Most genetic disorders do not have a cure, there is only treatment of symptoms. Parents have many questions when they have a child diagnosed with a genetic disorder. Your job is to research a genetic disorder and create a pamphlet to help parents understand a specific disorder.
Task:
1. You can do this by yourself or with a partner (note: a partner does NOT mean a group).
2. Choose a disease. Click on this link for a list of diseases and links to those diseases: http://dmoz.org/Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Genetic_Disorders/ Make sure that you choose a disease that has been proven to have a genetic link. There are a lot of diseases that are thought to have a genetic link (alcoholism), but has not been proven.
3. Research your disorder. Your pamphlet needs to contain an overview of the disease, addressing what causes it, what the effects and symptoms are, and how likely it is to pass the disease on to the next generation.
Medical:
- How does a person inherit it? Is it dominant, recessive, sex-linked, too many/too few chromosomes, or a mutation?
- What are the possible genotypes of the parents? If the disease is a chromosomal abnormality, describe the abnormality.
- How prevalent is the disease in the population (include statistics)?
- What are the chances of a person with this disease passing the disease to their offspring (include possible scenarios)?
- How is the disease diagnosed?
- What are the physical symptoms of the disease?
- What is the life expectancy of someone with the disease?
- How can the disease be treated?
- Personal:
- What is everyday life like? What is the quality of life?
- What limitations does the person have?
- What are some organizations that can help a family cope with a child's disorder (web links)?
- How possible is it that a cure will be found
- Create your brochure. You can use MS Word, Publisher, or whatever you are comfortable with. There are some templates available at the bottom of the page for Word and Google Docs.
Remember, this brochure is for parents whose child has been diagnosed with this disease. The information needs to be in your own words and understandable to the average person. Make sure you include pictures and is visually appealing. You must site the source if you take pictures from other web sites (you can do this by pasting the address in a small font under the picture). Any pictures you use need to relate to the disease in an appropriate way.
You must turn in a bibliography for your sources and they will be graded for their credibility. The minimum number of credible sources is 3 and points will be deducted to fewer sources.
Resources:
Here are some links. There are many, many more!
Genetic Conditions and Diseases
Grading:
I will use the following rubric to grade your pamphlets: